Show me the money...

There are two type of banquet servers, those who get paid hourly and those who get paid hourly plus tip point. The nicer the place and the more efficently run place the higher the tip point. On top of minimum wage the tip point can be from 5 dollors to 40 dollors an hour.

ambela in Winter Springs, Florida said: I pay $9.00 an hour, but my team is on-call and rarely get more than 20 hours a week. Tips are otional as well. Hope that helps!

We pay $15 to $30 per hour, if the are offering $9,$10,$11 this people are making money of you.
Never ever be hire by stuffing company, they keep all the money so you can unsderstand You make the Work Stuffing companies make de money be SMART

Host said: What are typical banquet server salaries? Do some companies pay a lot more for this position than others? What does a top earner make in this field?

What skills should you learn to increase your salary?

I work at three hotels in san diego p/t at each. I get 1 or 2 shifts a week at each and average $30.00 to $35.00 an hour plus my base pay of $8.00.

i work at the fairmont hotel in washington dc, they pay 7.50 p/h plus the service charge. you go home 85,000$ a year, i thik that is the hieghest

When I was a banquet server I was getting 8$/h plus grutility. It was always 15% of the amount of the bill. If the bill was 1000$ I was getting paid 150$ grutility plus 8$/h. That is how it should be. If somebody else pay you different that means they keeping the money for themselfs.

Staffing companies...not stuffing, are not making a lot of money off each person. As well, they are building the relationship with the client that the server can work for. No relationship...no server positions! We work just as hard, if not hard then some of the servers that we have placed, to get the openings!

The issue at hand is there are different ways to be a banquet server you are either in-house or out sourced. With an outsourcing company (or "stuffing" company) you are able to work at more then one client. You are trained, hired, paid (including taxes, SSN and WC). Through a location itself you are paid through the HR department. There are multitudes of ways that staffing companies compensate servers. We have a range of 9-15 dollars an hour, in Cleveland, OH. As well, if we are working with a union operation they may receive tips. All that has to be paid is MIN Wage! Each location varies and it depends on the occupancy events. Higher end location, higher pay!

Jacek in Tallahassee, Florida said: Yes that how it should be. I work now in the country club and they keep all the tips for them selfs. I only make 8.5 an hour. Is that legal?

Not sure what the legislation is where you live. Where I am in British Columbia Canada, employers are allowed to distribute gratuities as they see fit for "contracted" events such as all banquets events. What normally happens is a certain percentage is given to the service staff, and another percentage is given to kitchen/Managers. Industry standard is about 12% staff/3% managers.

Andrew Desilets
President & CEO
Canadian Hospitality Recruiters
www.CHrecruiters.com

Guys if you are from Tallahasse and are looking for a job in banquets don't ever go to Killearn Country Club & Inn100 Tyron CircleTallahassee, FL 32309. The general menager <Edited by Host: Name Removed> is keeping all the tips for himself. plus he has no idea how to manage that place. If only the owner of this place would know what is going on there. I hope I helped some people.

AndrewD in Victoria, British Columbia said: Not sure what the legislation is where you live. Where I am in British Columbia Canada, employers are allowed to distribute gratuities as they see fit for "contracted" events such as all banquets events. What normally happens is a certain percentage is given to the service staff, and another percentage is given to kitchen/Managers. Industry standard is about 12% staff/3% managers.

Andrew Desilets
President & CEO
Canadian Hospitality Recruiters
www.CHrecruiters.com

Host said: What are typical banquet server salaries? Do some companies pay a lot more for this position than others? What does a top earner make in this field?

What skills should you learn to increase your salary?

I will only comment on what i have experienced so far re: temp companies
the allied group/the hospitality people/encore staffing/food team are all temp svc's that averages $9-10/hr as a banquet server, banquet bartender makes 10-14/hr. The Hospitality People (div. of Allied Group) I feel has the best staff & pay. Their standards are higher and they are very friendly. To get enough hours thru a temp svc u need a car. Otherwise u r limited to jobs along bus lines.

