Tipping? (was Re: What is Lunch With Ginger)

[External Poster]

This posting is from: kumiko yvonne watanabe
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Hey Gin,

Just a few questions, not to pick your brain,
nor to put you on the spot on this, OK?
But this is something that is good to ask.

What percentage would be considered a good tip
for normal to good to excellent service now days
at a casino buffet and at a restaurant should we
as a group use?

Yes, the common answer is whatever one feels
is appropriate, but some need some guidelines
on what is acceptable.

Less than 10%, 10%,15%, 20%, 25%, more than 25%
of the bill? Yes, some places with groups there is
the automatic tip of 15% gratuity (tip) or more already
added to the bill.

Buffets do service the table, take away plates, refill
cups as much as any good table service at a regular
restaurant. Food is served at restaurants, while the
at buffets one gets what they want cafeteria style.
Should that be any difference in tip?

And what about if we get bad or no or negligible
service? Do we still tip them well to regain some
sort of better response the next time, if they serve
us? or do we tip as we think they deserve by such
mediocre service?

Tips are handled in may ways. One is collecting all
tips in a pool to be divided amongst the workers.
Some places whatever money is left on the table
the bus boys keep, and whatever is given to the
servers the servers keep. Some places all tips are
collected by the business, and is part of the normal
pay of each worker, and can be reported by the
business and taxed accordingly to each worker.


Thanks!

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(This posting was entered by kumiko yvonne watanabe, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

This posting is from: NikkiShae
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As a general tip rule I add two dollars for every ten on my bill. Ex.
$50-59 would be 10; $60-69 would be 12. Any decent server is worth
that. If s/he sucked then it's easy to just drop that in half. Or more.
One thing that varies from place to place is how many hands your tip is
going to. In many service models servers pay a minimum of 3% of their
sales to busboys and as much as 8% of their alcohol sales to the
bartenders that pour their drinks. Under the numbers provided if you tip
say 10% on a bill with a lot of cocktails you may actually be giving
your server nothing. Buffet should be the same if you have a server. No
server then your just feeding the busboy.

Just my thoughts

NikkiShae =^..^

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(This posting was entered by NikkiShae, an external user of MyDLV.)

[Ginger]

I think it is generally accepted when servers at buffets take away plates, refill drinks, and the like, one should tip 15% minimum and 20% or more for good service and a pleasant manner. Remember that most of these people are making minimum wage and depend on tips to live. I feel that I am representing all of us when I eat in a restaurant, have a drink in a bar, or take a cab, etc. When I treat the service person well, I am not only treating the service person fairly, I am leaving him or her with a positive image of me and my community. Our community needs all of the positive attitudes we can create.

I suppose if the person ignores me, has a condescending attitude, is terminally slow because he or she is attending to others, or the kitchen is slow or wrong with my order and the server does little or nothing to correct it, and I have encountered some of these, then he or she has earned his or her 10%. One of my worse experiences ever was at the Flamingo Buffet and even there I was more generous than I should have been, but I'll never be back. Two weeks ago I had another bad experience in New Orleans at a famous eatery. I don't think either of these had to do with me being trans and bad service can happen to anyone.

[annie]

> I think it is generally accepted when servers at buffets take away plates,
> refill drinks, and the like, one should tip 15% minimum and 20% or more for
> good service and a pleasant manner.

This subject (tipping at buffets) is a frequently-recurring topic on the various LV talk boards and there are two distinct schools of thought on it:

1. The usual and customary 15-20% normally paid to a sit-down restaurant server.

2. A flat $1-2 per person

This typically results in an endless-loop discussion regarding how hard buffet servers do and do not work when compared to sit-down restaurant servers, digressions, more heat than light, and eventually Godwin's Law applies.

I agree with Ginger that we should set a good example both for ourselves and for the TG community in general and err on the side of generosity when tipping, particularly if the service is good, which it usually is.

I think it's a Good Thing<tm> when the wait staff recognizes us and is eager to serve us as they did at Harrah's last year.

> One of my worse experiences ever was at the Flamingo Buffet

I remember when that happened. You were not very happy!

I'm sure you just caught somebody at the wrong time, or else the problem was identified and corrected. If a place has sucky service, the word gets out. I know there were complaints about the service at Joe's last year for EON. I notice it's not on the schedule this year. I wonder why.

Over the years of DLV, poor service is the exception and not the rule. We've found that most places value our business and serve us well.