Tipping at buffets

[Pooh Bear Hugs]

Then I recommend avoiding most of Europe.

Why its not the norm to be told what to tip in Europe although some places gave service charges. We tend to pay our serving staff a better wage so they don't have to beg customers for money.

 

[mom2my3kids]

Why its not the norm to be told what to tip in Europe although some places gave service charges. We tend to pay our serving staff a better wage so they don't have to beg customers for money.

We don't beg customers for money, in the USA its how our eating out at a table service meal works. The server takes your order, brings you drinks, napkins etc. Then when the food comes out they run it out to you, all while keeping your drinks refilled etc. We check back to make sure the food is prepared the way it should. Take you dirty plates away, bring you desert if needed, take those plates away. Then collect and cash out your bill..Its not a easy job and while in your country you don't have to tip, in our country its customary and how the system works. You don't see me begging people for money, but yes I expect a tip when I give excellent service.

 

[mom2my3kids]

Also party's of six or more should have tips included, they are more work and people tend to tip less with larger party's. I was talking with a girl who works at cheeseburgers in paradise and they have to tip out 3% of their tips to bus boys, hostess and bartender. I think that is just wrong, they should not have to split their tips with them. They are trying to get out of paying the others and taking it out of the servers pockets. At Ihop we do not have to tip out anyone, but we do all of our own work. Heck half the time we clean our own tables and seat our guest. I am sure that is coming about tipping bus boys, but hopefully I won't be there anymore.

 

[Andy B]

We don't beg customers for money, in the USA its how our eating out at a table service meal works. The server takes your order, brings you drinks, napkins etc. Then when the food comes out they run it out to you, all while keeping your drinks refilled etc. We check back to make sure the food is prepared the way it should. Take you dirty plates away, bring you desert if needed, take those plates away. Then collect and cash out your bill..Its not a easy job and while in your country you don't have to tip, in our country its customary and how the system works. You don't see me begging people for money, but yes I expect a tip when I give excellent service.

What do you think wait staff do in Europe? make us get it ourselves? Some of the best services I have ever recieved as been in the UK and in Europe and in some places a tip is looked on as an insult in others accepted but common percentages can be much lower.

One other thing which gets me is that when tipping gets discussed we get lots of people saying how hard the job is and we must recognise this in tipping the staff, well I know they can be paid sub minimum with the presumption of tips but there are a lot of people who do very hard and demeaning jobs for minimum without any prospect of tips, also my Nephew used to be a restaurant shift manager in the US and when they were short of wait staff he used to do a shift of waiting and he said he would make more money from that than a normal manager shift!

 

[JKYlovesRuss]

We will leave a $5.00 tip for buffet service, and 15% to 20% for table service.

 

[mom2my3kids]

What do you think wait staff do in Europe? make us get it ourselves? Some of the best services I have ever recieved as been in the UK and in Europe and in some places a tip is looked on as an insult in others accepted but common percentages can be much lower.

One other thing which gets me is that when tipping gets discussed we get lots of people saying how hard the job is and we must recognize this in tipping the staff, well I know they can be paid sub minimum with the presumption of tips but there are a lot of people who do very hard and demeaning jobs for minimum without any prospect of tips, also my Nephew used to be a restaurant shift manager in the US and when they were short of wait staff he used to do a shift of waiting and he said he would make more money from that than a normal manager shift!

Again, its the way it works HERE!! When and if I ever go to another country I will abide by their customs and not tip, but here its customary because we don't get paid a normal wage like our counterparts in other country's do. Don't know who made it up years and years ago but its the way it works and it don't look like it is going to change soon. No one is saying you can't MAKE good money as a server if you are GOOD. That is the way it works, a good server gets better tips so she will make more money then say a bad server who gets less tips..

 

[Andy B]

Again, its the way it works HERE!! When and if I ever go to another country I will abide by their customs and not tip, but here its customary because we don't get paid a normal wage like our counterparts in other country's do. Don't know who made it up years and years ago but its the way it works and it don't look like it is going to change soon. No one is saying you can't MAKE good money as a server if you are GOOD. That is the way it works, a good server gets better tips so she will make more money then say a bad server who gets less tips..