DO NOT BE LATE OR DO A NO-SHOW. they will not call u back. If u treat it as a "regular" job u will do fine. You will learn which jobs and events u like to work at AND temp employees are ALWAYS NETWORKING with one another so that was really cool. If u can get on with a hotel u have more hours and tips as well (depending on the events, of course.) I hear u can make a good $30-40,000/yr if u r with a big hotel like the Marriott or Hyatt, etc. But IF U HAVE NO EXPERIENCE SERVING OR BARTENDING as i did not, DO the temp thing first. IT IS EASY! VERY VERY EASY! and fun because u work a different place every night! u very rarely have menu orders to take, 99% pre-plated dinner or buffets. So basically setting pre-plated dinners infront of the guests and/or bussing tables is all you do. THAT IS IT! Just remember: serve to the left and pull from the right. the eldest lady FIRST, then the other females, going clockwise. THEN the men starting with the first man (going clockwise)to the lady u started with. At each event they will show u how they want the table set and generally have one preset/example table so that everyone can follow. IT TRUELY IS A NO BRAINer! TRUST, a highschool kid can do it. But the BEST servers can get a BUFFET CUSTOMER to tip them. Now THAT TAKES SKILL!

I work at a hotel in Napa and the pay is $9/hr and tips (sometimes). The tip is included in the "service charge" and on at times, someone will leave a bigger tip. I used to work 30-39 hours a week until the recession really hit. Someone was accused of stealing our tips but the tips were being divided amongst everyone who worked the event making tips very small for months. I was told the best thing is not to depend on your tips just the wages. Hard to do if you work 1 job with few hours. This month upper management has stopped distributing tips to everyone and distributes to banquet servers only and guess what, my tips were more than my salary and I worked 30 hours. We'll see what happens on the next payday!

The company I work for distributes an 18% Service Charge - First 15% goes to "the house", second 15% goes to F&B manager,(a total 30% off the top!) then to cook, dishwasher goes 20% of the balance, and finally the rest goes to the servers. Depending on the event the servers might make more than the manager and house.

Is it LEGAL for the house to take 15% as revenue. I mean - the guest thinks the 18% is gratuity - so they dont tip us. The F&B manager helps us sometimes - and she does alot of pre-planning, so maybe its okay to go to her, but the house does nothing.

Jay in Vista, California said: The company I work for distributes an 18% Service Charge - First 15% goes to "the house", second 15% goes to F&B manager,(a total 30% off the top!) then to cook, dishwasher goes 20% of the balance, and finally the rest goes to the servers. Depending on the event the servers might make more than the manager and house.

Is it LEGAL for the house to take 15% as revenue. I mean - the guest thinks the 18% is gratuity - so they dont tip us. The F&B manager helps us sometimes - and she does alot of pre-planning, so maybe its okay to go to her, but the house does nothing.

Ha, "the house does nothing." You're right, building, owning and operating a facility for you to work at is pretty much nothing. Advertising, selling and planning the events you get to work is absolutely nothing. Ordering all the food, supplies (tables, chairs, linens, serviceware, kitchenware, kitchen equipment, etc, etc, etc.) is nothing too. Ordering all the food, storing all the food and preparing all the food is pretty trivial too.

Dude, are you crazy or something? I'm a Food and Beverage Director at a large 4 Diamond property, and even here where the service staff is incredibly professional I still get amazed by their ignorance. Always amazed by a person that shows up, changes into a uniform provided by, laundered by and stored by us, walks out into the banquet room to drop a few plates for between 23 and 75 (depending on the event) dollars an hour. That is it, they do nothing else. Yeah, maybe they have to set a few tables, decorate this or that, clean a tad, but they're basically just dropping and picking up plates and glasses for wages that would make Ivy League grads happy. They seem to forget that 'The House' (including me, upper level management) does 99.9 percent of the work.

I can't wait to change the policy on banquet gratuity. No more gratuity share (based on hours). They're going straight hourly-12 buckaroos!

Jay, yes, it's completely legal. You're lucky to get anything. A lot of properties are going to flat base pay with no gratuity for their banquet staff. At my property, I will be going in that direction as well. It's hard for large hospitality groups to justify handing over thousands and thousands of dollars to part time, uneducated staffers that really don't have a unique or in demand talent. These staffers are typically making the most money on property (outside of your executive team), yet have the least amount of on job talent/skill. Not to metion, your part time/on call Food and Beverage staff typically have absolutely no loyalty. Properties would now rather take that 15-20 percent and put it to the house to assist in making budget, and to possibly increase the base pay of your loyal employees/departments: maintenance, house keeping, security, and rooms division. Especially now that no one is making budget and while revenues are tanking.

