How much do you tip at a Buffet?

[waggy]

Nothing, but that's because I refuse to go to buffets.

you are missing out. I love breakfast buffet's if done well.

A good buffet is well worth the money. Most suck ass though. not worth the $10 a person. teh food is usually dried out and crappy.

 

[WelshBloke]

you are missing out. I love breakfast buffet's if done well.

A good buffet is well worth the money. Most suck ass though. not worth the $10 a person. teh food is usually dried out and crappy.

Yeah I'm lazy when I go out.

Bring me a menu, let me point at things then bring them to me.

 

[JEDI]

10% is the buffet standard so usually 20%+

Whenever I eat somewhere and my tab is $10, I'll leave a $3-5 tip, what's an extra buck or two.

since u work as a waiter/bartender, i can understand that.
(waiter's remorse?)

I tip 10%, but minimum $2.

so For a $15 bill (buffet or regular restaurant), it doesnt matter much for me.
$2 tip for buffet, $2.25 for regular restuarant

 

[TallBill]

since u work as a waiter/bartender, i can understand that.
(waiter's remorse?)

I tip 10%, but minimum $2.

so For a $15 bill (buffet or regular restaurant), it doesnt matter much for me.
$2 tip for buffet, $2.25 for regular restuarant

Not remorse, paying out forward. I certainly don't expect others to tip like that but surprisingly a lot do. That's why the cheapskates don't bother me, it evens out.

 

[Brigandier]

Tipping at a bar is totally different, I don't tip by percentage I tip by time spent there and it usually evens out to $5 an hour.

 

[lothar]

Do you take away each dirty plate?

Do you clean up the table after you're done...?

Do you tip when you dine in at Subway or McDonalds?

Do you take away your dirty tray?
Do you clean up the table after you're done?

 

[TallBill]

Do you tip when you dine in at Subway or McDonalds?

Do you take away your dirty tray?
Do you clean up the table after you're done?

People who don't clean their table at counter order type restaurants are fucking slobs. Staff will do it, but no reason to leave a mess. Especially during busy lunches where tables get resat before someone can even clean them.

 

[lothar]

People who don't clean their table at counter order type restaurants are fucking slobs. Staff will do it, but no reason to leave a mess. Especially during busy lunches where tables get resat before someone can even clean them.

I generally agree.
However when I say cleaning table, I don't just mean only throwing your own trash away.
I mean doing that, and also wiping your entire table and seat down with alcohol or whatever disinfectant included.

Why is it okay to tip a buffet, but not McDonald's or Subway?
The staff there still have to clean after slobs and disinfect the entire table and chairs after each customer sits.

 

[Kaido]

Am I the only one who has never eaten at a buffet that has waiters?

 

[ShadowOfMyself]

0$, I dont live in america

 

[nageov3t]

I won't tip on a percentage at a buffet unless alcohol is involved... but I'll throw $2-3 on the table to cover myself.

(that said, I hate buffets and generally will not go to them unless I'm in a group and everyone else is really keen on the idea)

 

[Mixolydian]

I don't do buffets. Who knows how long that food has been sitting there.

 

[lothar]

People who don't clean their table at counter order type restaurants are fucking slobs. Staff will do it, but no reason to leave a mess. Especially during busy lunches where tables get resat before someone can even clean them.

Oh, and I should add that tipping waiters at a restaurant shouldn't be used as an excuse to be a slob.
I know some high end tipper may come in here and say "Screw that, I tipped 20%. Why should I have to clean the syrup that I or my child spilled on the table and my bread crumbs?"

It doesn't matter if it's a counter order restaurant or "the waiter bring your plate to you" model restaurant where you're obligated to tip.
Neither should be used as an excuse to be a slob.

 

[BUTCH1]

Since I get my own food I just leave $2 no matter what the bill is, I see many empty tables that have left zero so I'm OK with the $2..

 

[ponyo]

So you guys go to like those $50 /person buffet at Vegas or $30 Sunday Brunch buffet in your town and only leave like $1 per person? Or some of you don't even tip?

 

[nageov3t]

So you guys go to like those $50 /person buffet at Vegas or $30 Sunday Brunch buffet in your town and only leave like $1 per person? Or some of you don't even tip?

not sure I'd ever go to a place like that, but yeah... if all the server is doing is bringing me a glass of soda and an empty plate, $2 seems appropriate for the amount of work they're doing.

 

[ponyo]

Am I the only one who has never eaten at a buffet that has waiters?

Lot of high end places will do special Sunday Brunch for $30-$100 per person and you'll definitely get waiters there. You can also order their regular menu like steaks and stuff if someone at your table doesn't want the buffet.

 

[BUTCH1]

So you guys go to like those $50 /person buffet at Vegas or $30 Sunday Brunch buffet in your town and only leave like $1 per person? Or some of you don't even tip?

Whoa, the Chinese buffet I go to is $12, $50 is really high-end for a buffet. Yea, about $1/person is what I do, all they do is bring over your drink, the busboys come by and clear the tables, why do they deserve a 17% tip if I'm the one getting the food??.

 

[Exterous]

Most are under $10 around here so just $1 at the places they get your drinks and clear your plates. For the couple that are all self serve it's $0

I don't do buffets. Who knows how long that food has been sitting there.

Keeps your digestive system on its toes.

Whoa, the Chinese buffet I go to is $12, $50 is really high-end for a buffet. Yea, about $1/person is what I do, all they do is bring over your drink, the busboys come by and clear the tables, why do they deserve a 17% tip if I'm the one getting the food??.

