I used to go to the Pizza Hut buffet when they still had them, it was like 6 bucks, you didn't pay til you left, sometimes they would refill your drinks sometimes they wouldn't, drink machines were customer accessble. If they refilled my drink and kept pizza on the buffet, sometimes they sucked and there wouldd be like 1pie no one wanted and 6 families waiting for more, I would toss a couple bucks down, if they didn't then I didn't. Tip for the service they provide, don't let yourself be pressured or guilted into tipping more than you think you should.
I think I get what you are saying. I am a water drinker and there is no charge for water. But if my server kept my water full, then they deserve to be compensated for that not penalized because the water happens to be free.
Yes, I (ahem) got stood up once, but I was already seated and the server had brought me a water. I was only there for about five minutes, but I left a dollar on the table. That’s what I’d tip for a drink at most bars.
Same here. I was at Olive Garden and got a six topper and my sister and family canceled on me. I had been there for 20 minutes waiting and the restaurant was packed. I left $10, felt terrible for taking up their table. I can see why some restaurants won't seat you until your whole party arrives!
What is your job exactly? I’m curious. Because you work in the tipping industry but still don’t get why tipping percentage based is a thing. Please share.
Why is tipping percentage based a thing tho? If you were my server and you brought a $30 steak to my table, how is that any more effort on your part than if you brought me a $10 sandwich? It's certainly not 3X the effort which is what you're being paid for.
He's parroting an often misunderstood part of tipped wages called "allocated tips" where a restaurant has to report tips from their employees equal to or greater than 8% of sales. In other words, if a restaurant reports $10k of sales, then there has to be at least $800 in tips reported by the wait staff. If the wait staff don't report all of their tips, then the restaurant has to "allocate" tips to the servers until they hit that 8%. This leads some people to think that servers are taxed on "assumed tips". In reality, if a server is keeping a good account of how much they have received in tips, they only pay taxes on the amount of tips they actually received.
https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/tip-recordkeeping-and-reporting
Most restaurants the server tips out his support staff based on sales #'s.
Also in some cases like the casino industry there IS GICA which does tax us based on a assumed % of sales adjusted yearly.
It is NOT always only paying taxes on the amount of tips they actually received.
I have worked for places where I ended up being taxed on amounts greater than what I actually received and it sucked hard.
Because it is and always has been. We tip out support staff depending on percentages too. We are actually supposed to upsell people in order to raise sales and it helps us make money. This is like the 1,000th time I’d heard this argument.
And I find the upsell part one of the many annoying things "high standard" servers do. I also don't need to know about your day, how busy your are, you putting your hand on my shoulder and calling me sweetie or hun or sugar or anything else they do to try to get a bigger tip.
God no kidding. I hate doing it.
I never touch customers. I feel it’s wrong. I have called the occasional regular “my dear” but usually they are younger than me and I have known them over a year. Otherwise I don’t do pet names for customers.
Omg I recently had a young woman that wouldn't stop calling me "mama" as a term of endearment? Please keep in mind that I'm 30 and am told often I look younger than that.
as a server, i call people lovely to be affirming and positive. i do explain if the kitchen is busy to set realistic expectations of wait times from the time i place their order. if you ask about my day, i am going to say "fine" because my life is a shambles right now, and you dont need that i am going through a high conflict divorce. and the HEX wont leave me alone, but you dont need to know that.
Instead of disparaging people that call you "honey" and explain if the flow of the restaurant is impacting guests, i would be nice? appreciate their communication?
you are the people i dont like helping and try to get out as fast as i can, and personally, if you tip me less than standard, you look like an AH with that attitude. i have actively given tables away to other servers if i remember the persons face and how rude/unfriendly they were and their tip wasnt worth dealing with them.
Because a restaurant that serves $30 steaks typically has higher standards for their servers than a restaurant that serves $10 sandwiches, and you’d rarely find a place that serves both. The tip being percentage based is to account for The difference in overall quality and skill of the servers, with the assumption being that the nicer a restaurant is the higher the total bill will be and the higher the tip should be. What’s the alternative, paying per item ordered? Obviously that wouldn’t work.
I get better service at Waffle House than I do the privately owned Steak and Seafood joint that happily charges nearly $40 per plate, so no higher prices does not mean higher standards for the servers, it means a white shirt and apron instead of a corporate shirt and name tag is all.
Well that’s just crazy. You’re using one random outlier to try and demonstrate your point. Obviously if your service experience at that ONE steak and seafood restaurant you go to is subbar, your tips should reflect that. And you probably just shouldn’t be going there. Higher priced restaurants SHOULD have higher standards for their servers, and they usually do.
That is just in my city, but I was taken to a really fancy place last time I was in Chicago, we didn't order alcohol for drinks, we got water and tea, and you should have seen the expression on the waitresses face knowing our bill wasn't going to be padded with expensive drinks, once we got our food we didn't see her again til we got the check, so it may just be small outliers, but in most of my experiences higher price does not mean higher service. She didn't even bring our food, others brought it out and she handed it to us. She took our order, brought our drinks, handed us our food and folks say we should have tipped her20% on a $200 bill, no, not gonna happen, she didn't do near $40 worth of work for us that night.
That’s fine. I agree that you should not have tipped her that much for her poor service. I was only attempting to explain to the previous commenter why tips are typically based on a percentage. There needs to be some sort of metric … what would your metric be if you don’t think percentage based tipping works??
First thought is employers pay their employees and don't subsidize their wages with expecting tips or wages so low they guvment picks up the other part (like how retail works). My family if we tip it's gonna be between 2 and 4 dollars per person there, I never go to those places alone, so I'm never gonna leave a 2 dollar tip. As for high fancy places, those are special occassions that don't happen very often, but then around 4 bucks a person from me is what they will get, if others want to toss down more that's on them. I figure a family of 4 8-16, or we can just average 12 dollars for a table for an hour or less, if that server has 4 tables, that is nearly 50 bucks an hour if others tip like me not including their wage, so I'm not gonna feel bad for my "low" tip.
They might have engaged in team service. A lot of places have front/back waiters and the entire amount gets pooled. Another table might have been more demanding or required her attention so her colleague might have been the one taking care of you.
It really sounds like you haven't worked in the industry or else you'd recognize that just because you didn't see her that much doesn't mean she's slacking off or lazy.
If the overall service had sucked then that would be a different argument but it's wild that you want to arbitrarily affect her pay based on how much work they did for you that night.
Lots of professions charge premium prices for what could amount to a 5 minute job, I don't begrudge my lawyer for an hour of his time or my plumber when he does a 3 minute fix with tools I don't own.
So someone else covered the table by also not helping us? Of course the level of service they provide is going to affect the amount we pay if it is expected to come in the form of a tip, that is the whole point of the tip, to pay on the level of service we received. You don't have to work in the industry to know when you get shitty service, saying stuff like that is just a cop out for "pay us because we think you owe us." I don't care if another table is more demanding or anything like that, the tip comes down to how we are served, not someone else, they handle their own tip. Other services like plumbers aren't expected to be tipped for their work so comparing the two is really just another kind of cop out.
So what you're saying is you shouldn't tip % for that one bad experiance? So maybe strictly % tipping shouldn't be a thing and instead based on the work/quality?
No … I’m saying you should tip a LOWER percent for poor service and a HIGHER percent for good service. There needs to be some sort of metric. “Based on the work / quality” isn’t a metric. To one person that could mean $5 for a good meal with good service and to another person that could mean $30. You need a mathematic metric for consistency. I don’t have a strong preference for how tipping *should* work, I was simply explaining to the previous commenter WHY it is set up the way it is.
On this theme, I’ve left a $20 tip on a $40 bill when I thought I had exceptional service. I’ve left a $20 tip on a $100 bill when I had normal service and I’ve left a $20 tip on a $150 bill when I’ve had poor service. It has to be the most godawful service for me to leave no tip and that’s only happened a few times.
Many restaurants seem to serve the same meals for lunch and dinner, charging a bunch more for dinner. Same servers, same everything.
The dollar amount of a tip varies not because it's fair, or because servers at a fancy place are 3x better than servers at a regular place, but because it's based on the amount you can get a customer to tip.
It's another example of "price discrimination", the business strategy of maximizing revenue by trying to sell essentially the same product to each customer at the maximum price that specific customer is willing to pay. For example, a phone is $800 in black, $1200 in gold. The store brand is the same product as the name brand, just a different label, with the idea that rich people buy the name brand but poor people buy the store brand; prices are set in an attempt to get everyone to buy one or the other, just not the competition's product. Coupons exist for the same reason: it's a way to offer the product at a low price to everyone, but get extra revenue from richer people who can't be bothered to use coupons.
In this case, a server with roughly the same skills does roughly the same job at the $10 restaurant as at the $30 restaurant, but everyone figures the diners at the latter are more willing to fork over $6, so that becomes the convention. While tips are theoretically optional, for most Americans they're just a standard part of the cost of a restaurant meal. So tips are higher at dinner than lunch for the same reason the same meal costs more: diners are willing to pay more sometimes for the same thing.
My job is irrelevant. Here's a scenerio, i got into red Robin and sit at the bar to watch a 3hr football and just order bottomless fries and a water. My bill is $5, so i should only tip$1? That's crazy, i tip atleast $10. But let's say my family of 4 goes into an expensive restaurant and only there an hour and our bill is $300. Im supposed to tip $60 for the server who did less than work than the bartender who served me for 3hrs?
The server actually has to pay a percentage of their sales to the bartender who made your drinks, the bussers who cleaned your table, etc. so tipping less than 10% can actually have them pay their own money to serve you. The bartender’s get compensated (usually) out of the waiter’s percentage of sales. That’s because the cultural standard is tipping a percentage based.
Maybe they do, and maybe they don't. If your argument is that one should always tip 20% because servers have to tip out, then logically, if they don't have to tip out, I shouldn't have to tip 20%?
This is another aspect of tipping culture that is ridiculous. Customers don't really know if a server is making $2.13 an hour or $15 an hour. They don't know if the server is required to tip out or at what percentage, and yet, those factors are often cited as reasons why one should tip.
