How Much Do You Tip At A Buffet?

[GB]

We have been discussing tipping on another thread, but this questions came up today at lunch. I went out to an Indian buffet. I have always tipped 20% be it a sit down and get served restaurant or a buffet.

Recently I have heard other people saying that at a buffet 10% is considered appropriate.

What do you think? I am especially interested in hearing from people who have worked at a place that had a buffet. Did you expect more than 10%?

 

[tancowgirl2000]

hmm......I never really thought about that one, but all the buffets I have been to I still get a server sitting us, serving drinks, checking on us ect.....why would you tip less if the service is still equal....your choice to go to a buffet.....just my thought

 

[Raine]

Have to agree with ya cowgirl!

 

[KAYLINDA]

After 3 years in business, we put in a buffet. We have both...menu and buffet at all times. When we did...the girls were scared to death they were going to lose tips. But now...they all agree that no matter which one the customer chooses....the tips are about the same.

 

[GB]

all the buffets I have been to I still get a server sitting us, serving drinks, checking on us ect.....why would you tip less if the service is still equal

This is exactly what I was thinking. Actually they probably have to work harder because people go up to the buffet line more than once usually, so that means more dishes to clear.

KAYLINDA, do your girls expect the same tip amount or do they expect less for buffet, but are happy when they get more?

I ask this because some people I know went by the 10% rule and I couldn't understand it at all.

 

[Raine]

Kay, do you have enough business to keep the buffet up the whole time you are open?

The reason I ask was, we did that on the days we are open until 8. However we found that during the slow period, 2:30-5 the food was too hard to keep without suffering the quality. So, now we break down the buffet between 2:30-3 and reset for 5.

 

[Raine]

we have a buffet & menu. Our girls are making pretty good money with most customers eating the buffet. They have even made $100 in one day.

 

[GB]

Raine, do you know if they get a lower percentage for buffet customers though?

 

[Raine]

No I don't think so. One girl had a party of 8, mostly or all eating the buffet and got a $30 tip.

Now if we had the 20% rule applied, her tip would have only been about $14. and if we paid an hourly wage like all other employees(which we don't have, except for a cashier). She would have made $6-10, or what ever we would be paying.

Most of their buffet tips range from $3-5 a table.

 

[Andy M.]

Typically, I only go to Chinese restaurant buffets when I'm eating with my daughter from time to time. We do this because we have different tastes so ordering from the menu for two would be difficult.

When doing the buffet, a waiter still brings and refills water, serves tea, drinks and soup, clears dishes (several times for me), serves dessert, pineapple and fortune cookies. Oh, and he brings the check and takes my money!

I tip around 20%, rounding off to the nearest dollar.

 

[pdswife]

The buffet we go to in town doesn't have waiters who serve drinks or desserts. The only thing they do is clear the dirty dishes away. We pay as we walk in. We don't leave tips there.

 

[Dove]

But they still clear your dishes...It wouldn't hurt to leave a little ssomething.
When I arrived at the Airport in San Diego it was too far for me to walk so my sis asked someone who was standing by a wheelcair if she could use it to take me to the baggage pick up. The person starting pushing it and said "you can tip me as much as you can afford to" I thought that was a little out of line. I don't like to be asked or told I should tip. I could see the baggage area and for most people it wasn't far at all ( my sis is 77 and it wasn't far for her) but my feet hurt too bad if I am on them very long so I needed the chair.Then when we got there she asked me to get up so she could take it back. I guess this is how they make a living but it ticked me off. I had to find another place to sit.

 

[Barbara L]

I don't blame you for being upset Marge. No one should ever ask for a tip. That is just uncouth.

Barbara

 

[KAYLINDA]

KAYLINDA, do your girls expect the same tip amount or do they expect less for buffet, but are happy when they get more?

Yes...I think they do...but we designed it so they could get as much tip as possible. They serve the plates...(they are not "at" the buffet)...they serve cracker and bread baskets...beverages...butters etc.

And to answer your second question....no...we really do not have enough customers in mid afternoon to warrant the buffet....however we keep it open for the stragglers who still want it. We change out dishes as often as needed to keep it looking good...and if it has been one of those "real" slow days....we pull the items that are deep fried and the waitresses tell those stragglers we will have fresh items out in a few minutes. By the time they eat their salads...we can drop in a few pieces of fish....chicken strips...or whatever we pulled... and they will get fresh. We do the same thing close to closing time. We have a sign we use that says fish and chicken will be cooked to order. That way...there is not a lot of throw away at the end of the night.

