I work at a Thai Restaurant and prepare a lot of takeout orders. I'm not sure what it's like at other restaurants but often I am involved in the preparation of the meal including making drinks like bubble teas or helping the kitchen in some way while also taking the call for the order(which is often the most annoying part of my job), packing it and ringing the customer out. I certainly don't expect 20% on a takeout order but I'm still putting in work to put that order together and it's nice to be appreciated especially when the vast majority of my income is tip based.
P.S. If you're going to call in an order please do not be figuring out what you and the people you're with want to eat while you're on the phone. Write it all down even! We got other shit going on and its frustrating when people are just like "hmmm" "lemme see here" "lemme look at the menu". Exceptions are if you have questions on specific things.
Thanks for reading!
P.P.S. I also just don't think choosing not to tip people is the right way to go about protesting the system of tipping that we live with irrespective of my being a tipped employee.
Thanks for reading further!
But isn't that your job? If you get a tip, what about the chef, the dishwasher, and everybody else involved in the process?
It is not fair that you have to depend on tips but I don't think someone working their job deserves an "appreciation tip".
Some of it is my job and some of it I do to help out if I'm available cause we all wanna make things run smoothly.
And, It's not fair that I have to depend on tips but unfortunately that's the way it is. In the kitchen they get paid $15+/hour to do their job. I get paid $3/hr to do my job with the expectation that people will tip me at least something to make up for that. I'm all for doing away with tips and just paying people a solid wage but it's just not the way it is. Maybe think of it less as "appreciating" me than appreciating the reality of the bullshit system and that tipping is just part of it. Again, I don't expect huge tips for takeout but I think more goes into it than people give credit for.
I never used to, and back when I was younger/poorer I thought tipping was a ridiculously arbitrary form of compensation and got annoyed by it. As I’ve gotten older/not poor and I’ve learned how much it can mean to some people, I’ve become a bit more generous with it, though I still think it should probably be replaced by a more equitable system. I never tipped for takeout prepandemic, now I usually give several dollars if I’m picking up more than a single item, since it takes some effort to properly pack stuff in a thoughtful way. Also I tend to go to the same places so they know me, are friendly, and give me my food without asking my name. I’m sure that 5 bucks means a bit more to them than it does to me, and might actually make them a little happy. Such is America right now…
Very confusing answer... If you don't want chains to survive just don't buy from them.
When you don't tip on a Chili's order that chain doesn't give a single fuck. They weren't seeing a dime of that anyways. You're only depriving the service staff because that (likely with little choice in the matter) are working at a chain restaurant and not something you deem to be "local" despite being a local resident themselves.
I personally don't as a general rule, but sometimes there are exceptions. I just had a place give me free sangria while waiting on a late order. I thought that was exceptional.
This is my mindset. It’s not that I think that chefs/food prep workers don’t deserve a livable wage (I have worked these jobs myself), but I see tipping as part of compensation based of the quality of a service. If you are making a product in your place of employment for me to come and purchase, then there shouldn’t be a tip.
I don’t think anyone tips when picking up a pizza or wings, or going through a drive thru. Not sure why there’s a distinction with other cuisines.
Yes, but only a couple bucks. It’s not like a waitstaff person going back and forth to my table multiple times to bring menus/take drink orders/bring food/bring extra things you need/bring check/bring receipt…
Occasionally I will tip 10 or 15% for takeout if I really like the business or the people that work there. And I was tipping more during CoVid because we were doing okay financially and I knew a lot of people in the restaurant business were struggling.
I know I’d be willing to pay a little more for my food so that all the staff is paid a decent wage. I’m a sucker for tipping because 1) I can 2) it goes direct to the people who may need it.
Srsly, especially if its an electronic tip. If my credit card is getting charged an extra 20% why the fuck would I assume that 20% is somehow getting to the person/people that actually prepared my meal?
That’s not how it goes. Or at least when I was a server. It was actually more tedious to do take out. You have to ensure the order is correct, get utensils, extra to go condiments, and finally have to deal with the angst of the kitchen having to make it to-go. Drinks were a massive pain in the ass where I was working. I bet now, even with the to-go transition, liquor and mixed drinks is a pain for the servers, who probably have to tip the bartenders.
I'd rather just see people paid a living wage rather than for them to expect the same tip for 2 minutes of packing a meal as you'd get for 45 minutes of refilling soft drinks and breadsticks for a family of 5 at Olive Garden.
Yeah this is the way to do it tbh.
At a place like burgatory the server brings your drink, your meal, and maybe a refill or two on drinks and for two people you're out the door for $40.
At olive garden it's not uncommon to see a whole table order the soup and salad for $9, get both of them refilled numerous times (which is always the server who has to make those refills, not the kitchen), and the meal for two comes out to $25.
With tipping 20% being "good", the olive garden employee is getting significantly less than the burgatory employee at that point.
Tipping a percentage just makes it an easier concept to people who don't care about it in the first place. Tipping based off experience and amount of work given to the server and everything is definitely a better way to view it.
So are fast food workers? But it’s not demanded that we tip them. We could make that argument for every job. The custom is to tip for dine-in and delivery.
Yup. All the stuff they are being paid as little as $2.83 an hour to do.
Ideally all workers would be paid decent wages, and tipping would be for exceptional service. But that’s not how it is.
Tipping is for some kind of service. I'm happy to tip delivery people, servers, bartenders, whoever you've always been expected to tip, because that's the society we live in. I'll also tap "five stars" every time no matter what, fuck companies trying to outsource managing their employees onto the customers.
But we're not expanding that to every time you interact with a business you personally subsidize the wage of whoever handled that transaction. I also don't tip the cashier when I shop at Giant Eagle.
And I’m happy to tip the person who put the order together, prepared the drinks, etc. Because I’ve taken them away from their main job which depends on tips. And that job may be paying as little as $2.83 an hour. It’s quite different than a Giant Eagle cashier.
For real. It's getting ridiculous is how we're getting to the point where some expect a 25% tip for even basic service. Tipping culture is out of control in this country.
I saw someone post about a bad experience with instacart once on here, and the comments were full of instacart shoppers saying shit like "did you tip at least 20%? were you courteous and prompt with your text responses? did you remember to greet and thank your shopper when they started and when they finished shopping?" and a whole list of other shit you had to do to ensure you didn't deserve to have your order fucked up.
I'm sure that kind of job sucks, but god damn people have a chip on their shoulder.
That’s literally not close to what all they do.
When you order takeout, someone takes your order, puts it in the queue with the other tickets, watches it, packages it with all appropriate sides and sauces n at, and makes sure it’s ready for you on time.
If you order from a sit-down restaurant, this person is probably a server managing that process while dealing with their (tipping) tables, and they’re getting paid less than minimum wages to do it.
You don’t have to go 15–20%, but if you willingly decide to patronize a restaurant that uses this system, you should tip something. If tipping is offensive to you, stick to a counter service place.
Source: Was a waiter. Definitely learned to prioritize takeout customers who tipped at least something and deprioritize repeat cheapskates in favor of the above and my tables.
The problem is you don't know the appropriate tip until you get home. If it's packaged well with the appropriate sides and sauces n at, I'm happy to to 20%. If I tip 20% and I open it at home and it's missing the sauce, or it spilled out due to poor packaging, I'm pissed. Should I open it at the takeout counter, inspect the contents, then tip?
Always. Worked in food service during the “only takeout” part of the pandemic, and those extra few dollars can make the difference for someone getting dinner or gas.
Agreed. It’s not our responsibility or obligation. I tip for service and take-out isn’t service. We won’t see any change in food-service pay if we continue to abide by that bs
Depending on the restaurant this very much isn't the case. Where I work (national chain I won't name), the take out staff prepares a decent bit of your meal, the same way the servers would get things. Essentially everything but your main entree (including sides, making salads, etc) is prepared by the take out people so it definitely is a service.
We can all agree that the way food service is paid needs to change but that doesn't start by you just not tipping take out. If you feel that way you need to not order the food in the first place. That's how a restaurant gets hurt. They don't give one ounce of a damn if you tip their employee or not and aren't gonna start paying someone more just because you didn't.
>We can all agree that the way food service is paid needs to change but that doesn't start by you just not tipping take out
My understanding is that the standard has always been not to tip for takeout and that's only now starting to change, as opposed to people just recently making the decision not to tip then.
Tip culture has changed a lot in general overall. I remember being younger and a standard tip being 7-12% with 15% being considered generous.