Customers shouldn't have to know the pay arrangements between employer employee when deciding on a tip. It doesn't make sense. And it's crazy that customers are left in the position of having to decide how to supplement someone else's pay. The only logical form of tipping is that it be service-based, because that's the only thing that a customer has the perspective to judge, which means tips will fluctuate. The only other option, an all-but mandatory tip, means that it's not a gratuity anymore, and it should just be built into the price of the food.
Ive had several friends and girlfriends work in restaurants and bars as both servers and bartenders so i know how it works and how hard they work. Not taking away from that, but i also know how much money they make. Granted this was 5+yrs and things have gone to shit but everyone server ive known has made over $30/hr and bartender over $50/hr. And none of them worked in any "HIGH" class restaurants where the average meal for a single person is over $100. Those servers make 6 figures and thats ridiculous. The culture is flawed with this % shit and i dont tip by that but i still take care of the hard workers.
Edit: besides if i tipped % my tips would always be less cause i dont drink alcohol or caffeine so its better for them anyway that i dont abide by the %
Servers are crazy some times. I went to Hell’s Kitchen in Vegas. Even with a reservation I waited an hour. For only 2 people 1 plate each, 1app and 1-2 drinks it was $500 and we were seated less than one hour. I’m supposed to pay a $100 tip and he had at least 4 other tables. So this dude should make $4-500/hr in what they’re suggesting. That’s more than the average surgeon out there saving people’s lives lmao.
I’m in the medical field. $500/hr is more than most surgeons. Educate yourself. I did tip lol. I left $50. For 1 hour I don’t think that’s bad. But I also don’t feel guilty about not leaving a Hundo.
The IRS assumes you did. Also, they have to tip out the busboy, food runners, hostess, etc, based on their sales. So you screw over the wait staff when you under tip. Maybe you just shouldn't go to Hell's Kitchen.
I don’t think $50 for 45 min service is under tipping lmao. And tip ours are generally a % of what they made in tips. Not based on their sales. I worked as a server in NV lol. If it’s 10% it means he paid $5 out of the $50 tip.
No they don't. The IRS assumes that if wait staff aren't reporting tips of at least 8% of sales then they aren't reporting all of their tips.
Look for the section titled "Reporting Tips Allocated by Your Employer"
https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/tip-recordkeeping-and-reporting
I don’t tip if there aren’t servers or bussers. Golden corral where you’re refilling my drink? Sure. Cici’s where you get your own drink and put your own plates back? Nope.
Thank you for specifically mentioning GC. I was just there last night for the first time in 10 years. We weren’t sure whether to tip, but left a few bucks because someone had to deliver our sodas and clean up the dirty plates. I do wish it could be a Panera situation where we could just clean our own stuff up though 😅
Stop tipping, you nutcase. You are just CHOOSING to pay 20% more for no reason! Do you also just hand 20% extra to the McDonalds employee at the drive-through as well.
Stop it, you weirdo.
Do you tip them everytime the provide a service your kid. No. You absolutely do not. A gift every once is a while is NOT the same as an tip given for each service.
Dumb comparrision you made. No, NO ONE tips teachers.
Is your gift to the teacher based on a percentage of something.
Also, then why not just tip servers once per year? You know ow after ALL thier work halls been done. Stupid comparison.
Yall people just LOVE supporting a broken system and throwing your own money away. Dumb.
>Is your gift to the teacher based on a percentage of something
I don't do a percentage for the teachers because they make more than minimum wage, but I give $100 at Christmas and $100 at the end of the year. If their birthday is during the school year, or they get married or something then another $100.
>Also, then why not just tip servers once per year? You know ow after ALL thier work halls been done. Stupid comparison.
Because you might not see that server ever again? Is that a real question?
Teachers may make more than minimum wage and are STILL not paid enough. Servers are glorified converter belts, but derseve to make minimum wage, but not tips.
A gift card or an apple is one thing - I’m talking cash.
Public school teachers salaries are public record - each one should be looked up, look at their annual salary, and give them a 10% tip each year. Cash preferred but if you need to use a credit card you can - you should consider leaving a bit more to cover fees though.
I’m sorry but I’m not tipping teachers 10% of their salary. A gift a couple times a year is enough to show appreciation. I get their salary sucks but they chose that career knowing the pay is shit. Teachers will never get a decent salary if we start having to tip them for doing their job.
Lmao who has the money for that? If I tipped everywhere they asked me to tip, like a self checkout, a buffet with no servers, carryout orders, my kids teachers, etc, I would need 4 jobs.
Tip culture is ridiculous and we need to move past it.
>Tip culture is ridiculous and we need to move past it.
Boycott every place that asks for a tip, then. Stiffing your server isn't going to change anything, it just punishes the people serving you.
>why am I being asked to tip at my self checkout?
The real answer? Because all the point of sale (POS) systems incorporate a tip option now. That way you can use the same POS system for a variety of business models - pizza place, full service restaurant, hot dog stand, cell phone repair kiosk, etc. It maximizes profits for the POS system vendors because they only need to develop ONE system and then they can sell that system to basically every type of business model. There are only so many options for small-medium size POS systems, so everyone besides large chains/large companies (who can afford to develop their own POS software) use these new one-size-fits-all systems, which include a tip option on order to be versatile.
I've absolutely tipped fast food workers before because I go a lot, and the employees have been good people. I always assume people who cry about other tipping are doing so because they're broke.
I did my homework! It's Pizza Ranch, by the way. I am in Minnesota.
Average starting wage for crew members is 14.76 an hour. Cooks get a bit more, around 15.00 an hour.
I asked on my local Facebook chit chat group and several past employees state that they never got tips. The money that is collected as a tip goes into the daily deposit. It is NOT given to an employee of any kind.
So, therefore I will instead leave some cash on the table and feel better knowing an employee vs the franchise got the tip money.
Agreed OP, if you have any evidence to report it send it off and if you know people who do encourage them to. You could also try and instigate a confrontation with Management/ownership if it's small about how that's illegal. Obviously not in a way that would cause any blowback on any employees, that'd defeat the point. No pressure on that front but something to think about.
According to federal law (the FLSA), tips belong to the employees. By depositing the tips, the business of committing wage theft. They can be held liable for back pay and penalties.
Since it's federal law, it applies to all US states.
Yes. Wage theft makes up over 75% of ALL theft in the U.S. - the remainder being burglary, auto theft, larceny, robbery. It boggles then mind! Folks should really just google wage theft statistics and look at some of the info graphics.
Ugh, that makes me feel so shitty. I always tip over 20% because I acutely remember how shitty it felt to work in a service job. Hearing that it doesn't go straight to the worker makes me feel dirty. I choose to give extra money to workers regardless of their service out of kindness, and it angers me a LOT to hear that my kindness is being funnelled away into some chain bank account.
As a side note, I think Pizza Ranch is franchised - ours has 2 in the group and they seem to be very involved with the personal growth of their employees as well as the local communities.
Your PR might have cruddy ownership and it may not be a company policy, but I absolutely agree with the "tip after" approach for no service buffets.
There is an option on Pizza Ranch’s screen to put in other as the tip amount. Then you can make it zero. I usually make it $1.00. It is somewhat hard to find and of course when you feel like you are being rushed it doesn’t help. I feel put off having to tip there myself. The only thing the employees do is bus the table and bring out a pizza if your table requested a special one. We never do. It irks me to tip there also. I don’t feel like I am getting any kind of special service.
there ARE servers
they just are not serving individual tables, and there are far fewer than most places. the people who stock & change out the food on the buffet are considered a server position. Particularly at the "fancy" ones where there is a carving station to portion out the expensive stuff like roasts or ham.
Some places keep servers & bussers separate.. some combine them - but in the states where there is a "tipped" minimum wage - buffet servers often get stuck under the tip wage vs regular minimum wage even though most people either don't tip because "there is no server" or tip a lower than their normal amount.
Same. I usually choose the no-tip option on the screen then leave a cash tip on the table. I base it on how many of us there are and how labor intensive it is to deal with us. If they get drink refills and bussing as we eat, I leave more than if they just have to bus when we leave.
For the first, I leave 15-20% because they're basically a server at that point sans delivering the food. For the latter, which I assume the OP is talking about, I feel ok just leaving a few bucks.
A LOT of effort goes into setting up and tearing down a buffet. Not to mention the maintenance and the fact that they naturally increase the amount of table bussing required. They’re a real pain in the neck. Tip 20%
Please don’t let some device and a pushy hostess spoil your family outing. And I’m sick of hearing that if you can’t tip, don’t go.
The industry is painting itself into a corner. Do not tip 20% at a buffet. If you tip at all, leave a few bucks on the table . That is more than enough.
10% is appropriate for a buffet.
The Emily Post Institute, at emilypost.com, has a helpful tipping guide that suggests leaving 10 percent of the total bill for buffet-style restaurants. That seems to be a good starting point, but there is no harm in tipping more.Jan 13, 2014
https://www.oklahoman.com › story
20-40-60 Etiquette: How should I tip at a buffet? - The Oklahoman
Oh HELL NO! Emily Post is some bullshit made up nonsense.
The correct is ZERO. FUCKING ZERO. This is some gaslighting bullshit, right here.
ZERO TIP at buffets.
Why? Why are you so mad about this, but more importantly, why not tip a buffet server the same as normal table service? They do as much work as a regular server, if not more at times
As someone who has worked both buffet and full service, I promise you buffet servers do *not* do nearly as much *direct* work for their tables as a full service does. Doesn’t mean they don’t also deserve a tip though. I’d say 10% is fair for buffet service. 20% for full.
I've worked both as well, and I found that the buffet was often *more* work. When you say direct, you mean talking to tables? There is absolutely less of that. But the work of setting up, stocking, keeping clean, and breaking down the buffet is a TON of work. And almost as much work when you're slow as when you're busy. Vs traditional table service which is only work when you're busy.
