In a coffee shop, cafe or deli, do you tip for counter service?

I will tip at a place where I wait in line to order my food if i am getting a meal and I am paying with a credit card on a system that has a tip prompt. I won;t if I ma just getting a coffee or a snack.

I am more likely to tip if I order a meal at the walk up, and then they bring it to my table.

The distinction is:
I tip for the server. not for the prep.

I always tip at the counter, and always cash because too many times the barista/counter server won’t see the credit card tip.
The barista/server is more than likely the one who is doing all the prep and clean up. They are paid poorly, on their feet and dealing with a huge amount of customer crap that they can’t walk away from (speaking from experience here).

Almost always. I tip for good service with a smile.

I usually tip a flat fee of $1 – $2 for takeout/quickserve. I would tip the same to a bartender for pouring me a beer at a bar. Making my burrito to-order, wrapping it up, and then handling the payment is at least that complicated.

Almost never. If it’s counter service, I’m doing the work, not the waiter. I’m supposed to pay the cashier for taking my money?

I read the same article in the Times. I have the impression that people are tipping because they are blindly following a prompt. They’re not thinking about the what and the why.

Yes. Service is service.

Here’s more info: Rich people are the worst tippers. Oh, some do tip, but some get top notch service and can tip, but don’t.

@elbanditoroso the counter person is doing a lot more than taking your money, you just can’t see it. Don’t be a piker, tip.

@candidmajor I actually understand @elbanditoroso. I mean I go to a sandwich joint sometimes and you can see everything they are doing. They’re literally putting meat and stuff on a sandwich, cutting it and you leave. Not sure why that requires a tip, at the prices they charge for the sandwich.

Maybe you can explain why putting a sandwich together deserves a tip? I do tip, but I kind of resent it since I’m not getting any additional service.

I generally don’t tip outside of waiter service. I will tip a bartender and I’ll tip if I’m eating at the counter and the food is brought to me. I don’t tip for take-out.

@KNOWITALL Do you tip a bartender for grabbing a beer, popping off the cap and handing it to you?

@gorillapaws Sure. I’m just asking why you should get a tip when you’re doing your job and nothing more, especially if it’s slapping meat between two pieces of bread.

In a server situation, there’s more to it, so it makes sense. They bring it, chat, ask if everything’s okay, ask about refills and take home containers, etc…

@KNOWITALL ”...slapping meat between two pieces of bread…”

I worked in a sub shop for minimum wage for a few summers after highschool. We would slice the meat to-order, toast the sandwich and/or cook up the steak-and-cheese, apply the toppings, take orders, deliver the orders, complete the transactions, etc. That’s way more than a lot of bartenders do. A dollar here and there really added up and I promised myself that I would always do the same for others when I got older.

edit: I fully admit though that this was not exactly intense or high-skilled labor.

@gorillapaws Ima tip, I promise, but I think when I go through a drive thru and they have a tip jar out there, or that sandwich shop where I literally watch them put my rare roast beef on some bread, it’s rather uppity. Just imo.

I am always impressed by the lengths some people go to justify not leaving a little extra. The person just made a sandwich, and is likely getting paid very little to do so. Tip, don’t tip, your choice, but why not just bring your own sandwich if you have such disdain for the person making it?

If you’re already buying a sandwich, the dollar probably won’t break you. If it does, then maybe bring your own sandwich from home.

This is like those discussions where people are so proud to discuss why they didn’t give a dollar to a panhandler. Don’t if you don’t want to, sure, but to make a point of justifying it?

Oh, never mind.

People justify it in their mind whether they express it or not. What I’m more impressed by is the lengths people go to shame others who don’t do what they do. (I had a feeling that was the direction this question was heading in).

@Demosthenes – thanks for writing what you did. I find it odd that there’s a collective movement now for the consumer (me, for example) to fill the payment gap that the employer hasn’t seen fit to fill – the worker at the drive-thru or the counter.

When did society place the burden on me to do the manager’s job?

This isn’t about a dollar here or a dollar there. It’s about role and expense shifting from the corporation to the end consumer – so that the franchise owner can have a better balance sheet by not paying people what they’re worth.

If you want to gripe at anyone, @canidmajor – do it at the restaurant owner that isn’t paying his or her employees a living wage.

Always , since it is hard to live on wages nowadays.
Cost of living is too high for these first line workers to survive, and remeber they have families to support too!

I used to leave tips on the table for the waitresses until I discovered that some owners took a portion out for themselves, that is why I tip on my debit card or credit card. ( BTW I always let the waiter/counter person know that I tipped them )and sometimes I tell them how much so as to keep track of there tips.)

I would tip for counter service if I used it, but I haven’t since the summer of 1998.

I get a lot of take out, and my orders are quite customized. Also, my favorite managers, Carmen at Mel’s Diner and Plern at veSTATION, take my orders over the phone while trying to juggle that with their other managerial duties.

E.g., Plern will take my order while simultaneously dealing with the owner, customer complaints (including mine), processing customer payments, tallying customer bills, building issues, and employee absences.

I usually tip by credit card, but there have been occasions where Plern had to work extra hours, but I think because she’s a salaried employee, she wasn’t paid for the extra hours, and I think her salary is based on the CA minimum wage. Consequently, I directly tipped her with cash on those occasions. Also, her landlord raised her rent $200/month last year, and a CA rent control measure was defeated in November, 2018.

Because of developer-driven gentrification in Los Angeles, Plern will probably never be able to afford a house, unless she pools her resources with at least 20 other people. Meanwhile, I bought my house for $26,000 in 1973. My home is only 1,100 sq. ft and it needs maintenance, but the property on which it sits is worth over $1 million.

The reason it needs maintenance is because my life savings were stolen from me in 2012, so I don’t have the money for said upkeep. However, I could sell my house and buy a better house in Sylmar, and pocket about $500,000, so I’m doing what little I can to pay it forward to those who so richly deserve it.

One thing I will do to optimize my efforts, is follow @canidmajor‘s and tip with cash.

@inspired 2 write I think you have it backwards. If you tip through your debit or credit card, the waiter may never see his/her tip. There is no way for them to know how much or even when a tip is due them in this manner. Plus credit cards charge a fee that will be taken out of that 5.00 tip. If possible, I give the tip directly to the waiter. If not, I leave it on the table.

@Brian1946: You don’t go to Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks or get donuts or coffee from a shop?

@chyna I tell the waitress and sometime I actually give them a copy of my receipt.
( Its a small Town and everyone knows which owners are doing that).

@jca2

I don’t drink coffee, and all my food is bought via takeout, table, or at Whole Paycheck.

Edit:

One thing I will do to optimize my efforts, is follow @canidmajor‘s example and tip with cash.

And today Lifehacker has an article on When it’s okay to leave a bad tip

I dislike tipping as it feels awkward. When do you tip and how much should you tip? It is never straightforward and I don’t think an honest worker should have to rely on charity to get by. That’s one thing I like about China; the service is always great but you never tip, for anything. It is unheard of.

Just sat down in a coffee shop. I never tip. Should I?

I always leave at least one dollar for each person at my table. If in doubt, I tip 15–20% of the tab.