Tipping for table service

[Huglife]

Obviously opinions vary on all such issues. And I would be unlikely to tip below 15% except for poor service even at a buffet. However, I would argue that the expectation is 10% at a "minimal service buffet". And while it might not be the server's fault if they provide bad service, all you have to go on is the quality of the service. Since as you rightly point out, the tip is likely shared with many others, reducing that for poor service affects all those involved in the meal, including the individuals who might in fact be responsible for the poor service.

This site sums up the tipping expectations in the US. http://emilypost.com/advice/general-tipping-guide/

That's why I suggest just not "going on the quality of service" and just leaving a flat 20%. If the person is rude, by all means leave less of a tip. But if they have a good attitude and are trying their hardest don't punish them monetarily.

 

[BrianV]

That's why I suggest just not "going on the quality of service" and just leaving a flat 20%. If the person is rude, by all means leave less of a tip. But if they have a good attitude and are trying their hardest don't punish them monetarily.

Good points. I was just trying to say that since the tip is shared many ways, it represents a tip for many people.

Also, if the server is over worked as in your example and has too many tables, a reduced tip is in fact in order. If instead of serving 5 tables and hour, earning $50 in tips, and doing a good job, they suddenly are servicing 10 tables an hour and doing a crummy job, they seem to get a double total tip quantity under your theory.

 

[Jon81uk]

I tend to do 20% at full service restaurants but 15% at buffets. The wait staff is getting drinks and clearing old plates but you're still serving yourself. I don't know if others would consider that appropriate (or extravagant). It seems right to me. But I think lots of things are right that aren't, from what my analyst tells me.

I think waiters at a buffet work just as hard as at a full service. They still need to clear plates from the table, take a drink order, refill the drinks and bring the bill. The only thing they don't do is take the food order and bring the food from the kitchen but at a regular meal I might use three plates (one per course) whereas its not difficult to get through six plates at a buffet if you are sampling many different items, therefore the visits to the table are the same and the servers legs covers a similar difference.

So as long as the drink refills are looked after, I see no reason to tip a lot less at a buffet than at a full service.

However here in the UK it has become common to have soda dispensers at casual restaurants (Pizza Hut for example) so now I fetch my own soda so the waiter has even less to do. But then in the UK tips are a bonus more than a normal thing.

 

[Huglife]

Good points. I was just trying to say that since the tip is shared many ways, it represents a tip for many people.

Also, if the server is over worked as in your example and has too many tables, a reduced tip is in fact in order. If instead of serving 5 tables and hour, earning $50 in tips, and doing a good job, they suddenly are servicing 10 tables an hour and doing a crummy job, they seem to get a double total tip quantity under your theory.

Well if they're doing a crummy job and have a bad attitude then they don't deserve 20%. But if they have double tables and are smiling and working hard to serve all of them and maybe not paying as much attention as if they had five tables, yes, they deserve double. They are doing double work under a higher level of stress. That issue should be taken up with management.

 

[BrianV]

Well if they're doing a crummy job and have a bad attitude then they don't deserve 20%. But if they have double tables and are smiling and working hard to serve all of them and maybe not paying as much attention as if they had five tables, yes, they deserve double. They are doing double work under a higher level of stress. That issue should be taken up with management.

Yes it should be taken up by management by the employee. That is not your job. All you can go on is your experience and the waiter is the face of the restaurant.

All a moot point for me. Rarely if ever have I tipped below 15%

 

[Disney Stine]

If you happen to have a server who you feel their tip should be less than 15%, please make a comment on why. I have been tipped a few times under 15% with nothing but smiling faces at my table and not one clue why my tip was so low. This could be because of poor tipping on the guests end or it could have easily been something I had said or done (which is something I should know of before serving another table - and perhaps giving them inadequate service).
In terms of the overworked staff. This is absolutely not their fault. This is management's fault. This is not the guest's fault and if they don't have adequate service, then a tip should mirror this, but if the service is what you would expect at any other time (meal properly timed, drinks refilled, server smiling, kind, and courteous) then they should be receiving 20% regardless of having 5 tables and standing around restocking or 10 tables and running around to every single table to make sure their meal is up to par.

 

[Weather_Lady]

If you happen to have a server who you feel their tip should be less than 15%, please make a comment on why. I have been tipped a few times under 15% with nothing but smiling faces at my table and not one clue why my tip was so low. This could be because of poor tipping on the guests end or it could have easily been something I had said or done (which is something I should know of before serving another table - and perhaps giving them inadequate service).

I think that 9 times out of 10, if you receive a poor tip, it's because the customers are cheapskates, pure and simple.