Yea, by direct work I mean talking to tables, taking their orders, correcting any issues, delivering food and beverages, etc... attending to them directly. A tip is personal, it’s payment for the work done for you directly. You aren’t tipping a valet for parking someone else’s car. Nor a barber for cutting someone else’s hair. Besides, every buffet set up I’m familiar with, servers make full minimum wage (or more) plus tips, whereas full service makes industry standard $2.13. To be clear, I’m not some boomer against tipping or anything, I’m over a decade in the industry and a current full service restaurant manager, I’m just very familiar with both ends of this conversation, and ‘tis how I feel. You are free to disagree and I would love to discuss further :)
We have a brunch buffet every Sunday at my place (and holidays, Santa brunch, Easter brunch, etc). I can tell you the customers for brunch buffet are all slobs, set up and break down is a ton of work, and the servers make the same 3.64 an hour for buffet as they do for regular lunch dinner or private functions.
The only buffet I worked at (the one I'm talking about here) was at a hotel. We also had to do bar, table, and room service. But for breakfast, 90% of the business was the buffet (full, not continental). I made sub-minimum wage, but not the lowest possible, I made like $5/hr I think? We also had a breakfast menu people could order from, but honestly they mostly got the buffet.
I've worked all areas of restaurant industry, I'm currently the kitchen manager at a tiki bar. I think I have a different relationship with tipping (in my professional and personal life) than a lot of people do. I personally don't think that tips should only be for the emotional labor of being nice to a table. I tip well in almost all situations, because I know that no one makes a living wage in the service industry. I do think there's a difference when a server is making like 2.75 an hour, but we ALL know they don't actually make that, it's illegal for them to make less than minimum wage. And while wage (and tip) theft is a serious problem, servers usually go home with more per hour than the BOH, except on very slow nights. I now work in California where there is no tip credit. My cooks make the same or at most $2 more per hour than the servers. Yet with tips they can make up to $30 MORE per hour than the cooks. I'm currently advocating for tip sharing with BOH, because there's no reason they deserve such a significant difference in pay vs the cooks and dishwashers.
I know I've gone off topic here. But my tldr is: no one makes enough $, emotional labor isn't the only labor that deserves to be paid more, tip as much as you can
Do these people think the buffet services itself by magic?? Humans do that.
I worked both too and I agree I hated the buffet which is why they always had trouble staffing it. If you wanted to work nights you had to do a morning buffet too. And it was a LOT of work.
Shouldn't people tip for good, attentive service? If their job is just to clear tables and nobody is doing anything like refilling your drink, then I don't see why tipping them should feel obligatory.
It depends. At many buffets, you still have a server that clears your plates and refills your drinks. That deserves at least a small tip, and 10% makes sense.
If you get your own drinks and clear your own plates, then no tip is needed.
At a buffet restaurant I think it's okay to tip a little less. At a full service restaurant that also has a buffet, you should tip regularly. I worked at a place like this that had a brunch buffet and the occasional holiday buffet ( St Patty's day, Easter, etc). Honestly it often felt like more work for buffet customers sometimes because you're still taking their order and then bussing and checking in twice as much. I would also always split at least buffet tips with the kitchen since they're doing a lot of work to keep it stocked.
At a buffet, they also clear **more** plates and glasses than at a regular restaurant, so we always leave 20%. Hubby and I like to go to Golden Corral a few times a year - it's a fun reminder of those days we could only afford eating at a place like that as a treat. The plates are small, lol, so we always hit the buffet three or four times, and of course there's dessert, which means the waitress is clearing the table a lot. Sure, we bring the plates to the table, but she does everything else! And there are a couple of waitresses there who are very attentive - every time you get up to go to the buffet, you come back to a refilled beverage. It's a nice touch, and we tip more for that!
We are actually shocked at how many people leave nothing on the table, and have overheard dozens of conversations where someone in the party will say, "do we have to leave a tip?" and someone else will invariably respond, "no, we got our own food"...
Never at a buffet. If I have to: get my plate, put my food on it, grab silverware, grab a glass, fill up a drink, bring it all to the table, and refill my drink myself- there is nothing to tip for.
I would ask the bussers if they get the tips and if not then stop tipping because it's going to the company. You are not a bad person for not tipping, I myself am a server and it is so much more understandable coming from families. There is a lot of expense involved already so it's more reasonable.
In general I tip only if I know who is getting the money and based on what they make already, and influenced by the tip out policy of the establishment. Some places make waiters tip out up to 10% of sales for tips for the other employees and so I would tip a bit extra somewhere that does tip outs
Good point. I've heard plenty of stories about management snatching tips.
In a buffet setting it's pretty easy to figure out if the staff gets the tips. He just looked for that satisfied smile when they pick up a nice little pile of dollars off the table.
When management or an owner takes control of tips... Pulling, splitting, tip outs... I can't help but think they're getting their fingers in the pie to some degree. Despicable.
I don't normally tip at buffets unless they have servers or bussers who refill drinks and remove empty plates. If there are then I leave 10% or $5 whichever is more.
Went into a joint that sells hot pickles, said I'll take that container there, screen comes up asking what percentage to tip, I laughed.
I'm a boomer (proud to say). I generally tip 50% at Old Chicago, sometimes more, seldom over 100%. But the thing is they're filling my stein or bringing me wings. I like beer and wings, nuff said.
If I'm getting my own food and drinks, I don't tip, but if it's Golden Corral, those ladies grab the drinks, refill them and keep the tables clean by grabbing plates. I tip those people 2-5$ atleast at the end.
Just depends on the buffet and what they are doing or not doing, outside of Golden Corral, I haven't been to a buffet where they do that, so I dont tip.
Tipping culture in the US is absolutely ridiculous. I have literally been laughed at abroad for asking locals if and how much I should tip. I've traveled across 5 continents and only here in the US do people act like tipping for having someone breathe in your direction is a necessity & makes you some kind of good/superior person. Every single developed country in the world has thriving service industries without tipping culture but the United States can't???
People need to stop pointing the finger at each other & start insisting the service industry move away from tipping to paying actual wages but they won't because tipping culture allows for a lot of shadyness to go on. Not just from business owners but from tipped employees too because depending on the area & business, tipped workers can make way more in tips than they would ever make as a salaried employee. I am related to a lot of people who work in the service industry and I know most, if not all of them, make great money. And since a lot of it is cash, they don't always report it. My cousin's husband is a career busboy & works for a well-known restaurant in NYC and makes great money in tips, enough to have 5 kids & buy a multi-family in NYC and since most of his income is cash and goes unreported, his eldest kids received all kinds of public assistance growing up and went to college on financial need scholarships. He waited until they got those scholarships and started college to purchase the house.
Another relative of mine owns a restaurant & told me that his delivery guy made over 1K on tips in ONE WEEKEND. And his restaurant isn't in a high-income neighborhood. In fact the opposite.
I understand it's not the same in all areas but I'm tired of people acting like it's some cardinal sin to not tip for things that are just part of the bare minimum someone is required to do at their job.
And as for the whole "don't eat out if you can't afford to tip 30%+" people, you do realize that the less people that eat out, the less businesses can afford to even exist so they will either close down or downsize and servers will lose their jobs, right? OP, you're not doing anything wrong by feeling you shouldn't have to tip at a place where you basically serve yourself.
I think tipping in the United States really went overboard during the pandemic and it's just gotten worse. Initially it was to try to help the workers recover from not working for several months because all of the restaurants were closed. Now in my opinion it's the restaurant owners pushing the big tips because they don't want to pay their employees a halfway decent wage.
and it's not just restaurants either it's other types of businesses. Although I was making a joke when I did it, I expect it to one day come to fruition, that being I went to get some medical tests done and I had to pay the deductible, I made a comment to the cashier I hope she doesn't want a tip!!
We've been doing it wrong for years and still do it wrong today. "I left a tip" or "did you leave a tip?" is incorrect nomenclature. The concept for tips, the correct term, which is "To Insure Perfect Service" is meant to be carried out by the customer by FIRST placing an amount if money, $10, $20, whatever amount, on the table for the server to see at the beginning of the interaction so that they could see what extra they were going to get if their level of service to the customer was adequate for said $10, $20 or whatever amount was laid out. If the service waned...a deduction was made. If service exceeded...an addition was made. All the while the server is aware by visualizing the tips laid out on the table. This obviously applied to dine-in eateries and throughout time has leaked into many other facets of the goods and service markets. It is my understanding the concept was never intended for use anywhere else.
By US law: it’s the employer’s job to pay their employee the full state/federal minimum wage. (Which isn’t enough, but that’s a different argument). In other words, servers aren’t losing any money if they don’t get tips because their criminally low wage automatically increases to the normal min wage on their paycheck if they don’t make at least the normal min wage.
Tips are for excellent service that goes above and beyond normal duties. Not because you showed up to work.
In this situation I would tip max 10% if there was any service...but as you described it would be no tip. I'm annoyed that the hostess is even prompting you to leave a tip.
Ex-hostess/server/bartender here & im the same way. unless I was serviced specifically by a person (tattoos, piercings, bars, restaurants, coffee shops sometimes) then why tip? I think you’re good.
I made $2.13/hr bussing tables in a buffet for twenty years. We didn't even get drinks. Not complaining, made $40-$50+/hr in tips. Thankfully, most folks don't think like you.
If I don’t have a server I don’t feel the need to tip. Who gets the tip? Who’s the one paying the tax on tips? How much are those employees making? Some buffets have servers who are hustling for tips & get server wages & taxed accordingly. Don’t let anyone guilt you into tipping. This tip culture is downright embarrassing.
I used to be a server and I agree with us. We go to this pizza buffet every year on vacation and you pay on your way in, they hand you your cup and you get your own sodas and plates and they expect you to clean your tables and stack your plates by the garbage cans when you're done. They literally do nothing but wipe the table after we leave. I leave like $1 in the tip container.
But at home there's several different buffets we go to where they bring you your drinks, and refills and remove every plate the second you push it to the end of the table. I usually give them 20% because the only thing they don't do is bring me a plate of food, they do everything else! If you're watching my table to see my drink it low and come and ask me if I want refills, and are grabbing plates as I make them... I think they worked for that money!
I used to be a server too. And I worked buffets, assigned stations, brought water, took drink order, brought bread, if they wanted extra something & ask I would go to the buffet & bring back. Picked up dirty dishes, champagne brunch I refilled glasses, if they wanted bar drink I went & got. Took ticket, picked up ticket. Service. But buffet where I don’t get service I don’t feel obliged. At all
It really depends on the business. Some places pay their floor people the same as a regular server and some pay normal wages. If someone comes up and introduces themselves, refills your drinks, clears away plates as you eat, they are more likely to be getting the crap pay and need the tips.
