Just learned that a friend of mine always tips 10% on takeout. Ive never tipped on takeout unless they offered me a water/soda while I waited or something.
US biased, but I’m a little curious about other countries as well.
I’m in the usa and I tip at least 20% no matter what. the food service industry is shit and I want to help the workers in a way that I can.
USA, I also tip 10% on takeout. I guess it’s my way of helping the employees have a shot at a livable wage. I used to have a job in the industry myself, and internalized the “pay it forward” culture.
US here, before COVID I would tip delivery drivers but not if I was picking it up. Now I tip 10-15% for takeout and 20%-25% for table service. I’ve also come to understand that checking your order, packing the bag, and including condiments or extras all take time and I’ve decided I’m ok tipping for that if it helps them earn a more decent living.
For pickup? No tip. There’s no service provided. You are paying the listed price for the goods (food) you are receiving.
Delivery? 20% with a cap of $5
At a bar? 20% with a cap of $10
Sit down restaurant? 20% with a cap of $20
I hope you’re not capping your sit down restaurant tips in America. Most more expensive places have waiters working far fewer tables so they can be more attentive, and they’re also usually the cream of the crop waiter wise. The higher total tips but still a normal percentage are definitely what they need/deserve to make the longer meals and fewer tables make sense financially (assuming the service actually was good of course).
Note I’m not advocating for any of this “20% is the new baseline” bullshit, but you definitely shouldn’t be capping your tips. Same goes for capping your bar tips unless you’re talking about only pouring wine/drafts or opening beers, and then I’d still advocate a per drink cap of like a buck per - definitely not a total cap.
I absolutely am capping my tip in America. Even at an expensive restaurant. If there’s a big party, or we’ve stayed longer than usual, then yes I’ll pay more. But fuck anyone who thinks $20 is a bad tip for less than an hour of service. That’s 20% on a $100 bill. I don’t feel the server at a steakhouse is magically working harder to refill my water glass than a waitress at IHOP is. The premium is already factored into the price of the food. Paying strictly on a percentage basis is a completely fucked line of thinking that’s led to the tipping nightmare we’re in. Wake the fuck up and realize what you’re advocating.
It’s a question of opportunity cost. In order to be really attentive they work fewer tables, so they need to have higher margins to make up for lack of volume. If you can’t afford a 15% tip, or 20% for good service, you shouldn’t be eating at an expensive restaurant to begin with. That’s the social compact in America, that’s how it works. Until servers start being paid a living wage, you’re not the arbiter of what constitutes paying “enough”, you’re just rejecting cultural norms and hurting servers so you can save a few bucks.
There’s no service provided.
And furthermore, takeout workers are not defined as a tipped position legally and therefore their employer should be paying them an actual wage, not “waiter’s wage,” which is federally $2.13/hr. (“Should” and “is” obviously not always being the same thing.)
I am always wary of touch screens and other gizmoes popping up everywhere begging for tips in non-tipped counter situations. It is possible, indeed likely, that the tips are not going to the employees anyway and are just being pocketed by the management.
You friend is insane and making the problem worse. Tell them to stop.
Even in the US, where tipping has been out of control for a long time, nobody in their right mind tips for takeout. The employee literally didn’t do a damn thing other than a couple seconds of handing you a box and possibly cashing you out.
Well that’s just false. Many people don’t tip for takeout (I don’t), but the customary amount in the US is 10% if you’re going to. I worked in the service industry almost 20 years ago and that amount was supposed to go to bartenders and hostesses who handled the takeout, and it was a nice supplement since takeout and busy bar times didnt normally overlap. It didn’t use to be expected (unlike post covid where tipping is out of control), but if they bring the food out to you or if you have any special orders it’s definitely common. I still bristle at the idea and did back then too, but it’s a far cry from “nobody in their right mind”.
In my previous town there was a restaurant where I had to install an app to order. When ordering, the kitchen would make the meal and put it out on a counter where I had to go and pick it up myself. When ordering drinks, I had to walk over to the bar where a server left the drink out on a table for me to fetch. Basically no interaction with anyone.
The audacity when the app asked me to leave a tip. Luckily I live in Norway where leaving no tip is completely normal, because civilized employment laws exist.