I meet monthly with a large group of other F&B Directors in my area and this is often brought up as the topic for discussion. On the golf side, in private clubs servers receiving any banquet tips is the exception not the rule. An increasing amount of public courses are going in that direction now as well. With hotels you rarely saw it done this way a few years ago (in my area), but every month another property has gone to a higher base pay with absolutely no gratuities. Making things ever worse for our career servers, is this: I haven't seen one of these properties hire a 'full time' staffer in over a year. They're all still hiring honest, reliable, somewhat loyal people, but they are all part time. The days of the spoiled, 30 hour work week, full benefit receiving, no loyalty having, whiney little biatch banq, servers that earn 50+ an hour are over! HOLLA

Working in this industry for over 14 yrs, I came to realize that nothing last forever. With that said, given the current economy, I dare say that it is not a good time to look for work as a banquet server, especially if you have a notion of working fulltime. In most cases, you would start out as a on-call server meaning that you will be amoungst 600 servers throughout the region competting for that one slot. Work is not the was it used to be. The groups who in the past that would book extravigant parties for their attendies have either scimmed back or cancelled entirely causing a dramatic drop in demand for banquet servers on-call. In result, the only ones not affected are the fulltimers, and even then their position is not secure because if there is no repeat business for the next year, the fulltimer will soon be the next on-callers. As it is now, the on-callers are pretty much non-exsistant.

As for who pays the most and how much we make on average, well let me be one to let the cat out of the bag. It has been told that we make a lot of money in a short amount of time. That may be so in some cases, but consider the fact that we also have to account for the down times too. If you do the math, on-callers are no better than a person working for $10.00 p/h without benifits. The bigger the hotel, the more likely one could earn. The average wage for a banquet server is $25.00 p/h, that includes a server's hourly of 3.14 plus grats which could start out at $25 and up depending upon the function and the hotel. In short, this job is quite demanding and too competive. For you to get a fulltime position, you would have to do one or the other: sleep with the manager, pay the manager off, or be a family member or a personal friend with the hiring manager. Working hard to earn brownie points with the banquet captains wouldn't hurt, but you would have to work very hard to please them since this job is considered to be like the golden egg everyone wants the obtain.

Cavalry in Mentor, Ohio said: Staffing companies...not stuffing, are not making a lot of money off each person. As well, they are building the relationship with the client that the server can work for. No relationship...no server positions! We work just as hard, if not hard then some of the servers that we have placed, to get the openings!

The issue at hand is there are different ways to be a banquet server you are either in-house or out sourced. With an outsourcing company (or "stuffing" company) you are able to work at more then one client. You are trained, hired, paid (including taxes, SSN and WC). Through a location itself you are paid through the HR department. There are multitudes of ways that staffing companies compensate servers. We have a range of 9-15 dollars an hour, in Cleveland, OH. As well, if we are working with a union operation they may receive tips. All that has to be paid is MIN Wage! Each location varies and it depends on the occupancy events. Higher end location, higher pay!

Ohio, I agree with you....

Yes, Staffing companies are very important. Some servers that handle outdoor events do really nothing and get paid just to be there. Other times an individual will give some servers extra money, I have had servers work in prime events and bring home $150.00 cash in 6 hours on top of their hourly wage and noone knew about that, plus the client usually feeds the employees great food and may even add extra hours for the hard work at the end and keeping these people happy as well as keeping themselves employed or having extra money. Servers usually get to meet interesting and famous people as well as be involved in some really awesome events that no other profession gets to do. You have to have a love for people and enjoy this work, not just for the money!! Banquet serving is really only part-time employment unless a hotel has banquets everyday.

I started off at 15 an hour, but if you get less or minimum you are getting jipped. just make sure you are getting tipped if it is lower.

The Bunny in Mission Viejo, California said: Ha, "the house does nothing." You're right, building, owning and operating a facility for you to work at is pretty much nothing. Advertising, selling and planning the events you get to work is absolutely nothing. Ordering all the food, supplies (tables, chairs, linens, serviceware, kitchenware, kitchen equipment, etc, etc, etc.) is nothing too. Ordering all the food, storing all the food and preparing all the food is pretty trivial too.