 

[Maidrite]

Barbara and I always tip except if we get really poor service.

I understand under really poor service you should put down .02 to make a point is this true? I have never done this but if I had really poor serve, I just won't tip.
With that being said most of the time we try to do somewhere between 15 and 20 % and have been known to do much better than that with Very Good serve.
The bottom line I feel is how well are you served, If you go to buy a house and it is run down do you pay the same for it as a brand new home ?
I think there should be a universal chart make with five service points!

poor service 0%
fair service 10%
good service 15%
very good service 20%
Outstanding service 25% or better

Have a rating card at each table customers need to fill out to find the rating. If customer doesn't fill one out charge them 25% tip. This reminds the customer these people work for a living and server that hard work pays off!
This keeps both ends open! Maybe!

 

[pdswife]

Barbara and I always tip except if we get really poor service.

I understand under really poor service you should put down .02 to make a point is this true? I have never done this but if I had really poor serve, I just won't tip.
With that being said most of the time we try to do somewhere between 15 and 20 % and have been known to do much better than that with Very Good serve.
The bottom line I feel is how well are you served, If you go to buy a house and it is run down do you pay the same for it as a brand new home ?
I think there should be a universal chart make with five service points!

poor service 0%
fair service 10%
good service 15%
very good service 20%
Outstanding service 25% or better

Have a rating card at each table customers need to fill out to find the rating. If customer doesn't fill one out charge them 25% tip. This reminds the customer these people work for a living and server that hard work pays off!
This keeps both ends open! Maybe!

Sorry... but, I think I'd pass on eating at a place that made me do paperwork.

 

[Maidrite]

I understand that, I guess there is no real answer to this. I am torn and understand all sides of the coin. But its not Fair to a server that works hard at they're job to get the same as someone who gives poor service. Also what about the cooks they make the food, what if they do a really good job but the server doesn't or viceversa? Its a which came first the chicken or the egg, but worse!

 

[tancowgirl2000]

You know Maidrite...if the food was good and the service the pits, you could always ask to speak to a manager....or just to speak to the cook him/herself and tip them yourself, then you know they got it......I've worked in the feild and I can see what you mean....

 

[Claire]

Leaving pennies are a traditional insult in response to truly lousy service. I mean truly lousy. Not just negligent, or the restaurant was too busy with too few servers. I think we all can understand that, and while we may not tip the top of our scale, will at least leave something decent. Seriously, the restaurant I worked at had a bus-boy who was stealing the waitresses tips. If you leave nothing, sometimes your server doesn't even know they did something wrong, just that you were inebriated or were negligent or just plain are a stingly old orifice. The pennies send a message, so don't leave pennies by accident!

Buffets vary so much that it's impossible to give a rule of thumb. I've been to buffets where I do everything but wash the dishes. Don't see why you should tip if there is no table service at all. On the other hand I've been to buffets where my champagne and water glasses at brunch were topped off at virtually every sip, and my dishes disappeared and cleaned ones appeared if I even thought about seconds, and where falmbeed dishes were made fresh as you walked up to the line, and omlettes, blintzes, etc, were made to order. There's a big difference and the tip should reflect the amount of service. I agree that at a restaurant where there is a buffet line, but the wait staff do the same amount of work for a table that orders and one where people use the buffet, the tiip should be the same. It's for services rendered, right?

 

[Claire]

Couldn't resist. One very high-end champagne brunch place we went to had it all. We loved it, and had taken my parents there for a special holiday dinner (they were visiting for the holidays from out-of-state). We were really looking forward to it, and got a waiter who absolutely ignored us. I mean seriously. We were seated by the hostess, introduced to him, and never saw him again. At all. We asked several others on the staff what happened, and he was waiting on a table of college girls from William and Mary (read: Cute, Young, and Rich) and ignoring all his other tables. The other wait staff pitched in and took care of our table to the nines.

When the time came to leave, we gave each of the waiters/waitresses 20% tip before leaving. (this was one of those work-intensive buffets I'm referring to). The waiter had resurfaced on time to hand us our bill, which we paid, then walked around the room looking for the servers who really worked our table and paying them personally. This was back in the years where 15% was considered extravagent, and 10% normal. There are ways of sending messages.