How Much Tip Do you Leave For A Buffet?

[KelleyD]

I am just curious how much everyone tips for the character buffet meals, or any buffet meal at that, in Disney.

We usually tip regular dining at 20%, but we don't tip that high at the chinese buffet or the casino buffets. Are we the only ones?

Is Disney different? Do you tip 18-20% no matter what type of meal?

Thanks.

 

[bdcp]

We leave 15-20% no matter where we eat unless the service is terrible then we leave around 10%, but only if it's the service that's bad, if it's the food, we dont' penalize the server. I know that at buffets, the server doesn't "do as much" but they still are trying to earn a living.

 

[shellybaxter]

We tip the same at WDW buffets as we do at other sit downs - around 20% plus. Some buffets are like Hometown Buffet - the customer is seated, gets their own food AND drink, basicly takes care of themselves. I only leave 10% at those type of buffets. But Disney buffets are different. Once seated a waitperson generally brings drinks and extras, explains the buffet and keeps up with all of the different trips we make to the buffet and cleans up after us. To me that deserves 20%

 

[joenan88]

I do not go into any establishment with the knowledge of what I am going to tip. I really do base my tip on the level of service...I do not care if it is a table service or a buffet. My tips range from 15-20% sometimes more if the service is outstanding. There are so many factors to take into consideration when you decide on a tip I take into consideration the slow cook or the fact that many waiters/waitresses have to many tables at once. Have a great trip!

 

[KelleyD]

Thanks everyone. I actually found a tipping thread within another tipping thread after i did a search. I was about to come back here and say never mind because that one got so heated and there were so many different responses.

After reading all of those comments I was left really with a thought, that I will post here and hopefully not get flamed or boo hissed or whatever.

So say I go to the Hollywood and Vine character breakfast, From what I can tell the menu is nothing special and I am not sure the reviews of the food are that great. To me it is obvious that at $22.99 per adult I am paying for the character experience and the disney experience more then anything else...for that I have a hard time tipping a full 20%. But I can see the problem with that, who determines the "value" of these things...and does that mean the server doesn't work as hard as if the food was really worth the full amount of money?

And of course that could just lead into is the wait staff at an expensive restaurant, earning a higher tip based on the food cost, working harder or better then the waitstaff at a lower end restaurant, earning less of a tip for the same job.

Bit I digress, I haven't thought much about the comparison of buffet xs sit-down but because of the other thread, I will now.

 

[MommyBuzz909]

We tip the same at WDW buffets as we do at other sit downs - around 20% plus. Some buffets are like Hometown Buffet - the customer is seated, gets their own food AND drink, basicly takes care of themselves. I only leave 10% at those type of buffets. But Disney buffets are different. Once seated a waitperson generally brings drinks and extras, explains the buffet and keeps up with all of the different trips we make to the buffet and cleans up after us. To me that deserves 20%

Hometown Buffet - EWE!!! I think only us California people know about this terrible place.

 

[Brian Noble]

Miss Manners, my preferred authority for all things etiquette, suggests that one not differentiate your tip by service type. So, if you normally tip 20% at a sit-down restaurant, then Miss Manners would have you tip 20% at a buffet as well.

 

[pearlieq]

I'm a firm believer in 10% for buffets. Especially at WDW's ridiculously inflated meal prices, that's more than enough for bringing me a drink and some napkins and showing me where the clean plates are.

At those Old Country Buffet/Sweet Tomatoes kind of places where all they do is bus the table, we just throw down $1-2 for the 2 of us, depending on how friendly the bussers were. And I honestly think we're in the minority there.

 

[bdcp]

I guess because tipping 10% versus 20% usually means no more than a few dollars, I absolutely do not sweat it and will leave as I stated above 15-20%. I also feel for servers, having been one in college. Some people will screw you over to save a couple of bucks so I feel like we are making up for the rude and extremely cheap behavior of others. I'm also guessing the thread on tipping the op found was on the budget board. There are a few on there that willl squeeze a nickel til it screams and dies before they'll ever give up a couple extra dollars to someone working hard waiting tables. If you've ever waited tables, you'll know that you do not make even minimum wage and tips are what make your wages. We feel that we will not go bankrupt if we leave a couple of extra dollars.

 

[PatsMom]

I used to tip 20% but when they started adding an 18% tip when you used the DDE I cut back to 18%.

 

[Pixiedust34]

I tip the same at a buffet as I do at a table service restaurant. Even though the server does not bring us our food, he's still doing drinks and refills, plus he's clearing our used dishes throughout the meal. A buffet server probably stops by a table more often than a regular server does to clear the dishes.