I Really Would like Your Opinion.

Honestly... I'd just include a "mandatory" tip as part of the upfront cost.

Party cost sans mandatory tip : $300
So instead of $300 + 10% tip you CHARGE $330.

It will save you headaches, arguments, and people saying they didn't "see" the required tip amount. And anyone who is happy and would tip anyway, will still tip!

<grin> Just scanning through the responses... you can see how many people get irked by mandatory tipping.

But no one notices if it's in the up front charge.

It's also a way to attract employees: They get 10% of the party fee of every party they host. Tips above and beyond that are just kudos.

If gratuity is included, I don't see any reason to tip above and beyond. I trust the business to put that gratuity directly into the employees hands.

I don't think anyone likes being told they have to tip. However, I have worked for a place that did birthday events on a waitress salary and I hardly ever got tips. Most people don't think you need to tip the staff at birthday events but I don't think most people realize that some don't get paid a lot.

I think the better option would be to charge more for the party and just pay your employee accordingly.

Here is my general rules for tipping - I tip very generously for impeccable service. If I have to wait forever for a table...that's not my waiter/waitress fault. If the kitchen messes up our food I do not hold that against the waiter/waitress as it is not their fault. The exception there is if you serve me a plate of food that looks so gross (raw or burnt to a chrisp) you yourself wouldn't eat it. Then why serve it to me????

I get annoyed with places that presume to tell me how much I am required to tip for service. Let me be the judge of the services and tip accordingly. This is a big pet peeve of mine. So much so that we do NOT frequent establishments with required tipping...at all...ever...period. Think of it this way, if the average teen worker knows that their going to get said tip regardless of the service they render...how much effort do you think their really going to put into doing their job? Let them learn the valuable career lesson that if you go the extra mile and give it your 110% you will be rewarded for your efforts accordingly.

I do realize that not everyone tips regardless of the level of service...some people just do not tip period. And some people may not know they are supposed to tip in a birthday party place. I think you'd be better served to include a note saying "hostess/host tips are appreciated" on your advertisement brochures/website whatever you are giving to your potential clients when they are considering booking an event with you. Also could post signs in the facility near the register as well.

Peace and Blessings,
T. B

I eat at a lot of places where the tip is added on to the bill. Usually dinner places it's 15%. If the tip is on the bill I usually just pay the set rate, but if it's not I tip 20%. That being said I worked at a private club where there was an automatic 20% added to all drinks food etc, and the customers would still give you cash from time to time.
There are a lot of people who justify not tipping becasue their bill was so high etc. to me I personally feel if you can have the money to go out for a dinner, etc. you should always budget in for a tip, to me not to leave a tip is extremly tacky.
You say "future employees" I would make sure that you get a good staff in from the get go. If you pay your employees more, the turn over will be less, thus saving you money on turn over costs. You could also do something if the birthday party is over 10 people that the gratuidy of 15% will be added onto the bill (Most resturants it's tables over 8 people)

Here is the thing, from a tax standpoint you shouldn't concern yourself with the tips your employees receive. Most fudge this and it is best to know nothing about it.

They have a bounce U here which is an inflatable indoor park. I tip ten percent of the total bill. I figure part of the bill is the cost of the park and not their service so ten percent seems fair.

Still I would adopt a don't ask don't tell on how much they are getting in tips. It really is only between them and the IRS.

I agree with most of the other responses, I don't think you should "force" people to tip and that's what you would be doing. See I also feel that tipping in general is getting out of hand. Yes, some jobs don't pay well, that is not the fault of the consumer and we should not be expected to bridge that gap. Sometimes it's just the persons job, why get more? If they can't survive they may need to find something new. I've never held a birthday party @ site, I always have them at home or a park, but I also never thought about tipping them. Maybe, if you are really concerned is to put a statement in your contract papers or info packet, something like " Tips are always welcomed but not required" That way people, like me, who never thought about it, would and may leave tips. Bottom line is that you can't mandate it and I think if you tried your business may suffer.

