How much do you tip at buffets?

[magicmouse2]

We tip the same - 15-20% wherever, most often closer to 20% with good service. But, what confuses me is do you tip before sales tax is added or after ? we have been tipping after.

 

[magicmouse2]

With the DDE, if this is shown as discount on the check as 20% -$xx, you could use this figure as the tip couldnt you ? (for those of us who are calculating-tip-percent challenged)

 

[jdmccol]

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.

I disagree - a tip is an optional reward for excellent service, at least it used to be in the old days. The IRS is just concerned with taxing the tips as income. It used to be that you gave a tip when the service was above the norm. Nowdays, it is just an excuse by the employer to pay the employees less than minimum wage. Having said that, I usually give around 20% just because the math is easy. I do think it is sad that they expect you to tip 18%+ for routine service.

 

[G00fyDad]

The waiters and waitresses out there can flame me if you want but I have to say, if I get terrible service I dont feel that I should still be forced to tip. I mean, if I have a forced tip then the waiter/waitress has no incentive to be hospitible. I think that if a place is going to force tips, then they need to do away with tips altogether and just pay more. I know someone that is a (foul) waitress and she still gets tipped mandatory.And as for:

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.

She hasnt been fired yet. And I have been plenty of places and seen rude and obnoxious wait staff that have never been laid off for it. Oh btw, in case you're going to say "well, it just must be like that in your area." I havent always lived here. I have lived in Missouri, Texas, Colorado, Indiana (here), Kentucky, Wyoming, New Jersey, Florida, and Tennesee. I have seen it everywhere. It all depends on how long the person has worked there and how good of friends they are with the top. *let the flames begin*

 

[WorldlyWise]

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

..... 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?

See - you are going somewhere I haven't been. When I go to the buffet, you prepay and if you don't like the food you lump it because the waiter can't help and won't ask - however nice they are.

 

[PratersloveDW]

I was a waitress for a while in my college years but I still do not want to tell people how to tip. Tip what you feel comfortable with. However, with that said, in Texas, as I am sure it is with most states, at the end of the day wait staff is required to clock out with their tips - for tax purposes. They are REQUIRED to clock AT LEAST 10% of their total sales for the day. In other words, if the people dining do not leave at least a 10% tip, then the waiter/waitress has to pay out of their own pocket when tax season rolls around! Please be understanding.

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

No flames, Goofydad. I do understand your point! I just cannot leave less than 15%. 15% is my absolute minimum. You really should complain, cuz if management has lots of complaints, I am sure they will get rid of her (unless she is sleeping with the manager! LOL!)

magicmouse...that is what I do (I have DDE)...I just add the 20% right back on and I am done. Oh, and I think "technically" you do not have to tip on the tax, but that is usally the difference of a few dollars so I just make it easy and tip 20% on the total.

Praters-Yes, and where I used to work, I had to tip 1.5% of my sales to the bartender (whether I sold a lot of alcohol or not) and 1.5% to the busser and 1% to the food runner So if someone did not leave me anything, and there check was $100...I still gotta give the bartender $1.50, the busser $1.50 and the food runner a dollar! then I have to pay taxes!

A lot of times I would have foreign tourists...they were so nice and they would leave and give me $5 tip on a $100 check and pat me on the back and say, "Thank you! You were great! We will ask for you again if we come back!"

Meanwhile I am standing there, so upset cuz we are not allowed to tell them about proper tipping. I just have to smile and say thank you and try to remember their faces so I can go hide if I see them walking through the door again! LOL!

 

[DMRick]

A lot of times I would have foreign tourists...they were so nice and they would leave and give me $5 tip on a $100 check and pat me on the back and say, "Thank you! You were great! We will ask for you again if we come back!"
**********

For them, that is a hugh tip. When in Ireland, my son (he lives there) tells us $1 is fine..they get full "good" pay and tip is considered included. When we did go ahead and give our full tip (like for our sons rehearsal dinner), they returned most of it, and said no, they couldn't accept it. When we left tips at smaller pubs, we got the best service ever possible. I think in Ireland, they are thrilled to have an American come to eat..since most of us tip.

