Tipping

[erinsmom]

Do you tip at a character meal or buffet meal?

Thanks,
Erin's Mom

 

[Penny2]

I do if the server is attentive and helpful. If not, buffet or any other type of restaurant, tipping is based upon effort.

To
Insure
Prompt
Service

 

[Minniespal]

I tip as long as the service received warrants it.

 

[ducklite]

Of course you do!

Those servers don't even make minimum wage. They work as hard if not harder as any servers at any other restaurant. It is customary to tip them the same as you would at any other estaurant. 15% for average service, 20% or more for great service.

The only exception is the Hoop Dee Doo where the tip is included, although when we get great service we always leave a few extra $$ on the table for the server.

Anne

 

[>>^..^<<]

I always tip 15-20% - but when the service is poor I tell the server "You would have received a much better tip if you had been more attentive to us"

>>^..^<<

 

[caitycaity]

i have always heard that tipping at buffets is generally 10% since all the waiter is doing is bringing you drinks. that is what we usually tip at buffets.

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by caitycaity
i have always heard that tipping at buffets is generally 10% since all the waiter is doing is bringing you drinks. that is what we usually tip at buffets.

They are doing a lot more than that. They are clearing your plates (often three or four times during a meal), bringing drinks, bringing "add-on's" such as crab legs at the Cape May, explaining the buffet such as at Boma, etc., etc. Considering that Uncle Sam automatically taxes them on the first 8% or so, that's not leaving much of a tip if you only leave 10%. And if they get stiffed they STILL have to pay taxes on 8% of the guests check, even though they never got any tip from it! (BTW--servers only make about $2.35 per hour as a base pay.)

Anne

 

[Melusina54]

I dont know what they make at WDW, but industry standard is $2.13/hour for servers. Thats what they make at the restaurant I manage.

Standard tipping is 10-15% for buffet and 15-20% for table service. Those who feel they do not "have" to tip should exercise the option of counter service eateries.

Also keep in mind that a poor experience is NOT always the servers fault. Waits for seating, waits for food, being assigned more tables than can be effectively handled...the server has no control over those things. Those are host, kitchen and management issues.

Now if a server is rude or has a poor attitude, thats a different story. I think its perfectly fine to tip less or not at all, but bring it to the attention of the manager so that they can correct the situation.

If the server is smiling and apologetic while struggling, I will still tip 20% because they made the effort. Why should they be penalized because someone called out and the place is understaffed yet the manager insists that they keep picking up more tables? Or because the kitchen is backed up or cooks the food incorrectly?

I think everyone should have to wait tables for at least 6 months in their life. Its definitely one of the most thankless jobs out there.

 

[erinsmom]

Thanks everyone. I was just curious about how much. I had planned on tipping but wanted to see what the general rule was for buffets and character breakfasts. I didn't know for sure if the tip was included in the price.

Erin's Mom

 

[jwfla422]

We always tip 20% for good service, sometimes more for great service, if it's not too good then 15%. I personally don't think it matters whether it's family style, buffet or sit-down/take your order. Its all hard work.

 

[caitycaity]

chill out ducklite, i just go by what my tipping card says. as melusina said, 10-15% is standard for buffets. certainly people can tip more if they so desire, but by leaving 10% at a buffet, i don't think we're stiffing anyone. that is industry standard.

http://www.tipping.org/tips/TipsPageBuffet.html

In buffets and cafeterias tipping may be determined by whether or not we receive service at our table, for example, whether or not someone replenishes our drinks. In these situations, we need not give more than 10 percent, unless the buffet or cafeteria attendant did some special service.

http://www.drvoyageur.com/eatright.html

and from peggy post:

At a buffet, ten percent of the bill is customary.

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

 

[TwinMom7]

Well Ducklite, when you break it down as you did...10% isn't much of a tip is it? I'll definately remember this when we eat at our next buffet.

 

[LKS]

When I read that Uncle Sam taxes them on the first 8% of their tip, so leaving a 10% tip didn't leave much, I had to smile. It is not be right to imply that then they only get 2%. The first 8% gets taxed at their rate, not taken away in whole. So say their tax rate is low since they are so underpaid - maybe 10% - and therefore a 10% tip, after tax, is a little more than 9% to the bottom line. Now really, they should be taxed on the entire tip, just as the rest of us get taxed on our entire income, but I guess many places may not keep records required to pull that off.

So, I guess if you tip less than that, you are really hitting them hard. I am a strong proponent of proper tipping, but I also don't feel like I should necessarily double my tip to make up for someone else who stiffs the server.

 

[ducklite]

I was certainly not trying to imply that. And if you add the tip to the check and pay by charge (room or credit card) that entire amount is taxed.

My point is that for people who don't tip for any reason other than poor service, the server ends up LOSING money on that party--and not just on a missed tip, but truly out of pocket.

Keep in mind that these people aren't even paid minimum wage, and a 10% tip isn't much considering the base pay.

Anne

PS--Years ago I was a server in a family run place. We had a party that came in every Sunday. Mother, father and daughter. He never left more than $1 tip, even for excellent service. Their check wa usually around $30, so the server was already out money as soon as they were seated. It finally got to the point that we all refused to wait on them and the manager had to. I didn't feel bad--he was salaried and made a lot more than we did. We also had to give the busboy a portion of our tips, so between the low or non-tippers and that, there were nights that we made less than half of minimum wage.