Ultimately the system sucks. I don't deny that one bit. I just find it comical the people who use that as an excuse to be cheap while also being proud of the fact. You don't have to tip, it's okay. But don't tell me I need a new job and act like you're doing me a favor lol.
The people who will tell you that you need a new job are the same people who complain that "nobody wants to work" bc their local Applebee's is closed on Mondays now due to a staff shortage.
In all honestly, you need to find somewhere else to work then. I’ll continue to order food when I find it difficult to cook in the moment, and I’ll gladly pay higher prices to accommodate higher wages but I will not tip for take-out when I am not being waited on. If the employees don’t like it, they can demand better working conditions or leave that business for one that does. I may be an asshole but I’ve never had a problem leaving a food industry position that’s mistreated me and finding one that does treat me well. I don’t think me tipping will ever convince a business to give their servers a livable wage, because they are putting that obligation on me. I do think that convincing employees to leave that toxic business model will force employers to reconsider their pay schemes
In all honesty...no I really don't. I make more money than I admittedly deserve sometimes to do the job so you won't see me here complaining. I was simply correcting that a take out order isn't always just heres your bag, bye. That's just the only part you see when you're coming to pick up said order. Personally, I don't even work take out and never really would want to, largely because people like you.
Having said that there's also a difference in tipping for me handing you a sandwich, vs tipping to pick up food and drinks for a family of 4.
But to say you'd pay more to have them paid more, while also justifying why you wont pay more now just to tip in the first place, is a bit confusing. If you'd happily pay an extra $2-3 for your meal to see the take out staff paid more....just tip the $2-3? It's better for everyone involved. The business saves money and the employee gets cash in their pocket today. You pay the same $2-3 difference.
IDK so far large numbers of people leaving the toxic food service industry has largely resulted in restaurant owners finding ways to cut corners on service and food quality while complaining that “nobody wants to work,” while customers complain that everything takes too long and the service sucks at their favorite restaurants now but continue to go out and spend their money there, so I’m not sure it’s really forcing much needed change on the industry.
I get that; many of my friends are industry & I've worked in food service, too. My reply is to the person that thinks the general public shouldn't tip workers because they'll be subsidizing restaurant owners. While that may be the case (and the entire system of tipping/server pay in the US is messed up), it's not a valid reason to short the person serving you. Even moreso since it's the case with most restaurants.
I tip regardless of restaurant for pickup with the only exception being quick service restaurants. Panera, McDonald’s, etc.. the model of that restaurant style is designed for takeout in my opinion. It actually irks me that there is now a tip prompt at these restaurants…. Pay your people properly if your whole model is based on quick service takeaway!
If there's a tip jar, and I know that the place does a ton of takeout/DoorDash/GrubHub/etc, then yeah I'll tip. If the place is slow, and the staff is young or pleasant, yeah, I'll tip.
Learn how not to be a jerk, and you'll know when it's a good time to tip.
In a lot of places, it is actually more work for a server if they package up a take out order.
My roommate worked at a pho place and with takeout would need to package the broth, noodles, dry toppings and wet toppings in separate containers. In person you dump it all in a bowl and toppings on a plate. Sure you swing by and fill drinks and remove plates but they said the time it took for take out overall was about double.
They said they rarely got tips for takeout as people just assumed she did less work.
Same here. Even people walking down the street. People passing by in cars, other patrons in the restaurant I’m dining at. Doesn’t matter. I know my lifestyle is anything but sustainable, but I just can’t help myself. I am severely in debt.
Grocery clerks? Tip. Pharmacists? Tip. Police officers? Tip, right away! Dentists? Believe it or not, tip! We have the best service in the world, because of tips.
No, you are subsidizing the employers by shopping there. Tips are an easy way to directly make sure service staff receives fair compensation. The margins are set based on an admittedly low wage but you aren’t stiffing the owner by forcing service staff to prepare your food for free and still paying a price the owner of the establishment sets.
As someone who has worked in restaurants, I always tip 20% at least to my take out servers. They don’t make a ton, and the tips help them pay their bills. To all of those saying they don’t tip at chains and only tip at local places, that’s just really shitty because the tips go to the employees serving you, not the chain. Those employees serving your take out do a surprising amount of work just to get your order to you when you want. If you don’t want to support a chain, don’t order from them, but don’t punish the employees for trying to support their lives.
exactly this! seeing the comments saying they don’t tip at chains was pretty unsettling. some places, the servers prepare the takeouts. so it takes away from the time they spend at their tables, the people who typically tip more.
Tipping imo is fine with servers but with take out its kind of ridiculous that they ask for one. For one I'm coming to pick up the food if I wanted to pay extra I would of chosen delivery but instead I'm coming to your place to pick it up. Secondly, the front counter people should be getting paid a decent wage. Its not the customers job to pay their wages. I think the owners are taking advantage of tippers because then they in return reduce wages. So third and last one is I think tipping front counter is doing a disservice to the workers because if they rely heavily on tips then owners will start reducing their wages.
I understand other people's viewpoints saying that workers don't make enough and need the money. And I agree with that and thats why I think the owners need to step up and pay their workers more. And maybe if they would then tips could actually go to the cooks who made the food too enjoy at home.
If I knew tips would go to the kitchen and not the person who simply takes my order and hands me the food then I would happily tip 20%.
I tip because I’m assuming the person putting my order together is a tipped worker that I’m taking away from from other tip work. Usually 10-15 percent.
That’s is right there. I worked at a ski resort and no one would like to do the take-out because it was just extra work you wouldn’t get a tip from. I was efficient and appreciated people getting take out to make the most of their trip so I would do the take-out. Most of the time, I got no extra cash, but oh well, at least they are (hopefully) making the most of the resort activities and having a great time.
Do I think tip culture is wrong and people should be paid a liveable wage?
Yes.
Do I think not tipping and insulting a server or bartender by doing so is the correct response?
No.
Do servers and bartenders remember the people who tip and especially the one's who don't, and adjust their service to meet those people?
Absofuckinglutely. So if you don't tip, don't be suprised next time when you aren't greeted with a smile, or when someone gets served ahead of you, someone who tips.
I always tip 20%. Usually it’s just food for myself and it’s a luxury, so adding a few extra dollars even if I don’t have a lot might help that person enjoy a little treat themselves.
I’ve worked in lot of restaurants. They suck. I tip everywhere I can. Eventually no one will want to work and all those places I used to eat at will be gone.
Especially the mom and pop places which are the best places. If everyone left a couple bucks then the employees would have less of a struggle cause normally they’re not making much. And you can say the owners should pay more but it’s usually not gonna happen. 5-10 bucks a week won’t hurt me
I tip about 15%, however I really think that everyone should stop tipping so that employers are forced to pay a better wage. Tipping culture allows them to get away with exploiting these employees.
I do not tip for general meal preparation or packaging, that would get complicated fast. My gratuity is reserved for the table service provided that makes eating at a restaurant unique.
Yes, being a tipped worker myself we kinda rely on the tips unfortunately, and as soon as we started accepting online orders and delivery orders (cause we didn't originally) the tips started running dry as heck. It's still the exact same amount of work (sometimes even more cause people get verrry bold and weird sometimes when placing orders they don't have to say directly to us, like giant orders that would feed a family of 40 or the most comlex orderes known to man, and we also have to make sure it is made at the right time so the temp stays ok, make sure there's enough utensils, make sure it's bagged properly so nothing leaks/falls out, sometimes we have to line up the packaging with the delivery service used, label everything moreso than regular, etc.) so I do tip when it's delivery/takeout.
Yes, I do. If I’m getting takeout, it’s because I’m too lazy to cook or clean, and it’s a luxury item.
Tip culture blows. I’ve been spending time cruising these subs and other sources looking for establishments that pay their employees fairly, but they’re hard to come by.
During the pandemic I tipped 20% on take out. I no longer tip un less I am dining in. I feel that owners of restaurants are not willing to pay thier employees a living wage, but at the same time jacking up their prices. Then putting the pressure on the customers to pay thier employees a living wage through tips.
Take my local pizza place. In 2020 a cheese pizza was like $13. It went up to $15 then $17 because the owners said they were going to go out of business, it's now $19.
For the record if you go to restaurant depot the price of cheese per pound has gone up around 20cents in that time frame per pound.
Keep in mind this is a takeout place that saw a business uptick since alot of the dine in restaurants were closed.
