Talking of tipping - % to tip at buffets

[rentayenta]

For some reason your comment hits a nerve with me.. Me thinks if I bust my butt as a server and I am a great server at that. Yes I expect to be tipped. This is how our system works, you get good service then you tip what you are suppose to. Today that is anywhere from 15-20 percent of the bill. I bet 90 percent of people on this board could not handle being a server, its one tough job and you put up with the rudest people who want to take it out on you for no reason other then you are a server. Yes I am a 34 year old married mother of 3 who bust her butt to make a living in this world. This is the job I have chosen for the moment, it lets me pick and choose my hours so I can take care of my kids. I don't work at a fancy place, I work at my local IHOP and let me tell you I don't make anything near 45 a hour you are talking about. I am lucky on days to get a 5.00 tip, so please don't look down on servers they have one of the hardest jobs. Wine and truffles no thanks, couldn't afford them anyway.

I was a server for years and I agree 110% with this post!


I think serving should be a college course. Anyone who plans on going to a restaurant should have to experience what it feels like to have your pay be at the mercy of someone else. Not only at the mercy of someone else but at the mercy of how their day went, how their marriage is, how their children are behaving (or not), if their car is in need of repairs, if they have bed credit, if they are ill, unemployed, whatever life is holding for them at that moment when the check arrives.


It is very easy to tell the servers from those who wouldn't serve.


ETA: to add to having our pay at the mercy of someone who: didn't get that raise, found out their spouse was cheating, lost a loved one, bought a new home, is pinching pennies, in school, in a domestic violence relationship, is self medicating, argued with a love one, drank too much, drank too little , got a bad haircut, their former love was a server who just happens to look like I do............my point is that the list really is endless.

 

[just another guy]

Buffet restaurant wait staff generally have more tables than regular TS restaurant. 10-15% is perfectly acceptable.

Not as disney they don't. I know, my ex worked at one, and I know a handful of disney servers.

At a typical buffet, a couple bucks per person is plenty. Clearing plates and filling glasses in not on par with discussing my wine selection to match the truffle sauce.

...fine, then don't expect anything but robot like service. Don't ask your server "whats in this?" don't expect anything special on your birthday, don't ask what time the parks close, don't ask advice for which parks to visit when, etc. Just expect some random person to walk by your table every 5 minutes, taking away what plates you have, and if you need a refill, they will just ad it to their list of things to do when they get around to it.

Its a good thing people like you at disney are rare. My ex averaged 15-20% in tips every night she worked. I hate yo break it to you, but those buffet server you look down upon, at the Crystal Palace make more in 6 months, than you probably do in a year.

 

[disneyjunkie]

I hate yo break it to you, but those buffet server you look down upon, at the Crystal Palace make more in 6 months, than you probably do in a year.

Do you think this statement will make people WANT to tip more?

 

[starbox]

Its a good thing people like you at disney are rare. My ex averaged 15-20% in tips every night she worked. I hate yo break it to you, but those buffet server you look down upon, at the Crystal Palace make more in 6 months, than you probably do in a year.

And, IMHO, servers should make a decent, professional, living wage - which is why I always tip 20%!

 

[mom2my3kids]

In the end it really does not matter what you think a server makes. Yes they may make good tips one day and bad tips the next. It usually evens out, so even if people think oh well they make this much anyway why should I have to give them more, they make more then me. Its not the case, really so please tip you server accordingly. I mean if you get bad service by all means tip what you want but if you get good service tip what you are supposed to.

