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.

Thanks Tippy for understanding the method to my madness. I would comment though that tipping on the IRS guidelined is not that odd. I say why give someone 25% if they are only getting taxed on 15%. That is 10% tax free. I don't get 10% of my income tax free though I wish I did! Anyway, thank you for understanding. I think the Happy Waiter needs his head examined. He is just bitter because he can't find a better job!

Two things here...where in Las Vegas is there a $3.00 buffet and a 20% tip is average here in Las Vegas!

I used to be a waitress at a restaurant that had a Sunday brunch buffet, regular menu rest of the time. The restaurant took out 12% of our sales in taxes (regardless of whether people tipped 10% or 15%) and on top of that, we had to pay out 2% of our sales for the cooks and busboys. So we had to pay out 14% of sales at all times, including the buffet (which everyone hated to work since we made $20-$30 in a shift) - so please don't leave a buck or two! The waiters/waitresses have to earn a living too.

ttt

I'm trying to do the math to make sense out of your post, Mr. Food.<BR>OK, let's your your pretax bill at a restaurant was $100 and you should tip $15 which would be a standard (not generous) tip of 15%. If you tip 12% of a total bill, to be equal to the amount of the other tip, the total bill with tax would have to be $125. So you figure the average tax on a restaurant bill is 25%???? Where is that true? -- most places I'm aware of it is about 6 or 7%. I think you are trying to justify saving some money and cutting out the server at the same time, pretending that you are tipping 15% when you clearly are not. 12% of a $100 pretax bill with a 6% tax on top is $12.72. I suspect you'd round that off to the lower $12, cutting out $3.00 of the waiter's tip, but even if you rounded it up to $13, you're still taking $2.00 of his tip. Yes, I'd say you're just being cheap.<BR><BR>I had a cheap friend who always took charge of a group restaurant bill. First he'd round off the total (always to the lower amount), then he'd take off the tax (rounding the amount of tax higher) and then subtracting it by a little more. Then he'd round off the total again to a lower amount more easily divisible by the number of us splitting the bill. Then he'd divide by the number of people and again to "make it easy" he'd round off some more. By the time he was done, the server was ending up with less than 10%, even though he'd use the figure of 15%. But I guess cheap people will do whatever they need to do to justify their incredible cheapness.

Mr. Food is no investment banker - no way, no how! How do I know? Because Mr. Food doesn't understand 5th grade math. Assuming your state charges 8% tax, your 12% tip on the total bill is a 12.96% tip on the pre-tax, not all that close to 15%. If your state sales tax is less, then you are even cheaper. Get back on the couch, Jerry SPringer is on in a few minutes! "Investment banker"...hehehe

Mr. Food reminds me of that old joke about the guy who, when he travels, brings two shirts and one dollar, and changes neither.<BR><BR>But I gotta tell ya, if the guy is an investment banker and if he's serious about how tightly he monitors his tippiing, THEN I WANT THIS GUY HANDLING MY $. <BR><BR>The weird part about tipping debates -- and I've seen my share of them -- is that often it's about the difference between, say, leaving $3 or $4. And it usually involves people who might pay $20 monthly for Internet access and never use it.

Tax here on a restaurant bill is 9.75% for food and a higher tax rate on alcoholic drinks. Sometimes there is also a service charge. I need to move where tax is 6%, bring it on!

Ok but what do you tip at a buffet or a cafeteria?

Just had lunch at a regular restaurant. LOUSY service. The waiter got PENNIES. If the service is good, I tip good. If they don't earn it, I make sure they realize it!

Tip at a cafeteria? As far as I know, tippng in frowned upon in the high schools in our area.

Happy Waiter... You 'say' that you work for 20% and no less. If someone tips less than that, do you grab their wallet and pull out the extra money, or do you add it to their credit card slip??? Or do you advise them as soon as you approach their table for the first time that if they dare to tip less than 20%, you will refuse to serve them?<BR><BR>When do you serve the ice tea, before or after the expensive wine? <BR><BR>With your attitude, I would love you to be the first waiter that I have stiffed. I bet you look cute in your Mickey D's outfit.<BR><BR>You work for 20% and no less ...in your dreams. <BR>

Mr. Food,<BR><BR>You say you leave 12% in one post, but then say you leave $15 on a $50 bill. That's 30%. Your math is a little funny.