Yes but I was pointing out that wait staff do the same job wherever, and I acknowledged the less the minimum wage issue. As to your assertion that you can make good money if good, there have been a number of people even on just this thread who still say they will tip 15-18% as a norm even for barely adequate service.

 

[Brian Noble]

Really, tipping is far more expected in the USA than Europe and certainly is at a higher level in the USA.

You misunderstand. In many countries in Europe, service is included in the price of the menu, and an many others it is a service charge of a fixed percentage published on the menu. That means that if someone objects to being told how much to pay for service, they should stay here in the US where they are perfectly free to stiff the help.

On a semi-related note, I was in a restaurant last night that put an 18% service charge on a party of four. It's not just Disney---the notion of a fixed service charge is becoming increasingly common here in the states, and that's a move I personally applaud.

 

[caroline1851]

I typically tip 15-20% for good service. If i'm getting my own food, i will not tip as much. If the service is good, i'll go with 10-15%

 

[thomasclan85]

Here at home we tip 15%. Our last trip to WDW we did that (we weren't really sure about how much to tip there) and the waiter actually frowned at us. I thought that was too much really (we ate at the Rainforest Cafe) because he only returned to our table to refill our drinks ONCE and to bring the bill. We gave up on waiting for him to ask if we wanted dessert. We didn't see him other than those 2 times. I plan to tip at least 18% this trip (more if the service is exceptional and if we can afford to.) My mom's been a waitress for 30 years at the same restaurant in a small town called Laurinburg, N.C. She makes less than $4.00 an hour and really depends on her tips. Of course, she's a great waitress too. She particularly goes out of her way to fuss over children if they're cross. I was a waitress for about 6 months and it's really hard work. I can't imagine being one at a place as large as Disney.

 

[Luv4Disney]

We tip the same 18 to 20% that we tip at other TS restaurants. From our experience, the buffet servers work every bit as hard as the others do, sometimes harder. That is from a WDW perspective. We don't eat at buffets elsewhere.

We do the same!

 

[dweis]

Hmmm, depends on the service you get, but usually 10% minimum for decent service.

 

[lucysdad]

We bring our own plates and refillable mugs, and believe it or not, the wait staff often tip us because it gives them less to do. Pretty cool.

 

[mom2my3kids]

Yes but I was pointing out that wait staff do the same job wherever, and I acknowledged the less the minimum wage issue. As to your assertion that you can make good money if good, there have been a number of people even on just this thread who still say they will tip 15-18% as a norm even for barely adequate service.

That may well be but for the most part it depends on service. I don't expect anyone to tip or tip well for bad service they don't deserve it. But when you go into a restaurant and get good to exceptional service then you should tip at least 15% of the bill more if you want to. Most people who wait tables do not do it in big places like Disney, we work just off places where you are lucky to bring home 80.00 on a good day. Sorry I am very emotional about tipping as this is what puts food on my table.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

I refuse to pay 18% - 20% on a meal i served to myself...about 10% is sufficient...of course, if we warrent extra work or want more from the staff, we will accomidate but to go into a buffet expecting to pay that much is ubsurd.

We are all entitled to our own opinion here...but what i have a problem with in threads like this is the assertation that wait staff are under paid and it is the rest os society's responsibility to make up the pay. Look, I did not force Susie to be a waitress...just as Susie did not force me to work at a hospital. I do not employ Susie at my restaurant (not that I own one) and pay her less than mimimum wage. Susie knew the pay, the hours, and the kind of work she was getting into when she agreed to take the job. If she wants an average tip...she should provide pleasant service...it's her job. If she wants a higher than normal tip, she shoudl provide better than average service. BUT, it is not my problem if Susie had a bad day or she does not feel well or the place is short staffed...just as it is not her problem if I happen to be taking care of her one day and have had a bad day or don't feel well or are short staffed...I still have to do my job...and even if/when i do it well or above expectations...NO ONE TIPS ME!!!! It is my job...the one I took...the one I knew all about when I agreed to work there.

We always say how hard wait staff work and how friendly they have to be...that may be in an ideal world but unfortunately when I am taking my family out for the average meal at Chilis or whatever local place you frequent, usually I am lucky to get a wait person to spend more that two seconds at my table and most of the time we are still asking for another place setting or re-arranging the plates.