Dude, are you crazy or something? I'm a Food and Beverage Director at a large 4 Diamond property, and even here where the service staff is incredibly professional I still get amazed by their ignorance. Always amazed by a person that shows up, changes into a uniform provided by, laundered by and stored by us, walks out into the banquet room to drop a few plates for between 23 and 75 (depending on the event) dollars an hour. That is it, they do nothing else. Yeah, maybe they have to set a few tables, decorate this or that, clean a tad, but they're basically just dropping and picking up plates and glasses for wages that would make Ivy League grads happy. They seem to forget that 'The House' (including me, upper level management) does 99.9 percent of the work.

I can't wait to change the policy on banquet gratuity. No more gratuity share (based on hours). They're going straight hourly-12 buckaroos!

HOW MUCH OF THIS MONEY WILL YOU ACTUALLY RECEIVE YOURSELF? I MEAN IS IT WORTH IT TO CUT OFF ONE OF THE LAST WELL PAYING SERVICE JOBS? WHAT IS YOUR TRUE MOTIVATION TO DO THIS? Will your customers benefit? Seriously, Let me Know! D

i get payed 4 dollars an hour plus tips which it always gives me a total of 10 dollars an hour,basicly i just get 10 an hour is that normal?.

I have been a Banquet Server for 3 years and started as on call knowing nothing. I went from on call to Top 10 and then Full Time withing 4 months.2 years later became captain. I did not sleep with , pay off and I am not part of any family (some people make excuses). I am however well groomed , intelligent, hard working, attention to detail and have a very good personality for have small talk with guests.
15 to 35 an hour plus base wage.
I would seriously consider the end result of paying servers 12 dollars an hour.The experience given at a Banquet "is" the reason the guest came and is what they remember to come again. Bad experiences at the table do not take long to get word out to the convention services Clients that do the bookings and tastings for large groups. The lower end services are considered and those Hotel probably never here from them again ("must be the economy" fills their thoughts)and they miss the correlation between service/reward/return.

A good Banquet Server is one that is naturally polite (guests can tell patronizing), well groomed , speak well and have an attention to detail (basically anal) the rest can be taught. ANYONE can slap down a plate , the for mention defines exceptional service and pay is reflected. For the Convention Service location that pays flat rate...well the return factor is going to slowly be reflected. Electricians, housekeeping, stewarding and so on do not have direct front line contact with guests and certainly do not handle their food and pour their drinks.

Hotel Manager in Orlando, Florida said: We pay $15 to $30 per hour, if the are offering $9,$10,$11 this people are making money of you.
Never ever be hire by stuffing company, they keep all the money so you can unsderstand You make the Work Stuffing companies make de money be SMART

Learn how to spell..."be smart".

BQT GURU in Eugene, Oregon said: Learn how to spell..."be smart".

Don't be a jerk! English is most likely there 2nd or 3rd language.
How many languages do you speak and write fluently?

The Bunny in Mission Viejo, California said: Ha, "the house does nothing." You're right, building, owning and operating a facility for you to work at is pretty much nothing. Advertising, selling and planning the events you get to work is absolutely nothing. Ordering all the food, supplies (tables, chairs, linens, serviceware, kitchenware, kitchen equipment, etc, etc, etc.) is nothing too. Ordering all the food, storing all the food and preparing all the food is pretty trivial too.

Dude, are you crazy or something? I'm a Food and Beverage Director at a large 4 Diamond property, and even here where the service staff is incredibly professional I still get amazed by their ignorance. Always amazed by a person that shows up, changes into a uniform provided by, laundered by and stored by us, walks out into the banquet room to drop a few plates for between 23 and 75 (depending on the event) dollars an hour. That is it, they do nothing else. Yeah, maybe they have to set a few tables, decorate this or that, clean a tad, but they're basically just dropping and picking up plates and glasses for wages that would make Ivy League grads happy. They seem to forget that 'The House' (including me, upper level management) does 99.9 percent of the work.

I can't wait to change the policy on banquet gratuity. No more gratuity share (based on hours). They're going straight hourly-12 buckaroos!

Well then you have a dumb human resouces department and you as FB director dont know what type of people to hire. you should get fired cause its obvious you dont know how to train servers. Servers do all the work we set up and attend to the customers all you guys do is overlook. 90% of the time we dont need you guys there. Set ups are very simple anyone can follow a diagram

Bunny and MontanA Banquest manager-IT'S GREAT THAT YOU AGREE! CANT YOU CUT IT 10%-15-20-25% BUT WHAT IS YOUR MOTIVATION FOR CUTTING SALARIES THIS MUCH?
JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN?