 

[goofy4tink]

At a buffet, our base tip is 15%. However, if we have a server who has really been great and attentive, we go with 20%. And I have to say..the servers at CP have almost always been left 20%!!! I see the same servers there, year after year. We have actually had the same server twice...over a period of 3 years!!! They must make a pretty fair living there. Otherwise, I'm sure they would move on to better waters, so to speak.
Do the servers at a buffet do 'less'? Sure. But, on the other hand, they are at your table more frequently. If they keep our beverage glasses filled, our used plates removed, we are more than happy. I have had better service at CP than at some 'regular' restaurants with servers who brought my meal to me.
It's something that can, and does, change according to the service provided. I have had terrific service at Chef Mickey's. On the other hand, I have had a deplorable experience there. Our server must have gone on her dinner break when we were there. Couldn't get her to return to our table for love nor money!!! We had to get other servers to get us drinks...twice!!! But, that was an unusual experience.

 

[wilde_oscar]

Not as disney they don't. I know, my ex worked at one, and I know a handful of disney servers.



...fine, then don't expect anything but robot like service. Don't ask your server "whats in this?" don't expect anything special on your birthday, don't ask what time the parks close, don't ask advice for which parks to visit when, etc. Just expect some random person to walk by your table every 5 minutes, taking away what plates you have, and if you need a refill, they will just ad it to their list of things to do when they get around to it.

Its a good thing people like you at disney are rare. My ex averaged 15-20% in tips every night she worked. I hate yo break it to you, but those buffet server you look down upon, at the Crystal Palace make more in 6 months, than you probably do in a year.

You make my point more clear then I ever could... if that is the service I receive, the tip would be commensurate. If ya work it, and provide a great customer service experience, you get the 15-20%. You read my words and do not hear what the words actually say. If service is robotic, it is not worth a big tip, if service is excellent well then you can have your opinion on how much I make vs. a server at a buffet. I guess I wasted my money on 4 years of undergrad, 3 years of grad school to pull down the $2.13 an hour that servers are making. Clearing plates and keeping coffee full is not rocket science, as a rocket scientist I am in a position to know. I am not looking down on anyone, I like to believe that everyone is doing the best that they can in life, but we all know that is just not true.

How about this, you spend the next 8 years in medical school, ace all your rotations, do all your internships, then jump on a board about WDW and complain that now that you are a Dr. you have to deal with sick people all day. The job is lousy if you make it lousy; it is the singer not the song. And if the servers were really making more in 6 months then I do in a year, I'd drop what I am doing in a heart beat and move to Orlando. I’d pour that coffee, I’d have every park schedule memorized, I’d know the quickest transportation route from POFQ to Blizzard Beach, I would know each and every ingredient in every selection on the buffet, I’d do it with a smile and I’d laugh all the way to the bank. But the servers don’t have the information, and do not always do it with a smile. I am not the rare exception at WDW, I am the most favorable demographic to which they are marketing.

 

[wilde_oscar]

To get off of CP as a specific, lemme tell ya about 2 very different dinning experiences from last years trip.

At Boma we waited 15min for water (I sat and waited as I had pills to take, and yes I made it clear that I needed a glass of water to take medication). The server did not clear plates once, filled drinks once as part of bringing the check, and 10 min. after we were done eating, disappeared with my card for 45min before bringing the bill to sign. Knowing what I know now I would have called over a manager and had the tip removed. But I signed the bill and she got her DDP 18% (9pm ADR DDP).

Measure this against Breakfastasouras... our server Mikeasourous did some slight of hand magic tricks, our coffee and oj was never less that half full, we watched as he greeted every guest as they were seated, his timing was perfect to take our pics as the characters came around, the bill was presented as we were getting to the end of the meal and I barely had time to blink and he was back with the paper work for me to sign. (8am ADR OOP)

Guess which one got the $40, 100% tip? Guess which we are going out of our way to see twice this year? Guess which one we recommend to everyone that is going to WDW? I’d be willing to bet that Mike makes a decent living, as the tables on either side of us commented what a great server, make sure he gets a good tip. It's the singer, not the song... Go figure! I don't wanna hear one excuse for the bad server... if you went to see Festival of the Lion King and the monkeys were rude, showed no interest, and basicly looked like they were going though the motions... wait take that to the next step if you went to see the broadway production of Lion King (which was just here in Cincinnati again, great show, go see it when it comes to your town) and the cast was ho hum about the whole thing, would ya think ya got your monies worth? Would ya take the cast out for drinks after? Man that was a large bar tab, what was I thinking!