I can count on one hand the number of times I've tipped below the standard amount, and it was only in the most egregious of circumstances, where service in areas that the server could control was uniformly awful. (For example, one server got every single one of our orders wrong even though we'd ordered everything exactly as advertised in the menu, never returned to the table again between slamming down our food and delivering our check (which was also wrong, and charged us for things we'd neither ordered nor received) but instead stood in a corner gossiping with other employees, and refused to correct the problems with the orders or deliver missing items even when asked politely by someone who had to leave the table to hunt them down. On another notable occasion, a waitress brought me a flatbread with spoiled shrimp, so rancid that the smell had people at a neighboring table gagging, and insisted that the proper way to correct the problem was for her to remove the shrimps from the flatbread with her fingers and place them on my napkin, after which she insisted that the reeking, slimy flatbread was now "just fine to eat, so go ahead and enjoy your meal." A manager who was passing by overheard the exchange and apologized, but neither the waitress nor the manager offered to remove the spoiled, uneaten food from our table, let alone our bill.) Happily, such experiences are very, very rare.

 

[Phonedave]

I think waiters at a buffet work just as hard as at a full service. They still need to clear plates from the table, take a drink order, refill the drinks and bring the bill. The only thing they don't do is take the food order and bring the food from the kitchen but at a regular meal I might use three plates (one per course) whereas its not difficult to get through six plates at a buffet if you are sampling many different items, therefore the visits to the table are the same and the servers legs covers a similar difference.

So as long as the drink refills are looked after, I see no reason to tip a lot less at a buffet than at a full service.

However here in the UK it has become common to have soda dispensers at casual restaurants (Pizza Hut for example) so now I fetch my own soda so the waiter has even less to do. But then in the UK tips are a bonus more than a normal thing.

Buffet service is easier than full service. A wait person at a full service restaruant (A good wait person) will watch your table. When you are finishing up your apps, they will tell the kitchen to fire your main dish. That way, they can clear your app, and your meal comes out shortly after. They also should be watching your main course to see if desser menus should be brought, as well as checking on drinks. Depending on how the kitchen is set up, servers may finish plating certin dishes as well. They also should be able to answer questions about items on the menu and make recommendations.

Buffet service watches the table, clears plates as necessary, refills drinks, and brings a check. they still deserve a tip, and I do tip them (I tend to overtip too) but they do not have as much work as a full service server. There is no kitchen interaction at all.

 

[P&F&C]

How many ways is the tip usually shared?

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

When determining what an appropriate TIP should be: I always refer to the opening minutes of "Reservoir Dogs" and seek out Mr. Pink for guidance.

 

[Matt Crocker]

I might sound like a typical stingy Brit here but I hate being told what % to tip. A tip is something you leave in exchange for good service. I've had many meals at Disney and 95% of the time have great service and leave a full tip. However I really don't understand servers who give mediocre to poor service for 90 mins and then expect me to give them $60 (based on a meal 3 of us had at Cal Grill once).

Equally when people say - if it's not a great service just give 15% - really?! Cheers for not being a great server, here is $45.

Personally I believe great / good servers should get great tips, those servers who give standard service should get average tips and those who give poor service get low / no tip.

Anyway - I've been a lurker here for 5 years now. I love WDWmagic and really wish my first post was more positive! Please don't flame me too much!

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

I might sound like a typical stingy Brit here but I hate being told what % to tip. A tip is something you leave in exchange for good service. I've had many meals at Disney and 95% of the time have great service and leave a full tip. However I really don't understand servers who give mediocre to poor service for 90 mins and then expect me to give them $60 (based on a meal 3 of us had at Cal Grill once).

Equally when people say - if it's not a great service just give 15% - really?! Cheers for not being a great server, here is $45.

Personally I believe great / good servers should get great tips, those servers who give standard service should get average tips and those who give poor service get low / no tip.

Anyway - I've been a lurker here for 5 years now. I love WDWmagic and really wish my first post was more positive! Please don't flame me too much!

Nothing stingy about your post. It's a cultural thing. In the UK and EU consumer protection laws are in place so that there are no hidden costs. Everything (or most everything) is presented as all-inclusive with no hidden taxes or fees. People are used to seeing a price and deducing that the price they see is the price they are going to pay. We really don't have that here. We are the masters of nickel and dime, and hidden fees and charges. In Europe and the UK the service industry gets paid a decent wage and any TIPS are a supplement to their income. Here, a lot in the service industry get paid below minimum wage and rely on TIPS to make their income.

If I take a cab in Frankfurt, Madrid, or Newcastle-upon-Tyne (where I was last month) and tip the driver..they look at me kind of funny..don't get me wrong, they appreciate it, but it's not the norm for them. A friend of mine in Madrid told once never to tip unless someone had provided exemplary service. Leaving 5 or 10 EUR on a 100 to 150 EUR bill at a restaurant is completely acceptable. Here it is considered cheap. It's all cultural.

 

[jaklgreen]

How many ways is the tip usually shared?

Depends on the restaurant. It can be just among the servers if it is a small place or it can all get split between the servers, bar tenders, bussers, and hosts.

