How much to tip for a carry-out order?

[joraemi]

I am curious how much you tip for a carry out order?  (ie what percentage?)  We are getting carry out from a restaurant that is normally a sit down meal kind of place. 

Thanks!

[kckgirl]

This is my thread from December 31 on the same question. There were many opinions, varying from nothing to a standard tip. I chose 10%.
 
http://www.etiquettehell.com/smf/index.php?topic=123920.msg2857200#msg2857200

[joraemi]

This is my thread from December 31 on the same question. There were many opinions, varying from nothing to a standard tip. I chose 10%.
 
http://www.etiquettehell.com/smf/index.php?topic=123920.msg2857200#msg2857200

WOW!  That really *was* all over the map! lol  Thanks for the link!

[Shoo]

I am curious how much you tip for a carry out order?  (ie what percentage?)  We are getting carry out from a restaurant that is normally a sit down meal kind of place. 

Thanks!

I do 10%

[that_one_girl]

I don't tip for carry out.   By getting carryout, I save the restaurant the trouble of washing my dishes, refilling my water, and bringing my food to me.  The price of the food covers the food. The price of the disposable containers they package it in is equitable to the work they save by me getting carry out.  Tips are for the person who brings me my food, in the case of carry out, that person is ME, so if anything I should tip myself by ordering an extra piece of pie for dessert ... yummy!

[betty]

When I was a server at a sit-down restaurant many years ago, carryout meals meant I had to answer the phone, answer questions from the customer, take the order, enter it into the computer, time the order for the anticipated pick up time, follow up with the kitchen so they knew it was carryout and packed sauces on the side etc if needed, gather the containers, pack up the food, add plasticware, be available when the customer arrived for pick up, ring up the bill and get the credit card signed or change returned.

While I wouldn't have expected a 20% tip, it can be a lot of work. 10% or a few dollars would have been appreciated.

[Sharnita]

There are a couple places I call that have a "to go specialist".  When I call she is always the person they put on. These are places that advertise carside to go,let oyu order your "to go" online, etc. So I wonder if they are now designating one person to be in charge of that exclusively.

[oceanus]

When I was a server at a sit-down restaurant many years ago, carryout meals meant I had to answer the phone, answer questions from the customer, take the order, enter it into the computer, time the order for the anticipated pick up time, follow up with the kitchen so they knew it was carryout and packed sauces on the side etc if needed, gather the containers, pack up the food, add plasticware, be available when the customer arrived for pick up, ring up the bill and get the credit card signed or change returned.

While I wouldn't have expected a 20% tip, it can be a lot of work. 10% or a few dollars would have been appreciated.

A grocery store cashier has to say "Hello", (maybe) answer a question about a price or something on special, scan the items, get the credit card signed or take cash and make change, put the items in a bag, say “Thank you”, and hand the bag(s) to the customer.  That’s their JOB. 

[Firecat]

When I was a server at a sit-down restaurant many years ago, carryout meals meant I had to answer the phone, answer questions from the customer, take the order, enter it into the computer, time the order for the anticipated pick up time, follow up with the kitchen so they knew it was carryout and packed sauces on the side etc if needed, gather the containers, pack up the food, add plasticware, be available when the customer arrived for pick up, ring up the bill and get the credit card signed or change returned.

While I wouldn't have expected a 20% tip, it can be a lot of work. 10% or a few dollars would have been appreciated.

A grocery store cashier has to say "Hello", (maybe) answer a question about a price or something on special, scan the items, get the credit card signed or take cash and make change, put the items in a bag, say “Thank you”, and hand the bag(s) to the customer.  That’s their JOB.

Tips aren't part of a grocery store clerk's compensation. For servers in restaurants, tips are explicitly part of their compensation, so it's not at all the same situation. So I'd tip a small amount, at least a couple of dollars, but no more than 10%.

[betty]

A grocery store cashier has to say "Hello", (maybe) answer a question about a price or something on special, scan the items, get the credit card signed or take cash and make change, put the items in a bag, say “Thank you”, and hand the bag(s) to the customer.  That’s their JOB. 

Yes, but the cashier earns at least minimum wage, not the several-dollars-below-minimum that servers earn. The cashier may have a line, but is not waiting on several other groups while helping the customer. And the cashier is not assessed a certain amount of tips as taxable income by the IRS based on the amount of sales he or she makes, regardless of whether or not she or he actually gets tipped on that amount.

[jpcher]

When I was a server at a sit-down restaurant many years ago, carryout meals meant I had to answer the phone, answer questions from the customer, take the order, enter it into the computer, time the order for the anticipated pick up time, follow up with the kitchen so they knew it was carryout and packed sauces on the side etc if needed, gather the containers, pack up the food, add plasticware, be available when the customer arrived for pick up, ring up the bill and get the credit card signed or change returned.

While I wouldn't have expected a 20% tip, it can be a lot of work. 10% or a few dollars would have been appreciated.

A grocery store cashier has to say "Hello", (maybe) answer a question about a price or something on special, scan the items, get the credit card signed or take cash and make change, put the items in a bag, say “Thank you”, and hand the bag(s) to the customer.  That’s their JOB.

oceanus -- I understand your analogy simply because my DD#1 works in a pick-up/delivery only food service type of restaurant. She answers phones, takes the orders, packs up the food, accepts the money and doesn't ever expect a tip. Why? because that's her JOB!

The difference is that DD#1's place is not a sit-down full order restaurant.


Servers that work in a sit-down restaurant have to pack up the food, like bringing it to the table, they brought your food to you (albeit in a bag instead of on plates) so they deserve a tip.



New thought . . . Do you tip at McDonalds? No. Do you tip at Starbucks? Yes? Why is that?

[that_one_girl]

I thought about it, and actually I do tip for some carryout orders.  If I gave special instructions and see that they have been carried out to the letter, I tip as much as I would if I was dining in.     

I don't think that they should be making the waitresses package up the to-go orders.  That should be the kitchen staff's, just as it is their job to plate the food for the sit-down customers.  Most of the places that I order to-go from I order it on the way home from somewhere, so I actually go in and go to the counter and order from the cashier and wait for it to be made.

[Sharnita]

I don't tip at Starbucks.  I think the majority of people don't. 

[jpcher]

I don't tip at Starbucks.  I think the majority of people don't.

Didn't know that . . . I don't go to Starbucks, but the one time I stopped at a drive-through for one of my DD's they had a tip jar at the drive-through window. So I thought it was the norm.

Sorry for the misconception.

[that_one_girl]

In my opinion, the restaurant pays their staff to bring me a drink (if I'm dining-in) and a meal.   If the staff is nice, prompt with refills on drinks (if I'm dining-in) or offers me a glass of water if I'm waiting on a to-go meal, ensures that any special instructions are followed, and makes my experience pleasant, then they get tipped (whether or not I am dining-in) ... and most staff fall into this category.

Those that don't get a tip (or get less of a tip) are the ones who tell me "You can't have that." even though it is clearly listed on the menu (if they are out of it, this particular waitress should say so.), or the ones who roll their eyes at me for asking about specific dietary information.

I wish I wasn't too clumsy so I could try waiting tables just to see what it's like.  If I tried to wait tables though, I am certain I would spill more food on me than I would sell!  LOL  I do try to say thank you and please to the waitstaff and to stack my finished dishes so that they are easy to bus.