 

[Mad4Dizne]

depending on the service... I wish we had it like European countries and the tips were all included. Wait staff should be treated like professionals. How is the job any different than any other customer service job?

PS-I always was mad that the wait staff minimum wage was so LOW....many places I worked in high school and college had so much "side work" that you had to do it was very unfair!!!

 

[averysmom]

I usually tip 8-10% at buffets - 14-15 % at TS and family style.

At home, servers make minimum wage - which is 8.00.

At WDW I know that servers make less, so I tip closer to 15-18% for TS and family style, but still around 10-12% for buffets.

 

[mefordis]

To get off of CP as a specific, lemme tell ya about 2 very different dinning experiences from last years trip.

At Boma we waited 15min for water (I sat and waited as I had pills to take, and yes I made it clear that I needed a glass of water to take medication). The server did not clear plates once, filled drinks once as part of bringing the check, and 10 min. after we were done eating, disappeared with my card for 45min before bringing the bill to sign. Knowing what I know now I would have called over a manager and had the tip removed. But I signed the bill and she got her DDP 18% (9pm ADR DDP).

Measure this against Breakfastasouras... our server Mikeasourous did some slight of hand magic tricks, our coffee and oj was never less that half full, we watched as he greeted every guest as they were seated, his timing was perfect to take our pics as the characters came around, the bill was presented as we were getting to the end of the meal and I barely had time to blink and he was back with the paper work for me to sign. (8am ADR OOP)

Guess which one got the $40, 100% tip? Guess which we are going out of our way to see twice this year? Guess which one we recommend to everyone that is going to WDW? I’d be willing to bet that Mike makes a decent living, as the tables on either side of us commented what a great server, make sure he gets a good tip. It's the singer, not the song... Go figure! I don't wanna hear one excuse for the bad server... if you went to see Festival of the Lion King and the monkeys were rude, showed no interest, and basicly looked like they were going though the motions... wait take that to the next step if you went to see the broadway production of Lion King (which was just here in Cincinnati again, great show, go see it when it comes to your town) and the cast was ho hum about the whole thing, would ya think ya got your monies worth? Would ya take the cast out for drinks after? Man that was a large bar tab, what was I thinking!

I'm sorry, this is one of the funniest posts I've read in a while!

 

[That70sGuy]

20% on a buffet is just ridiculous. Buffet restaurant wait staff generally have more tables than regular TS restaurant. 10-15% is perfectly acceptable.

Tipping 25% is just ridiculous and ludacris.

Peggy Post of Good Housekeeping says 10% is customary

http://magazines.ivillage.com/goodhousekeeping/etiquette/peggy/qas/0,,284566_291653,00.html


PS- rEdiculous isn't a word.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ridiculous

Isn't Ludacris a rapper? I think the word you were looking for is ludicrous.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ludicrous



T7G, 3rd Grade Spelling Bee Champion, reminding you to always be careful when playing with boomerangs.

 

[Becky2005]

In the real world, I probably tip $1 or $2 because the buffets we go to, the *only* thing the person does is remove dirty dishes.

I've never had them refill our drinks, bring us clean plates (the plates are up at the buffet stations anyway). That's it, they come around ask if everything is OK & clean your dirty plates. Sometimes not even take the plates until you have 3 or 4 of them stacked up.

I really can't imagine tipping more than a $1 or $2 for that...of course when buffets first started you weren't expected to tip at all just for them to clear your table but times have changed. I remember when they first started putting cards on the table telling you about tipping, I know I remember thinking "oh, I had no idea you were supposed to tip here". Never heard of that before for restaraunts where you basically went and got your own stuff & the only thing they did was clear the table.

