Sorry but i only tip the waitress at a buffet ... If no one tips the stations then indeed no one will want to work that job and eventually they will pay the employee the right amount(Supply and demand).

Is there any sign enough people actually tip at the stations to make a difference, as opposed to this "tip at the stations" thing being a rumor dreamed up to get the guys in question a few extra bucks.

I have never seen or heard of anyone tipping at the stations, except on this thread.

Ditto.

That said, I personally avoid buffets, so I'm hardly an expert, but some wings of my family like buffets and I am occasionally dragged to them (kicking and screaming, of course). I have never seen or heard of tipping anyone except the waiter at the end of the meal when paying (and again, with some wings of my family, the waiters at a buffet do more work than a typical waiter as they have to clear off plates between each of several trips to the buffet. )

Personally I tip the amount I would normally regardless at buffets or sit down restaurants. It gives me peace if mind and I don't over think.

I don't tip at stations but in the rare occasion I do, I take the difference off at the end if the bill. All post discount and less takeout.

Sounds like a bit of "overthink" to me...

FT has some cheap, misanthropic .......s among its members.

Someone claimed it was in one of those published "tipping guides" for Vegas.

Paying at the end at a buffet sounds seems unusual to me; I've certainly hit it at hotels, but the vast majority of freestanding low-end ones (Hometown Buffet, Fresh Choice, etc) and Vegas/Reno casino ones are pay-on-entrance.

Well, it's always good to know what people think about this, but it's also an example of the hostility that can be generated by tipping, or not tipping, in the USA, so I think your comment illustrates very well why so many of us foreigners get stressed by the whole deal.

I'm all for paying my own way, I'm all for a fair day's pay for a fair day's work - I'm also all for the employer to be the one to pay for that day's work.

Why those foreigners insist on getting a cheap, almost free, labour force in the restaurant trade is just bizarre.

And some Internet heroes who feel safe and smug doling out insults towards strangers while cowering behind the anonymity of a computer.

I love tipping. Paying for performance. The competent & energetic get rewarded. The clueless & disinterested get punished. Not everyone has the personality for the service industry. The good ones make $$. The others do not & eventually figure out that they had better do something else for a living.

Well, there's no such thing as a free lunch, anywhere, so you're paying for staff wages one way or another, whether by tipping in the USA, or by higher menu prices in Australia to cover the fixed wages and evening and weekend penalty rates.

As many can attest, restaurant staff in the USA can do very well out of tips.

Funny how someone who refuses to give waiters (many of whom make $50K+ a year) 15-20% extra at the end of their meal is "cheap" and "misanthropic", but when we have a measure on the ballot to raise sales tax by 0.25% so that our schools can increase salaries of teachers who are getting paid $40K, it gets soundly defeated.

I hate the tipping system, and I make it known both on the internet and in real life. I don't hesitate to share my views with servers and managers when appropriate. Usually I just tip the standard 15%, but I adjust it in either direction as appropriate. And before anyone calls me cheap, I would wager that I donate a higher percentage of my income to charity than the average American, but I donate it to people based on their needs and not on social pressure.

As a non American, I think its very confusing when we should tip or not. When I first visited America, I messed it up several times by firstly undertipping then overcompensated later so as not to offend.

I got a cab, the fare was about 9.20 USD and gave him 10 and said keep the change...he wasnt impressed, whereas thatd be fine in the UK. Hadnt realised id insulted him and called him again the next day and he kept us waiting 45 mins and drove past us twice and said "this time you'll give me a real tip"
Also, stayed in a cheap hotel and at breakfast on the menu said "breakfast is included, but the tip isn't" Had no idea how much to leave and had to ask.

Then theres the hotels, bars, restaurants, cruises etc and it takes time to learn who gets the tips and who doesn't. It can all be quite stressful for an overseas visitor who doesnt know the rules.

I can think of several other occasions when ive just been unsure who to tip and how much. I end up when changing money now asking at the exchange for some $1's just to be sure.

I actually enjoy tipping at home because its based on good service, not automatically received and expected.