bellagio shakeup

[rafiki]

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I've only been to Vegas 4-5 times, but I've just always assumed that the more money you splash around, the better your trip is. Maybe people who don't like those rules should vacation elsewhere ? I dunno, it seems hard to expect to change that city. Just roll with it. If you want polite poker, come up to Canada. When you want crazy times and balling, go to Vegas and buy good service. It's a twisted way to do things, but it works.

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I don't see or have any problem with high-rollers getting better service and better freebies, BUT there is a minimum standard below which common, decent courtesy towards customers should never drop. By the way, that standard applies to other human beings as well.

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That I can agree with. I sort of always assumed you had to take the Bellagio with a grain of salt. It's like a super busy diner on the weekend. You get in there, it's RAMMED, you better know what you want, and not drag on. I dunno, I guess I kind of went in there expecting the soup nazi mentality. Know what you want, ask for it, and don't dick around. But I could see how some people would *hate* that.

[John Kilduff]

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I've only been to Vegas 4-5 times, but I've just always assumed that the more money you splash around, the better your trip is. Maybe people who don't like those rules should vacation elsewhere ? I dunno, it seems hard to expect to change that city. Just roll with it. If you want polite poker, come up to Canada. When you want crazy times and balling, go to Vegas and buy good service. It's a twisted way to do things, but it works.

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I don't see or have any problem with high-rollers getting better service and better freebies, BUT there is a minimum standard below which common, decent courtesy towards customers should never drop. By the way, that standard applies to other human beings as well.

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That I can agree with. I sort of always assumed you had to take the Bellagio with a grain of salt. It's like a super busy diner on the weekend. You get in there, it's RAMMED, you better know what you want, and not drag on. I dunno, I guess I kind of went in there expecting the soup nazi mentality. Know what you want, ask for it, and don't dick around. But I could see how some people would *hate* that.

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Actually, I wouldn't even have a really big problem with that. A list person ignoring me while I was standing there for a while would be an entirely different matter, though.

[TonyLA]

I've always felt that a tip was warranted when good service is received - not in order to get good service.

I tip the brush well at places I play at because I'm treated well by them. It's one of the reasons I play regularly at the same casinos - I'm treated well when I do go there. It goes hand in hand. I have a real issue with people thinking that it's necessary to tip in order to receive good service. That's bass-ackwards.

- T

[Rottersod]

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I've always felt that a tip was warranted when good service is received - not in order to get good service.

I tip the brush well at places I play at because I'm treated well by them. It's one of the reasons I play regularly at the same casinos - I'm treated well when I do go there. It goes hand in hand. I have a real issue with people thinking that it's necessary to tip in order to receive good service. That's bass-ackwards.

- T

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That's how I feel. I'm a good tipper but I don't tip the floor all the time. If I have a good session or win a particularly big hand I'll hand out some tokes and over time that has probably given me a bit better service by some floors but to be honest I doubt it is much better than anyone else would get at the bike.

[rafiki]

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I've always felt that a tip was warranted when good service is received - not in order to get good service.

I tip the brush well at places I play at because I'm treated well by them. It's one of the reasons I play regularly at the same casinos - I'm treated well when I do go there. It goes hand in hand. I have a real issue with people thinking that it's necessary to tip in order to receive good service. That's bass-ackwards.

- T

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Ah but the fatal flaw there is that's not how Vegas works. You can have your view of the world, and for what it's worth, I agree with your view. HOWEVER, your view is not how vegas works. You pay first, get good service later. Only exception is waiters. Everyone else you're greasing first.

[Mano]

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I've always felt that a tip was warranted when good service is received - not in order to get good service.

I tip the brush well at places I play at because I'm treated well by them. It's one of the reasons I play regularly at the same casinos - I'm treated well when I do go there. It goes hand in hand. I have a real issue with people thinking that it's necessary to tip in order to receive good service. That's bass-ackwards.

- T

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Ah but the fatal flaw there is that's not how Vegas works. You can have your view of the world, and for what it's worth, I agree with your view. HOWEVER, your view is not how vegas works. You pay first, get good service later. Only exception is waiters. Everyone else you're greasing first.