Heh we all got annoyed after one chinese place ran the other out of business and raise its price to $8. Yay for low cost of living areas!

 

[BUTCH1]

I don't do buffets. Who knows how long that food has been sitting there.

You want to go when it's busy, that's when the food is the best because they are always cooking more..

 

[superkoopatroop]

YATT

Buffets are hard to judge. I get the feeling that they actually provide more of a service than your typical restaurant, especially if they bring/refill drinks but they get shafted(with lower tips?) because of one sole reason that they didn't actually take an order. I guess we can argue they didn't bring the food to the table either but they do have to refill the buffet stations. And if we're discussing tipping on the taking of an order, people should be tipping when they go to a restaurant for take out but they don't.

The tipping custom in America IMO is illogical and odd. For every reason we can come up for why we tip, there is always similar line of work we could come up that is completely opposite but no one cares.

I can tell you first hand that no one ever tips at a buffet. I worked at one for 14 months.

-People let kids get food even though they break plates every time, play tag and spill food all over the floor and counter.

-People who go to Buffets are old and lost some taste buds, own guns, love nascar and have eating issues.

-They all take 3 plates each even though a few hundred people can be inside the restaurant at any given time. and fill them to the top. Then complain that the mash potatoes are gone and refuse to wait 5 min because they think the waiter has a stove top under his shirt and gets belittled and flipped out on by the whitest trash you can imagine.

-It isnt WWIII, take one plate, eat whats on it and get another when ur done. So we can donate the food that's untouched, so others who also paid can have food, so food doesn't go to waist when ur full.

-They feel the need, one at a time to tell us the mash potatoes are gone. WE KNEW IT WAS GONE!!! WE SEEN IT GONE BEFORE IT WAS GONE!! WE STARTED MAKING MORE BEFORE THE THAT BATCH WAS PUT OUT!!! WE ARE DOING OUR BEST!

-They only eat 1 of the 3 plates and throw the rest out.

-If they only took one plate at a time, the mashed potatoes would still be there and the new batch would be done when the initial potatoes are gone.

-They let kids run around, puke on the floor and hang on the ice cream machine until more ice cream is on the floor then in the machine. so I have to run to the freazer and grab a 30 pound bag of liquid icecream and refil the machine every 2 hours. aAll the trash get a kick out of it.

-The only nice customer was the one who requested a medium rare steak and got it because I actually cared. Looking back at it, DOES ANYONE GO TO MCDONALDS AND REQUEST A MEDIUM RARE MCDOUBLE?

-They let the kids touch every piece of food so we have to throw it out because they just dont give a flying shit. and they get to b*tch while we feverishly make it again.

-everything made was from scratch and wasnt frozen box pizza like everyone seems to think.

-The trays with the food that we pull out the oven is about 300 degrees and we had to pick it up with 4-5 pairs of latex gloves on each hand and a thin wet rag. let it cool for 5 min then quickly place them on the bars repeatedly for hours.

Now keep in mind, I had actual work to do. Things like cleaning the bars, baking cakes and cookies, refilling plates and utensils. Closing the restaurant every night until 11:30. I cooked every item at the desert bar! for minimum wage. The best part was, they all complained that the restaurant was going down hill. But the people who ate at the buffet made it trashy, when they left every night and i had to get on my hands and knees to scrub the puke off the floor. it was spotless. even though I don't work at a restaurant anymore, it would be nice if more people tip them. It was the worst job I ever had. I'm sure if anyone got a job at a busy buffet, they would be straight up shocked.

 

[Imp]

The standard. They usually make more trips to my table than at a regular restaurant. Regular = drinks, order, food, check up, check. Buffet = drinks, clear table, clear table, clear table (at least 3 times for me alone), and check.

 

[DCal430]

I generally agree.
However when I say cleaning table, I don't just mean only throwing your own trash away.
I mean doing that, and also wiping your entire table and seat down with alcohol or whatever disinfectant included.

Why is it okay to tip a buffet, but not McDonald's or Subway?
The staff there still have to clean after slobs and disinfect the entire table and chairs after each customer sits.

First at McDonalds are aren't cleaning the table after each customers, second at a buffet they are constantly clearing the table and refilling your drinks. They provide just as much a service as a standard restaurant. If you tip at a standard restaurant you should tip them to.

 

[Svnla]

Most are under $10 around here so just $1 at the places they get your drinks and clear your plates. For the couple that are all self serve it's $0.

This.

I haven't been to a buffet place around here lately (trying to lose some weight) but the last time I was there, lunch was less than $10 and it was pretty good. I always tip at least $1 or $2 at those buffet places.

I have never been to a "all self serve" place.

 

[lothar]

First at McDonalds are aren't cleaning the table after each customers, second at a buffet they are constantly clearing the table and refilling your drinks. They provide just as much a service as a standard restaurant. If you tip at a standard restaurant you should tip them to.

Maybe they don't at yours, but they certainly do at mine.
I suppose if one lives in a major urban city or in the ghetto they might not have the chance to do that after each customer.
The one near my area does clean so experiences may vary, not to mention the issue of franchises vs. corporate owned Subway/McDonald's restaurants.
Living in(or near) a small town helps. Going to franchise owned Subway/McDonald's over the corporate owned ones usually helps also.

No argument about that here.
All I'm saying is that if you tip at standard restaurants and buffets, then you should tip at your local McDonald's and Subway restaurants if you dine in there as well.