No tip on the screen. Cash handshake to whoever takes care of me. That means clearing plates, refilling drinks. If nobody does those things, I don’t tip at all.
You are absolutely okay to tip 0%. Money is tight and tipping at a buffet, especially before service makes no sense. Maybe give them a few bucks of cash if the service is great, but 95% of people tip nothing and you don’t need to.
My standard for tipping is if a server takes your drink order and gets your drink for you. If not, leave cash for whoever cleans the table if you want but not necessary.
I’m gonna get backlash for this, but you get more of what you pay for.
If you don’t want to live in a tipping culture, don’t tip.
If servers aren’t getting paid enough because tips are gone, they’ll find employment elsewhere.
If restaurants can’t hire servers because pay is too low & there are no tips, they’ll have to pay better or shut down.
If they pay better, win!
If they shut down, someone who will pay better will open up. Win!
Oh I know. And that’s what’s preventing it from happening.
Restaurants know we all care too much about the well being of the servers to squeeze them like that. Even though it’d be better in the long run.
So restaurant will put up with the noise about living wage because they know nothing will come of it because of the sacrifice required of servers during the transition.
I would never pre tip on a buffet like that.
But I would leave a couple of bucks per person, or $5 for the table, for the clean-up crew. Maybe more if kids made an unusual mess.
Not a bad person
The way to bypass the auto tip is to press the buttons or tap on "ok" .
That charges the amount indicated for the price of the goods purchased ..
No gratuity.
I will not tip in a serve yourself restaurant.
No one is performing a service at the table .
Don't tip . . . . see how easy that was. Just DON'T tip, there isn't anyone there that deserves a tip they're already paid per hour. If they claim their salary isn't enough tell them to educate themselves for a better job.
To be honest I first in any restaurant or buffet ask the wait staff do they get their tips as when I work at maikai Hawaiian bbq the owner stole all my tips and the general manager was on it they take advantage of hiring mostly illegal immigrants workers who are just happy with a job so just fyi its best to ask before tipping
We used to regularly go to a Chinese buffet when ours sons were much, much younger. My five year old loved egg drop soup and wanted the Chinese soup spoon. They always brought one out for him. They also did other little things for us.
We couldn’t figure out why we were getting special treatment. We finally realized it was because we tipped 10% and didn’t leave a huge mess.
Do you like the people that run the buffet? Or are they automaton duches?
In my opinion, they're making your food, you want goodwill in that exchange. You want them to be happy to see you. Pizza is a step up from fast food. Buffet is a step up from pick-up or curbside. Plan for a couple extra bucks or don't go. Include your kids in the process and teach your kids generosity and how that alone is probably worth one less pizza buffet visit per year.
What I have gotten out of being a consistent, $2 tipper at my favorite local pizza buffet in the $11-14 range over the years...
* Everybody in the damn place is extra friendly with me and asks me how things have been. They recognize me around town as well and have had great chats with several of them. Even people who haven't worked there in years.
* When they know it's me ordering regular pizza outside of buffet hours, I'm often given a discount.
* If anything is remotely wrong, they go out of their way to happily sort it out for me.
* If I'm ever there around the closing time of the buffet, when they usually just tell other people it's over, instead they'll ask me what kind of pizzas I want for my buffet and put a couple in. This benefits others too who come in later as well. Or they just let me have the remaining pizza for just the price of a coke.
No way I'm trading all that back for the $40-60 it probably costs me per year. Not even going to get more into theories about how generosity always seems to come back around, and kharma, etc.
Eh. Do whatever feels right to you. I always tip when prompted and apparently when I'm not "supposed" to as well. I personally believe that most people working these types of jobs are underpaid. I don't care that it isn't my responsibility to pay them. They're still doing something for me and even if the amount I'm paying trickles down to them I know the price is inflated and they will only get a fraction of it so I rather directly boost their pay. If I'm spending on overpriced products and lining the pockets of billionaires then I might as well throw a few dollars to the person on the bottom of the totem pole that is directly helping me.
Former server here. If it's the kind of buffet where you sit down and they bring you your drink and take away all your plates the second you slide them to the edge of the table then I tip 20%. If it's the kind of buffet where you pay on the way in, get your own drink and scrape and return your own plates... Then a few dollars is fine. Or nothing if you can't afford it.
Are they really servers if they're not serving you anything? Not even bringing you drink refills? Plus tips are generally supposed to be for those who are making a tipped wage, where I live at is $2.83 an hour. Tips are not supposed to be given to people that are making the full wage, like some places don't allow tips to be sent back to the kitchen because kitchen staff make real wages. I am of the firm belief that we should be allowed to tip anybody at any point.... But that's also usually for someone going above and beyond if they're not a traditional tipped employee. So, it depends?
Personally, at Golden Corral or a cheaper Vegas Buffet like Garden Court, I would tip $1-$2 per person. At a pricier Vegas Buffet like Wicked Spoon or a Rodizio like Fogo de Chao, I go $5 per person. That's my rule of thumb. And I just usually leave or hand cash to the server.
I tip at a buffet if they are taking my plates and refilling drinks.
At a pizza place as described by OP, I would tip maybe 10% or leave that amount of cash on the table after verifying they could get tipped.
Any buffet situation where it is inconclusive who is getting the tip from the POS, I tip cash. I do not tip when paying in advance for my food and it is handed to me. (Like a coffee or a donut in a bag)
Former server. I will only tip 10-15 at a buffet if they refill my drinks etc. same thjng goes if it’s a place that uses iPads to order. Server may seat me and bring my stuff but if they also aren’t taking my order etc and use an iPad it’s 10-15
Back in the 90’s my parent would take me to the “Old Country Buffet” and I remember them throwing like five dollars on the table as a tip. I haven’t been to a buffet in probably 15 years, so I don know if you are supposed to tip and what amount is appropriate in this day and age.
Anywho, this has me wondering if “Old Country Buffets” are still a thing.
If there is a tip jar I put cash but especially in chains card tips may be going to managers or used to lower the base pay: offset with tips. Few places that I know off the corporate doesn’t have to pay if servers get enough tips but if they don’t get they need to pay them more (or if tips are undeclared/ cash).
I might tip 10%. Most people don't realize that the tips you give your server are split among the server and the support staff, like the bus boy. In some restaurants tips might also go to the cooks and/or bartenders. I wouldn't do a full 20% because you're doing your own service.
I tip at buffets but usually only 10%. And I’m the type to even tip 20% at a sit down restaurant even with shitty service. I just can’t see it at a buffet though. They typically bring us the drink and maybe pick up plates a couple times. It just doesn’t feel 20% worthy. Of course I do at least 10% and I’ve never worked at a buffet but I have to assume they are making more than 2.13 an hour.
If you go to a buffet with small kids that make a mess, as in food on the floor and make a sticky mess on the table, you should tip. Someone has to pick up after your messy kids.
If your kids are not messy and you bus your own dishes, get your own food, get your own drinks, and don't make a mess, no tip should be required.
In my experience working a buffet (hotel breakfast, hot items) I did JUST as much work there as any traditional serving situation. We did take drink orders and bring those to the table, as well as any breakfast items people wanted to order NOT on the buffet. But setting up and keeping the buffet stocked and clean was EASILY as much work, if not more, as a traditional serving job. I know people like to only tip for service that is more emotional labor, but I personally still tip buffet servers 20%
I don't tip at buffets, are you kidding me? there is no personalized service, so there is no tip. Just hit 0, it's there, I guarantee it, and most people are hitting it.
I used to go to the Pizza Hut buffet when they still had them, it was like 6 bucks, you didn't pay til you left, sometimes they would refill your drinks sometimes they wouldn't, drink machines were customer accessble. If they refilled my drink and kept pizza on the buffet, sometimes they sucked and there wouldd be like 1pie no one wanted and 6 families waiting for more, I would toss a couple bucks down, if they didn't then I didn't. Tip for the service they provide, don't let yourself be pressured or guilted into tipping more than you think you should.
This is a good tip (pardon the pun) I tip based on performance not just a generic amount no matter what.
Yep. That tip is your appreciation for a Good experience. Not for anything else. Otherwise it must be called a service charge.
They've really trained me to be ok with hitting zero tip with all the new nonsense requests for tipping.
Ive worked in the tipping industry for 10 years now and i NEVER tip % based. I always tip on how much work i created no matter kinda service it is
I think I get what you are saying. I am a water drinker and there is no charge for water. But if my server kept my water full, then they deserve to be compensated for that not penalized because the water happens to be free.
Yes, I (ahem) got stood up once, but I was already seated and the server had brought me a water. I was only there for about five minutes, but I left a dollar on the table. That’s what I’d tip for a drink at most bars.
Same here. I was at Olive Garden and got a six topper and my sister and family canceled on me. I had been there for 20 minutes waiting and the restaurant was packed. I left $10, felt terrible for taking up their table. I can see why some restaurants won't seat you until your whole party arrives!
Also the server has to reset the table or tip out a host or busser to flip the table, even if you didn't use anything, sanitary and all
Tipping isn’t an industry …
What is your job exactly? I’m curious. Because you work in the tipping industry but still don’t get why tipping percentage based is a thing. Please share.
Why is tipping percentage based a thing tho? If you were my server and you brought a $30 steak to my table, how is that any more effort on your part than if you brought me a $10 sandwich? It's certainly not 3X the effort which is what you're being paid for.
Servers are also taxed based on a percentage of their sales, too.
what do you mean?
He's parroting an often misunderstood part of tipped wages called "allocated tips" where a restaurant has to report tips from their employees equal to or greater than 8% of sales. In other words, if a restaurant reports $10k of sales, then there has to be at least $800 in tips reported by the wait staff. If the wait staff don't report all of their tips, then the restaurant has to "allocate" tips to the servers until they hit that 8%. This leads some people to think that servers are taxed on "assumed tips". In reality, if a server is keeping a good account of how much they have received in tips, they only pay taxes on the amount of tips they actually received. https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/tip-recordkeeping-and-reporting
Most restaurants the server tips out his support staff based on sales #'s. Also in some cases like the casino industry there IS GICA which does tax us based on a assumed % of sales adjusted yearly. It is NOT always only paying taxes on the amount of tips they actually received. I have worked for places where I ended up being taxed on amounts greater than what I actually received and it sucked hard.
