Inspired by a visit to a seafood buffet. This particular restaurant has no menu, it is buffet only. All the wait staff does is get you drinks and bring your bill. There are a lot of people maintaining the buffet line, bringing out new food, keeping an eye on things and such.
We tipped about 20% of our bill but I was curious if other people tip at buffets, and if so, do you tip the same or less than you normally do.
From my experience at buffets, the wait staff tops up my glass of water after every sip, and busses the table for each subsequent trip to the buffet.
Also, most restaurants have some type of tip-out arrangement where wait staff shares a portion of their gratuities with the other staff members.
If you sit down to eat somewhere, and you didn’t order your food from a counter with a cash register, and you didn’t pay for your meal before you received it, I’m pretty sure you’re expected to tip.
Assuming that the staff is monitoring my drinks and clearing the table between buffet visits I tip as I normally do.
If there is table service, then yes. Some buffets have a self-serve drink tower and no table service, in which case obviously I wouldn’t tip, because there’s nobody to tip.
If they are topping off my glass and swapping out my plates, yes. I usually leave 20%.
I usually tip a minimum amount per person at the table and then bump it up if the server makes a lot of extra trips to our table or if someone in the group is high maintenance.
The wait staff also clears used dishes.
I tip based on service but usually tip less at buffets.
I tip usually based on the number of people. The other night we went to the buffet as a group of 16. He got a $20 tip. I think it worked out to be about 10% or so.
If we get efficient drink service and plate clean-up, I’ll tip around 15%. I usually tip more, but at a buffet I’m the one doing the heavy lifting and fetching of beer.
I tip about 15%-20% at a buffet, maybe 10% if they really didn’t do much service. But most of the time they do a good job of keeping drinks filled and the bill ready for me when it’s time, so I tip usually the same amount as any restaurant but maybe a little less.
My rule of thumb is a buck per person, assuming the staff is just clearing dishes and refilling drinks. That usually averages a bit over 10%. But I can’t recall the last time we went to a buffet. The Chinese place near us has gone downhill dramatically, so we don’t go there any more. We tried another, and it was worse, if that’s possible. There’s a place that does a brunch buffet where I’m inclined to tip a bit more because it’s a pretty nice place with very attentive service.
As always, I tip based on service. Taking drink orders and bussing dishes while I serve myself from a buffet is obviously much less service than actually waiting on a table for all aspects of a full meal, so the tip is commensurate.
Couple three bucks usually, for the bussing.
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Can people indicate in their posts whether the amount or percent they’re listing is what they normally tip, or if they’re tipping less because it’s a buffet?
And for the record I’m referring to a buffet where you get your own food, but staff brings you drinks and takes empty plates from your table.
I generally tip 20% for full service, and I’ll usually tip a little less at a buffet. I typically avoid buffets, though, because I read the health inspection reports in the paper.
You forgot the “No” option.
Buck a person tipper here, which is generally less than I usually tip at a full service restaurant.
A bit more if my kid has left a mess that I can’t easily clean up, like crumbs on the floor that need the sweeper, or if the person has otherwise done something exceptionally nice.
At the buffets here, you pay at the counter as you come in, and all the food and drinks are self-serve. Your plates are sometimes cleared as you go up for more, but sometimes not, so I might leave a tip but its not what I’d tip at a regular restaurant.
Usually aim for 10%. The servers don’t devote as much service to any one table in a buffet setting (as opposed to a sit-down restaurant), so they can handle a higher volume of tables as a result.
However, odd experience: I went to Golden Corral once. They make you pay before your meal. I would have tipped a buck and change, but there wasn’t a tip line on the receipt and I didn’t have any cash. Do they not want customers to tip there?