Everyone works hard...or at least should. That argument with tipping does not hold water. There are many professions that work much harder than wait staff and have not bonus/tip availability.

Bottow Line : if you want a good tip...give good service. It is my option to tip based upon service...not my obligation to you.

And by the way...if any restaurant (Disney included) imposes a manditory tip for all, we won't be eating there...it will be fast food for us.

 

[dbriggsq]

That may well be but for the most part it depends on service. I don't expect anyone to tip or tip well for bad service they don't deserve it. But when you go into a restaurant and get good to exceptional service then you should tip at least 15% of the bill more if you want to. Most people who wait tables do not do it in big places like Disney, we work just off places where you are lucky to bring home 80.00 on a good day. Sorry I am very emotional about tipping as this is what puts food on my table.

Don't you think it would be much better then if servers were paid a proper wage - then there would not be the uncertainty about how much income they would get. I also feel that servers would be treated more appropriately by the customers - I've witnessed some diners behaving badly towards servers - being very demanding and without a please or thank you - I think because they feel they have a sort of power over them. If they were paid as professionals they would behave like professionals and the diners would treat them as professionals.

You say if you get bad service you shouldn't leave a tip but would anyone dare do that in the US - one would be treated as a pariah surely!

 

[Andy B]

That may well be but for the most part it depends on service. I don't expect anyone to tip or tip well for bad service they don't deserve it. But when you go into a restaurant and get good to exceptional service then you should tip at least 15% of the bill more if you want to. Most people who wait tables do not do it in big places like Disney, we work just off places where you are lucky to bring home 80.00 on a good day. Sorry I am very emotional about tipping as this is what puts food on my table.

I appreciate your opinion but why 15% this is just custom, also if anyone is not satisfied by their job or pay they can change.

 

[Stinky_Pete]

I refuse to pay 18% - 20% on a meal i served to myself...about 10% is sufficient...of course, if we warrent extra work or want more from the staff, we will accomidate but to go into a buffet expecting to pay that much is ubsurd.

We are all entitled to our own opinion here...but what i have a problem with in threads like this is the assertation that wait staff are under paid and it is the rest os society's responsibility to make up the pay. Look, I did not force Susie to be a waitress...just as Susie did not force me to work at a hospital. I do not employ Susie at my restaurant (not that I own one) and pay her less than mimimum wage. Susie knew the pay, the hours, and the kind of work she was getting into when she agreed to take the job. If she wants an average tip...she should provide pleasant service...it's her job. If she wants a higher than normal tip, she shoudl provide better than average service. BUT, it is not my problem if Susie had a bad day or she does not feel well or the place is short staffed...just as it is not her problem if I happen to be taking care of her one day and have had a bad day or don't feel well or are short staffed...I still have to do my job...and even if/when i do it well or above expectations...NO ONE TIPS ME!!!! It is my job...the one I took...the one I knew all about when I agreed to work there.

We always say how hard wait staff work and how friendly they have to be...that may be in an ideal world but unfortunately when I am taking my family out for the average meal at Chilis or whatever local place you frequent, usually I am lucky to get a wait person to spend more that two seconds at my table and most of the time we are still asking for another place setting or re-arranging the plates.

Everyone works hard...or at least should. That argument with tipping does not hold water. There are many professions that work much harder than wait staff and have not bonus/tip availability.

Bottow Line : if you want a good tip...give good service. It is my option to tip based upon service...not my obligation to you.

And by the way...if any restaurant (Disney included) imposes a manditory tip for all, we won't be eating there...it will be fast food for us.

 

[anabelle]

I used to tip 20% at WDW before the dining plan. I used to waitress, I know how hard it is. But the way the service degraded during the automatic tipping phase of the dining plan really made me mad. We were practically ignored in some places. We had one waiter at Coral Reef that asked us what we wanted and never said a word the rest of the night, when he would actually show up. I called him "the Ghost"

But as far as buffets vs. sit down meals, I consider buffets as labor intensive as sit downs. So I start the tip at the same amount, 15%, and adjust from there.

 

[MissionMouse]

The custom of tipping does define a different scale for tipping between an actual table service restaurant and one which is just a buffet. Many people on this site feel compelled to express their excitement of being at Disney World by tipping excessively, while apparently by the action of Disney many under the DDP have omittted to tip all together.