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