Interesting question. I have only done a few birthday parties at party places and I don't think I tipped. Call me crazy, but I assumed that because a place is charging $200+ for 90-120 minutes of party time that the staff is actually getting paid a decent wage. I did tip the lifeguards at an indoor pool and the party host at a pizza shop.

I don't know if I have any good advice - I think that for a place where hosting parties is your core business (not something that is done on the side at a restaurant or other place) you need to pay your employees well and not assume that they will be tipped.

I must preface my opinion with the fact that we don't do "destination" birthday parties. But I have been to several. Personally, being "forced" to tip puts a bad taste in my mouth. And most of the moms I know don't tip at these facilities for a variety of reasons. Many of them are outrageously expensive to begin with and expecting more on top of that is just something many are not willing to do. And there are a few hosts that are really fabulous. But at many of these places the hosts do very little or they are so completely uninterested it's frustrating to watch. A simple reminder sign or something on the reciept that says "tips are appreciated" would be ok. It would be a reminder for those times your clients get exceptional and personal service.

I have to agree with the posters below. I'd rather pay 20% more for the party to you and not feel like I am being guilted into tipping. Then you pass that along to your employees as wages or a bonus for working the party. I understand the taxes etc. are complicated for tips v. wages (I try to always give tips in cash so employees get them "under the table"), but it just leaves a bad impression to me when a business requires a tip.

If you do this, your employees may still get tips from customers who feel they've done a great job, plus they'll feel you're taking care of them. In my opinion, happy employees who feel their employer values them are better employees and reflect very well on a business -- inspiring more tips. Win-win.

You could post a sign that says "Tips always appreciated, but never required" or something, if you want to avoid confusion on the part of your customers.

We always tip 20% - unless the service is horrible and then it's closer to 10% - but I know plenty of people who will cheap out with their tips or not leave a tip at all! We've thrown large parties for our daughters first birthdays and did not mind the 18% tip being added to our bill - we actually threw in a little extra each time because the service was outstanding!

Lots of places automatically add in a tip (up to 20ish%) for large groups. For whatever reason, large groups tend to (oddly enough) UNDERtip and that's the way to ensure that the server or servers that spend a lot of effort on O. table get properly tipped.

Now, at a birthday party place, not sure (don' remember) if they automatically add or not -- but that's their (your) business operation for parties--assumed GROUP serving.

If I had a very good server/s I might very well give additional cash tips to the server/s and I wouldn't think that's any business of their employer.

If you are coming from the point of "are my servers not going to get anything?" (as in stiffed) if they have a clueless, rude client? Then I'd add in gratuity automatically (say 15%) to the bill, and anything given on top of that is gravy for the servers.

I did 9 parties and never even thought of tipping. Don't the employees get paid an hourly wage? I would not be ok with a tip being demanded at the time. Tell them when you book the party there is a mandatory tip.

I can tell you I REALLY don't appreciate when businesses tell me how to tip. (So much so, I stay away from those businesses all together.) I also don't like "extra service" fees. What is the extra service? I want to know what I'm paying for. If I'm renting a place, I like when they tell me exactly what's included. I don't want vague "service" fees added to my bill. I want to know, $50 goes to this, $25 to this, etc. I am a very generous tipper most of the time. I say most of the time, because I have had a few TERRIBLE customer service experiences. Experiences that were the fault of the waitress/party host/whatever only. Do you think I want to pay that person a 15% tip, as a requirement? No way!!!

When it comes down to it, M....customers shouldn't be forced into making sure your employees "get something extra than their stated salary" by required percentages. YOU employ them, and not the customers. On top of that, it could create a lot of bookkeeping issues for you. Also, I think most of these places do the percentages, to keep paying their employees very little, and hope that a guaranteed tip keeps them around. There is a reason a lot of these people (who seem to be mostly teenagers) don't get tipped well. They don't do that great of a job, but they also get payed almost nothing. That's the fault of the business, and the customer should not be forced into tipping more then they might feel the service was worth. (I'm not saying your business is doing all that, it's just a general observation.)