Tina (you fool),<BR><BR>A great waiter SEDUCES the money out of you. You WILL pay 20% OR MORE if the service is excellent and the person treats you how you want to be treated. There is a trick to understanding how each individual table wants to be treated as well. It doesn't sound like you'd ever be the type to venture into the restaurant where I work anyway. {btw Tina, My guess is that you need a waiter who dangles his ding-dong in your face - but that is just the impression I get from your writing. For me to get 20% or better from you, I'd have to know what you really need, and meet you face to face. You sound like a pushover.}<BR><BR>And thank you Laura for noticing Mr. Food's gross mistake (gross as in large). I guess I even managed to get 30% out of him right here on this forum. Those 'investment bankers' are so easy. {yeah, right…. I think my first description was more accurate, he liked being made fun of, and then over-tipped me.}<BR><BR>Oh, and Patrick… it is obvious that you are a classy guy. No pretense needed here buddy, just excellent service - which you would enjoy. <BR><BR>Cheers to all!<BR><BR>THe happy wAiTeR<BR>

Enough of tips, for me tips should ONLY be given if the SERVICE would justify it. Waiters may look forward to our tips , if they serve us right, but how about bad service, can we ask for a discount? No, therefore I find it stupid to impose a certain percentage for so called tips. I feel rest. in USA are tip HUNGRY even if service is not that good, compared to any place in the world. Try going to Canada, China and rest of ASIA, you will know what I mean.

Dear m,<BR>Perhaps you have a unique point - it is the USA where wages and standard of livings are best, although not perfect by any means. I guess your post might explain the great influx of people trying to become US citizens - both professional workers and 'slackers.' Sometimes the accent is so thick, my customers are very difficult to understand. It is through taking care of their every need, to the best of my ability, that I am able to receive 20%+. <BR>'Nuff said.<BR><BR>tHe hApPy wAiTeR

m,<BR><BR>Allow me to try to wallow through your posting and pick out the salient points. First of all (if I'm understanding you correctly) it sounds as if you're saying that you should "get a discount" for bad service. Discount from what? If the service is bad, you have the option of tipping less (or not at all). Does bad service change the food/drink product you are receiving? Perhaps. If the server is lax, your food/drink may sit too long and get cold, hot, etc. If this occurs then you simply bring it to someones attention and, in most reputable restaurants, they'll take care of it--either by replacing the item or by comping an item: There is your discount.<BR><BR>As far as tipping in general is concerned, if you don't wish to tip at all, you have the option of eating at home or going to self-service restaurants. The fact of the matter is that, currently, we have a system where servers rely on tips for their income. Many servers in the US make $2.23 AN HOUR--PLUS TIPS. Without these tips they make LESS than minimum wage. <BR><BR>Many other countries are on a different system. They pay their servers a MUCH HIGHER base wage and tips are just the cream on top (and generally make up much less of the server's total wages).<BR><BR>To say that the server must earn his/her tip from you is right... but only to a point. As long as our restaurant system is set up the way it is, if you decide to use that system then you should play by the rules. That means that if you receive decent service, you should leave a decent tip, good service = good tip, etc.. <BR><BR>If you are not willing to abide by this then don't burden hard-working servers with your unfair demands based on your ignorance of the industry.<BR><BR>TTT

Mr. Food, By demonstrating your need to let everyone know you are an "investment banker" I'm guessing that either you are really (1) a stockbroker, (2) relatively new to the business so you have an over-inflated sense of your own importance in the process (a common problem amongst associates and analysts; trust me, you are replaceable); or (3) you really work for a commercial bank that likes to think of itself as "an invesment bank." Selling/buying bank loans is not Investment Banking. <BR>At the age of 30, if you are working "over 60 hours a week" you are either not in a very busy area or my assessment above is accurate. When I was 30, working for a firm whose initials are MS, I'd view 60 hours as a short week. <BR>Let me ask you this, have often do you pull an all-nighter?

Mr. Food,<BR>BTW, don't be so damn cheap. Tip at least 15%, ESPECIALLY if you are a regular.

Anyone who calculates (or miscalculates) his tips to the penny is a tightwad who shouldn't be eating out. Mr. Food, working as a teller is not investment banking.<BR><BR>I have not waited tables but I have bartended before and heard the stories from my fellow waiters. I have also helped out in waiting tables during a busy night. The customers who stiff tips or shortchange when services are decent are usually bitter people who have bad family relationships. Stay at the Huddle House.<BR>