There seem to be a lot of these things around now, I’ve eaten at them in four or five states. Every one seems to have a tip jar at the cooking stations (sometimes with a “good luck gong” or somesuch).
There are basically two sets of service people: the “wait staff” who deal with dishes, beverages, empty bowls, etc., and the cooks.
So how do the rest of you tip at these things? I do a standard (~20%) tip on the bill, and a buck or so per person in the jar, but that’s just because I’m not sure that the bill tip gets shared with the cooks and vice versa. Does it all just go in a big pot for everyone, is it kept separate, or does it vary by location? Anyway, my method adds up to a fairly large tip for food I basically have to haul around myself.
This isn’t really keeping me up at night; as with all tipping situations, I assume that erring on the side of “they need the money more than I do,” is valid, but I’m still interested in the mechanics. Anyone worked at a few and know? What do the rest of you do?