With Disney’s constant increase in prices one thing we don’t do a whole lot of now is table service dining. The prices are absurd and through the roof. But we still may do one or two. And also with the rise in prices are the rise in the amount of tip that should be paid. I have never and will never stiff a waiter on a tip, but I admit to wondering if most people still are paying the 18-20% suggested tip or paying less?
Personally I think a tab of over $200 for a family of four at Chef Mickeys for dinner is crazy. But you also have an expected tip of close to $40 to add on to that. $40 for buffet dining? I have read that many of the servers make more money than school teachers in Florida. I just wonder if most people who eat these meals with a tip expected are paying at least the 18% or just throwing out a pre-set number they have determined before hand?
I read a thread the other day that said that in the UK 20% Value Added Tax is added to restaurant bills and we add between 10 and 12.5% as a gratuity but that in the US, sales tax is 7% and you tip between 18 and 20% so in reality diners in both countries face a ‘mark up’ of about 30%. This sort of helps me rationalise it (sort of) and leads me to conclude that the correct tip is 18/20% irrespective of whether the meal is table service or buffet. Just my gut feeling☺.
At Disney, we are a party of 6 so they add gratuity of 18% to our bill. So that is what we tip. I tip 18% when it is added for me and 20% when it is my choice. That being said, I have certainly left an extra $20 for exemplary service from time to time in cases where the waiter was above and beyond good, friendly, and timely.
DH and I have no children, so normally the 18-20% amount for our bills feels right to me. That said, if there were 4 of us, I can’t say that I would feel that doubling the tip would be appropriate. Especially not at a buffet. It’s a heated topic, but unless a server is educating me on food choices, providing truly exemplary service (such as I have received only at Palo and at upscale non-Disney eateries) I do not feel that the price I pay for food should have any bearing whatsoever on the price I pay for the service. Whether you bring me a $5 cheeseburger or a $50 steak, the service was exactly the same. Now, as to the value of that service, it’s up to each of us to decide on our own. So if the server checks on me several times and keeps my glass full, they receive more from me than the waiter who doesn’t.
The really funny thing is that I have no idea who the guy in the pictures is or why you reference him.
Tips - we always tip at least 20% and usually round up. My husband spent his younger years working in restaurants. Don’t know how it works at WDW but tips are often split with the other front of the house staff.
I don’t tip 18%-20% at a buffet I tip 10% and up. At a buffet where all they do is clear your plate and fill you drink I start at 10%. If the server is nice the tip goes up if they keep the drinks full and plates cleared the tip goes up. Last year at biergarten the server is lucky I tipped her at all and I did tip her at least 15% or more. I also spent the rest of the trip mad at myself for tipping her that much. From what I know about wait staff is that buffet servers get a higher wage then wait staff. I was a busboy at a buffet style restaurant we were paid minimum wage and received tips. Most people did not tip us I would make $4-$5 a night. My sister who worked as a waitress for Denny’s made less an hour but a lot more in tips. At H&V I think I tipped 22% the server was clearing off plates as soon as they were put to the side drinks were refilled at 25% remaining. She even filled up togo cups for us as we left. I am disabled and can’t walk or stand in lines she kept asking if there was anything I needed and I kept telling her that DW was getting it for me.