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

DMRick...yes, I know it is a cultural thing. Honestly, I wanted to tell them how to tip properly, not even for myself at that moment, but to help them out for the rest of their trip! When I finally got to tell people we made $2.13 an hour, they could not believe it. I really think a lot of people do not know that!

I am not complaining, though! If I wasn't making good money, I would not have done it. It all evened out in the end. It is just frustrating when you have a bad night, with lots of small tips.

 

[pamlet]

Praters-Yes, and where I used to work, I had to tip 1.5% of my sales to the bartender (whether I sold a lot of alcohol or not) and 1.5% to the busser and 1% to the food runner So if someone did not leave me anything, and there check was $100...I still gotta give the bartender $1.50, the busser $1.50 and the food runner a dollar! then I have to pay taxes!

A lot of times I would have foreign tourists...they were so nice and they would leave and give me $5 tip on a $100 check and pat me on the back and say, "Thank you! You were great! We will ask for you again if we come back!"

Oh my... it's been years since my husband waited tables.. (close to 20..laugh) but at least at his restaurant the tipping of bussers and bar was optional... NOW - the waitstaff that DIDN'T tip them... well let's see they waited for their drinks, and cleaned their own tables ALOT - so they couldn't get their tables turned... hahaha. They didn't do that too often.

We generally tip 15 - 20 at a buffet depending on service. I really don't think that the buffet folks do "as much" as a full service restaurant. It's really not more than bussing the tables. If they go out of their way... and keep those soda glasses full - yep they'll get 20%... otherwise if average 15%.

Full service we rarely go under 20% unless it's really awful - usually 25% for great service.

I will say though that I have been known ONCE not to give much of a tip. I once tipped 5% on a 200.00 bill due to the fact that the waitress was BEYOND horrible. She purposely ignored us - we had 3 young teenagers and a baby with us. The baby by the way was very well behaved, as were the teens.. She tried to give the teens kids menus, then disappeared. She spent the entire time chatting up some business men at another table. My husband even had to get her attention to take our order after we sat there for over 1/2 an hour... with just our water - not even getting our drinks yet. It got worse and worse. The food was great - the experience was horrible. I left her 5% and told her why - as well as speaking to the manager. I'm not kidding when I say it was the WORST service we've ever experienced - and THAT was at least 15 years ago.

 

[gardengal]

At local buffets where the server brings me one drink and someone else busses the table, I tip very little. Wdw and upscale buffets are a different story. Usually the waitperson makes sure we meet with the characters and even gets us items from the buffet. That is full service and they get a full service tip.

On the few occasions where I have had truly absymal service, I have complained and the meal price was reduced anyway. This happened once at the Rose and Crown. Things were so bad I went to the bar to get a drink of water and was begging the manager to bring us the bill for our soup since we had been sitting there for so long w/o having our main course order taken that we just wanted to get out of there (an hour and a half). The manager saw that we sincerely just wanted to pay and go and didnt charge us. This is the only time I can ever remember not tipping.

Often an unpleasant meal is the fault of the kitchen and management and not the waitperson. If I just didnt like the person's attitude or they kept me waiting for a very long time, I will usually tip exactly 15%, on the pre-tax bill. Even then they provided a service and should be paid. (the reality in this country is that there is an implied contract that we are paying for a service by paying the tip.)

Michelle

 

[eeyore0062]

Goodness, I remember having to tip out to the bartender, bus boy and food runner out of my own pocket on one incredibly BAD night! We had bills due and were counting on that night's tips, and I not only came home without anything, but in the hole. This doesn't happen often, but it does happen. Please be kind!

 

[Doctor P]

Generally 10% for me, but it really depends on the buffet, the expectations and performance of the servers/staff, and their responsibilities. If all they do is bus the table (i.e., all the drinks are self service), don't have to deal with the bill, and don't have to deal with bringing any food items, then that is a circumstance where the tip will generally be in the lower range.