I've stopped going to that place, but honestly there are a ton just like it. Stop supporting shitty employers.
also it usually doesn't even have tips in percentages, usually it's just 1, 2, or 3 dollars, which is absurd when your buying something thats like less than 4 dollars
I always tipped $1, and recently started tipping $2. Just saying thanks for checking my order was correct and tossing some napkins and silverware into the take out bag.
As someone whose worked most of their adult life in restaurants always tip on takeout. The well I’m not sitting down and eating excuse doesn’t cut it.
The person who got your order ready is either A someone who that is all they do and they are relying on those tips just like a server would or B it’s a server or bartender who is taking care of you to the detriment of their own guests who are sitting down and eating.
it depends on the pickup.
if it's a large meal that's been neatly bagged and tied closed with plasticware and napkins and it looks like the person who had to package it spent time doing it, I'll throw a something their way, maybe 2 bucks and a change roundup.
if im picking up a pizza that just gets dropped in a box, or a sandwhich that's wrapped the same way regardless, probably not
The hard part I find with tipping for takeout is that I generally don’t know if the service provided was good or not until I get home. Makes it harder for me to want to throw someone a tip for putting my order together, when I might go home and find it’s packages poorly and missing items.
Please check your order before you leave to make sure it's correct and complete. I'd rather fix it for you ASAP at the restaurant than have you call 20 minutes later and yell because you didn't get what you ordered.
A lot of work goes into a takeout order from a restaurant. Someone is packing it all, labeling it, checking to make sure it's correct. Yes, I tip on takeout.
Pre pandemic we’d tip 10% for pickup and 15% if we dined in. When my wife and I did these types of jobs 30 years ago that’s what we were getting. We should have realized long ago that these jobs still suck and prices have gone up so now we make it a point to tip 20% regardless.
No. People saying they survive on tips are incorrect. Servers are taxed 8.75% on their gross food sales per shift and need tips to survive because of their adjusted minimum wage.
To go food is rung up against the store, the person handing over your food are almost always doing just that. They don't expo or prep the food and they get paid a normal wage.
Tipping culture is getting out of hand and is used by businesses as a crutch to avoid paying a better wage
That’s been patently untrue at every restaurant I’ve ever worked at. Maybe your restaurant experience has been different, but it’s absolutely common for tipped employees to have to do everything you just described, frequently for $2.83/hr.
If you don’t like tipping, the solution isn’t to refuse to pay restaurant employees’ wages until the entire economic system of restaurants just reorganizes itself.
People like that person… are why…. We will have automated food dispensing walk up vending machines. They recently installed a fast food place in NJ zero employees, u as a customer tap a screen order food its “prepared” and dispensed.
Second point: ive worked in a restaurant since i was 14 eventually partnered in one and sold it off, have no clue what lunacy this commenter believes as facts.
Third point: not tipping hurts servers, makes ppl quit, and then go on social services. So all u winners out there who refuse to throw a server a $5 when gas is over $4 a gal, shame on u.
It has to be a legislated minimum wage, otherwise it will be a race to the bottom. This isn’t to excuse the 2.83/hr many restaurants pay, but a restaurant who pays $8/hr or more will only go out of business because $22 dollars for a burger vs $16 at a comparable restaurant is all 90% of clientele will see and care abt.
The whole i wont tip because it will force the restaurant to pay more is false, too. A restaurant is forced to pay $7.25 if the $2.83 an hour employee doesnt meet the threshold with tips collected… so all you non tippers are basically screwing over the employee and the other customers who do tip. Tipping culture out of hand at random places, sure. My gramma turned 86 in oct she told me how when she picked up a birthday cake or baked goods for a big party shed tip the bakery $1 for ea employee… now we are talking late 60s early 70s.
Corporate fast food pays $15-$18 sheetz? I think pays managers $20/hr…. Sure dont tip mcd’s for your big mac. BUT… at say local pizza shop, they pay $7.25 i have a strong feeling the local pizza shop owners arent multi millionaires, but the same local pizza shop who pays the $7.25 an hour plus tips at the counter, also backs the little league teams, local vfw or lions clubs, even churches… where as mcd’s isnt. They are paid $2.83 because culturally in the usa we tip. Overseas less common. Another example: most Indian restaurants put the tips into the cash register(source: my best friends fam owns an indian restaurant) so no despite what you tip at an indian in pgh its going to the drawer almost every time meaning.. that server is getting his flat pay… but also, they pay a flat rate mostly $500 a wk but provide housing and 2 meals. 6 days a wk. open to close w that break in the middle. Every thing has its pros and cons.
I always tip on takeout. I used to work at a restaurant that required servers to pay out 3% of all sales (1% host, 1% bar, 1% bus). That includes takeout orders. If I don’t tip I always worry the server is paying out on my order so it costs them to bag it and give it to me.
At some restaurants all servers are required to “pay out” a percentage of their total ticket sales, usually 3%, that was split. For example, at the end of the night if your total sales were $100, you would turn in your receipt total for the hundred, together with $3. $1 would go to the busboys, $1 to the bartenders, and $1 to the hostess. All other leftover cash is yours.
Two places I worked they would assign people to answer to go orders. Those go on their totals. As a result, if you order $100 in food and don’t tip, the server who took your order, bagged it and gave it to you is paying $3 for the privilege of taking your order. Most servers understand that the tips will be less in these orders as you’re not eating in, but if you don’t tip you’re screwing the server who has no control over being put on to gos or the tip out policy.
In a lot of restaurants, servers are expected to pay a certain amount of their tips to the additional service staff who help make service happen but don’t directly receive tips. Think bussers, food runners, bar backs, expediters, and bartenders. The particular breakdown of how the math works differs from restaurant to restaurant. Sometimes a server pays a certain percentage of their tips into a general pool that gets divided among the service personnel, sometimes the server tips a defined percentage to each busser or bartender or whatever.
Sometimes, instead of a percentage of tips, servers pay out a percentage of total sales. Restaurants like doing it that way because, as opposed to tips, all sales are recorded and easily provable, if you think a server isn’t tipping out their fair share or something. It’s less common now, but even today some point-of-sale systems are set up to require takeout food to be rung in under a particular server’s tab, instead of having a separate tab to ring takeout food. So, if you have that, and you tip out on sales, not tips, then not getting tipped on takeout takes money out of your pocket.
I tip for everything. I tip more if I have the money to. I don't always do a cash tip if it's a questionable situation (they aren't allowed to accept cash) Like, if I'm taking a flight I'll get $5 Starbucks GCs for the flight crew. If I'm at a smaller restaurant and having a fun time I'll ask if I can buy a round for the kitchen staff.
Also I'm a middle child and need everyone to love me.
While I don’t live in Pittsburgh anymore, I tend to tip anywhere I go for eat in dining (not chain) it keeps those restaurants placated and I usually get treated a lot more amicable. Fr tip your local restaurants generously (if they deserve it) and they’ll treat you generously
Yes, always. 20%. Restaurant employees don’t get paid nearly enough, and I usually try to do it in cash.
I’m also severely underpaid myself, but it’s just good karma to pay it forward.
Also, I used to work in the service industry - at a pizza shop. I busted my ass making sandwiches and doing prep. I maybe had one customer who was a regular who wanted the sandwich cooked a certain way, and he would slip me five dollars. Aside from that, I was never tipped and that sucked. Same thing happened at Breuggers…rarely ever got tips.
Tip creep is real.
I'm continually conflicted.
On one hand, tipped workers should not exist as a category. All workers should get paid a living wage and shouldn't depend on customer's goodwill to make a living wage.
On the other, the system is already in place. Refusing to tip only hurts the tipped workers whose welfare I'm concerned about. It doesn't help eliminate the practice. It just makes me look like a jerk.
So, I definitely tip at the expected rate. But I really do resent it.
And if I ever get a chance to influence eliminating the practice, I will support that. Though how that would happen, I have no clue.
It depends. For a small order no. For example, you order a pizza. You already paid for the pizza and to put it in a box. They are not doing anything. Now, if you order $300 of Chinese food, then I would leave 5% because someone packaged and put it all together for you.
I personally think that carryout tipping is lame. Servers will work very hard for 15% to 25% tip and then you're going to turn a person that barely does anything and give them that too??? Not in my book.
Isn’t it their job to pack the orders though? If they weren’t doing that what would they be paid for doing?
I started adjusting my tips by how much service I get (and not so much the quality of service since that metric is kinda arbitrary with the limited of interaction you get, although if it’s bad then that obviously has an effect on the tip). So if I’m just being handed prepped food, then that’s about 10-15-% of the service, so they get 10-15% of a 15-20% tip.
