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

[Timothy Mouse]

Usually 18 to 20 percent.

[MichaelF]

We had six in our party last trip so everywhere we ate put 18% on our bill. We spent about $1300 total for the week so our tips came to roughly $200.

[lovewdw3]

If we go out to eat which is rare because my Boys would rather do take-out! Anyway I usually tip about 15%....if the service was pretty good then the tip goes up. However if the service was poor, then less than 15%.

I am experienced in Customer Service- and I use to be a waitress way before kids were even thought about, so I am pretty critical when it comes to the wait-staff. And with any person that has waited on me and not just the restaurants, if they are exceptional I will look for the manager to let him/her know what Fabulous service I have received!!!

[PrincessEmilysMommy]

After working in food service for most of my life...even POST degree *sigh*, I am a 20% kind of gal.
As long as my drink did not sit empty or there wasn't simething majorly wrong I tip 20%.
EXCEPT at buffets....or should I say most buffets.
As we aren't big eaters, we usually only have one plate each, which I clean and stack appropriately, clean up all the loose garbage, etc. therefore our table is usually only visited to take and deliver drink orders and to drop off the check.
In that case, I'm usually more of a 15% gal.
I do however make an effort to at least once on the trip really surprise our server and tip HUGE....like 50% or more.
If there was something special about that server, or if you could tell they were really having a rough day, I have no problem tipping $25-$30 on a $50 lunch bill.
The way I see it, that extra $10-$20 isn't going to buy all that much at Disney, but completely changing someone's day around or really making them happy....that is pretty priceless!
It's good karma.
I had it done to me a couple of times during my bartending days and the feeling is really incredible.

Skip dessert after a big dinner one night.
Refill your bottle with tap or fountain water for the day..
something small that you won't really notice, and add that extra amount to someone's tip one day!
Try it!
You will feel great too!

[Wolfy6688]

In Disney, 20% is standard for us. If they're exceptional, 25% or more. If service is very poor (which has only happened twice), we adjust accordingly.

[lfredsbo]

Originally Posted by PrincessEmilysMommy

After working in food service for most of my life...even POST degree *sigh*, I am a 20% kind of gal.
As long as my drink did not sit empty or there wasn't simething majorly wrong I tip 20%.
EXCEPT at buffets....or should I say most buffets.
As we aren't big eaters, we usually only have one plate each, which I clean and stack appropriately, clean up all the loose garbage, etc. therefore our table is usually only visited to take and deliver drink orders and to drop off the check.
In that case, I'm usually more of a 15% gal.
I do however make an effort to at least once on the trip really surprise our server and tip HUGE....like 50% or more.
If there was something special about that server, or if you could tell they were really having a rough day, I have no problem tipping $25-$30 on a $50 lunch bill.
The way I see it, that extra $10-$20 isn't going to buy all that much at Disney, but completely changing someone's day around or really making them happy....that is pretty priceless!
It's good karma.
I had it done to me a couple of times during my bartending days and the feeling is really incredible.

Skip dessert after a big dinner one night.
Refill your bottle with tap or fountain water for the day..
something small that you won't really notice, and add that extra amount to someone's tip one day!
Try it!
You will feel great too!

I just wanted to say I really like your motto!!! I am not in the service industry - but have always felt that what goes around comes around - and you are a good person!

[Dave Marx]

At Disney, I tip table service and buffet servers on the same scale - 15% base line, more or less if justified ("more" is more common than "less").

At a typical hometown buffet, where the server is really just bussing the table and maybe pouring drinks? I feel OK going with 10%. But the Disney servers are much more involved (believe me, Disney's style of buffet service is designed to justify the higher tip). They may not write down an order (other than drinks), but they're going to describe the buffet (and maybe recommend some items), refill our drinks as often as any table service server, help out with character visits (if any) and be attentive enough to clear plates any time anyone leaves the table for the buffet line.

When Alexander was younger, only one of us would go to the buffet line at a time, so the other could keep an eye on him. So, I'd get up, my plate would be cleared. I'd come back, then Jennifer would go up, and her plate would be cleared, etc. The servers usually spent at least as much time at my table as a lot of table service servers do. I'm the type to visit the buffet line four or more times during a meal (I'm usually sampling every item on the buffet - a professional requirement ). So, my servers really get a workout. But... if dirty plates start building up, drink refills come slowly, server doesn't engage with us, they're not responsive to "correction"... things are going to move back towards 10%.

I have to be really unhappy to knock a table service tip down from 15% - for me, it's more important to bring the problem to the manager's attention and to see how the restaurant and server responds. If they make a serious effort make up for the earlier problem, they'll probably be back to 15% (once or twice, they actually deserved more than 15% by the time it was done). If nothing I do to affect the situation helps, well... The server will already know I'm unhappy, and won't be surprised by a low tip.

A low tip received without an explanation is rarely "instructive" to the server. A good server having a bad day may understand why, but isn't going to be "taught" anything - they'll be back on form in short order anyway. A bad server is likely to blame the customer for the bad tip, rather than his/her own behavior. Get the word out while there's still time for corrective action, and far more can be accomplished.

[sk8mom6]

I usually start at 15% and then go up for good service. We have been known to leave a much higher tip for a server who pleased us. Our waiters at leCellier (lunch) and Chefs de France got way more than 20%, because they did have good service and were polite. Same with our waiter at Kouzzina--even though we didn't care for the food--that wasn't his fault. He took very good care of us and seemed to feel bad that we didn't eat very much of our dinners.
Although, sometimes they can be too attentive. Had a server at Yachtsmens Steakhouse that hovered too much...we were there for our anniversary and barely had 5 minutes that he wasn't at the table.