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I disagree - to a point. If I am trying to get some special service, or something extra I will tip first. If I want the seat with a view, I may slip the maitre'de a twenty and ask if I can get it. If I don't want to wait in line at a club I may tip a bouncer. If I want the floor to provide me with an extra service (call me when a certain game goes, give me a comp when he doesn't have to, tell me which games are good, etc.) I tip first. But I expect standard courteous service whether I tip the floor/brush or not.

[Cactus Jack]

Vegas is cool in that you can be treated like you're rich with just a little grease. A customer told me, "I tipped the waitress $5 and the drink was never empty."

The last two times I went to the B, I had to turn off my POS car and open the trunk. PITA. If I looked like a terrorist, I'd get strip-searched, I guess?

Things are unlikely to change. For MGM/Mirage, it seems like a corporate-wide attitude.

[Rottersod]

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I've always felt that a tip was warranted when good service is received - not in order to get good service.

I tip the brush well at places I play at because I'm treated well by them. It's one of the reasons I play regularly at the same casinos - I'm treated well when I do go there. It goes hand in hand. I have a real issue with people thinking that it's necessary to tip in order to receive good service. That's bass-ackwards.

- T

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Ah but the fatal flaw there is that's not how Vegas works. You can have your view of the world, and for what it's worth, I agree with your view. HOWEVER, your view is not how vegas works. You pay first, get good service later. Only exception is waiters. Everyone else you're greasing first.

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Now it's true that I haven't spent much time in Vegas over the past decade or so but I spent a lot of time there in the 80's and early 90's and found that most of the people I dealt with were polite and willing to help and this made me want to tip them when I did good. When I first wandered into the DI and sat down at the BJ table the pit boss came over to me after about 30 minutes, smiled and asked if I was staying there. When I told him I wasn't he still treated me nice, stopped by every hour or so to chat, and offered me free meals and a chance to see a show. I had a good time there so I came back and stayed and had a great relationship with the hotel/casino for many years. If he had ignored me that first time who knows how things might have turned out. I may have spent my cash in another casino. Multiply my experience my every single customer who comes into contact with a casino representative and you come up with a lot of potential cash staying or leaving.

[TonyLA]

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Ah but the fatal flaw there is that's not how Vegas works. You can have your view of the world, and for what it's worth, I agree with your view. HOWEVER, your view is not how vegas works. You pay first, get good service later. Only exception is waiters. Everyone else you're greasing first.

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That may very well be your experience, but your experience should not translate to "this is how it works for everyone". Your experiences certainly do not match mine.

I've received excellent service at the various poker rooms up-front without tipping a dime. Obviously I've tipped accordingly after the fact - as it should be.

That said, I've never played at Bellagio, and after reading this thread, it seems I'm not missing anything.

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[uclaben]

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Ah but the fatal flaw there is that's not how Vegas works. You can have your view of the world, and for what it's worth, I agree with your view. HOWEVER, your view is not how vegas works. You pay first, get good service later. Only exception is waiters. Everyone else you're greasing first.

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That may very well be your experience, but your experience should not translate to "this is how it works for everyone". Your experiences certainly do not match mine.

I've received excellent service at the various poker rooms up-front without tipping a dime. Obviously I've tipped accordingly after the fact - as it should be.

That said, I've never played at Bellagio, and after reading this thread, it seems I'm not missing anything.

- T

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Yup, and that's my problem with the "this is how Las Vegas works" responses. That's not how Vegas works at the Venetian's poker room. It's not how Vegas works at the MGM poker room. Hell, it's not how Vegas works at the craps tables in the B, where the dealers and pit bosses were exceedingly friendly and helpful, and received tips from me accordingly. Only the Bellagio poker room treats its customers that way.

They have a monopoly over certain limits right now so they can get away with it in a certain sense, but judging by the responses on this board they're not making any friends. Given that their market dominance doesn't extend into all areas of the casino, you'd think upper management might want to take a closer look at this issue.