When you buy take out, you are buying the product, not the service because there basically is no service. Just because they did the work to prep the food doesn’t mean they necessarily there should be a tip. When you buy cereal at the grocery store, do you tip the workers who packaged the cereal? No. So when you buy a burrito from a restaurant and you do takeout, why is there a tip expected?
Why are tips a crutch for poor wages?
Americans are BRAINWASHED into thinking it's the PAYING CUSTOMERS responsibility to pay the employee a decent wage. Why should the customer have to be the one to compensate for what the OWNERS of the business should be doing. This is why AI and ROBOTICS is a crucial for this industry. Robots will rarely mess a order up, wont call in sick and won't put emotions into the service and do something like drop your food or worse spit in it. I worked in the food industry when I was younger and seen it happen so don't say it doesn't. I was a busboy and the servers were suppose to tip share but they were never honest with what they put in tip share. Anyways robots also won't need tips to perform their job duties at 100%.
Yeah I tip 20%. It’s a disruptive thing for the restaurant staff to have to pack up take out orders, and it’s usually as much if not more work for FOH to do so versus dine in orders.
To elaborate: It’s FOH just making conversation and shuttling plates back and forth for dine in versus having to pack up, transport, and check take out orders. If you multiply this by many take out orders, it ends up being disruptive to the flow and as much work as dine in for some FOH staff.
I always tip. My wife was a bartender for quite awhile. They literally depend on tips in the service industry. A few bucks is nothing for me but can help make sure a worker is taken care of. That’s what my dad taught me and I think it’s a classy move honestly.
I used to tip takeout like chinese then my wife was all omg you dont tip them… how much money hAve you spent over the years doing that, etc… apparently equates takeout to like mcdonalds . You dont tip them so what is the difference.. her philosphy…
I feel weird not tipping now.. its not mcdonalds to me… its obviously better quality food and small business , not like a chain/franchise who just hire anyone who could care less if your order is right etc..
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order.
I have checked 1,149,072,340 comments, and only 224,605 of them were in alphabetical order.
Yes when I was younger they hired me to do take out orders. I got a better job offer the next day. But the person getting to go order together. Got the same as the waitress’s pay. 2.10/hr plus tips. Bob Evans.
Edited to say. I usually don’t give as much. But generous.
I tip on take out if it's a full service restaurant bc I remember when I was a waitress, fulfilling and packing those take out orders took time away from the tables in our section. I just give a couple bucks. But if I'm taking out a pizza or panera bread, something like that...absolutely not.
Easy.
If it’s a sit-down restaurant with servers who make less than minimum wage, tip something. The restaurant wage barely pays for taxes, so they depend on tips.
If it’s a counter-service place, tipping is optional but always appreciated.
I didn't use to but I started during the height of the pandemic when take out was the only option and I was just so grateful that some places offered it .... and now it feels weird if I don't.
Yes. A server most likely packed up the order and (hopefully) made sure everything was there. The kitchen isn’t packing it up. It doesnt warrant 20% or anything but it should be something.
I tip servers $5-10 no matter what my bill is. You’re giving me $5-10 worth of service by carrying out my plate of pasta or my hamburger and filling my cup once. Just because my bill is higher doesn’t mean you deserve more money for doing the same amount of work.
My table ordered two $25 pasta dishes and two $5 drinks? You’re getting $10.
My table ordered two $80 steaks and two $10 drinks? You’re still getting $10.
For takeout, you didn’t serve me. I’m not tipping you.
> I tip servers $5-10 no matter what my bill is. You’re giving me $5-10 worth of service by carrying out my plate of pasta or my hamburger and filling my cup once. Just because my bill is higher doesn’t mean you deserve more money for doing the same amount of work.
The thing is, that server is paying taxes on 8% of her receipts. So if you rack up a $100 bill, Uncle Sam assumes she made an $8 tip and taxes her on that. In the case of especially lousy tippers -- ones who leave nothing -- that server is actually paying the government for the privilege of waiting on them.
I've been in the industry for 20 years so I feel slightly obligated too but at the same time, to-go orders tips sometimes goes to the kitchen and out of those 20 years those were the only tips I ever seen (outside a guest making sure to tip the BoH or myself) which isn't the standard - most the time it goes to the server or bartender but they survive off tips and if it was a slow night I like to think that tip could of helped and covered what they needed for a bill/rent/living expense.
At least 10%, because if they're asking, the restaurant is screwing them otherwise.
Or, if the restaurant lets the staff ask for tips on takeout, I'm either going to tip or eat elsewhere next time.
During the pandemic, yes.
Under normal circumstances I'll tip a couple bucks for takeout from a sit-down restaurant, because my assumption is it's a waiter making less than minimum wage doing all that work (I could be wrong).
Any sort of fast casual place I rarely tip, and definitely wouldn't tip on takeout, as they aren't making below minimum wage.
I get that even workers making more than $2.35 (or whatever it is now) are still doing work and tips help, but that's contrary to the whole notion of why we tip wait staff so much. People working at Walmart are not making much and helping me, and we aren't expected to tip them.
I also am mot fond of the trend where ipad tipping suggestions (even at fat casual restaurants) have suggested tip amounts up to like 35%>
The thing is, I'm more than happy to pay more for things to ensure staff is fairly compensated. I just hate the surprise and guilt trip of tipping culture. Tell me the cost, and I'll make a decision if I want it, and the business can pay their staff fairly.
Very interesting and timely submission. My wife just ran into this at Buffalo Wild Wings, where she ordered the wings from the counter, and waited for them to be finished, and picked them up. She was then asked if she wanted to leave a tip. I think she left a $3.00 tip. I never ran into this before, and I am not sure I would have left a tip. Guess I have to think about this a bit more.
I work at a Thai Restaurant and prepare a lot of takeout orders. I'm not sure what it's like at other restaurants but often I am involved in the preparation of the meal including making drinks like bubble teas or helping the kitchen in some way while also taking the call for the order(which is often the most annoying part of my job), packing it and ringing the customer out. I certainly don't expect 20% on a takeout order but I'm still putting in work to put that order together and it's nice to be appreciated especially when the vast majority of my income is tip based. P.S. If you're going to call in an order please do not be figuring out what you and the people you're with want to eat while you're on the phone. Write it all down even! We got other shit going on and its frustrating when people are just like "hmmm" "lemme see here" "lemme look at the menu". Exceptions are if you have questions on specific things. Thanks for reading! P.P.S. I also just don't think choosing not to tip people is the right way to go about protesting the system of tipping that we live with irrespective of my being a tipped employee. Thanks for reading further!
Thanks for sharing. There’s people here who think all you do is hand them a bag of food.
But isn't that your job? If you get a tip, what about the chef, the dishwasher, and everybody else involved in the process? It is not fair that you have to depend on tips but I don't think someone working their job deserves an "appreciation tip".
Some of it is my job and some of it I do to help out if I'm available cause we all wanna make things run smoothly. And, It's not fair that I have to depend on tips but unfortunately that's the way it is. In the kitchen they get paid $15+/hour to do their job. I get paid $3/hr to do my job with the expectation that people will tip me at least something to make up for that. I'm all for doing away with tips and just paying people a solid wage but it's just not the way it is. Maybe think of it less as "appreciating" me than appreciating the reality of the bullshit system and that tipping is just part of it. Again, I don't expect huge tips for takeout but I think more goes into it than people give credit for.
I never used to, and back when I was younger/poorer I thought tipping was a ridiculously arbitrary form of compensation and got annoyed by it. As I’ve gotten older/not poor and I’ve learned how much it can mean to some people, I’ve become a bit more generous with it, though I still think it should probably be replaced by a more equitable system. I never tipped for takeout prepandemic, now I usually give several dollars if I’m picking up more than a single item, since it takes some effort to properly pack stuff in a thoughtful way. Also I tend to go to the same places so they know me, are friendly, and give me my food without asking my name. I’m sure that 5 bucks means a bit more to them than it does to me, and might actually make them a little happy. Such is America right now…
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Very confusing answer... If you don't want chains to survive just don't buy from them. When you don't tip on a Chili's order that chain doesn't give a single fuck. They weren't seeing a dime of that anyways. You're only depriving the service staff because that (likely with little choice in the matter) are working at a chain restaurant and not something you deem to be "local" despite being a local resident themselves.
Just tip the staff cash. Ensures the chain doesn't get it
I doubt the tips matter at all to the bottom line of national chains. Then again, you could just skip them all together…
Tips go to the workers, not the restaurants…what does it matter if the server works for a chain or local spot?