[notjustamom]

We are a party of 6 so our tip is usually auto at 18%. However, I have given more when warranted

Same here for our party of 8

[Katara81]

We tip 18-20% as a rule, more if the service is good.

Originally Posted by PrincessEmilysMommy

I do however make an effort to at least once on the trip really surprise our server and tip HUGE....like 50% or more.
If there was something special about that server, or if you could tell they were really having a rough day, I have no problem tipping $25-$30 on a $50 lunch bill.
The way I see it, that extra $10-$20 isn't going to buy all that much at Disney, but completely changing someone's day around or really making them happy....that is pretty priceless!
It's good karma.
I had it done to me a couple of times during my bartending days and the feeling is really incredible.

Skip dessert after a big dinner one night.
Refill your bottle with tap or fountain water for the day..
something small that you won't really notice, and add that extra amount to someone's tip one day!
Try it!
You will feel great too!

We do this from time to time, even at our local restaurants. During college DH spent a couple years as a manager at a very upscale restaurant, and dealt with many sobbing waitresses who had waited on large parties (like 20+ people) and were left with a $2 tip. It's mind-blowing how cheap some people are - if you can't afford a decent tip, go to a less expensive restaurant. So we often over-tip due to DH's experiences.

[lfredsbo]

Originally Posted by Katara81

We tip 18-20% as a rule, more if the service is good.



We do this from time to time, even at our local restaurants. During college DH spent a couple years as a manager at a very upscale restaurant, and dealt with many sobbing waitresses who had waited on large parties (like 20+ people) and were left with a $2 tip. It's mind-blowing how cheap some people are - if you can't afford a decent tip, go to a less expensive restaurant. So we often over-tip due to DH's experiences.

That is just awful - I work in social services - and many of the folks I work with work in the service industry and I hear things like this all the time - so sad that some people just shrug off service workers like they are nothing...........
Karma............
that is why we always tip around the 20% regardless - sometimes it might be lower, but not very often - and we will sometimes go out of our way for exceptional service - they are hard working people too!

[DisneyWitch]

I tip 20%, not only because I feel it's the right thing to do, but because I suck at math. (It's not that we're rich, but oftentimes, 20% is much easier for my pea-brain to figure out than 15%) Now, in my case, it's usually just two adults eating (we don't have kids), and we're pretty clean too. We tend to ensure that we're not whiny, unreasonable, grumpy, or otherwise anything other than nice. Our attitude is: treat service professionals as if you were a guest in their house. Of course, if they're being poopy with me through no fault of my own, I won't be Suzy Sunshine either.

Now, if our server is outstanding, if they've fulfilled a special request or went out of their way to make our meal special, or if we just had an incredible time - we will tip more. We've tipped as much as 50% of the bill!!

My opinion here, please don't take offense. I have never worked in food service. From my perspective, it seems like it's one of the most difficult and selfless jobs around. And it tends to pay the crappiest - wait staff rely on tips just to make ends meet. Most wait staff - and definitely the ones I've had at WDW - work their tushes off to ensure that we have a great meal experience. I don't understand when customers are mean / short / rude / nasty / dismissive to their wait staff (that actually goes for anyone in the service industry, including Mousekeeping). I know that some people view them as invisible, or even inferior - but I kind of think that's backwards. After all, it takes a strong character to put up with perfect strangers' grumpy attitudes (not to mention, their dirty things!!)! Goodness knows *I* couldn't do it with as much grace and kindness as I've seen! Heck, I'd probably get fired the first night for telling someone off for being a rude doofus. LOL

[Katara81]

Originally Posted by lfredsbo

That is just awful - I work in social services - and many of the folks I work with work in the service industry and I hear things like this all the time - so sad that some people just shrug off service workers like they are nothing...........
Karma............
that is why we always tip around the 20% regardless - sometimes it might be lower, but not very often - and we will sometimes go out of our way for exceptional service - they are hard working people too!

Yes, DH has always said he was glad he wasn't going in for any type of management or service-oriented degree (he's an engineer), as being in that kind of business definitely was NOT something he would want to do long-term. He has some positive stories as well though, such as the time he took over the grill in the absence of one of the chefs (yes, my DH is awesome, the very definition of "jack-of-all-trades", lol) and a patron asked to meet him and thank him personally for his perfectly cooked steak! So being a "big tipper" isn't the only way to show thanks for great service - a personal thanks to a server or chef, or talking to the manager about the exceptional service the particular person offered, is a wonderful way to let folks know that they're doing a great job.

[Pretty Kitty]

We try to tip around 15%. I think we need to be carefulhow we react to situations. We may not always know the full story. My family was in a situation where we were given a gift certificate to a REALLY NICE restaurant and so we took my mom there at Christmas time. The amount was over the gift certificate, we had to use some of what we planned for the tip and gave the rest to the waiter as a tip. He was not happy with the amount of tip he received. He went and told another waitress what happened in a loud enough voice that several patrons besides us heard it. I was humilated. We had been living on half salary for almost a year(with two children). Needless to say I have never gone back to that restaurant and never will even if I was given another certificate. I do agree there is no place for patrons to be rude and stingy when a waiter/ress has worked hard but there might be something that they don't know about as well.

[CinderAbby]

The amount was over the gift certificate, we had to use some of what we planned for the tip and gave the rest to the waiter as a tip. He was not happy with the amount of tip he received.

Now see, in a circumstance like this, I would outright tell the server that he did a wonderful job and that you wanted to give more but were unable to - the meal cost more than expected, whatever. The server didn't know why you gave such a small tip and in a way, you can't fault him for assuming something. It doesn't make what he did right but if he knew why, then maybe he would have been understanding. I know myself, I've done that - told a server I've wanted to give more but just didn't have it to give.