waitress actually asked me for a tip at a buffet

[LuckyRobin]

Where I live a buffet costs $20 per person, so we don't go there anymore. On a four person meal the buffet is making $80. Multiply that by dozens of tables. If they can't pay their staff properly with that, then there is a problem with the restaurant not the customers. In my state people receive at least minimum wage of $9.19/hr and tips are not allowed to be used in calculating the payment of their wages. At this buffet, you get your own food, you get your own drinks and they bring you nothing. They do take away dirty plates (sometimes, other times we've had to stack them).

I do not see much of a difference between this sort of buffet and a place like McDonalds where you order at the counter and take your own food to the table. Some people bus their own trays, some people don't and the McDonalds employee has to clean off the table. Tips are not given then, nor are they expected. These people clean up the lobby and are often back doing dishes and wiping trays between times. How is the buffet different than fast food, really? Any place where you pay first and transport your own food to your table, is not a place where I would leave a tip. I will tip generously at places that actually have real table service if that service is good, less so if it is lazy, none if it is atrocious. I'm not anti-tip, but paying someone extra for doing their job of cleaning a table is not something I believe in.

I worked in restaurants for seven years so that probably colors some of my thinking here. I would never have demanded or even expected a tip, especially just for bussing a table.

[JoeP]

For buffets, you usually don't get the same level of personalized service you'd get at a restaurant where you order from a menu, with the exception of maybe drinks. I'd still tip anyway, since the server and busing people generally have to clear a lot more plates and glassware. Plus, with some people going up for 5 or 6 (or more!) loads, they are with you longer.

I was a little surprised to see my local burger joint, where you order from a big counter and they give you the order on a plastic tray, having a tip section on the receipt. No table service and you're on your own for dispensing your own drink.

[annibe11e]

At the chinese buffet I go to, you pay at the counter when you walk in and they don't bring you drinks or anything else. The only thing they do is clear plates. I don't tip there and I've never noticed other people tipping, but I suppose I've never paid attention. Would you tip in that situation?

[disneysteve]

At the chinese buffet I go to, you pay at the counter when you walk in and they don't bring you drinks or anything else. The only thing they do is clear plates. I don't tip there and I've never noticed other people tipping, but I suppose I've never paid attention. Would you tip in that situation?

Yes, I would. As I said earlier, I typically leave $1/person in that setting. If they also bring/fill drinks, I'll leave more.

[coffee]

Not a buffet fan, but when I do go, I will leave 10-12 percent, more if there is actual service. In general,I will not tip at a coffee house or for someone handing me something from a counter.

[hamchan]

As a tipped employee I love the tipping system. It's the ultimate in pay for performance. I would not be ok with my employer just raising my pay by 10-15% and doing away with tipping because I routinely get 20% or more on average. On the other hand I have co workers who do not earn that high in tips and wouldn't deserve that much of a raise. I'd rather my clients be the ones that get to decide how much more I get because they are in a much better position to know how valuable my work is to them. The downside is that occasionally I get stiffed or get a ridiculous tip regardless of the quality of work I do, but overall I come out way ahead getting tipped than I would just getting flat hourly pay.

I worked for a spa that had a no tipping policy for a short time, and the pay was not good enough to be worthwhile. They have since changed to allowing tipping because they couldn't keep anyone good on what they were paying, and didn't have a high enough profit margin to pay more. Most salons and spas don't.

[disneysteve]

As a tipped employee I love the tipping system. It's the ultimate in pay for performance.

I think this used to be true, but it simply isn't anymore. A tip used to be a thank you for good service. Now it is expected, almost demanded, regardless of service. People just routinely leave a tip no matter what. Plus, the expected tip amount has risen from 15% to 18% and now even 20% in many places. And if you happen to have 6 people in your party, many restaurants will automatically add 18% to your bill so it isn't even up to the customer anymore if they want to leave a tip or how much (unless you want to go argue with the manager to lower that amount which I have done on occasion).

[Blessed]

We always tip in a buffet or traditional restaurant except at one of the Chinese buffets ONCE . We skipped that once because they never came back during the whole meal to give us a beverage or get a plate. It was really slow there. He had time. The waiter sat at a table playing on his phone through our whole meal. We had to walk up to the desk to pay without a bill.

Since I have been in a tipped profession I tend to tip very well as a rule. I do think that some tipping has gotten out of hand. We now see tip jars in some of the oddest places. We have a local hot dog place. Fast food. They have a big bowl for tips. They hand me a hot dog and drink at the counter. I take it to the table. I throw the garbage away.