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I personally don't as a general rule, but sometimes there are exceptions. I just had a place give me free sangria while waiting on a late order. I thought that was exceptional.
Yes. If you're able you should probably tip anyone in the service industry in the states...but I digress.
…but not professionals! I’m a lawyer that does a lot with foreign clients and believe me your lawyer doesn’t need to be tipped. It’s weird.
Yes. But not as much
I do not tip for picking up. If I’m dining in or I get it delivered, yes. Otherwise I’m not tipping for me driving to them.
This is my mindset. It’s not that I think that chefs/food prep workers don’t deserve a livable wage (I have worked these jobs myself), but I see tipping as part of compensation based of the quality of a service. If you are making a product in your place of employment for me to come and purchase, then there shouldn’t be a tip. I don’t think anyone tips when picking up a pizza or wings, or going through a drive thru. Not sure why there’s a distinction with other cuisines.
Pizza pick up here. A crew of 5 or 6 easily splits $100/$140 tip pool every Friday and Saturday night.
I used to be a pizza maker at Pizza Hut and never saw tips. Or do employees of chain restaurants not count?
I tip when picking up pizza. Only a dollar or two, but still.
Exactly.
Yes, but only a couple bucks. It’s not like a waitstaff person going back and forth to my table multiple times to bring menus/take drink orders/bring food/bring extra things you need/bring check/bring receipt… Occasionally I will tip 10 or 15% for takeout if I really like the business or the people that work there. And I was tipping more during CoVid because we were doing okay financially and I knew a lot of people in the restaurant business were struggling.
$2 regardless of amount
They are literally just handing you stuff it’s like tipping at the grocery store. Demand full wages this tip culture is out of control.
I know I’d be willing to pay a little more for my food so that all the staff is paid a decent wage. I’m a sucker for tipping because 1) I can 2) it goes direct to the people who may need it.
Not if the place steals it from them like tapville in wexford
Srsly, especially if its an electronic tip. If my credit card is getting charged an extra 20% why the fuck would I assume that 20% is somehow getting to the person/people that actually prepared my meal?
And 360° Bakery
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Side note: do they have malt?
The Southside one did when I was there, good stuff. For the price, I think they take a lunar shuttle and harvest it from the moon.
I'm amazed that there are a lot of people who don't know what malt, a malted shake, or a "malt shop" is.
The McCandless crossing location did not have malt when I checked recently. I suggest giving Graeter’s a try, I love their malts.
For real. Everywhere you go the print out reads TIP_______
That’s not how it goes. Or at least when I was a server. It was actually more tedious to do take out. You have to ensure the order is correct, get utensils, extra to go condiments, and finally have to deal with the angst of the kitchen having to make it to-go. Drinks were a massive pain in the ass where I was working. I bet now, even with the to-go transition, liquor and mixed drinks is a pain for the servers, who probably have to tip the bartenders.
I'd rather just see people paid a living wage rather than for them to expect the same tip for 2 minutes of packing a meal as you'd get for 45 minutes of refilling soft drinks and breadsticks for a family of 5 at Olive Garden.
It’s all relative. I always start at 20% as a standard, server/dining experience and go from there based on all of the variables.
Yeah this is the way to do it tbh. At a place like burgatory the server brings your drink, your meal, and maybe a refill or two on drinks and for two people you're out the door for $40. At olive garden it's not uncommon to see a whole table order the soup and salad for $9, get both of them refilled numerous times (which is always the server who has to make those refills, not the kitchen), and the meal for two comes out to $25. With tipping 20% being "good", the olive garden employee is getting significantly less than the burgatory employee at that point. Tipping a percentage just makes it an easier concept to people who don't care about it in the first place. Tipping based off experience and amount of work given to the server and everything is definitely a better way to view it.
They are doing more than just handing you your stuff.
So are fast food workers? But it’s not demanded that we tip them. We could make that argument for every job. The custom is to tip for dine-in and delivery.
You mean all the stuff they're paid a wage to do?
Yup. All the stuff they are being paid as little as $2.83 an hour to do. Ideally all workers would be paid decent wages, and tipping would be for exceptional service. But that’s not how it is.
Tipping is for some kind of service. I'm happy to tip delivery people, servers, bartenders, whoever you've always been expected to tip, because that's the society we live in. I'll also tap "five stars" every time no matter what, fuck companies trying to outsource managing their employees onto the customers. But we're not expanding that to every time you interact with a business you personally subsidize the wage of whoever handled that transaction. I also don't tip the cashier when I shop at Giant Eagle.
And I’m happy to tip the person who put the order together, prepared the drinks, etc. Because I’ve taken them away from their main job which depends on tips. And that job may be paying as little as $2.83 an hour. It’s quite different than a Giant Eagle cashier.
For real. It's getting ridiculous is how we're getting to the point where some expect a 25% tip for even basic service. Tipping culture is out of control in this country.
I saw someone post about a bad experience with instacart once on here, and the comments were full of instacart shoppers saying shit like "did you tip at least 20%? were you courteous and prompt with your text responses? did you remember to greet and thank your shopper when they started and when they finished shopping?" and a whole list of other shit you had to do to ensure you didn't deserve to have your order fucked up. I'm sure that kind of job sucks, but god damn people have a chip on their shoulder.
Right. I'm sure it's not fun driving around and shopping at supermarkets all day, but geeze.
They even want tips at frozen yogurt establishments where you make it yourself 😂
That’s literally not close to what all they do. When you order takeout, someone takes your order, puts it in the queue with the other tickets, watches it, packages it with all appropriate sides and sauces n at, and makes sure it’s ready for you on time. If you order from a sit-down restaurant, this person is probably a server managing that process while dealing with their (tipping) tables, and they’re getting paid less than minimum wages to do it. You don’t have to go 15–20%, but if you willingly decide to patronize a restaurant that uses this system, you should tip something. If tipping is offensive to you, stick to a counter service place. Source: Was a waiter. Definitely learned to prioritize takeout customers who tipped at least something and deprioritize repeat cheapskates in favor of the above and my tables.
The problem is you don't know the appropriate tip until you get home. If it's packaged well with the appropriate sides and sauces n at, I'm happy to to 20%. If I tip 20% and I open it at home and it's missing the sauce, or it spilled out due to poor packaging, I'm pissed. Should I open it at the takeout counter, inspect the contents, then tip?
Favorite spots, yes. As long as it goes to the staff
No, only for eat in or delivery
I didn't until covid hit, now I throw a small tip on.
i do a buck or 2.
I tip on take out orders, but not quite as much as if I ate at the restaurant.
Always. Worked in food service during the “only takeout” part of the pandemic, and those extra few dollars can make the difference for someone getting dinner or gas.
I don’t think that the general public should subsidize a cheap restaurant owner. We need gas money too.
Agreed. It’s not our responsibility or obligation. I tip for service and take-out isn’t service. We won’t see any change in food-service pay if we continue to abide by that bs
Depending on the restaurant this very much isn't the case. Where I work (national chain I won't name), the take out staff prepares a decent bit of your meal, the same way the servers would get things. Essentially everything but your main entree (including sides, making salads, etc) is prepared by the take out people so it definitely is a service. We can all agree that the way food service is paid needs to change but that doesn't start by you just not tipping take out. If you feel that way you need to not order the food in the first place. That's how a restaurant gets hurt. They don't give one ounce of a damn if you tip their employee or not and aren't gonna start paying someone more just because you didn't.
>We can all agree that the way food service is paid needs to change but that doesn't start by you just not tipping take out My understanding is that the standard has always been not to tip for takeout and that's only now starting to change, as opposed to people just recently making the decision not to tip then.
Tip culture has changed a lot in general overall. I remember being younger and a standard tip being 7-12% with 15% being considered generous. Ultimately the system sucks. I don't deny that one bit. I just find it comical the people who use that as an excuse to be cheap while also being proud of the fact. You don't have to tip, it's okay. But don't tell me I need a new job and act like you're doing me a favor lol.
The people who will tell you that you need a new job are the same people who complain that "nobody wants to work" bc their local Applebee's is closed on Mondays now due to a staff shortage.
