Caterers: Tipping advice?

sweetsxo

I wanted to get some opinions on tipping caterers. Our current contract has an 18% service charge and states that each member of the catering staff will be receiving $35 per hour. Surely the service charge is, at least, partially for tips? Would you tip on top of these fees? I'm not one to skimp on tipping people but...

banana468

sweetsxo said:

I wanted to get some opinions on tipping caterers. Our current contract has an 18% service charge and states that each member of the catering staff will be receiving $35 per hour. Surely the service charge is, at least, partially for tips? Would you tip on top of these fees? I'm not one to skimp on tipping people but...

You should ask them what the service charge includes.  In some cases it could include tips but a vague "service charge" may not tell you how it's broken out and you may need to plan to bring extra cash to tip out servers.  

Cookie Pusher

The caterer for my wedding had a service charge, but none of it went towards tips. Definitely check with the caterer so you can plan accordingly. 

maine7mob

That service charge at our daughter's venue was a jive. The actual servers got very little of it. Yeah, tipping culture is messed up in the US, but you don't want to stiff the people doing the actual labor. I brought a wad of cash, and after the guests had gone and I saw the bar bill, I tipped on that. It sounds gross and tacky, but I wanted the people who had served our guests so well to get paid.