Dani-Mani
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by Dani-Mani on Nov 16, 2014 14:42:20 GMT
But that's what a fast food worker does. We don't tip them. You give someone your order. They put it in the system. Someone makes it. The cashier gives it to you. Same work as any other fast food place. So no, I don't tip on carry out. Comparing a sit-down restaurant that offers take out to a fast food place is like comparing apples to oranges. A sit down restaurant is not set up to be optimized for take out. They don't have a dine-in line and to go lines set up and having the kitchen deal with boxes and containers can be a hindrance to their process. At my restaurants, the kitchen actually made and plated up the food as they would for a guest dining in house and the host would box up the food at expo and then gather up the extras and utensils to bag everything together. To keep the kitchen humming along, their process did not change but the FOH (host/server) had to take on the extra steps of preparing food for take out, double checking that it is made correctly and all of the accompaniments are included. I know not every restaurant does that but there is an example of someone doing more than just order-inputting into system-giving food to someone. And if a restaurant is not set up that way? I'd rather err on the side of generosity. I do not tip at places where I receive the food in the same manner whether I dine it or take out. So fast food, pick up pizza, sandwich places I do not tip because they are not doing anything more than if I decided to dine in. Places like Qdoba too because their process is the same, they just either grab a basket or to-go container the start of the line. I get a wrapped burger at McDs whether I dine in or get it from drive thru. At Chili's their kitchen set-up is to put the burger on a plate and someone has to do the extra step of boxing up my burger to go, usually that is the host/server. There's your service and that is what gets a tip. Not as much as a server but something. My applebees and Olive Garden most definitely do have separate lines for dine in and carry out. Our applebees has an entire separate entrance. It's not apples to oranges. The kitchen staff at McDonalds doesn't box my order either; the people taking my order do. Which is the exact same at Applebees. These services are designed to COMPETE with fast food by trying to offer you a nicer option than McDonalds. You can't comepete with fast food and then pretend it's the same as dining in and you need to tip the staff who hands you your order. They can't have it both ways. |
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Post by gmcwife1 on Nov 16, 2014 14:53:34 GMT
Yes I do. I'm not going to complain about the working poor, social services or government handouts and then not do my part to truly help those working.
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Post by bigbundt on Nov 16, 2014 15:22:28 GMT
Are you talking about counters at the entrance or lines in the kitchen? Different counters/lines in the front mean nothing to what I was trying to explain. I am talking about lines or stations in the kitchen, i.e. specific areas and staff dedicated to certain foods/tasks in the kitchen. Most restaurants do not have the to-go business or resources or space to designate a specific line exclusively for to-go orders so ALL FOOD is made exactly as if they were to be consumed in house as dealing with boxes and stuff is a hindrance to the kitchen process. The kitchen puts the food on plates which is not appropriate for take out. Somehow this food needs to be packaged up in a box. Usually that is what FOH (front of house) staff does, physically takes the food off of the plate and packages everything into boxes and then into a nice, compact bag to hand to the customer. Considering that most foods in sit down restaurants aren't optimized for take out (like fast food), it is a more involved process than what happens at fast food places where take out is basically optimized into the foundation of the operation.
I get what you are saying but in the end, there IS more service involved in getting take out from a sit down restaurant than from fast food or quick service places and to me that extra service warrants a tip.
ETA: I know this isn't the procedure at all restaurants, maybe BOH does pack up the to go food in some places and the server/host just hands it over but in the end I don't want to figure out the to go procedure for every restaurant I order from so I happily tack on a dollar or two to all to go orders and call it a wash.