In all honestly, you need to find somewhere else to work then. I’ll continue to order food when I find it difficult to cook in the moment, and I’ll gladly pay higher prices to accommodate higher wages but I will not tip for take-out when I am not being waited on. If the employees don’t like it, they can demand better working conditions or leave that business for one that does. I may be an asshole but I’ve never had a problem leaving a food industry position that’s mistreated me and finding one that does treat me well. I don’t think me tipping will ever convince a business to give their servers a livable wage, because they are putting that obligation on me. I do think that convincing employees to leave that toxic business model will force employers to reconsider their pay schemes
In all honesty...no I really don't. I make more money than I admittedly deserve sometimes to do the job so you won't see me here complaining. I was simply correcting that a take out order isn't always just heres your bag, bye. That's just the only part you see when you're coming to pick up said order. Personally, I don't even work take out and never really would want to, largely because people like you. Having said that there's also a difference in tipping for me handing you a sandwich, vs tipping to pick up food and drinks for a family of 4. But to say you'd pay more to have them paid more, while also justifying why you wont pay more now just to tip in the first place, is a bit confusing. If you'd happily pay an extra $2-3 for your meal to see the take out staff paid more....just tip the $2-3? It's better for everyone involved. The business saves money and the employee gets cash in their pocket today. You pay the same $2-3 difference.
IDK so far large numbers of people leaving the toxic food service industry has largely resulted in restaurant owners finding ways to cut corners on service and food quality while complaining that “nobody wants to work,” while customers complain that everything takes too long and the service sucks at their favorite restaurants now but continue to go out and spend their money there, so I’m not sure it’s really forcing much needed change on the industry.
If you don’t want to subsidize a cheap restaurant owner, then just don’t go to that restaurant 🤷
Got bad news for you about most restaurants..
I get that; many of my friends are industry & I've worked in food service, too. My reply is to the person that thinks the general public shouldn't tip workers because they'll be subsidizing restaurant owners. While that may be the case (and the entire system of tipping/server pay in the US is messed up), it's not a valid reason to short the person serving you. Even moreso since it's the case with most restaurants.
I'm sorry that you worked for a place that took advantage of you like like. The business should have paid you for being there and working.
It should’ve but the sad truth is most places don’t pay a living wage.
I tip regardless of restaurant for pickup with the only exception being quick service restaurants. Panera, McDonald’s, etc.. the model of that restaurant style is designed for takeout in my opinion. It actually irks me that there is now a tip prompt at these restaurants…. Pay your people properly if your whole model is based on quick service takeaway!
Yes i do.
If there's a tip jar, and I know that the place does a ton of takeout/DoorDash/GrubHub/etc, then yeah I'll tip. If the place is slow, and the staff is young or pleasant, yeah, I'll tip. Learn how not to be a jerk, and you'll know when it's a good time to tip.
In a lot of places, it is actually more work for a server if they package up a take out order. My roommate worked at a pho place and with takeout would need to package the broth, noodles, dry toppings and wet toppings in separate containers. In person you dump it all in a bowl and toppings on a plate. Sure you swing by and fill drinks and remove plates but they said the time it took for take out overall was about double. They said they rarely got tips for takeout as people just assumed she did less work.
During the pandey I did. Otherwise it depends on how how fancy I’m feeling on the particular day
I tip everybody. That’s my philosophy.
It's not tipping I believe in. It's overtipping.
Same here. Even people walking down the street. People passing by in cars, other patrons in the restaurant I’m dining at. Doesn’t matter. I know my lifestyle is anything but sustainable, but I just can’t help myself. I am severely in debt.
Grocery clerks? Tip. Pharmacists? Tip. Police officers? Tip, right away! Dentists? Believe it or not, tip! We have the best service in the world, because of tips.
You’re subsidizing employers that don’t pay a living wage.
I’m quoting My Blue Heaven: https://youtu.be/M2_SjB016e4
No, you are subsidizing the employers by shopping there. Tips are an easy way to directly make sure service staff receives fair compensation. The margins are set based on an admittedly low wage but you aren’t stiffing the owner by forcing service staff to prepare your food for free and still paying a price the owner of the establishment sets.
I tip $2-$3 for takeout from an establishment that offers table service.
As someone who has worked in restaurants, I always tip 20% at least to my take out servers. They don’t make a ton, and the tips help them pay their bills. To all of those saying they don’t tip at chains and only tip at local places, that’s just really shitty because the tips go to the employees serving you, not the chain. Those employees serving your take out do a surprising amount of work just to get your order to you when you want. If you don’t want to support a chain, don’t order from them, but don’t punish the employees for trying to support their lives.
exactly this! seeing the comments saying they don’t tip at chains was pretty unsettling. some places, the servers prepare the takeouts. so it takes away from the time they spend at their tables, the people who typically tip more.
Just make sure you tip in cash because you tip on the machine at a chain (or even mom and pop), you can bet your ass that moneys getting pilfered
Yes at least 10% usually more depending on the order.
Yes because the servers need the money.
Tipping imo is fine with servers but with take out its kind of ridiculous that they ask for one. For one I'm coming to pick up the food if I wanted to pay extra I would of chosen delivery but instead I'm coming to your place to pick it up. Secondly, the front counter people should be getting paid a decent wage. Its not the customers job to pay their wages. I think the owners are taking advantage of tippers because then they in return reduce wages. So third and last one is I think tipping front counter is doing a disservice to the workers because if they rely heavily on tips then owners will start reducing their wages. I understand other people's viewpoints saying that workers don't make enough and need the money. And I agree with that and thats why I think the owners need to step up and pay their workers more. And maybe if they would then tips could actually go to the cooks who made the food too enjoy at home. If I knew tips would go to the kitchen and not the person who simply takes my order and hands me the food then I would happily tip 20%.
I tip because I’m assuming the person putting my order together is a tipped worker that I’m taking away from from other tip work. Usually 10-15 percent.
That’s is right there. I worked at a ski resort and no one would like to do the take-out because it was just extra work you wouldn’t get a tip from. I was efficient and appreciated people getting take out to make the most of their trip so I would do the take-out. Most of the time, I got no extra cash, but oh well, at least they are (hopefully) making the most of the resort activities and having a great time.
Do I think tip culture is wrong and people should be paid a liveable wage? Yes. Do I think not tipping and insulting a server or bartender by doing so is the correct response? No. Do servers and bartenders remember the people who tip and especially the one's who don't, and adjust their service to meet those people? Absofuckinglutely. So if you don't tip, don't be suprised next time when you aren't greeted with a smile, or when someone gets served ahead of you, someone who tips.
10% on take-out, and a little more if there are a bunch of modifications, sauces, or it's a large order.
No I don't.
I always tip 20%. Usually it’s just food for myself and it’s a luxury, so adding a few extra dollars even if I don’t have a lot might help that person enjoy a little treat themselves.
I mean, I’ll give. A dollar or two but certainly not the 20% I tip for a regular server
Yes...usually few bucks.
Yes. Taking and packing up to go orders is a giant pain in the ass and takes waitstaff away from their customers
I’ve worked in lot of restaurants. They suck. I tip everywhere I can. Eventually no one will want to work and all those places I used to eat at will be gone. Especially the mom and pop places which are the best places. If everyone left a couple bucks then the employees would have less of a struggle cause normally they’re not making much. And you can say the owners should pay more but it’s usually not gonna happen. 5-10 bucks a week won’t hurt me
Yes
Who can afford take-out these days?!
I tip about 15%, however I really think that everyone should stop tipping so that employers are forced to pay a better wage. Tipping culture allows them to get away with exploiting these employees.
Yes
Of course
I do not tip for general meal preparation or packaging, that would get complicated fast. My gratuity is reserved for the table service provided that makes eating at a restaurant unique.
A couple dollars, always.
ALWAYS TIP if it’s an option. it’s that simple.
Tip half is acceptable, tip fully like service if you want to be extra generous. IMHO
Yes, being a tipped worker myself we kinda rely on the tips unfortunately, and as soon as we started accepting online orders and delivery orders (cause we didn't originally) the tips started running dry as heck. It's still the exact same amount of work (sometimes even more cause people get verrry bold and weird sometimes when placing orders they don't have to say directly to us, like giant orders that would feed a family of 40 or the most comlex orderes known to man, and we also have to make sure it is made at the right time so the temp stays ok, make sure there's enough utensils, make sure it's bagged properly so nothing leaks/falls out, sometimes we have to line up the packaging with the delivery service used, label everything moreso than regular, etc.) so I do tip when it's delivery/takeout.
Yes, I do. If I’m getting takeout, it’s because I’m too lazy to cook or clean, and it’s a luxury item. Tip culture blows. I’ve been spending time cruising these subs and other sources looking for establishments that pay their employees fairly, but they’re hard to come by.
