Do you tip when you get takeout?

Absolutely, especially if they’ve brought me my food in terrible weather.

Why should I? I get everything I want according to my right as a costumer.

If I pick it up, I don’t; if they deliver it, I do.

I tip at drive through just to see their reaction!! lol!

I usually tip. The person took the order, put it all together in a package made sure you got napkins and ketchup, yes I tip, but not very much.

No, @Simone_De_Beauvoir , I’m picking up, it’s not delivery.

Take out as in I drive to the place, I walk up to the counter, I place the order, they cook the food and bring it back to the counter, I pay for it, I take it, I drive it home? No. Absolutely not. If there is some measure of “service” involved – if they either bring it to my table or deliver it to my house, then yes of course I’ll tip. But when they do nothing more than cook and bring it from the kitchen to the counter? No.

@cfrydj Yeah, I realize my mistake…it depends on the venue…at a place I like, yes, I’d still tip

I’m with @MrItty. It would be like me tipping the cashier for taking my order. I have on occassion if the cook and the cashier is the same person. But maybe a few cents or a dollar. I don’t tip according to the price of the meal. Its not the same like a sit down dinner. Now if its delivery, than I certainly tip. They saved me the headache of having to go get the food.

I guess the big question is are they paid like a waiter? In America waiters are paid a different minimum wage than other industries, because tipping is expected. Is the person taking the order being paid at least a regular minimum wage?

Takeout is when you pick it up.
Delivery is when it gets delivered.

I only tip for takeout when it is a big order. Like feeding the staff.

I tip 10%.

@JLeslie, so putting food into a bag and adding napkins warrants work and therefore deserves a tip?

Depends on the place. If they don’t normally do takeout, I will tip. If they only do takeout, I don’t tip. Somewhere in between, depends on the circumstances.

@Parrappa It just depends how much work I perceive they did. If I picked up a pizza no. If I picked up food at chilis and ask for sauce on the side, fountain drinks, I might. He/she is making sure my order has everything as is I desire, and probably my order has some specific thing to worry about, to add, or subtract, it isn’t the same as McDonalds. I wouldn’t tip at fast food.

Delivery is always a short distance for them whether I’m at work or home, so I tip $3 for delivery, $2 if they’re really late.

If I pick it up myself, no tip.

Okay, good to know that I’m not way out of line.

My father-in-law owns a sub shop and people live him tips in the tip jar. Not everyone tips, but many do.

I tip for delivery but not for take-out.

I always tip for delivery, but I don’t think that you should tip for takeout. why would you do that?

Yes, same here, tip for delivery but not, usually, takeout.

I may toss a few coins in the tip jar at the counter if there is one, maybe .75 to $1.50 sometimes.

I think if you feel like tipping, do so. Just to be nice.

Nope. Why tip for nothing?

I pretty much always tip.

Reason?
I know what it’s like working at a restaurant and though I never delivered anything I did work in the take-away (or curb-side) section of Outback Steakhouse. We would get huge orders both via phone and internet that we would have to take down, pack up, get condiments and toppings, add a loaf of bread with some butter, place in the room, take to the car, and then take payment. We do just as much, if not more than a regular server. (Serving was actually much easier than takeaway in the fact that half the time you didn’t even run your own food) You mostly work by yourself and you can get anywhere from 2–20 orders an hour. It’s really shitty when you’re running back and forth from the kitchen, to the takeaway room, and out to the cars, putting together $50, $80, $100 orders and people don’t tip because they don’t feel they have to. Most people who work at a restaurant or deliver food makes around $3—$5 (if that) an hour. It’s really horrible when you leave work with $10 in tips for a few hours of work just because people don’t think they need to tip (and in turn you don’t make bill payments on time, ouch).

Having worked mostly as a waitress since like, ever, I always tip. Not into waitressing anymore, but I’m pretty sure I’ll always tip, unless it’s extremely bad service.

I have a hard time with the different ‘minimum wage’ standards. Minimum wage is minimum wage. If someone on just a bit above minimum wage gives me decent service they deserve a bit extra. I don’t think it should make up his basic pay packet so he can make his rent and feed himself. Ridiculous. If someone who doesn’t make minimum wage, but relies on tips… I feel ransomed by the owners of the establishment. It’s horrible.

I pretty much always tip. Have never done that work, but it looks pretty harrowing to me. I do not tip at fast food. I am much more inclined to tip if I get just a little human warmth from the server. Tip big if it is brought to my house.

One question…I am noticing that fast food places are using smaller and smaller bags. Some places I cannot even get the food out without ripping the bag (and I do not have huge hands) much less use it for trash. Anybody else noticed this or is it my imagination?

