How much do you tip at buffets?

[drumflower]

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I was told it will still be 15%, (but added to the bill), but if we use the the new vouchers it will be 18% automatically added.

What are the NEW Vouchers?

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

20% !!! I tip that at Buffets and regular restaurants.

If we get anything for free (like once, DD ate only a tiny bit so the waiter did not charge us for her...he offered that without us having to ask) we will tip a few bucks above 20%.

 

[DMRick]

but if we use the the new vouchers it will be 18% automatically added.

******

I should have said if we use the dining plan I was told 18% would be added (except at Pepper Market where it's always 10%). Guest services must not be aware of the change, since I specifically asked when I made the ressie's this week for Chef MIckey's. This will only affect us at Chef Mickey's, since we are using the old vouchers at Rain Forest, Beaches and Cream and Peppermarket.

I can't have the bills separated, because I'll be using DDE, but we would have tipped 18% anyway, I just like the choice to be mine.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Assuming the servers don't do much more than refill your drinks (sometimes not even that)? We always debate over this, as I used to think 10% for buffets was adequate, but it seems cheap to leave that much. Do you leave a 20% tip at Character meals, places like Boma? I think we usually go for more like 15%.

Although it is buffet, we still tip 15 - 20% as we would at a table service restaurant. In fact, we've had many more pleasurable experience with service at buffets than at sit-down restaurants it seems. They work very hard at making sure your drinks are filled, plates are cleared, etc.

 

[WillCAD]

I tip at WDW the same as I tip at home - 10% for buffets, 15% for sit downs. I add more if the service was above average and have been known to leave 20% at buffets when the waiter went truly above and beyond. But since i calculate the tip based on the total, including tax, the real percentage is actually a bit more, and I always round up to the next dollar.

I think it's shameful that the law allows restaurants to pay waitstaff less than minimum wage. I also think it's shameful that people in the US automatically expect a tip no matter how well or poorly they do their jobs. I paid for the meal, and the waitstaff's wages come out of that money, so to me a tip is something you give someone who has done a good job. It's a gift of appreciation, it's not supposed to be part of their salary.

And I have no problem in leaving a much smaller tip if the service is bad. I have been known to leave pennies or nickels on the table just to let the server know that I didn't forget the tip, I just thought they didn't deserve one.

The best way to get a good tip from me is to make sure i never see the bottom of my Coke glass. The longer my glass goes empty, the smaller a tip you get, but if you keep filling it before it goes more than 75% empty, the tip will be larger. I also count attitude and manner toward tips; if you're tired, okay, but if you're snippy, short, or especially if you're outright rude, don't count on seeing many pesos on the table after I leave.

If you make a mistake with my order but correct it right away and appologize, the tip will still be good; after all, nobody's perfect and I don't expect them to be. But if you fail to appologize, that's not right, and the tip will be a little smaller. And if I have to ask over and over to get the mistake corrected, look for a goosegg.

 

[Slapster]

I paid for the meal, and the waitstaff's wages come out of that money, so to me a tip is something you give someone who has done a good job. It's a gift of appreciation, it's not supposed to be part of their salary.

I completely and respectfully disagree. Tips are not "gifts of appreciation". To prove it, here's a snippet from the IRS official website:

"Tips are not gifts. Tips employees receive from customers are generally subject to withholding. Employees are required to report all tip income over $20.00 a month to their employers by the 10th of the following month. Reportable tips include gratuities received from clients in the form of cash, charges, and non-monetary payments."

What's more, the wait staff is paid at a lower rate in expectation that they will be tipped. This, in essense, makes it part of their salary. It is certainly not a gift of appreciation - it's part of the normal cost of dining out. And they usually split the tips with bus staff and the bartenders.

 

[Patsfan7]

TIPS- To Insure Prompt Service That's what I always thought the acronym stood for.

I just looked it up in the dictionary, and here was the result:

a gift or a sum of money tendered for a service performed or anticipated : GRATUITY

 

[G00fyDad]

I know this is going to sound mean. But when I get bad service I leave one penny. I do this because it lets them know that I didnt just happen to forget the tip. I know, I can feel the flames coming on.

 

[Slapster]

I've never received service so poor that I would leave a penny tip, and I eat out 4 - 5 times a week. Maybe your luck is exponentially worse than mine. I can't imagine being that server, working your table for however long it took, then getting a penny. I hope your shirt was set on fire or there was some other major catastrophe.

But hey, you don't seem to be ashamed of it, so I'm sure I won't change your mind no matter what I say.

 

[G00fyDad]

Nope, both times I have done this it has been because the waitress acted like I was bothering them. I didnt call for them, they just came over and acted like I was the rudest thing in the world and that they had better things to do with their time. I do not get rude with wait staff. I know their job is hard and they dont make alot. But that is no reason to act the way they did.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I was almost afraid to read this. We just came back, and three out of the four nights we ate at buffets. I tipped 20% each time.

I commented to DH that our servers (except at Epcot where he was like an exchange student!) looked about my age (mid 30's). I would NOT enjoy waiting tables, standing up all day, being subjected to rude guests with naughty children (you have ALL seen them - we know they are out there!), and making a paltry "tip wage".