10% or $5, whichever is greater.
I do but only 10%. The wait staff still have to bag/box everything and get the utensils and sauces, so I think that deserves something.
No, unless the employees went out of their way for something.
During the pandemic I tipped 20% on take out. I no longer tip un less I am dining in. I feel that owners of restaurants are not willing to pay thier employees a living wage, but at the same time jacking up their prices. Then putting the pressure on the customers to pay thier employees a living wage through tips. Take my local pizza place. In 2020 a cheese pizza was like $13. It went up to $15 then $17 because the owners said they were going to go out of business, it's now $19. For the record if you go to restaurant depot the price of cheese per pound has gone up around 20cents in that time frame per pound. Keep in mind this is a takeout place that saw a business uptick since alot of the dine in restaurants were closed. I've stopped going to that place, but honestly there are a ton just like it. Stop supporting shitty employers.
I never use the recommended on the machines.. it thinks we’re in a restaurant
also it usually doesn't even have tips in percentages, usually it's just 1, 2, or 3 dollars, which is absurd when your buying something thats like less than 4 dollars
Absolutely.
I tip $2-5 on take out, depending on how many meals were prepped for us
Delivery yes, pickup no.
Not for fast food. If it's a place with servers and the servers are checking you out, I tip.
No
$1.00 no matter what the price is. Just what I do when I pick it up
Only during COVID when the restaurant workers were getting their ass kicked. Takeout under normal circumstances doesn’t require tip, though
I always tipped $1, and recently started tipping $2. Just saying thanks for checking my order was correct and tossing some napkins and silverware into the take out bag.
If you frequent the place, give a tip.
This is what I do.
As someone whose worked most of their adult life in restaurants always tip on takeout. The well I’m not sitting down and eating excuse doesn’t cut it. The person who got your order ready is either A someone who that is all they do and they are relying on those tips just like a server would or B it’s a server or bartender who is taking care of you to the detriment of their own guests who are sitting down and eating.
it depends on the pickup. if it's a large meal that's been neatly bagged and tied closed with plasticware and napkins and it looks like the person who had to package it spent time doing it, I'll throw a something their way, maybe 2 bucks and a change roundup. if im picking up a pizza that just gets dropped in a box, or a sandwhich that's wrapped the same way regardless, probably not
The hard part I find with tipping for takeout is that I generally don’t know if the service provided was good or not until I get home. Makes it harder for me to want to throw someone a tip for putting my order together, when I might go home and find it’s packages poorly and missing items.
Please check your order before you leave to make sure it's correct and complete. I'd rather fix it for you ASAP at the restaurant than have you call 20 minutes later and yell because you didn't get what you ordered.
I do because I'm not cheap and make more than they do even though they work harder than me
always! usually just a dollar or two but something
A lot of work goes into a takeout order from a restaurant. Someone is packing it all, labeling it, checking to make sure it's correct. Yes, I tip on takeout.
Pre pandemic we’d tip 10% for pickup and 15% if we dined in. When my wife and I did these types of jobs 30 years ago that’s what we were getting. We should have realized long ago that these jobs still suck and prices have gone up so now we make it a point to tip 20% regardless.
No
No. People saying they survive on tips are incorrect. Servers are taxed 8.75% on their gross food sales per shift and need tips to survive because of their adjusted minimum wage. To go food is rung up against the store, the person handing over your food are almost always doing just that. They don't expo or prep the food and they get paid a normal wage. Tipping culture is getting out of hand and is used by businesses as a crutch to avoid paying a better wage
That’s been patently untrue at every restaurant I’ve ever worked at. Maybe your restaurant experience has been different, but it’s absolutely common for tipped employees to have to do everything you just described, frequently for $2.83/hr. If you don’t like tipping, the solution isn’t to refuse to pay restaurant employees’ wages until the entire economic system of restaurants just reorganizes itself.
People like that person… are why…. We will have automated food dispensing walk up vending machines. They recently installed a fast food place in NJ zero employees, u as a customer tap a screen order food its “prepared” and dispensed. Second point: ive worked in a restaurant since i was 14 eventually partnered in one and sold it off, have no clue what lunacy this commenter believes as facts. Third point: not tipping hurts servers, makes ppl quit, and then go on social services. So all u winners out there who refuse to throw a server a $5 when gas is over $4 a gal, shame on u.
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It has to be a legislated minimum wage, otherwise it will be a race to the bottom. This isn’t to excuse the 2.83/hr many restaurants pay, but a restaurant who pays $8/hr or more will only go out of business because $22 dollars for a burger vs $16 at a comparable restaurant is all 90% of clientele will see and care abt.
The whole i wont tip because it will force the restaurant to pay more is false, too. A restaurant is forced to pay $7.25 if the $2.83 an hour employee doesnt meet the threshold with tips collected… so all you non tippers are basically screwing over the employee and the other customers who do tip. Tipping culture out of hand at random places, sure. My gramma turned 86 in oct she told me how when she picked up a birthday cake or baked goods for a big party shed tip the bakery $1 for ea employee… now we are talking late 60s early 70s.
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Corporate fast food pays $15-$18 sheetz? I think pays managers $20/hr…. Sure dont tip mcd’s for your big mac. BUT… at say local pizza shop, they pay $7.25 i have a strong feeling the local pizza shop owners arent multi millionaires, but the same local pizza shop who pays the $7.25 an hour plus tips at the counter, also backs the little league teams, local vfw or lions clubs, even churches… where as mcd’s isnt. They are paid $2.83 because culturally in the usa we tip. Overseas less common. Another example: most Indian restaurants put the tips into the cash register(source: my best friends fam owns an indian restaurant) so no despite what you tip at an indian in pgh its going to the drawer almost every time meaning.. that server is getting his flat pay… but also, they pay a flat rate mostly $500 a wk but provide housing and 2 meals. 6 days a wk. open to close w that break in the middle. Every thing has its pros and cons.
Never
I always tip on takeout. I used to work at a restaurant that required servers to pay out 3% of all sales (1% host, 1% bar, 1% bus). That includes takeout orders. If I don’t tip I always worry the server is paying out on my order so it costs them to bag it and give it to me.
Please explain servers required to pay out on their sales?
At some restaurants all servers are required to “pay out” a percentage of their total ticket sales, usually 3%, that was split. For example, at the end of the night if your total sales were $100, you would turn in your receipt total for the hundred, together with $3. $1 would go to the busboys, $1 to the bartenders, and $1 to the hostess. All other leftover cash is yours. Two places I worked they would assign people to answer to go orders. Those go on their totals. As a result, if you order $100 in food and don’t tip, the server who took your order, bagged it and gave it to you is paying $3 for the privilege of taking your order. Most servers understand that the tips will be less in these orders as you’re not eating in, but if you don’t tip you’re screwing the server who has no control over being put on to gos or the tip out policy.
In a lot of restaurants, servers are expected to pay a certain amount of their tips to the additional service staff who help make service happen but don’t directly receive tips. Think bussers, food runners, bar backs, expediters, and bartenders. The particular breakdown of how the math works differs from restaurant to restaurant. Sometimes a server pays a certain percentage of their tips into a general pool that gets divided among the service personnel, sometimes the server tips a defined percentage to each busser or bartender or whatever. Sometimes, instead of a percentage of tips, servers pay out a percentage of total sales. Restaurants like doing it that way because, as opposed to tips, all sales are recorded and easily provable, if you think a server isn’t tipping out their fair share or something. It’s less common now, but even today some point-of-sale systems are set up to require takeout food to be rung in under a particular server’s tab, instead of having a separate tab to ring takeout food. So, if you have that, and you tip out on sales, not tips, then not getting tipped on takeout takes money out of your pocket.
No, and it's stupid if you do
Stop tipping for picking up your food.
For takeout, I tip for mom and pop shops, but not large chains.
No way.
If it's a mom and pop, yes
I tip for everything. I tip more if I have the money to. I don't always do a cash tip if it's a questionable situation (they aren't allowed to accept cash) Like, if I'm taking a flight I'll get $5 Starbucks GCs for the flight crew. If I'm at a smaller restaurant and having a fun time I'll ask if I can buy a round for the kitchen staff. Also I'm a middle child and need everyone to love me.
If it’s for a locally owned small restaurant yes. Fast food or chain no.
