HELP ! Tipping at buffets i'm confused?

[Adrienne]

Ok wondering if u kind people could help out a Aussie whos out of her depth. Given the new 180 day out ADR's me and my girl have been discussing where we want to eat TS wise while were in the world. We have come to the conclusion that we want to do

Ohana Stitch breakfast
Donalds AK Brekfast
Crystal palace Pooh bear lunch
And Chef mickey dinner

These are all buffets if i read them right. How do u tip at a buffet? i'm confused because here we don't tip at all, and at a proper sit down in the US i would tip probably 15% but the servers at a buffet just clear tables don't they? HELP!!!! i have no idea what to do

Adrienne

 

[Rella Bella]

OHanna is family style... which means a server brings the food to the table.

And although the others are buffets, you still have a server who brings drinks, drink refills and sometimes rolls etc.

We we're both wait staff at one point so we always tip 15 to 20% for TS and closer to 15% for buffet servers. It all depends on attitude and how busy they are. I think for most Americans 20% is becoming the norm... unless the service is bad. In that case some will just leave nothing, but I prefer to try to find out why, if they won't snap out of it or give a good reason (like 6 people called in sick) I will leave a small tip... so they know we didn't just forget... we were disapointed.

TS wait staff at most restaurants are only paid about $2.00 an hour salary (minimum wage for any other job is about $7.00), so they really need the tips to make a living. I'm not sure if the buffet wait staff are paid that wage or something slightly higher. Maybe a CM can weigh in.

I know it's difficult getting used to our strange customs... Good Luck!

 

[bicker]

The standards are still 15% for table service, and 10% for buffet service, but there are efforts underway to both increase those percentages and decrease them, depending on the perspective of the advocate.

I don't believe the difference represents a difference in how much base wages is for table service servers versus buffet service severs, but rather reflects that, on average, table service servers serve fewer patrons, and therefore get tips from fewer patrons, than do buffet service servers. Any difference in base wages that there may be is likely due to other factors, such as grade and the extent to which management acknowledges lack of compliance with regard to gratuities on the part of patrons.

 

[jann1033]

in our area the norm is 18-20% for ts, 10% for buffet

 

[MOMTOMOOTOO]

As long as the service is good, we tip 20% for a buffet. I know I am probably in the minority here, but I think the buffet waitstaff works just as hard as a regular waitstaff. If service is above par I will adjust accordingly.

 

[shellybaxter]

We tip the same for buffets as table service (20% for good service) and I agree with the previous poster that the waitstaff work just as hard.

Shelly

 

[Aliki]

We tip the same for buffets as table service (20% for good service) and I agree with the previous poster that the waitstaff work just as hard.

Shelly

Don't worry, OP, I grew up in Asia and Europe, and tipping was fairly rare in Asia so I was clueless when I moved to the uSA!

We tip 15-20% on both buffets and table service, as we also feel the staff work just as had. THey bring you to your table, get you your menus, refill your drinks, clear your table; the only difference is you get the food you want on your own. However, aside from that, they are there to ensure you have a full drink, table with room, etc.. so I think tipping is appropriate. Now if it were counter-service, that'd be a totally different story since you grab your meal and pay at the cashier..

As for 'Ohana, even though it's all-you-care-to-enjoy, they bring the food to you. It's more a TS than a buffet.

 

[disney's daughter]

We will be a group of ten. Even on a buffet, don't they add at least 18% to your bill anyway? We always add to the tip..even when it already added on to the bill.

 

[iliketoby]

When I waitresses, I loved doing buffets. Amazingly, most peole tip the same OR MORE! All I did was bring pop or maybe some bread and that was it. Plus, people doing buffet usually eat and go, so there is more turnover. Buffets are easy money.

I dunno what the etiquette is, I just know from my own experience that the tips on buffets are usually great.

 

[Danauk]

Sorry to jump in but I am from the UK where we also do not tend to tip either. If you were having a spa treatment how would you go about tipping the therapist? WOuld that be a % of the cost of your treatment too? Thanks.

 

[iliketoby]

Yes, you tip spa treatments, unless they are provided by the owner. Tipping the owner has long been considered an insult (to his ability to run a business). Some are OK with it now, some take it as an insult, so if you don't know the owner, don't risk it.

Tip amount is a percentage thing akin to restaurants -- 15-20% for spa services and haircuts, but just a dollar or two for the shampoo girl. Of course, if the girl who cuts your hair shampoos it, you'd still go wtih the 15-20%.

I wish we could post links. CNN has a great tipping page if you can find it in their website.

 

[Adrienne]

I see the difference. Here in Australia most of the buffets i go to you have to go to the bar to get your drinks or there is a self service soda machine (fountain soda), so all the server do here is clear plates, most of the time the hostess shows you to your table. I see the point of tipping when they are refilling drinks etc...

Thanks for your help guys (so glad that this didn't turn into a flame war, i had my asbetsos suit ready LOL )

Adrienne

 

[nukeantz]

Don't worry, OP, I grew up in Asia and Europe, and tipping was fairly rare in Asia so I was clueless when I moved to the uSA!

We tip 15-20% on both buffets and table service, as we also feel the staff work just as had. THey bring you to your table, get you your menus, refill your drinks, clear your table; the only difference is you get the food you want on your own. However, aside from that, they are there to ensure you have a full drink, table with room, etc.. so I think tipping is appropriate. Now if it were counter-service, that'd be a totally different story since you grab your meal and pay at the cashier..