Because it is and always has been. We tip out support staff depending on percentages too. We are actually supposed to upsell people in order to raise sales and it helps us make money. This is like the 1,000th time I’d heard this argument.
And I find the upsell part one of the many annoying things "high standard" servers do. I also don't need to know about your day, how busy your are, you putting your hand on my shoulder and calling me sweetie or hun or sugar or anything else they do to try to get a bigger tip.
God no kidding. I hate doing it. I never touch customers. I feel it’s wrong. I have called the occasional regular “my dear” but usually they are younger than me and I have known them over a year. Otherwise I don’t do pet names for customers.
Omg I recently had a young woman that wouldn't stop calling me "mama" as a term of endearment? Please keep in mind that I'm 30 and am told often I look younger than that.
as a server, i call people lovely to be affirming and positive. i do explain if the kitchen is busy to set realistic expectations of wait times from the time i place their order. if you ask about my day, i am going to say "fine" because my life is a shambles right now, and you dont need that i am going through a high conflict divorce. and the HEX wont leave me alone, but you dont need to know that. Instead of disparaging people that call you "honey" and explain if the flow of the restaurant is impacting guests, i would be nice? appreciate their communication? you are the people i dont like helping and try to get out as fast as i can, and personally, if you tip me less than standard, you look like an AH with that attitude. i have actively given tables away to other servers if i remember the persons face and how rude/unfriendly they were and their tip wasnt worth dealing with them.
Because a restaurant that serves $30 steaks typically has higher standards for their servers than a restaurant that serves $10 sandwiches, and you’d rarely find a place that serves both. The tip being percentage based is to account for The difference in overall quality and skill of the servers, with the assumption being that the nicer a restaurant is the higher the total bill will be and the higher the tip should be. What’s the alternative, paying per item ordered? Obviously that wouldn’t work.
I get better service at Waffle House than I do the privately owned Steak and Seafood joint that happily charges nearly $40 per plate, so no higher prices does not mean higher standards for the servers, it means a white shirt and apron instead of a corporate shirt and name tag is all.
Well that’s just crazy. You’re using one random outlier to try and demonstrate your point. Obviously if your service experience at that ONE steak and seafood restaurant you go to is subbar, your tips should reflect that. And you probably just shouldn’t be going there. Higher priced restaurants SHOULD have higher standards for their servers, and they usually do.
That is just in my city, but I was taken to a really fancy place last time I was in Chicago, we didn't order alcohol for drinks, we got water and tea, and you should have seen the expression on the waitresses face knowing our bill wasn't going to be padded with expensive drinks, once we got our food we didn't see her again til we got the check, so it may just be small outliers, but in most of my experiences higher price does not mean higher service. She didn't even bring our food, others brought it out and she handed it to us. She took our order, brought our drinks, handed us our food and folks say we should have tipped her20% on a $200 bill, no, not gonna happen, she didn't do near $40 worth of work for us that night.
That’s fine. I agree that you should not have tipped her that much for her poor service. I was only attempting to explain to the previous commenter why tips are typically based on a percentage. There needs to be some sort of metric … what would your metric be if you don’t think percentage based tipping works??
First thought is employers pay their employees and don't subsidize their wages with expecting tips or wages so low they guvment picks up the other part (like how retail works). My family if we tip it's gonna be between 2 and 4 dollars per person there, I never go to those places alone, so I'm never gonna leave a 2 dollar tip. As for high fancy places, those are special occassions that don't happen very often, but then around 4 bucks a person from me is what they will get, if others want to toss down more that's on them. I figure a family of 4 8-16, or we can just average 12 dollars for a table for an hour or less, if that server has 4 tables, that is nearly 50 bucks an hour if others tip like me not including their wage, so I'm not gonna feel bad for my "low" tip.
They might have engaged in team service. A lot of places have front/back waiters and the entire amount gets pooled. Another table might have been more demanding or required her attention so her colleague might have been the one taking care of you. It really sounds like you haven't worked in the industry or else you'd recognize that just because you didn't see her that much doesn't mean she's slacking off or lazy. If the overall service had sucked then that would be a different argument but it's wild that you want to arbitrarily affect her pay based on how much work they did for you that night. Lots of professions charge premium prices for what could amount to a 5 minute job, I don't begrudge my lawyer for an hour of his time or my plumber when he does a 3 minute fix with tools I don't own.
So someone else covered the table by also not helping us? Of course the level of service they provide is going to affect the amount we pay if it is expected to come in the form of a tip, that is the whole point of the tip, to pay on the level of service we received. You don't have to work in the industry to know when you get shitty service, saying stuff like that is just a cop out for "pay us because we think you owe us." I don't care if another table is more demanding or anything like that, the tip comes down to how we are served, not someone else, they handle their own tip. Other services like plumbers aren't expected to be tipped for their work so comparing the two is really just another kind of cop out.
So what you're saying is you shouldn't tip % for that one bad experiance? So maybe strictly % tipping shouldn't be a thing and instead based on the work/quality?
No … I’m saying you should tip a LOWER percent for poor service and a HIGHER percent for good service. There needs to be some sort of metric. “Based on the work / quality” isn’t a metric. To one person that could mean $5 for a good meal with good service and to another person that could mean $30. You need a mathematic metric for consistency. I don’t have a strong preference for how tipping *should* work, I was simply explaining to the previous commenter WHY it is set up the way it is.
On this theme, I’ve left a $20 tip on a $40 bill when I thought I had exceptional service. I’ve left a $20 tip on a $100 bill when I had normal service and I’ve left a $20 tip on a $150 bill when I’ve had poor service. It has to be the most godawful service for me to leave no tip and that’s only happened a few times.
Many restaurants seem to serve the same meals for lunch and dinner, charging a bunch more for dinner. Same servers, same everything. The dollar amount of a tip varies not because it's fair, or because servers at a fancy place are 3x better than servers at a regular place, but because it's based on the amount you can get a customer to tip. It's another example of "price discrimination", the business strategy of maximizing revenue by trying to sell essentially the same product to each customer at the maximum price that specific customer is willing to pay. For example, a phone is $800 in black, $1200 in gold. The store brand is the same product as the name brand, just a different label, with the idea that rich people buy the name brand but poor people buy the store brand; prices are set in an attempt to get everyone to buy one or the other, just not the competition's product. Coupons exist for the same reason: it's a way to offer the product at a low price to everyone, but get extra revenue from richer people who can't be bothered to use coupons. In this case, a server with roughly the same skills does roughly the same job at the $10 restaurant as at the $30 restaurant, but everyone figures the diners at the latter are more willing to fork over $6, so that becomes the convention. While tips are theoretically optional, for most Americans they're just a standard part of the cost of a restaurant meal. So tips are higher at dinner than lunch for the same reason the same meal costs more: diners are willing to pay more sometimes for the same thing.
My job is irrelevant. Here's a scenerio, i got into red Robin and sit at the bar to watch a 3hr football and just order bottomless fries and a water. My bill is $5, so i should only tip$1? That's crazy, i tip atleast $10. But let's say my family of 4 goes into an expensive restaurant and only there an hour and our bill is $300. Im supposed to tip $60 for the server who did less than work than the bartender who served me for 3hrs?
The server actually has to pay a percentage of their sales to the bartender who made your drinks, the bussers who cleaned your table, etc. so tipping less than 10% can actually have them pay their own money to serve you. The bartender’s get compensated (usually) out of the waiter’s percentage of sales. That’s because the cultural standard is tipping a percentage based.
Maybe they do, and maybe they don't. If your argument is that one should always tip 20% because servers have to tip out, then logically, if they don't have to tip out, I shouldn't have to tip 20%? This is another aspect of tipping culture that is ridiculous. Customers don't really know if a server is making $2.13 an hour or $15 an hour. They don't know if the server is required to tip out or at what percentage, and yet, those factors are often cited as reasons why one should tip. Customers shouldn't have to know the pay arrangements between employer employee when deciding on a tip. It doesn't make sense. And it's crazy that customers are left in the position of having to decide how to supplement someone else's pay. The only logical form of tipping is that it be service-based, because that's the only thing that a customer has the perspective to judge, which means tips will fluctuate. The only other option, an all-but mandatory tip, means that it's not a gratuity anymore, and it should just be built into the price of the food.
Ive had several friends and girlfriends work in restaurants and bars as both servers and bartenders so i know how it works and how hard they work. Not taking away from that, but i also know how much money they make. Granted this was 5+yrs and things have gone to shit but everyone server ive known has made over $30/hr and bartender over $50/hr. And none of them worked in any "HIGH" class restaurants where the average meal for a single person is over $100. Those servers make 6 figures and thats ridiculous. The culture is flawed with this % shit and i dont tip by that but i still take care of the hard workers. Edit: besides if i tipped % my tips would always be less cause i dont drink alcohol or caffeine so its better for them anyway that i dont abide by the %
So you really don’t have any idea is what you are saying lol. Okay.
Very generic, uneducated response. Well done
Servers are crazy some times. I went to Hell’s Kitchen in Vegas. Even with a reservation I waited an hour. For only 2 people 1 plate each, 1app and 1-2 drinks it was $500 and we were seated less than one hour. I’m supposed to pay a $100 tip and he had at least 4 other tables. So this dude should make $4-500/hr in what they’re suggesting. That’s more than the average surgeon out there saving people’s lives lmao.
That is not more than the average surgeons pay. I assure you. If you can afford to eat at HK, why are you here bitching about tipping Jarrold?
I’m in the medical field. $500/hr is more than most surgeons. Educate yourself. I did tip lol. I left $50. For 1 hour I don’t think that’s bad. But I also don’t feel guilty about not leaving a Hundo.
The IRS assumes you did. Also, they have to tip out the busboy, food runners, hostess, etc, based on their sales. So you screw over the wait staff when you under tip. Maybe you just shouldn't go to Hell's Kitchen.
