(Closed) Catering Service Charge Plus Gratuity??

posted 8 years ago in Food
  • poll: Do you tip the caterer when they already include some sort of service charge?

    No, the service charge suffices. Especially with such a small group!

    Yes, it is expected you add gratuity, even with a service charge.

    ( show poll results )

    • Post # 1
    Member
    396 posts
    Helper bee
    • Wedding: July 2013

    I am trying to pin down a caterer and figure out pricing for budgeting. We are having a 30 guest grill out reception The caterer I am considering has listed

    “All Wedding Menus and Hot Dinners under 200 will have a $65.00 service charge. All Cookouts have a $65.00 Grill Fee”

    “Gratuity Not Included”

     

    So I’m a bit confused, as my menu choice is not in the ‘wedding or hot dinner’ categories. Would I include the gratuity on top of the ‘grill service charge’? The research I’ve done is split both ways, some don’t tip the extra when there’s a service charge and others do. What do you think?

    Post # 3
    Member
    396 posts
    Helper bee
    • Wedding: July 2013

    bump

    Post # 4
    Member
    1658 posts
    Bumble bee
    • Wedding: July 2012

    View original reply
    @Leelee26:  You’ll want to tip the servers, person who grills, etc. individually but you don’t need to add a gratuity to the total AND tip each. We tipped each server $60 and the lead $80. 

    Post # 5
    Member
    3625 posts
    Sugar bee
    • Wedding: June 2012

    I’ve been told you tip regardless if there’s a service charge because the service charge does not all go to the servers. The only time you do not need to add additional tip is if gratuity is already built into the quote as a separate line item. Service charges do not equal tips. Our catering quote had service charge actually listed as the rates for the servers/cooks/etc.

    The topic ‘Catering Service Charge Plus Gratuity??’ is closed to new replies.

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