Tipping for take-out

[siead_lietrathua]

i wont tip at a big-name chain, unless i'm a regular there. but at small, local buisnesses i tip at least the same as i would for sit-in, just to show that extra appreciation for having a pizzaria/cafe/etc in town to the workers and owners of the place. excpecially since i'm a walker, and don't get to go to big town often.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Usually if I pick up to-go at Chili's or some such place, I'll put a dollar or 2 in the jar. Delivery usually gets at least a few dollars depending on the price. Last time I ordered pizza I tipped $5 on a $14 pizza, but then again I also asked the guy what to do with the mouse my cats had just brought me...

[smileyeagle1021]

my views may not be the best because the only time I do take out is pizza, and the place I go to doesn't deliver... my standard is if I do a "take and bake" I don't tip, if I do a "bake and take" I'll leave a dollar or 2 tip... if I did ever do like the Applebees to go I would probably tip but still less than if I sat down.

[SnarkyPie]

Tonight one of my coworkers came in (her day off) and wanted an order of pasta to go. She was... not quite sober, and asked me to write down her order for her, something I'm sure she could have done if she had been lucid enough to consider it. It was just a $5 dish of pasta, but she gave me a dollar for taking her order. I was rather amused, since she even went back into the kitchen with me when I dropped it off. Other than that, I've never been tipped on a carryout, even on the scarce occasion that I do the packaging and whatnot (usually the kitchen/pizza guy does it all, I can't even work register).

[MoxisPilot]

I tip the delivery guy, the Subway people, or people who do take-out at actual restaurants like CHili's.

I also tip at buffets, if there is someone serving drinks.

I don't tip the McDonalds, Taco Bell, or KFC people. Where I lived in Florida, they made $8.00 an hour, where minimum wage was $5.75. That, and they were the grouchiest people I've ever known.

[draftermatt]

I've never tipped for takeout. I tip for delivery and table service.

Honestly I've never thought about it, I've never thought that someone working the takeout areas is still only getting paid $2 an hour. Like everyone else I've always thought it like a fast food place. I order you bring it to me I leave.

I think if places are only paying $2 an hour for people doing takeout they deserve to be tarred and feathered.

[wagegoth]

Peppergirl and I have the same tipping habits.

If I order take-out from a restaurant that has sit down service, then I definitely tip about 10%. The server is taking time away from their tables to handle my order or is covering take-out only, which means they're not earning table tips.

I tip decently for pizza delivery and we definitely got our pizzas first. Unfortunately, our local place closed and the next closest shop is the other side of town, so we don't buy that often.

[Arm]

I generally don't tip for that sort of thing. The exception being one of the local sandwich shops, where I tip 91 cents for a sandwich that costs $10.09.

Reason being, they're not doing anything special. Their livelihood is paid by the shop owner; they're on a decent hourly wage. Or not decent, perhaps, but a minimum wage. A minimum wage for a minimum sort of job, and that's fine.

The exception is the sandwich shop, where at least some of the servers remember me, remember my order, and will- at least some of them- add extra meat or cheese or whatever, generally going out of their way to try to make sure that the sandwich is a *better* sandwich because they remember me. That's extra service, so I'm happy to tip for that. It's not a whole lot of a tip, but... It's not a whole *lot* of extra service, and doesn't take any more of their time than it would to make the sandwich to the minimum standards. But it's a nice gesture.

I guess my general rule of thumb is similar to Trunks2k's. The less I have to move, or the more the person does above and beyond, the more I'll pay/tip.

[Broomjockey]

I've never actually gotten take-out from a place that does sit-down service. The closest is where I pick up my pizza from the near-by pizza place instead of getting it delivered. Since the whole point of my picking up the pizza is to avoid the delivery charge + tip, I don't tip then.

[Megg]

As a server, I know that in most places like the one I work, the take out person still makes a server's wage. I definitely tip 10% at least. I also know, this person takes your order, checks it in the kitchen to be sure it is right, and fixes it if it isn't. They then box it, get any condiments, plasticware, any extras or mods needed. About the only thing a take out person doesn't do that a server does is drink refills. If they work that hard, and are still making $2-3 an hour, of course you should tip.

I used to get tips through the drive thru at Toxic Hell, but that was always followed by "You are the most friendly/fastest/best d/t person I have ever encountered." I don't tip at drive thrus, but any delivery person gets minimum 10% as well.

[KitterCat]

I used to get tips through the drive thru at Toxic Hell, but that was always followed by "You are the most friendly/fastest/best d/t person I have ever encountered." I don't tip at drive thrus, but any delivery person gets minimum 10% as well.

Hey me too! Though in 2 years of working there I think it only happened at the most 5 times, so $5 extra.



I won’t tip at to-go places. I’ve placed my order and already given my money for the product, since I’m not allowed to go and get the product I’m not going to leave a tip just because someone else had to bag it for me. After all that’s what they are hired for.

At a dine in restraints, that’s entirely different. Then people get tips, and yes it depends on the service. Anything from 15/20 percent to zilch depending on how well the server did.

[Willis]

I don't tip takeout. That actually sounds pretty weird to me according to set social standards. They haven't done anything besides man the cash register and hand you your food while the cooks cooked it. Tipping takeout is like tipping a cashier at the grocery store. Not necessary at all. I do tip delivery and waiters with the standard 10-15% or maybe more sometimes if I feel like it. I also tip my barber and valets.

If the OP wants to tip everybody that's fine but I don't think it's particularly necessary. The person that got tipped probably wasn't expecting it at all.

[Rapscallion]

Interesting thread. Thanks for the explanations, folks. Since I'm not from a tipping culture, I had to ask what the situation was, but apparently quite a number of people in the US aren't too certain either.

Quite a grey area.

Rapscallion

[Arm]

Ask ten people, get eleven answers. We're in complete agreement!

[tendomentis]

Gray area indeed...

If I walk into McDonalds and take-away a 1/4lb-er with fries, I don't tip (and never suffered guilt from not tipping), but if I order a pizza from Jabba the Hutt's brother-who-owns-a-pizza-chain online and stop on my way home to pick it up and all they're doing is handing me a box, do I tip them at the counter? I didn't have drinks refilled, food brought to my table (let alone USE a table), generate dirty dishes to be cleaned, etc....would I tip them?

I'll admit, I ordered take-away from a local sit-down and DID get a refill before I left.....and didn't tip.

It didn't occur to me until much later, and the uncertainty over whether or not I should have ate at me for a good while, so I think that's where I draw the line.

If you had to actually act like a waiter inasmuch as refilling my tasty beverage, I shall tip from now on (maybe not quite as much as if I was staying to eat, but you'll get something).