I want to disclose that I fully intend on tipping my banquet servers as my caterer informed me that despite an hourly wage over $20 and an 18% service fee, gratuity is not included in our invoice (which is $2,000 over the catering budget we asked for).
On our invoice, the caterer recommended that the average gratuity is $60 to $75 per server...now, when I calculated 20% of the wages paid to each person, the largest tip would be $55 for the event captain...and the servers/bartender all calculated to be $40 (except the busser at $20).
My question is are these amounts reasonable tips for banquet servers? I find the $60-$75 to be rather high since they are being paid well and there's already a mandatory service fee. But then again I understand banquet events are different than your standard restaurant service.
Would the servers be offended if I only gave a 20% tip based on their hourly wages?