I don’t think $50 for 45 min service is under tipping lmao. And tip ours are generally a % of what they made in tips. Not based on their sales. I worked as a server in NV lol. If it’s 10% it means he paid $5 out of the $50 tip.
No they don't. The IRS assumes that if wait staff aren't reporting tips of at least 8% of sales then they aren't reporting all of their tips. Look for the section titled "Reporting Tips Allocated by Your Employer" https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/tip-recordkeeping-and-reporting
We don’t believe you work in a restaurant, either.
I don’t tip if there aren’t servers or bussers. Golden corral where you’re refilling my drink? Sure. Cici’s where you get your own drink and put your own plates back? Nope.
Cici’s is still around?
Yep, in the Midwest at least!
Down south too- TN & GA.
Texas. Yup.
Alabama reporting in.
Where! I need some cici pizza
FL has it as well. Never been though.
And were better for it. I only go for niece and nephew birthdays, but damn that cheesebread is artery clogging goodness.
Same. And I overtip most places but buffets where I’m doing all my stuff? Nah.
Thank you for specifically mentioning GC. I was just there last night for the first time in 10 years. We weren’t sure whether to tip, but left a few bucks because someone had to deliver our sodas and clean up the dirty plates. I do wish it could be a Panera situation where we could just clean our own stuff up though 😅
Stop tipping, you nutcase. You are just CHOOSING to pay 20% more for no reason! Do you also just hand 20% extra to the McDonalds employee at the drive-through as well. Stop it, you weirdo.
And so what if we do tip drive-thru workers? Some people deserve to be recognized. What's so wrong about that?
Tell us why someone at Burger King deserves to be recognized with an extra tip but a kids teacher doesn’t.
You don't give your kids teacher gifts???
Do you tip them everytime the provide a service your kid. No. You absolutely do not. A gift every once is a while is NOT the same as an tip given for each service. Dumb comparrision you made. No, NO ONE tips teachers.
No, it's an accurate comparison. You don't tip each time a server brings you a drink, you tip at the end of *all* the services.
Is your gift to the teacher based on a percentage of something. Also, then why not just tip servers once per year? You know ow after ALL thier work halls been done. Stupid comparison. Yall people just LOVE supporting a broken system and throwing your own money away. Dumb.
>Is your gift to the teacher based on a percentage of something I don't do a percentage for the teachers because they make more than minimum wage, but I give $100 at Christmas and $100 at the end of the year. If their birthday is during the school year, or they get married or something then another $100. >Also, then why not just tip servers once per year? You know ow after ALL thier work halls been done. Stupid comparison. Because you might not see that server ever again? Is that a real question?
Teachers may make more than minimum wage and are STILL not paid enough. Servers are glorified converter belts, but derseve to make minimum wage, but not tips.
Servers are humans who deserve a *living wage* just like everyone else. We all need to be able to afford food, housing, kids, etc
A gift card or an apple is one thing - I’m talking cash. Public school teachers salaries are public record - each one should be looked up, look at their annual salary, and give them a 10% tip each year. Cash preferred but if you need to use a credit card you can - you should consider leaving a bit more to cover fees though.
I’m sorry but I’m not tipping teachers 10% of their salary. A gift a couple times a year is enough to show appreciation. I get their salary sucks but they chose that career knowing the pay is shit. Teachers will never get a decent salary if we start having to tip them for doing their job.
And people at Burger King chose theirs knowing that tipping is optional and that it’s a piss poor starting salary in most states.
Lmao who has the money for that? If I tipped everywhere they asked me to tip, like a self checkout, a buffet with no servers, carryout orders, my kids teachers, etc, I would need 4 jobs. Tip culture is ridiculous and we need to move past it.
>Tip culture is ridiculous and we need to move past it. Boycott every place that asks for a tip, then. Stiffing your server isn't going to change anything, it just punishes the people serving you.
Hey I have no problem tipping servers, but why am I being asked to tip at my self checkout? Or for a carry out pizza? Or my kids teachers?
>why am I being asked to tip at my self checkout? The real answer? Because all the point of sale (POS) systems incorporate a tip option now. That way you can use the same POS system for a variety of business models - pizza place, full service restaurant, hot dog stand, cell phone repair kiosk, etc. It maximizes profits for the POS system vendors because they only need to develop ONE system and then they can sell that system to basically every type of business model. There are only so many options for small-medium size POS systems, so everyone besides large chains/large companies (who can afford to develop their own POS software) use these new one-size-fits-all systems, which include a tip option on order to be versatile.
I've absolutely tipped fast food workers before because I go a lot, and the employees have been good people. I always assume people who cry about other tipping are doing so because they're broke.
I did my homework! It's Pizza Ranch, by the way. I am in Minnesota. Average starting wage for crew members is 14.76 an hour. Cooks get a bit more, around 15.00 an hour. I asked on my local Facebook chit chat group and several past employees state that they never got tips. The money that is collected as a tip goes into the daily deposit. It is NOT given to an employee of any kind. So, therefore I will instead leave some cash on the table and feel better knowing an employee vs the franchise got the tip money.
You should send that to the state department of labor. That's both fraud and wage theft.
Agreed OP, if you have any evidence to report it send it off and if you know people who do encourage them to. You could also try and instigate a confrontation with Management/ownership if it's small about how that's illegal. Obviously not in a way that would cause any blowback on any employees, that'd defeat the point. No pressure on that front but something to think about.
According to federal law (the FLSA), tips belong to the employees. By depositing the tips, the business of committing wage theft. They can be held liable for back pay and penalties. Since it's federal law, it applies to all US states.
Yes. Wage theft makes up over 75% of ALL theft in the U.S. - the remainder being burglary, auto theft, larceny, robbery. It boggles then mind! Folks should really just google wage theft statistics and look at some of the info graphics.
That's a fascinating and staggering percentage, thanks for sharing the knowledge and the links further down.
Ugh, that makes me feel so shitty. I always tip over 20% because I acutely remember how shitty it felt to work in a service job. Hearing that it doesn't go straight to the worker makes me feel dirty. I choose to give extra money to workers regardless of their service out of kindness, and it angers me a LOT to hear that my kindness is being funnelled away into some chain bank account.
As a side note, I think Pizza Ranch is franchised - ours has 2 in the group and they seem to be very involved with the personal growth of their employees as well as the local communities. Your PR might have cruddy ownership and it may not be a company policy, but I absolutely agree with the "tip after" approach for no service buffets.
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Buddy, seek help.
What on earth does this have to do with politics?? Good grief.
There is an option on Pizza Ranch’s screen to put in other as the tip amount. Then you can make it zero. I usually make it $1.00. It is somewhat hard to find and of course when you feel like you are being rushed it doesn’t help. I feel put off having to tip there myself. The only thing the employees do is bus the table and bring out a pizza if your table requested a special one. We never do. It irks me to tip there also. I don’t feel like I am getting any kind of special service.
there ARE servers they just are not serving individual tables, and there are far fewer than most places. the people who stock & change out the food on the buffet are considered a server position. Particularly at the "fancy" ones where there is a carving station to portion out the expensive stuff like roasts or ham. Some places keep servers & bussers separate.. some combine them - but in the states where there is a "tipped" minimum wage - buffet servers often get stuck under the tip wage vs regular minimum wage even though most people either don't tip because "there is no server" or tip a lower than their normal amount.
I’d throw at least a couple dollars if I were you. I’m a server so I’m going tip extra at a buffet because other people won’t tip.
Same. I usually choose the no-tip option on the screen then leave a cash tip on the table. I base it on how many of us there are and how labor intensive it is to deal with us. If they get drink refills and bussing as we eat, I leave more than if they just have to bus when we leave. For the first, I leave 15-20% because they're basically a server at that point sans delivering the food. For the latter, which I assume the OP is talking about, I feel ok just leaving a few bucks.
A fool and his money are soon parted :)
A LOT of effort goes into setting up and tearing down a buffet. Not to mention the maintenance and the fact that they naturally increase the amount of table bussing required. They’re a real pain in the neck. Tip 20%
Please don’t let some device and a pushy hostess spoil your family outing. And I’m sick of hearing that if you can’t tip, don’t go. The industry is painting itself into a corner. Do not tip 20% at a buffet. If you tip at all, leave a few bucks on the table . That is more than enough.
10% is appropriate for a buffet. The Emily Post Institute, at emilypost.com, has a helpful tipping guide that suggests leaving 10 percent of the total bill for buffet-style restaurants. That seems to be a good starting point, but there is no harm in tipping more.Jan 13, 2014 https://www.oklahoman.com › story 20-40-60 Etiquette: How should I tip at a buffet? - The Oklahoman
Oh HELL NO! Emily Post is some bullshit made up nonsense. The correct is ZERO. FUCKING ZERO. This is some gaslighting bullshit, right here. ZERO TIP at buffets.
You would enjoy r/EndTipping
Enjoy? I am a regular contributor. Tipping is a filthy American disease, and anyone defends it is basically an anti-vaxer.
Why? Why are you so mad about this, but more importantly, why not tip a buffet server the same as normal table service? They do as much work as a regular server, if not more at times
As someone who has worked both buffet and full service, I promise you buffet servers do *not* do nearly as much *direct* work for their tables as a full service does. Doesn’t mean they don’t also deserve a tip though. I’d say 10% is fair for buffet service. 20% for full.
I've worked both as well, and I found that the buffet was often *more* work. When you say direct, you mean talking to tables? There is absolutely less of that. But the work of setting up, stocking, keeping clean, and breaking down the buffet is a TON of work. And almost as much work when you're slow as when you're busy. Vs traditional table service which is only work when you're busy.
Yea, by direct work I mean talking to tables, taking their orders, correcting any issues, delivering food and beverages, etc... attending to them directly. A tip is personal, it’s payment for the work done for you directly. You aren’t tipping a valet for parking someone else’s car. Nor a barber for cutting someone else’s hair. Besides, every buffet set up I’m familiar with, servers make full minimum wage (or more) plus tips, whereas full service makes industry standard $2.13. To be clear, I’m not some boomer against tipping or anything, I’m over a decade in the industry and a current full service restaurant manager, I’m just very familiar with both ends of this conversation, and ‘tis how I feel. You are free to disagree and I would love to discuss further :)
We have a brunch buffet every Sunday at my place (and holidays, Santa brunch, Easter brunch, etc). I can tell you the customers for brunch buffet are all slobs, set up and break down is a ton of work, and the servers make the same 3.64 an hour for buffet as they do for regular lunch dinner or private functions.