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YooHoot
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,471
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Post by YooHoot on Nov 16, 2014 15:39:01 GMT
Comparing a sit-down restaurant that offers take out to a fast food place is like comparing apples to oranges. A sit down restaurant is not set up to be optimized for take out. They don't have a dine-in line and to go lines set up and having the kitchen deal with boxes and containers can be a hindrance to their process. At my restaurants, the kitchen actually made and plated up the food as they would for a guest dining in house and the host would box up the food at expo and then gather up the extras and utensils to bag everything together. To keep the kitchen humming along, their process did not change but the FOH (host/server) had to take on the extra steps of preparing food for take out, double checking that it is made correctly and all of the accompaniments are included. I know not every restaurant does that but there is an example of someone doing more than just order-inputting into system-giving food to someone. And if a restaurant is not set up that way? I'd rather err on the side of generosity. I do not tip at places where I receive the food in the same manner whether I dine it or take out. So fast food, pick up pizza, sandwich places I do not tip because they are not doing anything more than if I decided to dine in. Places like Qdoba too because their process is the same, they just either grab a basket or to-go container the start of the line. I get a wrapped burger at McDs whether I dine in or get it from drive thru. At Chili's their kitchen set-up is to put the burger on a plate and someone has to do the extra step of boxing up my burger to go, usually that is the host/server. There's your service and that is what gets a tip. Not as much as a server but something. My applebees and Olive Garden most definitely do have separate lines for dine in and carry out. Our applebees has an entire separate entrance. It's not apples to oranges. The kitchen staff at McDonalds doesn't box my order either; the people taking my order do. Which is the exact same at Applebees. These services are designed to COMPETE with fast food by trying to offer you a nicer option than McDonalds. You can't comepete with fast food and then pretend it's the same as dining in and you need to tip the staff who hands you your order. They can't have it both ways. When you call in an order to my dd (Outback Server who makes a server wage), she is called to the phone to take an order (hostesses don't take to-go orders at Outback). She was telling me she has regulars that call and she recognizes them. She knows they don't like croutons, or want double ranch dressing for their salad, etc. She bags it up, includes extra bread at times, offers a free soda if there is a bit of wait on their food (they came in vs calling ahead). She then brings the meal to their car. She does not expect tips for take out but I think comparing them to a drive thru/fast food place isn't the same in the least. I don't think these kids are expecting 20% on takeout, but I don't mind a couple extra dollars on a $30 tab. |
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Post by winogirl on Nov 16, 2014 15:39:46 GMT
Comparing a sit-down restaurant that offers take out to a fast food place is like comparing apples to oranges. A sit down restaurant is not set up to be optimized for take out. They don't have a dine-in line and to go lines set up and having the kitchen deal with boxes and containers can be a hindrance to their process. At my restaurants, the kitchen actually made and plated up the food as they would for a guest dining in house and the host would box up the food at expo and then gather up the extras and utensils to bag everything together. To keep the kitchen humming along, their process did not change but the FOH (host/server) had to take on the extra steps of preparing food for take out, double checking that it is made correctly and all of the accompaniments are included. I know not every restaurant does that but there is an example of someone doing more than just order-inputting into system-giving food to someone. And if a restaurant is not set up that way? I'd rather err on the side of generosity. I do not tip at places where I receive the food in the same manner whether I dine it or take out. So fast food, pick up pizza, sandwich places I do not tip because they are not doing anything more than if I decided to dine in. Places like Qdoba too because their process is the same, they just either grab a basket or to-go container the start of the line. I get a wrapped burger at McDs whether I dine in or get it from drive thru. At Chili's their kitchen set-up is to put the burger on a plate and someone has to do the extra step of boxing up my burger to go, usually that is the host/server. There's your service and that is what gets a tip. Not as much as a server but something. My applebees and Olive Garden most definitely do have separate lines for dine in and carry out. Our applebees has an entire separate entrance. It's not apples to oranges. The kitchen staff at McDonalds doesn't box my order either; the people taking my order do. Which is the exact same at Applebees. These services are designed to COMPETE with fast food by trying to offer you a nicer option than McDonalds. You can't comepete with fast food and then pretend it's the same as dining in and you need to tip the staff who hands you your order. They can't have it both ways.
I've never ordered carryout from Applebee's or Olive Garden because there are better choices where I live, but I hope they pay those workers at least minimum wage if there is a separate line. If they are paying them the same as servers who rely on tips, that is lame. Fast food workers are paid at least minimum wage.
Either way, I'd prefer to err on the side of generosity. I'd be embarrassed if I found out the person putting my order together was only making $2.13 an hour and I didn't even give them a measly $2 tip on a $20 order.
And, either way, it's still not the same as dining in. I only tip 10% on carry out, but I usually tip at least 20% for dine-in.
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Dani-Mani
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,710
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Post by Dani-Mani on Nov 16, 2014 16:32:48 GMT
At the end of the day, you feel it's appropriate to tip; I don't' and I won't. Comparing apples to oranges? In the end, they're both fruits. In the end, take out is take out. and I don't tip for take out and I have no reason to feel bad about it.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 21:55:02 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2014 17:02:00 GMT
At the end of the day, you feel it's appropriate to tip; I don't' and I won't. Comparing apples to oranges? In the end, they're both fruits. In the end, take out is take out. and I don't tip for take out and I have no reason to feel bad about it. This is my thinking too. |
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Post by bigbundt on Nov 16, 2014 18:48:29 GMT
You don't have to feel bad about not tipping. Had I never worked with this particular restaurant group, I would probably feel the same as you guys. But being there and witnessing what goes on behind the scenes, I was educated and realize that mostly likely there is additional service beyond merely taking an order and handing food to the customer. Thought I would pass along that info to those that might not realize.
