So most people can agree in the US, if you go out to eat, you need to tip. It’s expected and not part of the bill. Also standard is if you have a large party, gratuity is automatically added. It doesn’t matter if the service is bad, it’s automatic.
But do you or should you tip for takeout? Personally I don’t normally tip for takeout. But then I don’t do takeout at fancy restaurants. I do takeout mostly at places that have takeout areas or are takeout meals like pizza and chinese. So what’s the deal with some restaurants wanting to add on a 10% takeout tip?
What service am I getting that I’m not paying a premium for in the price of my meal? Do they not want my service? If they want a 10% tip, then I might as well sitdown and be served and not clean up for 15%. I have to wonder if the US is taking this “tipping” for services a bit too far.
I swear we seem to tip for EVERYTHING. Every little thing we’re expected to tip! What’s your take on tipping?
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9 responses so far ↓
1 paranoidasteroid // Jun 1, 2009 at 11:41 am
I tip at the places we go to most often (usually just throw a dollar or the change into the tip jar). I find that this tends to get me better service and that the workers recognize me & appreciate it.
Under normal circumstances, though, I don’t tip for takeout if I’m picking it up.
2 Kimberly // Jun 1, 2009 at 1:40 pm
I tip for takeout if I need to pick it up from a bartender. I do minimum 20%.
Otherwise, I try to avoid it, unless it’s a place I go to more often than once a blue moon.
3 Meg from FruWiki // Jun 1, 2009 at 8:28 pm
Generally speaking, I don’t tip for takeout.
And I agree, we do go overboard with tips. Around Christmas time there are usually some articles about tipping delivery people, doormen, etc. and long lists of people that one *should* give gifts to (beyond friends and family) and I’m like “Who does that?” Even before my husband and I stopped giving holiday gifts, our Christmas list was just our parents, his brother, and maybe some of my 7 siblings or other close relatives if we saw them around that time.
I’m all for being generous — my husband and I often tip over 20% for good service at a restaurant — but I believe that a tips *should* be for service above and beyond, and even then usually for industries where the workers don’t get paid all that much (though perhaps companies should do a better job of providing a living wage so we don’t feel so obligated to tip — not happening, though).
Anyhow, as usual, I digress
4 JoeP // Jun 2, 2009 at 8:47 am
To borrow a LAL-ism: “it depends.”
I generally tip take-out if it is a bagel shop or a small restaurant that has been around for a while and hires local kids who are trying to learn good work ethic. In any case, prompt service and a desire to go beyond the job description generally deserves a tip.
5 Stacey // Jun 2, 2009 at 2:49 pm
We tip for takeout at our most-frequented places as well. They have great service and make picking up our order a breeze – unlike some other places, where you wait long past the time that your food should be ready. Come to think of it, we don’t really go to those poor-service places anymore anyway!
I usually toss in a $1 bill and some change, which works out to be about 10% of the bill.
6 Kristy @ Master Your Card // Jun 3, 2009 at 2:57 pm
I agree that tipping is out of hand. I consider myself a pretty generous tipper when I sit down, but the expectation that I tip someone for take-out that I’ve picked up myself is bothersome. I really only tip places I frequent regularly – like the Chinese place I go to. They know my name, they know my order, and they usually have it ready pretty quickly. I’ll tip them a few dollars, no big deal. But, if I go to Chili’s and some similar restaurant, why should I tip? It’s essentially the same as fast food and we don’t tip them (although I’m sure they’re not far behind). There are no servers giving me drinks, checking on me, etc. The only deviance from this is if I sit at the bar and have a beer while waiting. I will tip the bartender then.
One of my favorites is the fact that Starbucks is so expensive, and yet, they still have the tip jar out there. I don’t blame the workers, rather the corporation. If companies paid their employees better, the expectation of a tip would die away. But, the corporations are passing that buck to us consumers, and then those workers are frustrated with us when we don’t tip or don’t tip as well as they’d like. It’s a stupid process and one of the reasons I don’t go out to a sit down restaurant too much.
7 LAL // Jun 3, 2009 at 10:33 pm
Since a number of people don’t tip, I’m not feeling so bad for not tipping. I can’t understand why they want to charge extra for tip when you are already paying a premium for the food?
And it is because they expect people to subsidize the salaries of the workers!
8 R. May // Jun 4, 2009 at 2:12 pm
HA! Noooooo. That’s like tipping at Mcdonalds. In fact a tip jar on the counter is a good way to get me not to visit your establishment ever again.
The one exception is if I order from a place that offers curb-side takeaway. I tip there for the priviledge of sitting my lazy bum in the car while server runs around bringing me my bill and change and food.
That’s 10%.
9 LAL // Jun 4, 2009 at 9:56 pm
R.May, even McDonald’s has a tip jar now!
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