Edited to add: At Disney we were on the Premium plan so our servers got whatever the % was that Disney included at the time. PLUS, the buffets there certainly did more than our local ones here. I would definitely tip more for that.

 

[Pumbaa_]

Good discussion, never read Peggy Post -that buffets was 10%, interesting.

Please remember when posting to keep it friendly. If people have different opinions, friendly debate is fine, but please keep it friendly!

thanks everyone!

 

[DaisyD]

I tip the same whether it is a buffet of a standard sit down. I think the servers at buffets work just as hard, if not harder then the regular server. Personally I don't care what others tip.

 

[perd]

Isn't Ludacris a rapper? I think the word you were looking for is ludicrous.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ludicrous



T7G, 3rd Grade Spelling Bee Champion, reminding you to always be careful when playing with boomerangs.

4th Grade Spelling Bee Champion here.

 

[DebbieB]

At a character dinner, an 20% tip adds up to about $6 per adult. If I'm there with 3 friends, they deserve $24 for bringing our drinks and clearing plates? Even if they just had our table (which they don't) that would be a great hourly wage!

 

[just another guy]

At a character dinner, an 20% tip adds up to about $6 per adult. If I'm there with 3 friends, they deserve $24 for bringing our drinks and clearing plates? Even if they just had our table (which they don't) that would be a great hourly wage!

...and does Ford's CEO deserve thousands a day for sending the company more and more down the drain? No, but thats what they get paid. You really can't look at simply their hourly wage while taking tables, as they have a lot of setup work, and closing work they do at $3 an hour.

 

[smartestnumber5]

I tip similarly at buffets and regular table service restaurants.

I don't understand the idea that a server at a buffet does less work than a server at a regular table service. We just ate at Red Robin a few nights ago and the breakdown of who did what was:

Server: took our order, brought our drinks (1 each), cleared appetizer plate, refilled our drinks, brought us boxes, dropped off the bill, ran my card for the bill

Someone else actually delivered our one appetizer and our two burgers baskets.

Our last time at Boma the breakdown was as follows:

Server: took our order, brought our drinks (2 drinks each--one specialty/coffee and one water), refilled our waters, cleared 1st round of plates, cleared soup bowls, cleared 2nd round of plates, cleared 3rd round of plates, cleared dessert plates, dropped off the bill, ran my card for the bill

Clearly our server at Boma did more work than our server at Red Robin. Yet if I followed the etiquette advice linked to earlier, I'd be tipping the Red Robin server more for less work.

And even if it were true that buffet servers do less work than servers at al la carte restaurants, why would the logic of "more work deserves more tip" not require us to distinguish amongst servers at a la carte restarurants? Our
"usual eating out" dinner includes one drink and one entree. Our rare "special occastion dinner", though, can include specialty drinks in addition to water, an appetizer, and dessert. So the "special occasion" server will obviously be doing more work in delivering food and clearing plates than the "usual eating out" server because we order more in the former case. Does that mean we should be tipping the "special occasion server" 5-10% more than the "usual eating out" server?

 

[The Sweetness]

If the servers got 18% of your bill at either meal (just another meal out, or a special occaision, the one who served you for the special occaision with more things ordered (and in my fam there would be anywhere from an additional 2- 6 ppl as well)~ The server from the special occaision, where I ordered 3 beers, 2 soft drinks, 2 coffees, 3/4 aps for the table, 7 entrees, and at least 4 desserts,gets alot more $$$ ((more than tripple, usually)) than the server at Fridays, where I ordered 2 soft drinks, 2 entrees, and a dessert.


Even on the extremely rare occaision where me and DH are celebrating just the kiddos, there is still 2 or 3 alcoholic drinks, 1 or 2 aps, 3 entrees (if not a kids meal as well) and 2 desserts (afterall, it **is** a celebration)

I totally stink at math, but there's no need to use a sliding scale for percentages here. Special occaisions double or quadruple (or more) the tip every time, at the same percentage