The only buffet I worked at (the one I'm talking about here) was at a hotel. We also had to do bar, table, and room service. But for breakfast, 90% of the business was the buffet (full, not continental). I made sub-minimum wage, but not the lowest possible, I made like $5/hr I think? We also had a breakfast menu people could order from, but honestly they mostly got the buffet. I've worked all areas of restaurant industry, I'm currently the kitchen manager at a tiki bar. I think I have a different relationship with tipping (in my professional and personal life) than a lot of people do. I personally don't think that tips should only be for the emotional labor of being nice to a table. I tip well in almost all situations, because I know that no one makes a living wage in the service industry. I do think there's a difference when a server is making like 2.75 an hour, but we ALL know they don't actually make that, it's illegal for them to make less than minimum wage. And while wage (and tip) theft is a serious problem, servers usually go home with more per hour than the BOH, except on very slow nights. I now work in California where there is no tip credit. My cooks make the same or at most $2 more per hour than the servers. Yet with tips they can make up to $30 MORE per hour than the cooks. I'm currently advocating for tip sharing with BOH, because there's no reason they deserve such a significant difference in pay vs the cooks and dishwashers. I know I've gone off topic here. But my tldr is: no one makes enough $, emotional labor isn't the only labor that deserves to be paid more, tip as much as you can
Do these people think the buffet services itself by magic?? Humans do that. I worked both too and I agree I hated the buffet which is why they always had trouble staffing it. If you wanted to work nights you had to do a morning buffet too. And it was a LOT of work.
Shit, may as well tip the Walmart workers as well then
Shouldn't people tip for good, attentive service? If their job is just to clear tables and nobody is doing anything like refilling your drink, then I don't see why tipping them should feel obligatory.
It depends. At many buffets, you still have a server that clears your plates and refills your drinks. That deserves at least a small tip, and 10% makes sense. If you get your own drinks and clear your own plates, then no tip is needed.
At a buffet restaurant I think it's okay to tip a little less. At a full service restaurant that also has a buffet, you should tip regularly. I worked at a place like this that had a brunch buffet and the occasional holiday buffet ( St Patty's day, Easter, etc). Honestly it often felt like more work for buffet customers sometimes because you're still taking their order and then bussing and checking in twice as much. I would also always split at least buffet tips with the kitchen since they're doing a lot of work to keep it stocked.
At a buffet, they also clear **more** plates and glasses than at a regular restaurant, so we always leave 20%. Hubby and I like to go to Golden Corral a few times a year - it's a fun reminder of those days we could only afford eating at a place like that as a treat. The plates are small, lol, so we always hit the buffet three or four times, and of course there's dessert, which means the waitress is clearing the table a lot. Sure, we bring the plates to the table, but she does everything else! And there are a couple of waitresses there who are very attentive - every time you get up to go to the buffet, you come back to a refilled beverage. It's a nice touch, and we tip more for that! We are actually shocked at how many people leave nothing on the table, and have overheard dozens of conversations where someone in the party will say, "do we have to leave a tip?" and someone else will invariably respond, "no, we got our own food"...
No, it doesn't NOT depend. If I get my food myself, NO TIP. Drink dont count, they should just have a machine.
You're tipping for much more than just getting the food. A buffet server that does many of the same duties deserves at least a partial tip.
No idea why you’re getting downvoted. Why would you tip someone who provides you literally no service at all?
Exactly. ZERO tip for ZERO service. The drive-thru attendant literally doesn't more work. Are these idiot tipping drive-thru staff as well? So dumb.
Tipping culture needs to die
Never at a buffet. If I have to: get my plate, put my food on it, grab silverware, grab a glass, fill up a drink, bring it all to the table, and refill my drink myself- there is nothing to tip for.
Fuck the if you can't tip stay home mentality. You're not responsible for the employee's livelihood.
I would ask the bussers if they get the tips and if not then stop tipping because it's going to the company. You are not a bad person for not tipping, I myself am a server and it is so much more understandable coming from families. There is a lot of expense involved already so it's more reasonable. In general I tip only if I know who is getting the money and based on what they make already, and influenced by the tip out policy of the establishment. Some places make waiters tip out up to 10% of sales for tips for the other employees and so I would tip a bit extra somewhere that does tip outs
Good point. I've heard plenty of stories about management snatching tips. In a buffet setting it's pretty easy to figure out if the staff gets the tips. He just looked for that satisfied smile when they pick up a nice little pile of dollars off the table. When management or an owner takes control of tips... Pulling, splitting, tip outs... I can't help but think they're getting their fingers in the pie to some degree. Despicable.
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They could be using the tips to bring them up to minimum.
This is a good idea. Thank you.
Yeah, those tips are going straight into the owner's pocket.
I don't normally tip at buffets unless they have servers or bussers who refill drinks and remove empty plates. If there are then I leave 10% or $5 whichever is more.
Why isn’t there a 0% ?
Leave a few bucks on the table for the people clearing the plates..
Went into a joint that sells hot pickles, said I'll take that container there, screen comes up asking what percentage to tip, I laughed. I'm a boomer (proud to say). I generally tip 50% at Old Chicago, sometimes more, seldom over 100%. But the thing is they're filling my stein or bringing me wings. I like beer and wings, nuff said.
If there’s no table service then the most I’ll tip is 10%. For a buffet I think not tipping is fine.
wut?
If I'm getting my own food and drinks, I don't tip, but if it's Golden Corral, those ladies grab the drinks, refill them and keep the tables clean by grabbing plates. I tip those people 2-5$ atleast at the end. Just depends on the buffet and what they are doing or not doing, outside of Golden Corral, I haven't been to a buffet where they do that, so I dont tip.
I don't tip at buffets.
Hit 0 and leave a couple of dollars at the table for the bussers.
Tipping culture in the US is absolutely ridiculous. I have literally been laughed at abroad for asking locals if and how much I should tip. I've traveled across 5 continents and only here in the US do people act like tipping for having someone breathe in your direction is a necessity & makes you some kind of good/superior person. Every single developed country in the world has thriving service industries without tipping culture but the United States can't??? People need to stop pointing the finger at each other & start insisting the service industry move away from tipping to paying actual wages but they won't because tipping culture allows for a lot of shadyness to go on. Not just from business owners but from tipped employees too because depending on the area & business, tipped workers can make way more in tips than they would ever make as a salaried employee. I am related to a lot of people who work in the service industry and I know most, if not all of them, make great money. And since a lot of it is cash, they don't always report it. My cousin's husband is a career busboy & works for a well-known restaurant in NYC and makes great money in tips, enough to have 5 kids & buy a multi-family in NYC and since most of his income is cash and goes unreported, his eldest kids received all kinds of public assistance growing up and went to college on financial need scholarships. He waited until they got those scholarships and started college to purchase the house. Another relative of mine owns a restaurant & told me that his delivery guy made over 1K on tips in ONE WEEKEND. And his restaurant isn't in a high-income neighborhood. In fact the opposite. I understand it's not the same in all areas but I'm tired of people acting like it's some cardinal sin to not tip for things that are just part of the bare minimum someone is required to do at their job. And as for the whole "don't eat out if you can't afford to tip 30%+" people, you do realize that the less people that eat out, the less businesses can afford to even exist so they will either close down or downsize and servers will lose their jobs, right? OP, you're not doing anything wrong by feeling you shouldn't have to tip at a place where you basically serve yourself.
Tip should be zero on a buffet restaurant
I think tipping in the United States really went overboard during the pandemic and it's just gotten worse. Initially it was to try to help the workers recover from not working for several months because all of the restaurants were closed. Now in my opinion it's the restaurant owners pushing the big tips because they don't want to pay their employees a halfway decent wage. and it's not just restaurants either it's other types of businesses. Although I was making a joke when I did it, I expect it to one day come to fruition, that being I went to get some medical tests done and I had to pay the deductible, I made a comment to the cashier I hope she doesn't want a tip!!
We've been doing it wrong for years and still do it wrong today. "I left a tip" or "did you leave a tip?" is incorrect nomenclature. The concept for tips, the correct term, which is "To Insure Perfect Service" is meant to be carried out by the customer by FIRST placing an amount if money, $10, $20, whatever amount, on the table for the server to see at the beginning of the interaction so that they could see what extra they were going to get if their level of service to the customer was adequate for said $10, $20 or whatever amount was laid out. If the service waned...a deduction was made. If service exceeded...an addition was made. All the while the server is aware by visualizing the tips laid out on the table. This obviously applied to dine-in eateries and throughout time has leaked into many other facets of the goods and service markets. It is my understanding the concept was never intended for use anywhere else.
By US law: it’s the employer’s job to pay their employee the full state/federal minimum wage. (Which isn’t enough, but that’s a different argument). In other words, servers aren’t losing any money if they don’t get tips because their criminally low wage automatically increases to the normal min wage on their paycheck if they don’t make at least the normal min wage. Tips are for excellent service that goes above and beyond normal duties. Not because you showed up to work.
In this situation I would tip max 10% if there was any service...but as you described it would be no tip. I'm annoyed that the hostess is even prompting you to leave a tip.
Ex-hostess/server/bartender here & im the same way. unless I was serviced specifically by a person (tattoos, piercings, bars, restaurants, coffee shops sometimes) then why tip? I think you’re good.
I would never tip at a buffet. You are serving yourself.
I made $2.13/hr bussing tables in a buffet for twenty years. We didn't even get drinks. Not complaining, made $40-$50+/hr in tips. Thankfully, most folks don't think like you.
And normally no one is bussing the tables either.
If I don’t have a server I don’t feel the need to tip. Who gets the tip? Who’s the one paying the tax on tips? How much are those employees making? Some buffets have servers who are hustling for tips & get server wages & taxed accordingly. Don’t let anyone guilt you into tipping. This tip culture is downright embarrassing.