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Post by gar on Nov 16, 2014 18:52:25 GMT
You don't have to feel bad about not tipping. Had I never worked with this particular restaurant group, I would probably feel the same as you guys. But being there and witnessing what goes on behind the scenes, I was educated and realize that mostly likely there is additional service beyond merely taking an order and handing food to the customer. Thought I would pass along that info to those that might not realize. Doesn't that apply to almost all jobs? |
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Post by bigbundt on Nov 16, 2014 19:05:38 GMT
Sure, if someone would like to educate me on why some things are done in their jobs or an aspect of an industry that I may not realize and have been complaining about, I'm all ears. Lord knows my eyes have been opened to a lot of things because I'm open to hearing about other points of view or experiences. Sometimes my mind is changed, other times not.  |
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tracylynn
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Post by tracylynn on Nov 16, 2014 19:06:48 GMT
Nope. In my State everyone makes minimum wage. If all I did was call in an order and I went in and picked it up from the hostess stand or bar, no tip. If it's a place like Applebee's where they come to your car, then I'll throw in a couple of bucks.
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Post by gar on Nov 16, 2014 19:09:19 GMT
Sure, if someone would like to educate me on why some things are done in their jobs or an aspect of an industry that I may not realize and have been complaining about, I'm all ears. Lord knows my eyes have been opened to a lot of things because I'm open to hearing about other points of view or experiences. Sometimes my mind is changed, other times not. I just meant that knowing that more goes on than meets the eye doesn't equate to a tip being required necessarily, as most jobs are the like that. Heaven only knows why I'm even discussing it really since I live in England and, as someone else pointed out upthread, it's far less common, less expected and less complicated  |
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YooHoot
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,471
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Post by YooHoot on Nov 16, 2014 19:17:46 GMT
Sure, if someone would like to educate me on why some things are done in their jobs or an aspect of an industry that I may not realize and have been complaining about, I'm all ears. Lord knows my eyes have been opened to a lot of things because I'm open to hearing about other points of view or experiences. Sometimes my mind is changed, other times not. I was adamant with my kids that they work a food industry or retail job in theirs teens so they appreciate how difficult those jobs can be. I did retail as a teen and young adult and I think it makes me more sympathetic to the craziness of retail personnel and what they deal with. |
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Post by cropduster on Nov 16, 2014 19:28:42 GMT
If I go to pick up carryout, and I see that the manager is the one taking phone orders and packing the bags to give out, then I usually will not. But if I see it's one of the waiters/waitresses taking orders and packaging/ ringing up the orders then I will usually leave a couple of dollars at least.
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Post by hennybutton on Nov 17, 2014 18:27:40 GMT
It never occurred to me to tip for takeout, so I never have. Now that I've read the responses, I still won't tip for takeout. It shouldn't be up to the consumer to figure out what kind of employee is taking care of the order. Are you supposed to go in and ask how they're being paid? Are you supposed to ask what their position is? It's ridiculous. Frankly, I think service employees should be paid a fair wage and tipping should be abolished. I would rather pay more up-front than try to figure out whether or not to tip.
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Post by blondiec47 on Nov 18, 2014 12:45:30 GMT
I do tip for take out from a restaurant. The waitress and I are still going through the same ritual of me placing an order, which they enter and bring it to me which I then pay for so I include a tip the same as if I was eating there. But isn't this what the restaurant is paying them for. The extra tip is for providing service above that. I tip delivery, if there is not a delivery charge, fairly well once I learned that many of the places around here make them use their own car and their own gas. |
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Post by Miss Ang on Nov 18, 2014 12:52:01 GMT
I do not tip when I walk into the restaurant to pick up a carry out order. If it's one of the places that offer curbside service, I will leave a dollar or two, depending on how much I ordered and also on the weather. If it's raining or freezing cold I tend to be a little more tender hearted.  |
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christinec68
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Posts: 5,673
Location: New York, NY
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Post by christinec68 on Nov 18, 2014 14:24:38 GMT
I do tip for take out from a restaurant. The waitress and I are still going through the same ritual of me placing an order, which they enter and bring it to me which I then pay for so I include a tip the same as if I was eating there. But isn't this what the restaurant is paying them for. The extra tip is for providing service above that. I tip delivery, if there is not a delivery charge, fairly well once I learned that many of the places around here make them use their own car and their own gas. To me, it's just about the same thing..whether I take my food on a plate or in a bag. It's just quicker when I get take out and that's reflected in the total bill since I am not getting drinks or an extra course and by extension the tip as well. |
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grinningcat
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Jun 26, 2014 13:06:35 GMT
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Post by grinningcat on Nov 18, 2014 14:31:03 GMT
I don't tip for carryout or takeaway. Never occured to me and the annecdotes in this thread haven't convinced me that it is essential. I also worked in the food industry so I am well aware of what's involved in carryout orders.
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