 

[daisyduckie]

I tip the same at the buffets as the table service, 20%. They make as many if not more trips to my table at a buffet as they do at a table service restaurant.

 

[sheriffwoody]

If it's just two of you, and you're eating regular table service restaurants (not signature or character or buffet...so stuff with two $$ on the website only), I would budget $20 per meal for tip. You may not even end up needing that much, and then you'll have a little extra to buy snacks with. If you are doing signatures, budget a little more.

I should note, this is me assuming the DDP includes drink, entree and dessert. If it's different, then disregard this. I haven't done the DDP in a few years, so it may have changed.

 

[Jon81uk]

Buffet service is easier than full service. A wait person at a full service restaruant (A good wait person) will watch your table. When you are finishing up your apps, they will tell the kitchen to fire your main dish. That way, they can clear your app, and your meal comes out shortly after. They also should be watching your main course to see if desser menus should be brought, as well as checking on drinks. Depending on how the kitchen is set up, servers may finish plating certin dishes as well. They also should be able to answer questions about items on the menu and make recommendations.

Buffet service watches the table, clears plates as necessary, refills drinks, and brings a check. they still deserve a tip, and I do tip them (I tend to overtip too) but they do not have as much work as a full service server. There is no kitchen interaction at all.

Thats very dependant on the restaurant. At somewhere equivalent to a Disney Signature restaurant, yes I would expect the server to watch the table and alert the kitchen when needed. But at most casual dining places, I expect it to be timed by the kitchen and the computer as servers will have more tables to deal with at that sort of place.

 

[Phonedave]

Thats very dependant on the restaurant. At somewhere equivalent to a Disney Signature restaurant, yes I would expect the server to watch the table and alert the kitchen when needed. But at most casual dining places, I expect it to be timed by the kitchen and the computer as servers will have more tables to deal with at that sort of place.

If you have a GOOD server at a casual dining place, they will override the POS because they are actually doing their job and watching the dininers (and deserving of a good tip). If they are allowing the table turn over algorithim to do the job, well then somtimes you have people waiting, or main dishes comming out 5 minutes after the apps, which equates to sub par service.

Really, many "casual dining" placing are just a notch above fast food anyway. That's not to say that I don't enjoy casual dining chains - I do. But take them for what they are, assembly line production. Really, in places like that, the servers are what humanizes the place, and makes or breaks it.

-dave

 

[jaklgreen]

If you have a GOOD server at a casual dining place, they will override the POS because they are actually doing their job and watching the dininers (and deserving of a good tip). If they are allowing the table turn over algorithim to do the job, well then somtimes you have people waiting, or main dishes comming out 5 minutes after the apps, which equates to sub par service.

Really, many "casual dining" placing are just a notch above fast food anyway. That's not to say that I don't enjoy casual dining chains - I do. But take them for what they are, assembly line production. Really, in places like that, the servers are what humanizes the place, and makes or breaks it.

-dave

I have know several servers that were not allowed to dictate when the kitchen makes the food. They are just able to put in the order. Not saying it is right but this is the reality of some places. The kitchen staff (mostly men) do not want to be told by a "girl" when and how to do their job. Management allows this because they do not want to loose kitchen staff because where I live it is hard to find any help at all. You just do not know what is going on behind the scenes and things are not necessarily in the control of the servers.

 

[GVentola]

When I was starting out as a young adult and dining on my own, I used to give 15%. I thought that's what I was supposed to give (this was in the late 90's, early aughts.) However, a couple of servers who had been perfectly friendly suddenly turned their back on me near the end of my visit. I wondered if I had offended them. Dad told me later that 20% was now expected as a tip, not 15%. (BTW, the restaurants in question were Chili's and Denny's). Nowadays, I give 20%, even at buffets, because I'm so scared of offending the servers. I usually also round the tip up to the next dollar. I'd like to say it's because I'm an Italian-American and we're so generous! But it's really because I'm scared.

 

[BrianV]

When I was starting out as a young adult and dining on my own, I used to give 15%. I thought that's what I was supposed to give (this was in the late 90's, early aughts.) However, a couple of servers who had been perfectly friendly suddenly turned their back on me near the end of my visit. I wondered if I had offended them. Dad told me later that 20% was now expected as a tip, not 15%. (BTW, the restaurants in question were Chili's and Denny's). Nowadays, I give 20%, even at buffets, because I'm so scared of offending the servers. I usually also round the tip up to the next dollar. I'd like to say it's because I'm an Italian-American and we're so generous! But it's really because I'm scared.

This thread is the first I've ever known.that people think 20% is normal. Miss Manners says 15-20% with the higher end for great service and the lower for typical service. I'd be interested to see some print guidelines suggesting otherwise.

That said, usually we don't leave a tip until we leave so I don't know if they turn their backs or not.

By the way, Italian Americans are generally just awesome!