HOW MUCH OF THIS MONEY WILL YOU ACTUALLY RECEIVE YOURSELF? I MEAN IS IT WORTH IT TO CUT OFF ONE OF THE LAST WELL PAYING SERVICE JOBS? WHAT IS YOUR TRUE MOTIVATION TO DO THIS? Will your customers benefit? Seriously, Let me Know! D
I posted this question before and received no response!
IT JUST SOUNDS LIKE A PWER TRIP TO ME!

Bunny is just a liar. I have no respect for this type.

He say's servers drop a few plates and nothing else.

He says he does 99.9 percent of the work.

That means he thinks a server does .1 percent of their work.
This makes Bunny the kind of pathetic, unappreciative,over ego kind of person no one wants to work for. The resulting experience from his view point is the way others respond and work around him , anyone working around him would certainly return no respect.

Bunny gets and sees just what he gives. 99.9 percent bad work vibes.

Could someone please advise me on how to start as a server when I have no previous experience? Would anyone even want to hire me? In addition to being non-experienced I am also in my fifties. I hope this will not be considered a negative by prospective employers. Thanks to all who respond. :)

When they will ask you if you have any experience just lie to them and say that you do have lots of experience and than even your age should help you. Read as much as you can on Internet about how servers should work and go to a restaurant and just observe how they work. Good luck

Thanks for your input. It's appreciated.

Mike in San Diego, California said: I work at three hotels in san diego p/t at each. I get 1 or 2 shifts a week at each and average $30.00 to $35.00 an hour plus my base pay of $8.00.

Hello Mike,

I'm looking for banquets jobs in SD. Would you mind telling me where you work?

Thanks,

Sarah

Hotel Manager in Orlando, Florida said: We pay $15 to $30 per hour, if the are offering $9,$10,$11 this people are making money of you.
Never ever be hire by stuffing company, they keep all the money so you can unsderstand You make the Work Stuffing companies make de money be SMART

You are Hotel Manager? Hope you can run hotel better than you can spell.

What does it mean wen they say in your contract 1% banquet gratuity points?

Jay in Vista, California said: The company I work for distributes an 18% Service Charge - First 15% goes to "the house", second 15% goes to F&B manager,(a total 30% off the top!) then to cook, dishwasher goes 20% of the balance, and finally the rest goes to the servers. Depending on the event the servers might make more than the manager and house.

Is it LEGAL for the house to take 15% as revenue. I mean - the guest thinks the 18% is gratuity - so they dont tip us. The F&B manager helps us sometimes - and she does alot of pre-planning, so maybe its okay to go to her, but the house does nothing.

No it is not legal for them to take from the 18% gratuity. They can however add on a admin fee to cover house percent.etc. If guest see 18% gratuity that leads them to believe servers are making that compensation. Your company can be sued by servers and win just based on wording. I've seen 30 servers in Seattle win a big settlement.

The Bunny in Mission Viejo, California said: Ha, "the house does nothing." You're right, building, owning and operating a facility for you to work at is pretty much nothing. Advertising, selling and planning the events you get to work is absolutely nothing. Ordering all the food, supplies (tables, chairs, linens, serviceware, kitchenware, kitchen equipment, etc, etc, etc.) is nothing too. Ordering all the food, storing all the food and preparing all the food is pretty trivial too.

Dude, are you crazy or something? I'm a Food and Beverage Director at a large 4 Diamond property, and even here where the service staff is incredibly professional I still get amazed by their ignorance. Always amazed by a person that shows up, changes into a uniform provided by, laundered by and stored by us, walks out into the banquet room to drop a few plates for between 23 and 75 (depending on the event) dollars an hour. That is it, they do nothing else. Yeah, maybe they have to set a few tables, decorate this or that, clean a tad, but they're basically just dropping and picking up plates and glasses for wages that would make Ivy League grads happy. They seem to forget that 'The House' (including me, upper level management) does 99.9 percent of the work.

I can't wait to change the policy on banquet gratuity. No more gratuity share (based on hours). They're going straight hourly-12 buckaroos!