 

[VistaLeigh'smommy]

I am a waitress in my town and I would never tell anyone how to tip because I seem to get the WORST service whenever I go out...hahahaha ... just my luck! I know the difference between bad service and kitchen mistakes and I get such aweful servers. We never leave bad tips because I believe in "tipping karma" ... hahahaha If I leave a fellow server a bad tip I am sure it will come back to me ten fold!

But I do have to say that when I get bad tips I never blame myself.... same with EVERYONE I know who serves in my store and others. We blame the guests, not ourselves. I had a terrible tip last night... the bill was $22.26 ... they left me $23... and 3 dollars was in CHANGE... I wanted to scream, the change was from the bottom of this ladies purse and it stunk like the WORST perfume... was it because I was a bad server? NO WAY... if you take everything personal then you will have terrible nights 5 nights a week. Some people are just jerks, plain and simple. I am a great server and I am a fair server... if there is a table that I have who wants wants wants needs needs needs I give them the same attention as the shy 20 something year old couples.

I know when I am giving bad service, and sometimes it can not be helped. There are alot of people who aren't the most pleasent people on earth. The squeeky wheel is so used to getting the grease and if a server is too busy they don't seem to understand that the world is not revolving around them. Its not everyone but let me tell you there are people out there who treat servers like dirt. It is my job, I know... but sometimes people take the idea of a server a little too far.

I am way off on a tangent, I am sorry... but I guess what I wanted to say was that if I got a penny tip on a busy night I would never think "gee, what could I have done differently" ... I would think "gee, what a jerk" ... and the managers would too unless you complained. So you would be better off to verbalize it because there are way too many guests who just don't know how to tip, and you would get thrown in with them.


And yes, I HAVE to tip out 3% of my sales every single night. So if I get one penny on $95.36 I have to PAY $2.85 out of my pocket. Maybe you feel she deserves it, and maybe she does... but complain to a manager, it will be more effective for everyone.

 

[WillCAD]

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.

Actually, I'm a regular at several of the local cheap buffets, which usually cost about $9-$11. I always leave $1 (10%) if the server has done a reasonable job of picking up my plates and filling my soda glass.

I'm not a very demanding customer. At a buffet, all I ask is that the server be polite, keep my soda glass filled, and take away the dirty plates before they pile up high enough to tip over. I don't leave a mess at my table, and in fact I always wipe the table down myself before leaving as a matter of simple common courtesy. I am also never rude to my server, even on those occasions when they are rude to me.

At a sit-down restaurant, I expect the same things as I do at a buffet, along with the expected ability to get my order straight. As a consientious customer, I always read the menu through and get my order straight in my head, including veggie and side choices, before I tell it to the server, so they won't have to decipher any incoherent ramblings (as the poor woman at Outback did last week when my family took my brother out for his birthday. She was totally confused by my family's crazy ordering, yet still got all the items correct. We left her 25%).

I also expect the server to come within hailing distance every 10 minutes or so. They don't have to constantly ask, "Is everything all right? Can I get you anything else?", they just have to get close enough to my table for me to get thier attention if I need them. This is only smart for them, as well, since the quicker I get my check when I finish eating, the quicker I will get out and allow them to put more customers at my table.

If you are a waiter or waitress and you have a bad night (your kid is sick, your car broke down, your dog died) and wind up inadvertently doing a bad job, would you rather have your customers stiff you on tips or have a bunch of them complain to the manager, possibly getting you sent home and losing the entire day's pay, or even getting you fired? I'd rather get bad tips and have a job to come back to tomorrow.

 

[Joe T.]

We think that the wait staff at a buffet has a bigger bearing on the success of the dining experience than a server at a regular restaurant. Generally there is more contact as the plates are cleared and drinks are refilled. We tip the same, 20% or a little more. We were at several buffets in December, and the tip was built-in at 18%. We always added a litttle extra.