I consider myself a generous person and when I go to restaurants in the U.S., I almost always tip 20% unless the service is just flat out bad. However, since the pandemic, I’ve really limited my indoor dining. Very rarely do I eat indoors unless the restaurant is empty or I’m desperate. Fortunately, I live in Los Angeles so my family and I can dine outdoors year-round.
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Usually we just order takeout and I will go pick it up, which almost always leaves me in an awkward situation. I’m truly perplexed about whether I should be tipping on takeout that I go and physically pick up. If it’s a restaurant I frequent often and know the staff, I give a few dollars but it just seems like an unnecessary added expense. Do you agree?
I also feel like some restaurants are too aggressive with tips, too. For example, take the screenshot above. I ordered four sandwiches from a Palm Springs sandwich shop website and before checking out, they required me to enter a tip. I find that even more awkward and offensive. Maybe it’s just me but I felt if I didn’t tip, my food might be sabotaged so it’s not worth a few dollars. I know it’s silly but that’s the way it made me feel. The same goes for delivery apps, which require the tip in advance. This doesn’t seem right because isn’t a tip a reward for good service?
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I just did some research and according to Did You Know, tipping began in a London coffee shop in 1668. “It was in Lloyd’s Coffee House that a brass container for the benefit of waitrons was first inscribed with the words “To Insure Promptness”. The idea was that a patron would put an amount of money into the container before sitting down to insure promptness of service from the waitrons.”
They now say: “Whatever or wherever the origin of the word “tip”, it is now given after being served, whether the service was prompt or not.” I agree.
USA Today interviewed an expert on the subject: “Tipping on takeout orders is the right thing to do,” says H.G. Parsa, professor of lodging management at the University of Denver. “Even takeout involves some amount of service, and we should tip those employees.”
The Today Show covered the subject last month and said: “With such days in the rearview mirror and indoor dining back at full strength across the country, takeout isn’t as substantial a piece of business as it once was for José and Dear Margaret, but the generosity and goodwill of their regulars has not abated. The tipping norm for their restaurants — takeout or dine-in — remains at 20% or slightly above.”
Tipping 20% for takeout? If that’s the norm then I’ve really have not been as generous as I thought. I understand that restaurant workers during the pandemic took a huge hit, which is why I really upped my tips big time during lockdown but now that most have gone back normal, it doesn’t seem right.
Of course, none of this even touches on the fact that restaurant owners should be paying their workers fair wages and not passing that responsibility on to their customers. What do you think? And how much do you tip on takeout? KEEP READING: Are You Obligated to Switch Seats on a Plane
Here’s another issue regarding tipping. A friend pointed out at coffee today that with restaurant menu prices going up, should one continue to pay a tip on the increased cost of the meal when the service provided by the wait person is the same? We all agreed that a tip should be reduced from 20% downward and then after deducting the sales tax (10+% in our area) and in some cases the cost of a glass of wine.
What are your thoughts?
A tip is for a job done exceptionally well. Not a job done satisfactorily or substandard. Therefore, no tip for any restaurant service unless it was phenomenal, whether eat in, pickup, or whatever.
Since the servers and other workers in the restaurant business have taken an abysmal hit to their livelihood, I tip 10% on to go orders. It’s not totally the customer’s responsibility for employee wages but the pay is often low and lacking a benefits package. The workers deserve a tip unless they are totally offensive or severely lack customer service skills. How about we rally to change the tip process and provide decent wages and benefits packages so it isn’t necessary to rely on tips?
We always tip on takeout, my way of thinking is that it helps with the entire staff. Someone is preparing the food, bussing the tables, cleaning up etc. During the pandemic we tipped at 20%, as we really appreciated the horrible shortages and wage losses for people in the industry, we are fortunate to be able to continue with this practice. Also, we are used to ordering wine with our meals and takeout eliminated that added cost.
My college daughter waitressed at a popular University burger and brew grille. She said the biker groups were the best tippers and the ladies’ groups were the worst.
10% on take out. I have been slow to accept this but I now do. The whole idea of picking up the food was to avoid the tip. Now with this crazy inflation going out and picking up food is very expensive. The result is I avoid getting take out now. $15 for a chicken sandwich at Hooters. I love Hooters but I now won’t go because my mind can’t get past eating a $15 sandwich (plus tip).
I don’t like the FORCED tipping on some checkouts, especially the ones that include the tax amount as part of the tip calculation, seriously. Also, I don’t trust the bagged up takeout, I disassemble everything and verify the contents which more than half the time OMIT items. And I am supposed to “TIP” for that in advance? A tip is extra, so show me you have done extra to deserve it. And sometimes I do see extra effort and then leave cash in the tip jar.
I tip the same amount at all take-out restaurants as I do at McDonalds – Zero. They do the same work for less. If you want a fair wage, pay it and reflect those wages in your prices. I worked my buns off as a bus boy in college, and didn’t share in the tips, yet earned the same hourly wage as the wait staff. It’s not fair, and tips don’t reflect the effort that all staff make. I absolutely hate the way so many businesses force you to select a tip or not in their payment system. It’s designed to make you feel guilty. I will avoid those businesses where I can.
When tipping in a Resturant, that server is paying taxes on their tips. In most cases tax owed plus uniform fees and sometimes meals are deducted from their paycheck so not much left on that check. When tipping in a jar, those benefiting are not paying taxes on those tips.
When dining with my partner we sometimes share a meal, I will always tip as if we ordered 2 meals. Usually 20-25%. Very rarely will I tip take out from fast food or coffee establishments
American culture — some of it’s good and some of it’s bad. I do not like America’s “tipping policy” and I never will. I’ve been to Japan about 10 times and within my experience, the average restaurant there gives better service than I have receive here in Hawaii, and it’s not in their culture to tip in a restaurant.
I don’t like tipping period. And that screenshot irks me, but I have become a generous tipper. I tip 25 to 30%, sometimes more. I rationalize that I would probably tip 15% anyway, but I can afford 25 to 30%, so why not? And maybe help someone out a bit. I rationalize that over the years, after my ride on my wave closes out, there will be a few less thousand dollars of inheritance in the bank. Big Deal.
For takeout, I’m not drinking a 9-dollar glass of wine that cost the restaurant 3 dollars. “Sir, would you like another glass of wine?” Maybe having two now it’s 18 dollars. Nor am I splitting a $12 dessert increasing the overall tab. So when it’s to go, you get out relatively unscathed so why not throw a few extra dollars in the jar making it 20%?
Again, I go against my internal tipping grain for there’s no U-Haul behind the hearse. I didn’t always think this way, but that’s how I now view it Jonny.
I walk into a well known burger place where you go up to the counter to order – you can either take the food to a table or to go it is served in a paper bag either way. On the door they have a help wanted sign starting pay 18.64…then at the counter they credit card machine asks if I want to leave a tip ?… I don’t even make that much working in the public schools.
I waitressed at a local restaurant with twelve dining rooms throughout high school and college. The work was physically demanding and tiring.The owners paid me something like 80 cents per hour because management knew I would get tips. And I earned every tip I got.
Today, I generously tip for sit-down meals because I know how much work is involved, but I refuse to tip for takeout. The management should pay the staff a reasonable wage so these folks don’t have to depend on tips to augment their pay. To me, it is selfish of takeout staff to expect a tip for doing their jobs.