If you think that upper level management(including you) does 99.9 % of the work then I don't know how somebody stupid like you can work as a banquet director of a four star hotel in the first place. Banquet servers do a lot more then just "dropping the plates" and I am 99.9 % sure that you have to be an idiot to write something like that.

annie in Moorestown, New Jersey said: Could someone please advise me on how to start as a server when I have no previous experience? Would anyone even want to hire me? In addition to being non-experienced I am also in my fifties. I hope this will not be considered a negative by prospective employers. Thanks to all who respond. :)

yes,someone will hire u no matter what experience u have they still want to train anyway.as long as u are hard working willing to learn,and dependable,they will love u.be friendly and yes everyone,most importantly,the guests.good luck..not that u need it!!

I make 8 dollars an hour and thats it! You get .10 cent raise every year. This company is so ridiclious. For instance a dish washer that has been there 10 years is still making minium wage wich is 7.25. I wish i could do something about this.

capitol plaza said: I make 8 dollars an hour and thats it! You get .10 cent raise every year. This company is so ridiclious. For instance a dish washer that has been there 10 years is still making minium wage wich is 7.25. I wish i could do something about this.

QUIT! THEY are ripping you off HARDCORE.

Well said Daniel most of what you say is fact. But if you are a full time associate in a big hotel you can transfer pretty easy. Orlando makes big bucks I have seen on average 35.00 40.00 plus hourly wage so keep that job and if you are with the right hotel company you can go far.

Bomax in Cocoa, Florida said: I have been a Banquet Server for 3 years and started as on call knowing nothing. I went from on call to Top 10 and then Full Time withing 4 months.2 years later became captain. I did not sleep with , pay off and I am not part of any family (some people make excuses). I am however well groomed , intelligent, hard working, attention to detail and have a very good personality for have small talk with guests.
15 to 35 an hour plus base wage.
I would seriously consider the end result of paying servers 12 dollars an hour.The experience given at a Banquet "is" the reason the guest came and is what they remember to come again. Bad experiences at the table do not take long to get word out to the convention services Clients that do the bookings and tastings for large groups. The lower end services are considered and those Hotel probably never here from them again ("must be the economy" fills their thoughts)and they miss the correlation between service/reward/return.

A good Banquet Server is one that is naturally polite (guests can tell patronizing), well groomed , speak well and have an attention to detail (basically anal) the rest can be taught. ANYONE can slap down a plate , the for mention defines exceptional service and pay is reflected. For the Convention Service location that pays flat rate...well the return factor is going to slowly be reflected. Electricians, housekeeping , stewarding and so on do not have direct front line contact with guests and certainly do not handle their food and pour their drinks.

After seeing this I realized you have to be a Marriott Person well said

Hotel Manager in Orlando, Florida said: We pay $15 to $30 per hour, if the are offering $9,$10,$11 this people are making money of you.
Never ever be hire by stuffing company, they keep all the money so you can unsderstand You make the Work Stuffing companies make de money be SMART

Wow with spelling and grammar like that you are lucky to have any job.
Let alone a management position,
sincerely, a server

capitol plaza said: I make 8 dollars an hour and thats it! You get .10 cent raise every year. This company is so ridiclious. For instance a dish washer that has been there 10 years is still making minium wage wich is 7.25. I wish i could do something about this.

Hey if a person is going to allow others to walk all over them or in this case pay them less then 50% of the medium earnings for this position.....so be it

noel in Fontana, California said: Well then you have a dumb human resouces department and you as FB director dont know what type of people to hire. you should get fired cause its obvious you dont know how to train servers. Servers do all the work we set up and attend to the customers all you guys do is overlook. 90% of the time we dont need you guys there. Set ups are very simple anyone can follow a diagram

You get what you pay for. I have worked in hotels where management and servers were less then competent and the hourly was $12-$15 but many could barely speak english and didnt really care about their job.
I also have worked in a 4 diamond resort where 90% of the servers went way out of their way for guests and had excellent communication skills
( many college educated) and the business remained good and total wages were $20 -$40/hour.
YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR

Given the fact that you can't spell it's pretty hard to understand what you are saying (so don't try getting an office position). Rarely do banquet personnel get tips. When a client books an event the guests do not tip. We even have in our contracts that the price does not include tips but that it is customary to tip at least 10% of the contract price. Clients either ignore this or simply do not read the contract. If they do tip we distribute the monies to all persons working that event.