Tipping at the buffet
 

I see all sorts of tipping questions but I still don't get how or why to tip for a buffet. I would be especially interested in answers from those who ever worked at a buffet. How much do you tip if you are eating at a buffet or one of those all you can eat places?

I usually leave a couple bucks for the person who brings your drinks and clears the table betwen "rounds'

Even though the servers may not be bringing your food to you at a buffet, they still do one or more of the following:<BR><BR>1. Bring you beverages and keep them filled (if the beverage is not self service)<BR><BR>2. Constantly clear plates off your table (the average person will return to a buffet an average of six times per visit) and sometimes replace silverware and napkins<BR><BR>3. Replace food items in the buffet itself (sometimes this is relagated to the kitchen, sometimes it is not)<BR><BR>4. Keep the buffet area clean (everytime we reach for more food we tend to spill a bit)<BR><BR>Even if they are ONLY keeping your table cleared, 10% is appropriate for buffet service.<BR><BR>

So there are no "rules" about tipping at a buffet? Why would a wait staff person want to work at a buffet place if the tipping is low? Do they get paid better than regular wait staff?

Oops, posted at the same time as tippy. So a buffet waiter gets 10% of the total bill. Do people really go back 6 times?

By the way, if we're talking about Vegas (where buffets can cost as little as $3.00, then OVERTIP (Leave a few bucks).

XXX,<BR><BR>Depends where the buffet is. According to the ARA, the national average is 4 -6 times per person.

Wow, how many times should you call the wait person to your table to see him/her 6 times? Are you such a sloppy eater? I'm not getting it.

Faina:<BR><BR>Read the Whole thread and you will.

No way will I tip 10% for service at a buffet restaurant! I tip 12% of total bill for service at a regular restaurant. I usually leave $1/person for waitstaff at a buffets, a couple a bucks a person for good service.

Some people go to buffets and fill a plate to overflow. I prefer to take a smaller amount each time, one that I know I can finish. Also, I can split my meal into "courses" this way, salad,main course, dessert. Plates should be replaced for each time you go back to the buffet (If you take your used plate back and touch it with the serving utensils, you can cross contaminate)so usually a server will quickly clear off the plate you have left on the table.<BR><BR>For this service I usually tip about 10%, maybe round up to a bit more. And as someone has mentioned, if I ever went to a $3 buffet (which I haven't), I would certainly leave a dollar or 2!<BR><BR>Staff working at buffets can 'handle' more people that if they had to take individual orders and serve rather than just clear up, so if everyone tipped even a smaller amount than at a full service restaurant, the staff would probably average about the same as in a restaurant of the same quality

Mr. Food (or should I say Mr. Cheap),<BR><BR>This is the year 2002 and yet you tip 12% in a regular restaurant!? Get a pry-bar and open your wallet! Don't you wonder why when you go back to a decent restaurant your food tastes a little strange? 12% hasn't been the national average for twenty years!<BR><BR>Please, please, please join the twenty-first century.<BR><BR>TTT

I know that you are supposed to tip 15% and THAT IS THE NATIONAL AVERAGE even in 2002. However that is supposed to be 15% of the bill pre-tax. By tipping 12% of the TOTAL bill after tax, most times my tip is actually about the same or more than 15% of the pre-tax bill. I am not cheap and tip what the average person tips. I so not know the rules for a buffet. I simply stated that I usually tip a dollar or two. The reason people are supposed to tip 15% of a food bill pre-tax is because that is the amount the government estimates that a server will receive and they are therefore levied income tax on that amount. If someone could please point out what amount servers at buffets are taxed on I will happily tip that amount. I do doubt however that it is 10%!

Dear Mr. Food,<BR><BR>If I were to wait on you more than a few times and you were just half as ornery and twice as cheap as you sound in your post; I would do to you what I did to a couple of my former customers.<BR><BR>If you put a few drops of Visine in their Iced Tea, they will have the runs for days. Baby, it'd sure give me pleasure in knowing that I had THAT power over you! I work for 20% and no less, unless you order REALLY expensive bottles of wine. Please don't take up seats in my section!<BR><BR>HAHAHAHAHAHAHA<BR><BR>tHe HaPpY wAiTeR<BR>la-la-la-la-la

This is a really great question. I also wonder what is expected as a tip when you eat in a cafeteria. I don't eat at buffets, but do find myself at an ocasional cafeteria. They are often helping me out at my table with dishes, coffee, etc. Is a tip of say more than a dollar per person expected here too?

Well "Happy Waiter" maybe you should get your butt back to school and get a degree and become a salaried professional and then you wouldn't have to worry about the size of those tips. You sound quite full of yourself. I know no one who tips 20% of the bill (even pre-tax) unless the service is excellent. If you are working for 20% or more either you are excellent and I commend you (though the Visine incident tells me otherwise) or you have a much higher opinion and value of yourself than you should. Get back into the real world!

ttt

Dear Mr. Food,<BR><BR>Once again, your orange underwear, plaid bermuda shorts, pink polka-dot shirt, dusty sandals, and blue Barney sunvisor would not be welcome in my section. I'm so sorry the girls at the Waffle House aren't treating you any better than your exuberant tip is valued at - in your little mind.<BR><BR>Good luck... and watch out for the iced tea. It can be a real bummer.<BR><BR>tHe hApPy wAiTeR<BR>

Mr. Food,<BR><BR>I find your explanation of your tipping process to be quite satisfactory and logical. However, I do believe there are many restaurants these days (right or wrong) where 20% is commonplace, if not expected.<BR><BR>I find the fact that you tip based on what the IRS levies interesting and a little odd--but that doesn't make it wrong. I was in the business for twenty-five years so I tend to tip excessively by many people's standards. For good service, I tip 20%; for excellent service, I will often leave 25% or even 30%...but that's just me.<BR><BR>IMHO there is nothing wrong with what you're doing (not that you need my approval) and I realize that, in certain areas of the country, the average is lower.<BR><BR>BTW, when I managed restaurants and hotels, I prosecuted people like "The Happy Waiter".

You have me pegged wrong. I just turned 30 yo last month and I am a well-dressed investment banker. My wife and I both work long hours (more than 60 hours/wk each). We eat out frequently because we don't take time to cook. While we rarely eat out at places with $300 bills. We don't eat at Waffle House either. Our typical place is a nice "local" place and our bills usually totals about $50. I don't think my leaving $15 tip is a problem and have never had a complaint. I guess I rue the day I run into you.