[97guns]

what about automatic tips when they go ahead and add 15% to the total of the bill????

[Blessed]

what about automatic tips when they go ahead and add 15% to the total of the bill????

Here it is only on a party of 6 or more and not at the buffet's. I have found more local places do not automatically add in for larger parties than do. We tend to visit more mom and pop places than chains. They don't do it. I personally don't like the practice.

[disneysteve]

what about automatic tips when they go ahead and add 15% to the total of the bill????

I'm generally okay with that though I don't like the practice. I'm a good tipper but if they choose to add 15% automatically, that's all they're getting. It's their loss because if I had made my own choice, I would have tipped 18-20%, not 15%.

I have had a few occasions where the tip was added automatically but the service was horrendous and I had them adjust that tip downward to what I felt was appropriate.

[hamchan]

At one of my jobs I have the ability to see a client's transaction history. There are certainly some clients who automatically tip the same amount for the same service every time, buy most do not. And I personally hate that there is an automatic 17% gratuity for large groups because I normally get more. I very often get tips that range from 25-50% because I earn them. Nobody tips 50% routinely. Trust me on that.

[Gailete]

We never leave a tip at the only buffet restaurant that we go to a couple times a year. We pay when we go in, we collect our own silverware, napkins, food, drinks, desert. At times they clear our plates, but everything else we do for ourselves. That to me does not a tip make. Sorry. It has nothing to do with being frugal.

The only time I ever had tip trouble was at a sit down restaurant when I was with my autistic son who was still in HS. The next day he called me and said that the waitress had come up to him AT SCHOOL asking why his mom didn't leave her a tip! I told him, one that it was rude of the girl to even mention it and two, I had left the tip on the credit card receipt and she needed to talk to her boss about where her tip went. Considering I had left a 20% tip (just so there would be no negative feedback to my son) I was mad and also embarrassed for my son who should have never been put in that type of situation as he wasn't yet at a level of functioning to know how to deal with it.

As to tips in general we leave generous tips when called for and minimal when we get lousy service. I too have worked in restaurants and know lousy service when I get it. If the waitress is concerned about the busboy, etc. and all the others that depend on her tips, then they should be nicer and do a better job and not just expect a good tip regardless of actions.

[~bs]

I've had a situation where the waitress basically ignored us the entire night. Not really sure the reason why, as we were in the middle of the section she was servicing, and plainly was ignoring us. The busboy saw what was happening, so he decided to take our orders, bring food, etc etc on top of his normal bussing duties. At the end of the night, I pulled the busboy aside, slipped a good tip in his pocket and thanked him. Then zero'd out the tip on the bill. This way, I ensured the waitress got no tip money, and the money went directly to the person who actually helped us.

I think this used to be true, but it simply isn't anymore. A tip used to be a thank you for good service. Now it is expected, almost demanded, regardless of service. People just routinely leave a tip no matter what. Plus, the expected tip amount has risen from 15% to 18% and now even 20% in many places. And if you happen to have 6 people in your party, many restaurants will automatically add 18% to your bill so it isn't even up to the customer anymore if they want to leave a tip or how much (unless you want to go argue with the manager to lower that amount which I have done on occasion).

I can actually understand the rationale for the 18% automatic tip for large parties. Party of 2 is in there, doesn't require a lot of attention, and is out quickly. Larger parties require a lot more attention from the waitstaff and tends to take much longer than smaller parties. They may take up a large table for 2 hours or longer during peak time. A lot of times, it may take 15 minutes just to get everyone to the restaurant and looking at a menu. For some large parties, the restaurant may dedicate 1-2 wait staff on your party exclusively.

Because of this, if you get stiffed by a party of 6+, it's going to suck a lot more than getting stiffed by a party of 2 in a night, as you'd essentially be working for free that night.

[disneysteve]

IFor some large parties, the restaurant may dedicate 1-2 wait staff on your party exclusively.

This is one of my biggest restaurant pet peeves. Many, many times we have dined out with a larger group only to have 1 server assigned to the table. I'm sorry but 1 server can not efficiently serve 10 or 14 or 20 people in a timely manner. We've been in large, well-staffed restaurants when this has happened. There is no reason why they couldn't assign 2 or 3 servers to the group. We would have gotten our orders in quicker, gotten our food quicker, and been out of there quicker had they done so. It happens all the time though. We belong to a dining group that goes out monthly and this is the norm - 1 server for our group which is generally 20 or so people.