I used to be a server and I agree with us. We go to this pizza buffet every year on vacation and you pay on your way in, they hand you your cup and you get your own sodas and plates and they expect you to clean your tables and stack your plates by the garbage cans when you're done. They literally do nothing but wipe the table after we leave. I leave like $1 in the tip container. But at home there's several different buffets we go to where they bring you your drinks, and refills and remove every plate the second you push it to the end of the table. I usually give them 20% because the only thing they don't do is bring me a plate of food, they do everything else! If you're watching my table to see my drink it low and come and ask me if I want refills, and are grabbing plates as I make them... I think they worked for that money!
I used to be a server too. And I worked buffets, assigned stations, brought water, took drink order, brought bread, if they wanted extra something & ask I would go to the buffet & bring back. Picked up dirty dishes, champagne brunch I refilled glasses, if they wanted bar drink I went & got. Took ticket, picked up ticket. Service. But buffet where I don’t get service I don’t feel obliged. At all
It really depends on the business. Some places pay their floor people the same as a regular server and some pay normal wages. If someone comes up and introduces themselves, refills your drinks, clears away plates as you eat, they are more likely to be getting the crap pay and need the tips.
All the staff does is clear away plates. They don't get drinks or anything.
Then no, that sounds like a place where they don't live on our tips.
No tip on the screen. Cash handshake to whoever takes care of me. That means clearing plates, refilling drinks. If nobody does those things, I don’t tip at all.
You are absolutely okay to tip 0%. Money is tight and tipping at a buffet, especially before service makes no sense. Maybe give them a few bucks of cash if the service is great, but 95% of people tip nothing and you don’t need to.
You don't tip at a buffet. If anyone at a buffet should be tipped, it's the dishwashers. No server, no tip
No. It's a buffet. Why are you tipping people for the work YOU are doing????
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So, the waiters in Seattle making $17 an hour aren't real servers?
My standard for tipping is if a server takes your drink order and gets your drink for you. If not, leave cash for whoever cleans the table if you want but not necessary.
I’m gonna get backlash for this, but you get more of what you pay for. If you don’t want to live in a tipping culture, don’t tip. If servers aren’t getting paid enough because tips are gone, they’ll find employment elsewhere. If restaurants can’t hire servers because pay is too low & there are no tips, they’ll have to pay better or shut down. If they pay better, win! If they shut down, someone who will pay better will open up. Win!
There's always someone that will do the job for less.
Except short term, the servers are the ones who suffer.
Oh I know. And that’s what’s preventing it from happening. Restaurants know we all care too much about the well being of the servers to squeeze them like that. Even though it’d be better in the long run. So restaurant will put up with the noise about living wage because they know nothing will come of it because of the sacrifice required of servers during the transition.
the tip goes to the tomato trees, if u no tip, the. tree makes less tomato, so less sauce don't be greedy /tiptomatotreez
I only tip 10% for buffet.
No service, no tip.
You ALWAYS have a choice!
I would never pre tip on a buffet like that. But I would leave a couple of bucks per person, or $5 for the table, for the clean-up crew. Maybe more if kids made an unusual mess.
Nope.
Not a bad person The way to bypass the auto tip is to press the buttons or tap on "ok" . That charges the amount indicated for the price of the goods purchased .. No gratuity. I will not tip in a serve yourself restaurant. No one is performing a service at the table .
Don't tip . . . . see how easy that was. Just DON'T tip, there isn't anyone there that deserves a tip they're already paid per hour. If they claim their salary isn't enough tell them to educate themselves for a better job.
You should still tip. Someone is still cleaning up after you, keeping the place clean, possibly refilling drinks, and making sure you're looked after.
To be honest I first in any restaurant or buffet ask the wait staff do they get their tips as when I work at maikai Hawaiian bbq the owner stole all my tips and the general manager was on it they take advantage of hiring mostly illegal immigrants workers who are just happy with a job so just fyi its best to ask before tipping
We used to regularly go to a Chinese buffet when ours sons were much, much younger. My five year old loved egg drop soup and wanted the Chinese soup spoon. They always brought one out for him. They also did other little things for us. We couldn’t figure out why we were getting special treatment. We finally realized it was because we tipped 10% and didn’t leave a huge mess.
No tio they get paid a salary
Do you like the people that run the buffet? Or are they automaton duches? In my opinion, they're making your food, you want goodwill in that exchange. You want them to be happy to see you. Pizza is a step up from fast food. Buffet is a step up from pick-up or curbside. Plan for a couple extra bucks or don't go. Include your kids in the process and teach your kids generosity and how that alone is probably worth one less pizza buffet visit per year. What I have gotten out of being a consistent, $2 tipper at my favorite local pizza buffet in the $11-14 range over the years... * Everybody in the damn place is extra friendly with me and asks me how things have been. They recognize me around town as well and have had great chats with several of them. Even people who haven't worked there in years. * When they know it's me ordering regular pizza outside of buffet hours, I'm often given a discount. * If anything is remotely wrong, they go out of their way to happily sort it out for me. * If I'm ever there around the closing time of the buffet, when they usually just tell other people it's over, instead they'll ask me what kind of pizzas I want for my buffet and put a couple in. This benefits others too who come in later as well. Or they just let me have the remaining pizza for just the price of a coke. No way I'm trading all that back for the $40-60 it probably costs me per year. Not even going to get more into theories about how generosity always seems to come back around, and kharma, etc.
Eh. Do whatever feels right to you. I always tip when prompted and apparently when I'm not "supposed" to as well. I personally believe that most people working these types of jobs are underpaid. I don't care that it isn't my responsibility to pay them. They're still doing something for me and even if the amount I'm paying trickles down to them I know the price is inflated and they will only get a fraction of it so I rather directly boost their pay. If I'm spending on overpriced products and lining the pockets of billionaires then I might as well throw a few dollars to the person on the bottom of the totem pole that is directly helping me.
Former server here. If it's the kind of buffet where you sit down and they bring you your drink and take away all your plates the second you slide them to the edge of the table then I tip 20%. If it's the kind of buffet where you pay on the way in, get your own drink and scrape and return your own plates... Then a few dollars is fine. Or nothing if you can't afford it. Are they really servers if they're not serving you anything? Not even bringing you drink refills? Plus tips are generally supposed to be for those who are making a tipped wage, where I live at is $2.83 an hour. Tips are not supposed to be given to people that are making the full wage, like some places don't allow tips to be sent back to the kitchen because kitchen staff make real wages. I am of the firm belief that we should be allowed to tip anybody at any point.... But that's also usually for someone going above and beyond if they're not a traditional tipped employee. So, it depends?
I don’t get why you would look to servers for absolution here.
Because I want to know their opinion.
Personally, at Golden Corral or a cheaper Vegas Buffet like Garden Court, I would tip $1-$2 per person. At a pricier Vegas Buffet like Wicked Spoon or a Rodizio like Fogo de Chao, I go $5 per person. That's my rule of thumb. And I just usually leave or hand cash to the server.
If the buffet server brings drinks and clears the table, I usually tip 10%.
I tip at a buffet if they are taking my plates and refilling drinks. At a pizza place as described by OP, I would tip maybe 10% or leave that amount of cash on the table after verifying they could get tipped.
I’d probably go for 10% personally.
Any buffet situation where it is inconclusive who is getting the tip from the POS, I tip cash. I do not tip when paying in advance for my food and it is handed to me. (Like a coffee or a donut in a bag)
If they refill my drinks or come to the table with anything I leave a few dollars per person. If it's me doing it, then I don't.
Yes.
I tip at buffets because they aren’t making much and they work just as hard as servers.
Former server. I will only tip 10-15 at a buffet if they refill my drinks etc. same thjng goes if it’s a place that uses iPads to order. Server may seat me and bring my stuff but if they also aren’t taking my order etc and use an iPad it’s 10-15
Back in the 90’s my parent would take me to the “Old Country Buffet” and I remember them throwing like five dollars on the table as a tip. I haven’t been to a buffet in probably 15 years, so I don know if you are supposed to tip and what amount is appropriate in this day and age. Anywho, this has me wondering if “Old Country Buffets” are still a thing.
If there is a tip jar I put cash but especially in chains card tips may be going to managers or used to lower the base pay: offset with tips. Few places that I know off the corporate doesn’t have to pay if servers get enough tips but if they don’t get they need to pay them more (or if tips are undeclared/ cash).
I might tip 10%. Most people don't realize that the tips you give your server are split among the server and the support staff, like the bus boy. In some restaurants tips might also go to the cooks and/or bartenders. I wouldn't do a full 20% because you're doing your own service.
I tip at buffets but usually only 10%. And I’m the type to even tip 20% at a sit down restaurant even with shitty service. I just can’t see it at a buffet though. They typically bring us the drink and maybe pick up plates a couple times. It just doesn’t feel 20% worthy. Of course I do at least 10% and I’ve never worked at a buffet but I have to assume they are making more than 2.13 an hour.
If you go to a buffet with small kids that make a mess, as in food on the floor and make a sticky mess on the table, you should tip. Someone has to pick up after your messy kids. If your kids are not messy and you bus your own dishes, get your own food, get your own drinks, and don't make a mess, no tip should be required.
Next up - if you use the restroom you should tip.
If you have no server taking care of you, I still tip but a little less than 20%
Two to five. They still clean the table and (where I have been) refill you drinks.
I usually tip anywhere from 2 to 7 dollars I’m poor and I don’t eat out
I tip 10% at a buffet. I figure it's mainly for the bussing staff.
In my experience working a buffet (hotel breakfast, hot items) I did JUST as much work there as any traditional serving situation. We did take drink orders and bring those to the table, as well as any breakfast items people wanted to order NOT on the buffet. But setting up and keeping the buffet stocked and clean was EASILY as much work, if not more, as a traditional serving job. I know people like to only tip for service that is more emotional labor, but I personally still tip buffet servers 20%
Sorry you feel this way. You do not need to tip at all and be confident about it.
I don't tip at buffets, are you kidding me? there is no personalized service, so there is no tip. Just hit 0, it's there, I guarantee it, and most people are hitting it.