Ask George: What is the proper amount for a host to tip individual staffers at a catered event?

What is the proper amount for a host to tip individual staffers at a catered event? —Marie M., St. Louis

This is a great question for two reasons: 1. It’s especially timely, as its party season, with graduations, rehearsal dinners, receptions, summer holiday get-togethers, etc. 2. Unlike standard tipping situations, there’s no easy answer, no set percentage that works in all cases.

Since catering companies compensate their employees differently—there are no standards and no rules—the host needs to determine at the outset how the employees are being compensated in order to calculate an appropriate gratuity. So ask ahead of time how staffers are compensated. Clarifying whether the tip is included or what tip is appropriate, given the service, is a good practice and certainly fair game.

In any tipping situation, it’s never bad policy to err on the side of generosity. After shelling out thousands of thousands of dollars for a catered party, a nonplussed friend once likened his big-hearted tip to “a rounding error.” 

We asked several local caterers to weigh in on the subject of gratuities. All had a slightly different take, confirming our initial statement that there’s no easy answer:

Richard Nix, Jr., Butler’s Pantry: “In most catering situations, the front of house (waiters, bartenders, etc.) and culinary team gets paid by the hour. On average, I would say that either one and a half or two times their hourly wage is a great tip. So if the company in charging a client $40 per hour, then a tip of $60 –$80 is appropriate, especially if the team provided great service.”

Kelly Spencer, The Social Affair: “Every company does this differently. Some companies build in gratuity. In that case, 18–20 percent is usually added to the total food cost. We leave it up to the discretion of our clients. They either add 18–20 percent to their food cost on their invoice or give $20–$100 per staff member in cash—or sometimes nothing at all, sadly. In some cases, the client will only tip the bartenders, which is very odd to me as the bartenders are the only ones getting actual tips from guests at weddings, leaving the kitchen and event staff without tips. I will say that we pay our staff very competitively to begin with and always tip our staff, no matter if our clients tip us or not. They work so hard, especially now, when we are all struggling to find consistent service staff.”

Carleen Kramer, Catering St. Louis: “We have a no-tipping policy at Catering St. Louis. All of the staff are paid a fair and equitable wage to take the tipping element out of the picture. The service fee we collect helps pay the staff. That is why we are a touch more expensive. For a tip, we ask that our clients leave a favorable review if they are happy with our service.”

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