 

[rgoble5972]

I'm not meaning to start a raging debate about tipping here and I'm not saying that servers do not deserve the industry standard 15-20%. (Putting on my flame retardant suit just in case.)

Just to clarify how servers are taxed on their earnings (sorry, I'm a CPA and therefore tend to be a tad bit anal by nature!).

Yes, it is true that starting salary for servers is $2.13 per hour. However, if the server does not make at least minimum wage by the time his/her tips are added to the hourly wage, the employer is required by law to make up the difference. Therefore, servers are guaranteed *at least* minimum wage.

Also, the servers are not "taxed" on the amount of a customer's bill. A server receives a Form W-2 at the end of each year (just like all employees) which consists of his/her hourly wage plus tips that have been reported by the employee. How much or how little food someone orders has no bearing on a server's earnings.

Thus if a server (making $2.13/hour) works a 10 hour shift and makes $50 in tips during that time, he/she has made $7.13 per hour (2.13 x 10 = 21.30 salary + 50 tips = 71.30 total wages. $71.30/10 hours worked = $7.13 per hour). If the server had not made enough tips to get him/her to at least $5.15/hour, the employer would have to kick in the difference as additional wages. Clear as mud?! Class dismissed.

Sorry for the overkill of information. I agree (having worked in the service industry myself) that being a server is a hard and often thankless job, I just wanted to make no one thought it was legal to pay an employee less than minimum wage.

 

[peachgirl]

i have always heard that tipping at buffets is generally 10% since all the waiter is doing is bringing you drinks. that is what we usually tip at buffets.

That's what we tip also. For a buffet, where I get my own plate and food, 10% for good service is sufficient.

I've been known to tip more for unusually great service, but frankly at a buffet I find attentive service to be pretty rare.

You can tip as much as you want, but 10% is perfectly acceptable.

 

[MHopkins2]

I give the same "standard" tip at buffets and sitdowns - roughly 20% ish, rounded up to the nearest dollar because I'm anal and I like my bills to be even. It is, admittedly, much harder for a buffet server to get one of my "non-standard" ridiculously large tips, simply because I don't typically see them as much.

I'm not going to tell anyone what they should be doing (outside of the Debate Board ), but the bottom line for me is this: if I can afford $20 for buffet food at WDW, then I can afford the extra two bucks to bring the tip up from 10 to 20%. It doesn't make an enormous difference in my food budget, but it can make a difference to the server, even if just as a teeny day-brightener.

And AMEN to whoever said waiter/waitress is a thankless job - I *know* I wouldn't last a week!

 

[Mickeyluver37]

Robin--

You do make some great points. However, the part that others are stating about the 8% is true. At the end of the night, 8% of a servers total sales is automatically assumed as part of their pay. It is then up to the server to be *honest* and report how much they made in excess of that 8%. (BTW I'm not a CPA yet but I should be next year! Woo Hoo!)

Also, I'm getting the impression from this thread that some may think that the entire wages aren't taxed if you don't pay with a credit card. This is not at all true. If $100 in cash tips is made, $100 in cash tips should be reported. Anything else is tax evasion!

 

[SoonerKate]

Some of you might enjoy the bookWaiting by Debra Ginsberg.

As someone who's waited tables for as long as I've been legally able to, I think it should be required reading for anyone who ever eats in restaurants.

I tried to get mom to read it, because she is the worst. tipper. ever. , but she wasn't interested. Seriously -- my mom is the queen of yelling at servers for things that are most likely not their fault -- like how long it takes to get seated, food that's not cooked properly, etc., and she always takes it out of their tip. I've either stopped going out with her, or I bring cash with me so I can leave a few extra bucks on the table. I love my mom, but seriously, she's awful.

Don't forget that servers don't get to take home all of their tips!! They usually have to tip out the bartender (Which should be 10-15% of your total alcohol sales at most places) the busboys (Maybe $5 each) and sometimes the hostesses (probably another $5 each). So even if you've got $100 in cash tips at the end of the night, you might really only get to go home with $80. That adds up, believe me!

A server receives a Form W-2 at the end of each year (just like all employees) which consists of his/her hourly wage plus tips that have been reported by the employee.

Every place I've worked uses a POS system which automatically totals up your gross sales each night. It's at least 8% of those sales that's automatically reported into the system -- If you attempt to report any less, it won't let you. Is this not as common as I've been led to believe?

 

[ducklite]

Robin-

You are only partially correct.

The employer is required to track the servers tabs and report 8% of the total pre-tax bill regardless of how much tip was made. Period. They are also required to report ALL tips paid for by credit card, in excess of the required 8%. It's up to the server to report excess cash tips to the IRS (this isn't done by the employer on the W-2.) Now the 8% the employer reports also doesn't take into consideration mandatory "tip-outs" to the bartender and busboy, etc. So the employer is reporting 8% or even the full tip, but still making the server tipout the other staff. When I was a waittress it was mandatory to tip out the busboy a minimum of $2 per night.

As far as the minimum wage thing goes, this isn't the case either. The server needs to have made a minimum wage as a combination of pay and ASSUMED TIPS (based on the 8% assumption). But if the servre didn't actually receive that 8%, the employer isn't obligated to make it up. If the server works on an evening where there is no patrons in the place, then yes, the employer is obligated to make up the difference. But if there is one party on a five hour shift that has a single bill that 8% of which plus the hourly wage make up to minimum, the employer is clear of obligation, even if the party only leaves $1 tip!

Basically the employer doesn't care, the IRA gets their money, and the server gets screwed.

Anne