Our service was great. I was offered coffee to drink with my dessert - I never would have even thought of that! These ladies were very nice (both at Crystal Palace and Chef Mickey's) so I felt like 20% was appropriate. I am glad to see other DISers agree!

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

LOL Slapster!

The whole idea of punishing someone with money (as in leaving none) smacks of "power trip" to me. If someone was THAT rude to me, I would ask to speak to a manager.

Willcad-Yikes! I hope you are not a regular anywhere...or I bet you have unknowingly consumed a lot of spit! You sure do put a lot of work into your dining out experiences... try to relax!

I think a lot of people are cheap and are looking for an excuse not to tip.

 

[WorldlyWise]

They bring and refill your drinks, they clear used plates off the table, they will help bring the characters to you if they miss your table, they generally make your visit more pleasant.

Unless service is horrible I leave 20% for buffet servers. I think they work as hard if not harder than servers at other restuarants who ahve busboys and kitchen runners helping them out.

Anne

I think we need to differentiate between Character or even resort buffets and Sizzlin Whatever. A waiter is supposed to help with menu choices and special requests and is responsible for getting your order right. Sorry but 10% is fine for a buffet. For a character/resort buffet I agree that full service (18-20%) is appropriate.

 

[G00fyDad]

The whole idea of punishing someone with money (as in leaving none) smacks of "power trip" to me. If someone was THAT rude to me, I would ask to speak to a manager.

Maybe in Disney speaking to a manager does something about the problem. In the real world speaking to a manager gets squat done. Anyone who disagrees either has not worked in the food service industry or refuses to see the truth. Leaving a penny or no tip at all speaks to the waitress or waiter personally. Maybe they will sit back and curse you. Maybe they will sit back and reflect on what caused it. But you know as well as I do that speaking to their manager will get nothing better than them getting told to liven it up a little.

 

[java]

I have looked online and found this
http://www.tipping.org/tips/TipsPageTipsUS.html
It says 5-10%
Now I think that maybe some go up to buffets more than I do? Is that why you tip bigger? I generally go up once or twice. At the buffet at the Beach Club we tipped closer to 20% because we went up again and again. Does that matter or do you just go 20% regardless and where can I get a job as your buffet waitress.

 

[Dancind]

OP here. This has been educational! Thanks for the link, that was interesting. Hmm, I don't tip Mousekeeping enough. Don't see them much, we are DVC. I guess we will keep doing what we are doing. If our drinks don't get refilled, if we ask for something that never arrives, if we have an inordinate wait to receive/pay the bill (my favorite), we will tip less. For excellent or especially pleasant service, we'll keep tipping more.

 

[DMRick]

I think we need to differentiate between Character or even resort buffets and Sizzlin Whatever. A waiter is supposed to help with menu choices and special requests and is responsible for getting your order right. Sorry but 10% is fine for a buffet. For a character/resort buffet I agree that full service (18-20%) is appropriate.

At Sizzler's and Ponderosa, the waiters are also responsible for keeping the buffet stocked and clean. At Disney buffets, the tips are shared with the people who clean the tables. There are also not as many waiters per capita, so they have more tables to watch for drinks, removing plates and clean up.

 

[Slapster]

I have looked online and found this
http://www.tipping.org/tips/TipsPageTipsUS.html
It says 5-10%
Now I think that maybe some go up to buffets more than I do? Is that why you tip bigger? I generally go up once or twice. At the buffet at the Beach Club we tipped closer to 20% because we went up again and again. Does that matter or do you just go 20% regardless and where can I get a job as your buffet waitress.

You can certainly be my buffet waitress. Here's what you can expect:

You'll greet me and my family and sit us down, hand us menus. You'll take our drink order. You'll take back our menus and bring us bread(maybe) for the table. You'll bring our drinks. You'll answer any questions I have about the buffet items. You'll make several trips to my table with different pitchers of tea and soft drinks. When one of us gets up to go to the serving area you will come back to clear our plates, probably 2-3 trips per person. You'll keep the area picked up, cleaning up any spills on the table or on the floor. You'll come by to ensure the food is satisfactory. You'll total the bill, then you'll smile when I say I want the bill totalled 3 ways, take my money, get change, bring it back. Oh, and you'll do all this for 6-8 hours and for the other 10 -12 tables you've been assigned. All in all you'll probably work my table for an hour. The bill will be $60 and I'll leave 20%, or $12.

You'll take my $12 - then you'll split what I give you with the bus staff. And the bartender. Plus report it to the IRS and have them take their cut.

Still wanna be my buffet waitress?

 

[Taratink]

I have to disagree with a couple of people. I used to work at a country club and I know that buffet service is not the same percentage. Look up tips on the web or in a book and you will see what is really expected. If you tip 20% that is great and generous. It is true that food service and front of the house jobs are difficult and exhausting. I have never tipped poorly for poor service or left a penny because I would feel too guilty about it thinking that they could have kids to support or something.
Tara

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

I worked as a waitress for 9 years and I can tell you, if a customer complained about their waiter "John Doe" and a few days later another person complained about "John Doe" well I assure you John Doe is gonna be watched closely and if it happens again probably fired.