The whole point is, my tipping should be based on MY discretion. I shouldn't be armed twisted into arbitrary "service and tip fees" so that the business can keep their workers happy....when that's not MY job.

i don't like doing business at places that "suggest"(aka require) tipping by adding it to the bill for me... that is NOT a "tip", that is a service charge, and should be identified as such. a "tip" is an optional and discretional amount of money given from patron to employee as a performance award, where is the incentive for the employee to work hard if they know they are going to receive "x" amount whether they slack or do a good job. what a horrible morale buster to the good employees when they see their lazy coworkers bringing in the same (non)tips as them... it's a bad deal all the way around. it's also poor etiquette to include the percents on the receipt, it's akin to making bday present suggestion on an invitiation, it's just tacky. treat your employees to do a great job, and it will take care of itself.

I personally am very turned off by mandatory tipping. I would probably choose somewhere else to have a party. When it comes to paying salaries, pay what you believe they are worth and if you encourage tipping leave a happy note to that effect on bills.

I am trying to make sure I understand where you are coming from with your question... Are you concerned that your employees are going to get a tip you don't know about even if they provided good service and someone chose to tip them. Is this some sort of control issue to ensure they get no more $$ than quoted? If you mandate a tip, do you plan to pocket that or pass it along to the server/hostess who provided the services of the party?

I don't like automatic tips added to my bill. I do completely understand in the event of a large party because it just makes it easier to ensure the server gets a fair wage since they are missing out on other tables in order to provide good service for 1 large group. We belong to a local country club and the 20% is on each and every bill for everything but we understand that and it is not something that is hidden. All employees share in those gratuities. We still will occasionally give a cash tip for loading/unloading golf clubs, etc.

As for birthday parties, I agree with a flat rate for the party. If the hostess does a nice job working with the group, then that hostess deserves to receive a tip because the hostess is the one working the party, not you.

My daughter's bf was a host for Chuck E Cheese and he got stiffed all the time unless it was a Dallas Maverick, another well known person in that area or people who appreciate good service and tip accordingly.

Typically, I will tip no less than 20% . I tend to tip in cash (even if I used a credit card) so I know the server received the tip vs management taking it.

Another thing I HATE........ When a bill is presented and the tip is on the bill already but not clearly posted and then there is another tip line for the customer.. I see this as trickery by the place of business (not the server) to get double tips.

My personal opinion is that I really dislike the mandatory tip. It does not ensure good service and rewards bad service. It gives the server/waiter/host no incentive to go above and beyond- they are going to get tipped regardless of the level of service they provide. But, I am old school. I realize that is not how things are done these days.

I would just make it clear in your contract that tips are not included in the price and, just like a restaurant, are customary. You can give a tip guide if you want, but it is generally considered bad taste.

if the gratuity is figured into the check, i'll deduct that amount from what i *would* have tipped anyway (i'm a good tipper unless the service is aggressively indifferent.)
so if i had planned to tip, say, 22%, i'd up the 10% tip by more than double, but if they put on 20% i'd just add a little.
most places go with 15% if they're adding the tip onto the check.
khairete
S.

I don't often tip at places like this. When I am paying $300 for a party and they are hired to do the parties, that's my tip :). Might sound harsh, but it is what it is. I also leave them some cake always.

But I agree with Jo. I don't think you should concern yourself with the tips they make...you're just opening the door for trouble.

I agree with browneyedgirls. I work a job where I rely on tips ONLY. People STILL don't tip, even though I have to wear a button stating I only work on tips... so I can work all night long and only come home with barely enough money to cover my gas and supplies. And I work hard and my customers are happy and give me rave reviews.

So, it's really the best option to give your employees a fair wage. Plus, tips should be proportional to the work ethics of the hostess. Some are great, some not so much.