What is proper tip etiquette when eating at a buffet?

Question

I went to a Chinese buffet and was wondering how much I should have tipped the waitress even though she only brought us our drinks and a the bill. I only left her a dollar. Is any one else familiar with buffet dinning.

Answer 1

$1-2 per person depending on how messy you were..

Answer 2

I also leave $1 per person, but only if they clear the dirty dishes and refill drinks in a timely fashion

Answer 3

That sounds fine.

I usually leave 10% but that is only because I feel guilty... not because I believe that is the right thing to do.

Answer 4

We usually leave a dollar per person, if they are really good and keep clearing the table and refilling drinks we might leave a little more

Answer 5

we have a chinese buffet right close to us and when we eat with our 2 children we always leave $2 per adult and a $1 per child as a tip    i think they appreciate  any kind of tip  they only make like $3 an hour or something close to that.

Answer 6

Okay, these are all of the misconceptions of buffet tipping that I was afraid of. I work at a buffet, and trust me, we definitely SURVIVE on tips. We do not take your order, or bring your food out, but we do make sure that you have a satisfactory experience and have everything you need. We usually have a bigger section than servers do at full service restaurants, so we are responsible for making more people happy at once.

We ask you how you are doing, make sure you were able to find everything okay, refill your drinks, keep your table cleaned off while you eat, smile for your benefit, and bus your table after you leave. Behind the scenes, we are responsible for keeping everything clean, keeping the coffee and tea made, filling the ice, cleaning the bathroom, keeping the bar clean, sweeping the floor constantly. If you throw up, we have to clean it up, too. We also sort every piece of silverware used and roll all of it. There is probably more I'm not mentioning, but believe me, our job is far from easy. And then you get that jerk that feels like he has to treat you like c**p just because he doesn't want to leave a tip. ALL OF THIS, folks... is done for $2.13 per hour, which is then eaten up by taxes by the time you get your check.

So, even at a buffet, it is customary to tip AT LEAST $1 per person. But honestly, with a $12 meal, 20% would be $2.40 per person. $1 is less than 10%, which could be perceived as an insult.

Remember we are there to make your experience a good one, that is why we are hired, the restaurant could not run without us. But we do it for $2.13 an hour.

P.S. 15-20% tip applies to big parties also. If you leave a big mess, leave more of a tip to make up for it because I don't see you asking for a broom to clean up after yourself. If your server made your day a little better, or was just very good, leave a little more to show you appreciate them. It still shocks me the times when I will have one table of two people leave me $1, while I have a person that is by themself leave me a $5 bill.

Answer 7

Tip 10% if the server delivers all or part of your meal **or** keeps your drinks refilled.

Answer 8

sounds fair to me.

Answer 9

$2 per person for adults, $1 per child. They still clear plates, bring drinks, etc......Many times I leave more if they do a good job and are friendly and polite.  They still have to clean table after patrons leave, re-stock everything, silverware, etc...