@plethora It’s not only smaller bags, but most paper is recycled now, and therefore very low quality, just as plastic grocery bags.

I always tip, because to me the workers aren’t paid enough. Higher prices would just add profit to the corporation, I would rather see that the money goes straight to the worker.

If it’s a place that specializes in take-out, like I order a pizza and go pick it up, no.

If it’s a restaurant that has a special take out counter, no.

If it’s a restaurant where the order is handled by whatever server was handy, yes. He/she has tables they had to take care of at the same time.

i don’t for either except for around the xmas period..but if i was better off i would more often given the wages as mentioned above…

Take-out: No

Delivery: Yes
So long as it’s on time and hot.
Like Simone, I tip very generously in bad weather. The guy from the local Chinese joint – we invited him in for tea one night the rain was so bad. Poor guy was soaked.

I tip for delivery, not for take-out except at this one sub shop I go to. They have a tip jar at the counter and it’s mostly high school kids that work there and they really do provide good service so I will usually throw a dollar in the jar.

@YARNLADY I’m getting so I tell them up front before they hand it to me, “Put it in a bigger bag”. They have no idea that what comes out of that bag has to go back in with room to close it.

McDonalds is the worst. If I order a breakfast item and a couple of milks, they want to give me the item in a tiny bag and then hand me the two milks, like i can take them, let them roll around the passenger seat and then have nowhere to but it all when empty. Trials of life…:)

I just stay there until they get someone to translate what I say in English into their language, whatever that might be, and then put it all in a big bag.

And yes, the paper quality is minimal, even more need for a bigger bag so the bag doesnt split just from the stuff in it.

@plethora Here’s a thought – how about taking your own reusable bag?

@YARNLADY Does that mean I have to wash it?..:)

Um, yes. The one I use is a thermal bag which is very easy to wipe out after each use. You could also line it with a paper towel to throw away after each use.

I am shocked at how many people don’t tip at all for take out.

@chels thanks for that explanation. I have never had someone actually bring my food out to my car, I can’t imagine people would not tip at least a dollar in that situation?? I have a question, lets say they don’t bring it to your car, but just work the take counter at a Chili’s or O’Charleys, are you saying they are paid the same as a witress per hour? That’s what I was wondering in one of my answer above.

@plethora I hadn’t noticed. I eat in my car probably one once a year, so I am less likely to care if a take out bag rips, so I might not notice. You could keep a couple of those lunch paper bags in your glove compartment for trash if you ever need a trash bag, they cost very little for a package. Or, maybe ask the restarant for an extra bag if it is bothering you.

We don’t tip as much in the UK as they seem to in the States. If the service and food were good I do tend to tip in restaurants (sit down ones) but the only time I tip after a takeaway is if it’s delivered to my door when I sometimes tell them to keep the change.

No, why would I? I had to drive to pick it up. I tip for deliveries.

@Leanne1986 Your wait staff is paid more, the tip is built in. In the US jobs that are expected to get tips have an entirely different wage, a much lower wage paid to them by the employer than other jobs.

@JLeslie I see. That explains why it is less of a big deal to tip here. I find that incredibly unfair.

@Leanne1986 well, as @YARNLADY pointed out, some Americans like to give it directly to the server, so they know it is going to them and not to the owners or pofit margin somehow. Some people try to tip in cash even when paying the bill on a credit card to kind of help the waiter a little more, so the tip amount is not recorded for tax purposes. A few, very few, American cities do add in the tip automatically, like South Beach in Mami Beach, FL because so many Europeans vacation there and were not tipping, and Latin Americans who tip much lower, that they kind of internationalized (I think I made up that word) it. But, it would be clear on your check that the tip was added on. Again their hourly wage would be very low though, and then the tips given to them at the end of the night.

@JLeslie I recently went to a restaurant here were the tip was automatically added to the bill. That is the first time I have ever experienced this in England.

No. tipping is only for waitresses, which are not paid a worthwhile salary and rely on tips to make up the difference. other workers are paid hourly at minimum wage or better.

@JLeslie: When I get curbside take-out, I do tip exactly one dollar. Two if it’s raining.

@JLeslie You’re welcome. There are people who don’t tip when you bring it to their car, not even a dollar. As far as I know, the take-away people at restaurants (like Outback Steakhouse and maybe Chilis, I’m not sure but I imagine so) make the exact same amount per hour as the waiters/waitresses in the restaurant.

@YARNLADY @JLeslie Thanks. Good ideas….will try keeping bags in the car..:)

Only if I have a beer while I am waiting.