As for 'Ohana, even though it's all-you-care-to-enjoy, they bring the food to you. It's more a TS than a buffet.

At the buffets I have eaten at in WDW, which is about all of them in the 20-30 times we have been. I have never been seated by the person serving me, they do not bring menus(since it is a buffet) they refill your drink if you are lucky, they do not clear the tables the busboys do and you get your own food of course. So the way I see it I get a drink maybe two brought to me. If the buffet costs around 25.00 per adult I pay approx 100.00. Twenty bucks is a bit much for a tip, I feel 10% is more than enough for the service they perform.

 

[Luv4Disney]

As long as the service is good, we tip 20% for a buffet. I know I am probably in the minority here, but I think the buffet waitstaff works just as hard as a regular waitstaff. If service is above par I will adjust accordingly.

We do the same. We don't think it's fair that we would tip less because they work at a buffet restaurant. If anything, sometimes they work harder because they're constantly removing dirty plates. For us, the standard is usually 20%, sometimes more if the service is exceptional.

 

[disney's daughter]

I made dinner reservations for us a couple of days ago for our February trip. (for the ten of us)..A few of the meals are buffets....As I was making the reservations, the CM reminded me that an 18% tip would automatically be added to our bill.

 

[phlufster]

I worked at a character buffet at Disney as a hostess and I will tell you that the servers are over tipped! This will probably get me flamed but oh well, I speak the truth.

Buffet servers are paid the same as all other servers, but buffet positions are coveted positions at WDW. Seniority plays a big role in getting a server position at a buffet style restaurant. The one that I worked at had CM's that had been at WDW for 10 years or more. Buffets are easy work and there is really little "serving" involved. Hostesses seat your table, characters entertain, busboys clean-up after you, and servers say hello, get your drinks and collect your money!

For servers, buffets are a number game, for example, if I were to seat a large party with 4 adults and 6 kids, they would have a fit because the tip on kids is much less. They also would keep track of how many people were sat to each server. We had to keep a tally up front and make sure that it was fair. If you happened to give one server a table of 2 and then give the next server a table of 6, that first server would be up at the hostess stand demanding that you "owed" him 4 more people.

I used to get so angry because the servers would be in the back smoking while we did everything for them and then at the end of the night you would hear them bragging about the hundreds of dollars they made.

Now I am not saying that all buffet servers are like this, however the ones that I dealt with directly and a few that have waited on me at WDW have the "numbers" attitude and I have a hard time giving them a decent tip because of it.

I will tip for good service, I am in the service industry, however, I will not tip well when I am simply a number to them.

Just my opinion, flame away!

 

[Missy1961]

I went to the Crystal Palace buffet lunch this year. It's a character meal. I had planned at least a 10% tip, but ended up giving the waitress more. She was simply wonderful--I never had to ask for a refill, she cleared every plate I used, was cheerful & here's the best part: I was on a solo trip, and she took pictures of me with every character that came by! Plus I saw her ask the characters to wait for people to get back to their tables. She was great.

 

[jann1033]

I worked at a character buffet at Disney as a hostess and I will tell you that the servers are over tipped! This will probably get me flamed but oh well, I speak the truth.

Buffet servers are paid the same as all other servers, but buffet positions are coveted positions at WDW. Seniority plays a big role in getting a server position at a buffet style restaurant. The one that I worked at had CM's that had been at WDW for 10 years or more. Buffets are easy work and there is really little "serving" involved. Hostesses seat your table, characters entertain, busboys clean-up after you, and servers say hello, get your drinks and collect your money!

For servers, buffets are a number game, for example, if I were to seat a large party with 4 adults and 6 kids, they would have a fit because the tip on kids is much less. They also would keep track of how many people were sat to each server. We had to keep a tally up front and make sure that it was fair. If you happened to give one server a table of 2 and then give the next server a table of 6, that first server would be up at the hostess stand demanding that you "owed" him 4 more people.

I used to get so angry because the servers would be in the back smoking while we did everything for them and then at the end of the night you would hear them bragging about the hundreds of dollars they made.

Now I am not saying that all buffet servers are like this, however the ones that I dealt with directly and a few that have waited on me at WDW have the "numbers" attitude and I have a hard time giving them a decent tip because of it.

I will tip for good service, I am in the service industry, however, I will not tip well when I am simply a number to them.

Just my opinion, flame away!

thanks for your honesty...husband and i were alone last trip , first time we did not travel "enmass" to wdw and our service was notably bad at 2 of the 3 buffet/ayce type places we went to. this explains why...too bad too

 

[erikthewise]

I'm with Bicker on this one. No matter how much some people may want a higher standard, or use a higher standard for themselves, it's still 15% and 10% at buffet. I will gladly give 20% for excellent service but not for run-of-the-mill.

Keep in mind that overall WDW servers do quite well compared to most off-site servers just because the prices are higher and tips are usually given as a percentage.

 

[Mackey Mouse]

I tend to overtip.....my Mom was a waitress my whole life and worked very hard for her tips, so I usually leave 20%. I might not leave that for a buffet unless the waiter was unusually attentive to our needs.. clearing the plates away, keeping up with drinks, etc...usually 15% is what I would leave.