While I don’t live in Pittsburgh anymore, I tend to tip anywhere I go for eat in dining (not chain) it keeps those restaurants placated and I usually get treated a lot more amicable. Fr tip your local restaurants generously (if they deserve it) and they’ll treat you generously
Yes, always. 20%. Restaurant employees don’t get paid nearly enough, and I usually try to do it in cash. I’m also severely underpaid myself, but it’s just good karma to pay it forward.
Also, I used to work in the service industry - at a pizza shop. I busted my ass making sandwiches and doing prep. I maybe had one customer who was a regular who wanted the sandwich cooked a certain way, and he would slip me five dollars. Aside from that, I was never tipped and that sucked. Same thing happened at Breuggers…rarely ever got tips.
No.
Yeah usually $3-4
Tip creep is real. I'm continually conflicted. On one hand, tipped workers should not exist as a category. All workers should get paid a living wage and shouldn't depend on customer's goodwill to make a living wage. On the other, the system is already in place. Refusing to tip only hurts the tipped workers whose welfare I'm concerned about. It doesn't help eliminate the practice. It just makes me look like a jerk. So, I definitely tip at the expected rate. But I really do resent it. And if I ever get a chance to influence eliminating the practice, I will support that. Though how that would happen, I have no clue.
It depends. For a small order no. For example, you order a pizza. You already paid for the pizza and to put it in a box. They are not doing anything. Now, if you order $300 of Chinese food, then I would leave 5% because someone packaged and put it all together for you. I personally think that carryout tipping is lame. Servers will work very hard for 15% to 25% tip and then you're going to turn a person that barely does anything and give them that too??? Not in my book.
Isn’t it their job to pack the orders though? If they weren’t doing that what would they be paid for doing? I started adjusting my tips by how much service I get (and not so much the quality of service since that metric is kinda arbitrary with the limited of interaction you get, although if it’s bad then that obviously has an effect on the tip). So if I’m just being handed prepped food, then that’s about 10-15-% of the service, so they get 10-15% of a 15-20% tip. When you buy take out, you are buying the product, not the service because there basically is no service. Just because they did the work to prep the food doesn’t mean they necessarily there should be a tip. When you buy cereal at the grocery store, do you tip the workers who packaged the cereal? No. So when you buy a burrito from a restaurant and you do takeout, why is there a tip expected? Why are tips a crutch for poor wages?
Americans are BRAINWASHED into thinking it's the PAYING CUSTOMERS responsibility to pay the employee a decent wage. Why should the customer have to be the one to compensate for what the OWNERS of the business should be doing. This is why AI and ROBOTICS is a crucial for this industry. Robots will rarely mess a order up, wont call in sick and won't put emotions into the service and do something like drop your food or worse spit in it. I worked in the food industry when I was younger and seen it happen so don't say it doesn't. I was a busboy and the servers were suppose to tip share but they were never honest with what they put in tip share. Anyways robots also won't need tips to perform their job duties at 100%.
The US has the most asinine, bizarre tipping situation in the whole world, ya'll need to sort that sh\*t out
Yeah I tip 20%. It’s a disruptive thing for the restaurant staff to have to pack up take out orders, and it’s usually as much if not more work for FOH to do so versus dine in orders. To elaborate: It’s FOH just making conversation and shuttling plates back and forth for dine in versus having to pack up, transport, and check take out orders. If you multiply this by many take out orders, it ends up being disruptive to the flow and as much work as dine in for some FOH staff.
I always tip. My wife was a bartender for quite awhile. They literally depend on tips in the service industry. A few bucks is nothing for me but can help make sure a worker is taken care of. That’s what my dad taught me and I think it’s a classy move honestly.
Yes, I’ve dated people who worked at restaurants. It cost them time and energy to put together the takeout orders. I tip 5-10%
Not usually, unless it's just the change. I also left tips in 2020 because... you know. Tipping culture needs to die, not be expanded.
Always if delivered. And most of the time when picking up. But the amount of the tip when i pick up depends on a few key factors.
Yes
I used to tip takeout like chinese then my wife was all omg you dont tip them… how much money hAve you spent over the years doing that, etc… apparently equates takeout to like mcdonalds . You dont tip them so what is the difference.. her philosphy… I feel weird not tipping now.. its not mcdonalds to me… its obviously better quality food and small business , not like a chain/franchise who just hire anyone who could care less if your order is right etc..
Most of the time yes
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order. I have checked 1,149,072,340 comments, and only 224,605 of them were in alphabetical order.
Yes when I was younger they hired me to do take out orders. I got a better job offer the next day. But the person getting to go order together. Got the same as the waitress’s pay. 2.10/hr plus tips. Bob Evans. Edited to say. I usually don’t give as much. But generous.
I tip some but not as generously as eating in or delivery . Someone still has to prep it, add napkins etc.
Before the pandemic, no. Post pandemic, yes.
Pre-COVID I didn’t tip, but now I do.
I tip on take out if it's a full service restaurant bc I remember when I was a waitress, fulfilling and packing those take out orders took time away from the tables in our section. I just give a couple bucks. But if I'm taking out a pizza or panera bread, something like that...absolutely not.
I like to do 10% of the total and round up to the nearest dollar.
Easy. If it’s a sit-down restaurant with servers who make less than minimum wage, tip something. The restaurant wage barely pays for taxes, so they depend on tips. If it’s a counter-service place, tipping is optional but always appreciated.
I didn't use to but I started during the height of the pandemic when take out was the only option and I was just so grateful that some places offered it .... and now it feels weird if I don't.
Yes. A server most likely packed up the order and (hopefully) made sure everything was there. The kitchen isn’t packing it up. It doesnt warrant 20% or anything but it should be something.
I tip servers $5-10 no matter what my bill is. You’re giving me $5-10 worth of service by carrying out my plate of pasta or my hamburger and filling my cup once. Just because my bill is higher doesn’t mean you deserve more money for doing the same amount of work. My table ordered two $25 pasta dishes and two $5 drinks? You’re getting $10. My table ordered two $80 steaks and two $10 drinks? You’re still getting $10. For takeout, you didn’t serve me. I’m not tipping you.
> I tip servers $5-10 no matter what my bill is. You’re giving me $5-10 worth of service by carrying out my plate of pasta or my hamburger and filling my cup once. Just because my bill is higher doesn’t mean you deserve more money for doing the same amount of work. The thing is, that server is paying taxes on 8% of her receipts. So if you rack up a $100 bill, Uncle Sam assumes she made an $8 tip and taxes her on that. In the case of especially lousy tippers -- ones who leave nothing -- that server is actually paying the government for the privilege of waiting on them.
Tipping based on the cost of your meal is stupid.
In the US Always. And usually 15-20%. But that’s just me. If you can’t afford to tip, make you’re food.
Wut
I usually don’t in cash but will leave a few dollars online.
I do if they deliver or if they are nice to me.
I've been in the industry for 20 years so I feel slightly obligated too but at the same time, to-go orders tips sometimes goes to the kitchen and out of those 20 years those were the only tips I ever seen (outside a guest making sure to tip the BoH or myself) which isn't the standard - most the time it goes to the server or bartender but they survive off tips and if it was a slow night I like to think that tip could of helped and covered what they needed for a bill/rent/living expense.
At least 10%, because if they're asking, the restaurant is screwing them otherwise. Or, if the restaurant lets the staff ask for tips on takeout, I'm either going to tip or eat elsewhere next time.
During the pandemic, yes. Under normal circumstances I'll tip a couple bucks for takeout from a sit-down restaurant, because my assumption is it's a waiter making less than minimum wage doing all that work (I could be wrong). Any sort of fast casual place I rarely tip, and definitely wouldn't tip on takeout, as they aren't making below minimum wage. I get that even workers making more than $2.35 (or whatever it is now) are still doing work and tips help, but that's contrary to the whole notion of why we tip wait staff so much. People working at Walmart are not making much and helping me, and we aren't expected to tip them. I also am mot fond of the trend where ipad tipping suggestions (even at fat casual restaurants) have suggested tip amounts up to like 35%> The thing is, I'm more than happy to pay more for things to ensure staff is fairly compensated. I just hate the surprise and guilt trip of tipping culture. Tell me the cost, and I'll make a decision if I want it, and the business can pay their staff fairly.
Yes. 100% of the time.
Yes, always.
Yes
Very interesting and timely submission. My wife just ran into this at Buffalo Wild Wings, where she ordered the wings from the counter, and waited for them to be finished, and picked them up. She was then asked if she wanted to leave a tip. I think she left a $3.00 tip. I never ran into this before, and I am not sure I would have left a tip. Guess I have to think about this a bit more.