hhhaaalllpppp!!!! catered affair and tipping ???

[snowflakeluvr]

so i need your help...and quick!
this weekend, we are having our son''s high school graduation party sat evening- an outside party, catered by a local caterer-mostly hors d''oevres(like boneless wings, chicken on skewers, fresh fruit, mini pulled pork sandwiches etc) provided by caterer not to mention cake, cheesecakes, cookies made by the "cake lady" and others...
so caterer comes today to discuss where food will go etc etc. there will be two servers here from six till 9pm. our invite said "6pm" not having an end time so our friends/family/neighbors can relax, snack, visit.
so, you get the idea-i wanted food and environment that would suit my son''s personality-casual, his favorite foods, like that.
our daughter''s caterer had one price, so we paid it, that was it. this caterer tells me today gratuity not included, so for a tab that will be about $2500.00 or so, how much should i tip these servers???? 15% 20%(that would be $500 which seems like a lot for 4 1/2hours of work-they are coming at 4:30pm to set up and guests arrive at 6) i hope some of you can guide me on this....Thanks so much

 

[somethingshiny]

I found this

Tipping Caterers

Tipping Caterers can be a real mystery. The best thing to do is to talk to the caterer in advance. Most caterers have a service charge that is included in the bill and is distributed to the cooks, driver and wait staff. If there is no service charge or it is not for the people doing the work, then tipping 15% of the entire bill is appropriate. This amount should be divided among the servers by the on-site manager. If it is included, you don''t need to tip any more. Of course, if someone really goes out of his way for you, then feel free to tip that individual extra, remembering that it will be extra.

Hope that helps.

 

[snowflakeluvr]

thanks something shiny-i have been investigating online too

seems like 15% is standard. i recall at my first meeting with caterer him saying gratuity was included but it is NOT listed separate on my bill and today i asked him and he said not that gratuity is not included..so i guess i need to come up with an envelope full of cash....thank you
anyone else???

 

[neatfreak]

15% is pretty standard for stuff like this. Congrats to your son!!!!