How much do you tip while dining? About This Page:

[EddieCVS]

Our trip last August we spend a good amount of money on just tipping while dining. We were there 12 days and probably tipped over $500 while on the deluxe dining plan. This trip we cut down our ADR's and will not use the dining plan. We have made ADR's for this trip but not a lot. Before I was tipping between 15 to 20 percent. What do you tip while dining? Do you tip differently for buffet dining? I want to tip fairly but I don't want to go broke while on vacation.

[CinderAbby]

I tip the same percentage whether buffet or not (I start at 15% but give more based on service), even though I feel buffet workers actually work harder (they get the sodas and have to clear multiple sets of dishes where "regular" restaurants usually have busboys clear the table, not the servers).

[renbugs]

We tip 20% for table and buffet .. Unless the service wasn't good and/or food

[jagafen]

20% here too, regardless of TS or Buffet....If service is good/personable/personalized, we're bound to tip more than 20%. But we both waited tables through college, so we're a bit biased....

[JerseyDad]

....we'll generally tip 20%. If the service is extraordinary...we'll tip up to 25%. That's happened twice at WDW...once last year at 50's PrimeTime (phenomenal service and interaction with the waiter)......and once a few years back in San Angel Inn (where the waiter actually sat with us a while to discuss some of the menu and drink choices). We know that the wait-staff doesn't get paid a fortune..and if they really shine while attending to us...then we thank them appropriately with a good tip.

[ParkieBrown]

Always 20% unless really poor or really outstanding than we adjust accordingly. It does stink to have a large portion of your vacation money going to tips but it is vacaction and we save for it.

[wmanderson]

It doesn't matter if I'm at Disney or at home, I start at 10% and either go up or down from there. If service is abysmal they get less or even no tip, if service is good, I've been known to tip as much as 30%. I don't believe that there should be a standard. It should be based on service. I also tip less for buffets, because yes they bring drinks and clear dishes, but they do not take your order or bring your food you have to get it yourself.

[revral]

I tip 20% or more for excellent service. It's extremely rare for me to leave less than 20% as I tend to assume the waiter was having an off or bad day so the service has to be truly abysmal before I tip less.

[dkfajr1]

We are a party of 6 so our tip is usually auto at 18%. However, I have given more when warranted. Once when a server went above and beyond, I gave 25%, spoke to the manager about how well he treated us (I wanted a specific hot tea they served, but didn't know they didn't serve it anymore there, only in the other restaurant at that time--he went and got me some from the other place!) and I wrote a letter to the management as well to express how nice he was and how that him getting me that tea meant so much when he didn't have to do that.

[OneLittleSpark]

I tip 15% at buffets. Other restaurants, I start at 18% (which tells you on the receipt), if the service was okay, then I leave it at 18%, if it was bad I go down to 15%, if it was good I tip 20% or more...depending.

If they didn't tell me 18% on the receipt I would start at 15%, and move up to 20% for good service and stay at 15% for bad. If it was really bad then I would do closer to 10%.

I admit too that I am a rounder. If the tip is close to one number or the other I round. Which does mean that sometimes it is slightly less than the stated percentage. For example, if the tip was $5.35 I would tip $5.

[lfredsbo]

We also usually tip at least 20% - whether at Disney or home.............and DH does enjoy going out to eat!!!

Sometimes, we will tip less - maybe 15% for buffets - depending on the place.

[jimmymac]

20% for buffets and reular restaurants

[TuffyCO]

We tip based on service. We start at 15% and if the service is excellent it goes up, if it's bad it goes down. If it's just average service it stays at 15%.


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[sakana]

20% here. Waitressed for too many years to tip less.

[WillCAD]

15% for TS (minimum $3, even if my meal is only $10), 10% for buffets (minimum $2), rounded up to the next even dollar, same as at home.

If the service is extra good, I leave extra tip. If it's extra poor, I leave an extra poor tip.

But I also follow this:
WillCAD's Four Simple Rules for Being a Good Restaurant Patron:

1. Keep it clean!
Somebody has to clean up any mess you make after you leave, and they don't get paid enough to deal with your garbage. So unless your server is Mike Rowe, have a little consideration, ya slob, and don't leave piles of chicken bones or pudles of soup, soda, or pancake syrup all over the table.

2. Keep it simple!
Servers aren't telepathic - they don't know what you WANT, they only know what you SAY. So do everybody a favor and actually read your menu and decide what you want to order before the server asks you - and then convey your order in short, simple, coherent sentences. They ain't Creskin; if they give you the wrong thing because you babbled your order in incomprehensible gibberish, it's YOUR fault, not theirs.

3. Treat them with respect!
The lowest, most despicable person on Earth is the person who thinks that a server, bartender, bellhop, painter, ditch-digger, toilet scrubber, or other person in a manual-labor job is somehow "beneath" notice and not worthy of respect. I SPIT on all those who would treat a service person like a second-class citizen! Ptooey!

4. Reward them according to their merits.
Hey, if that server did their job as they were supposed to do it, then give them a proper tip! They bust their butts to give you a nice, enjoyable, pleasant meal, and they deserve commensurate compensation for their work. If they did an OUTSTANDING job, don't just leave a few bucks on the table, TELL them that they did an outstanding job. After all, everybody can use a compliment now and then, right? And if they did a REALLY OUTSTANDING job, tell the manager - a few compliments can help out on the server's yearly reviews and salary evaluations! Wouldn't you like to get a nice raise if you did a great job?

4A. If it ain't their fault, don't blame them!
If the kitchen is a shambles, or it took a long time to get seated, or the table next to you was loud and obnoxious all night, don't use that flimsy excuse to leave a crappy tip - none of that is the server's fault. Hold them responsible only for their own actions, just as you should be held responsible only for your own. And most importantly, have a nice day!