Tipping on to-go orders: What's the consensus?

I generally don't eat out all that often and I'm a pretty decent cook, so my wife often prefers the dinners I make her (she's English, can't cook to save her life! lol) That said, right now I'm deliberately going to the places I really want to remain in business because this pandemic is going to wipe out a whole bunch of restaurants. And I'm tipping way more than usual, nothing less than 25%. I'm not rich and don't make a ton of money by Silicon Valley standards, but I'm comfortable and get to work from home and collect a paycheck, while people in the service industry are hurting real bad. It just feels like the right thing to do, because these are good people that got caught in a nightmare scenario for their industry and I'll do what I can to help them stay in business. Besides, on a $40 lunch bill, the difference between a 20% tip ($8) and a 25% tip ($10) is only $2. In reality, I generally carry 'yuppie food stamps' ($20 bills) and will often just round up, unless that makes it less than 25%. I've blown money on dumber things, I can do a little more to help folks in the service industry right now.
 
I'm a big tipper depending. My wife hates it. I've worked these shit jobs. I still tip to go orders. Not as much as my typical 25%. Case by case depending on the level of work I think they put in or if they charge a fee.
 
I like the tip system when it comes to restaurant service since my experience is so dependent on how the service is. Going out to eat is an interesting activity since the entire experience that I'm paying for is reliant on an unskilled worker. Tipping gives the waiter a lot more incentive to work harder. I think if we got rid of the tipping system, going out to eat would be a much worse experience since the same workers would have no incentive to provide a good service.

If they were paid a fair wage, their incentive to do a good job would be to not lose a job that pays a good wage. The same incentive you and I have.
 
If they were paid a fair wage, their incentive to do a good job would be to not lose a job that pays a good wage. The same incentive you and I have.

They would be paid the same as any unskilled worker that does not care about their job.
 
I like the tip system when it comes to restaurant service since my experience is so dependent on how the service is. Going out to eat is an interesting activity since the entire experience that I'm paying for is reliant on an unskilled worker. Tipping gives the waiter a lot more incentive to work harder. I think if we got rid of the tipping system, going out to eat would be a much worse experience since the same workers would have no incentive to provide a good service.
Maybe, maybe not. I've never had anything but stellar service overseas where there is ZERO tipping.
 
I'm a big tipper depending. My wife hates it. I've worked these shit jobs. I still tip to go orders. Not as much as my typical 25%. Case by case depending on the level of work I think they put in or if they charge a fee.
Let me clarity. I don't take kindly to being belittled or bullied into tipping. (Or giving money to any platform) If it's expected, you can pound sand. What's that old saying? 'You get what you get and you don't catch a fit'. Those who don't beg, get the most out of me.
 
Maybe, maybe not. I've never had anything but stellar service overseas where there is ZERO tipping.

I would see restaurants going the same way as McDonalds or Autozone where there is no tipping or incentive to work hard. I would be a little hesitant of a guy making $10 per hour / $20,000 a year waiting on me during my $400 special occasion dinner. That bill is 2% of his yearly income.

I'm also not really picky when it comes to my waiters and always tip well unless they are egregiously bad at their job or very rude. If my drink doesn't sit empty for 15 minutes at a time and they check in every once in a while, they get 25% (nowadays a bit more). It isn't hard to meet expectations so maybe they would still accomplish that without any incentive from tipping.
 
I’ll do 20% when I dine in and get good service and food.
I’ll tip takeout from restaurants, especially mom ‘n pops, again for good service and food.
Not 20% though, more like 10%.
I don’t tip drive thru.

And if any place wants to force a gratuity, then I won’t go there or ever go back. Tipping is up to the customer!
 
I tip about 10% on pick up orders. 20-30% dining in, sometimes more depending on who it is. I'm fortunate enough at this point in my life I can blow money on things I don't NEED, like this Jeep. I don't mind giving someone who fixed food for me or even if all they did was put it in containers and bag it up. There are a couple grocery stores here where kids will take your groceries out and load them up for you. I tip them too. These people don't make enough money.

When my son got his first job in high school, he was a bagger at one of these grocery stores. I went in one evening to get some stuff and he did the typical teenager thing about not wanting to be seen with a parent and didn't want to carry my stuff out. So I asked his friend to carry it out for me. After we got to the car, I gave him a $15 tip and told him to tell J.T. it could have been his. LOL We still laugh about that.
 
When in high school, I worked a full a service gas station. For those not in Oregon or alive back in the day, you used to be able pull up, have your gas filled, windows washed, oil checked and tires checked. If you asked, I’d check the transmission too.

I never got tipped except for one guy. It was like 11:30 at night (my shift ended at 12:00) and he rolled in wanting a headlight. It was an mid 80’s cutlass, lowered on wired wheels. Now we are in Grants Pass, super small town in Southern Oregon. He wanted a headlight, I told him I can do it but it’s stupid expensive for you (like $20 bucks for a $8 light) and he could get one at Napa in the am. He was light naw, just put it in. I did. He gave me $40, so a $20 tip. I was floored, he thanked me and went on his way.

I’m sure something was shady there or maybe not, but either way, 30 years later I still remember that tip.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tomcat and Squatch
I waited on tables in school & continued after graduation to supplement my income while building my practice. That experience left me with chronic lifetime over-tipping syndrome, very common amongst people that have spent significant time in that industry & I have nothing but respect for the folks in that industry for many, many reasons.

My standard tip on a dinner tab is 30%+, the plus being rounded up to the nearest logical value as I’ve always detested customers that would pull out a calculator to ‘figure out’ their tip.

If I run a smaller tab, usually for a couple drinks & apps, then the tip gets larger towards 50% (in the case of a really small tab) and the reason is I’m taking up just as much space & time in that server’s section at dinner time but I’m not ordering dinner, they’re working just as hard & making as many trips to my table so I feel it’s appropriate to balance things out.

On some level it’s irrational (not unlike owning a TJ), but one I feel good about because I know from a good deal of experience that while most people are average tippers, for every person like me there are a goodly handful of assholes that screw the server without just cause and/or otherwise make their job more difficult. I had many great customers over the years that balanced that out for me when I was on the receiving end which is in great part why I stayed with it as long as I did.

As all this relates to the @Chris question, it certainly has become less clear on which way to go when you’re simply walking up to a counter and being handed a bag of food. Most of the things you normally ‘tip’ for are no longer factors, time, attention, personality of the server, the literal grunt work of keeping your drink full & food delivered… but still I’ve come down on the over-tipping side for the simple recognition that these folks are as reliant as ever, even more so now given the reduced traffic, on good tips. I want them to continue to be able to pay their bills at home. I want them there when shit returns to normal. I want the restaurant there when shit returns to normal. I don’t want to contribute to the downfall of the industry & its support staff because I’ve suddenly figured out a way to save a buck. I think it’s important to be cognizant of what’s happening around us economically and to make adjustments to help others to the extent we can, I believe it’s not a time to be frugal, we all need help to push through this mess.

Just remember, the more we contribute to the downfall of the economy the faster we invite upon ourselves what most of us don't want, more intrusive government bullshit