Tipping at restaurants

[ellencho]

Now I'm sure most of you guys tip if you've gone out to eat or at a bar, or if you have food ordered to be delivered - but do you tip the restaurant people who put your take-out bags together?

Not that I really get take-out very often, but I've started doing this because I have some foodservice buddies who bitch about this all the time. I give them a couple bucks or so, definitely less than 10% of the total price for bagging my stuff. Anyone else? Or am I a big ol' money waster?

[cattygurl]

Hmmm I've worked in the restaurant industry as a server, so I'm usually a big tipper. I've worked at restaurants where they won't pay you even minimum wage- it's illegal, but it's still done.

This is my general rule of thumb:

My first time at a restaurant-
good service, good food- 20%
good service, bad food -15% (it's not the server's fault) Will not be returning.
bad service- will request to change tables/server with the manager.
If the service does not improve, I do not tip, I will not return, and I will speak to the manager.

Restaurants that I like:
I always tip 20% for dine-in. I also request my favorite servers. If you go to a restaurant frequently, you will find servers that you like. I request them, and I tip them very well.
I give them a dollar or two for take-out.
If my bill is very small (like $5), I still leave at least a dollar or two for tip.

[silkie]

I tip on the generous side as well, always 20%+ unless if they have a shitty attitude.
If meal is below $10 I will still give $2.
At least $1 at some self-serve places if someone is required to clean after my dirty ass.

Regarding wrapping takeout, this is the first time I hear explicitly about tipping for takeouts.
Once or twice I the waiter ask me if I want change back when picking up takeout. It threw me off for a second because I did not know whether tipping have inflated and now includes takeout packing also.

But then I don't because:
1) It only happen literally once or twice in my lifetime.

2) My mother's side are all in restaurant business, and from my experience there working and hangin around I have not seen it done before-- so I assume the waitor's question was a reflex reaction every time they take money off the table.

3) although some packing do take effort, I see it as part of the package. It does not require one's constant pampering (waiting on a table) or a delivery guy trudging through the streets. I think you have to draw the line somewhere. Next thing you know people will start tipping the chef for cooking the food...

Hmmm,.... now come to think of it, that might've explain why my takeout often tastes like spit and urine....

[silkie]

Not that I really get take-out very often, but I've started doing this because I have some foodservice buddies who bitch about this all the time. I give them a couple bucks or so, definitely less than 10% of the total price for bagging my stuff. Anyone else? Or am I a big ol' money waster?

Ellen, are you sure your foodservice buddies are not pulling your leg? Have you ever seen the Saturday Night Live skit where the black employees at an office will pretend to give each other presents on Martin Luther King day, and all the white colleagues will look on and thought, "shit, am I expected to give presents on MLK day?" and then the next day the white colleagues will come in with gifts....

it's a stretch---
(but that was a funny skit nonetheless...)

[ellencho]

Maybe it's a mass restaurant employee conspiracy! If they can all get us non-restaurant workers to believe in tipping for take out then one day they'll rule the world with all of our tips! :shock:

Either way, most of the restaurants that I patronize are mom and pop type places so I don't mind passing an extra couple of bucks to the girl behind the cash register who packed up my food for me.

[silkie]

Maybe it's a mass restaurant employee conspiracy! If they can all get us non-restaurant workers to believe in tipping for take out then one day they'll rule the world with all of our tips! :shock:

Either way, most of the restaurants that I patronize are mom and pop type places so I don't mind passing an extra couple of bucks to the girl behind the cash register who packed up my food for me.

Well, since Chinese new years is coming up, I've gotten my non-asian bosses to give me read envelopes... (wishful thinking) :lol:

I suppose there is nothing wrong with tipping for packing.
I think when drawing the line on when to tip and when not to also have to do with consistency--- I live off of take out, and having to consider whether or not to tip will wreck me--"oh no...should I tip or should I not... oh no...does he look like he has kids and family?"

But in the end the fact that I live in a ridiculously expensive city wins out and I leave without tipping.

[rainshowerz]

The way I see it, all the labor and materials they used to pack my take-out negates the time it takes for them to put my food on a plate. They actually save time and money by giving me napkins and styrofoam containers instead of them washing my dishes, cloth napkin, and silverware, and contributing to its wear and tear. And they don't even have to walk to the table and serve it to me, since I pick it up at the counter. In that case, I don't think they should expect to be tipped, but I'll give them something extra if I notice that they're generous with their portions or their extras.

IMO, my tip pays for them waiting on me when I dine in and giving me extra water, napkins, etc., like they do for a regular dine-in customer. I usually give more than 15% because even if I've never been a waitress, I know how much crap service-industry folks get from rude, high-maintenance customers, so hopefully, the extra $$ in my tip will offset the jerk who only have them 5-10%.

One last thing, even if you're using a coupon (like buy one get one free), you should still tip 15-20% of the total bill without the coupon deduction. All receipts come with a pretax column indicating the total amount without the tax or discount included. Lots of waiters get screwed over by that since they still exert the same amount of work but are tipped less.

[Bizarre_Female]

I never get take out..I usually dine in and tip at least 15%-20%. What do you guys think of friends/family members who tip very little regardless of service quality? My s/o's friends are very cheap..whenever we go out and eat with them, they never tip 15% but we never say anything to them about it bc we know how cheap they can be. Ugh, I can't stand his friends sometimes.

[angi]

I do take out at a local sushi joint regularly enough that I will leave a 10-15% tip (usually about $5) whenever I go.

My philosophy on tipping is that you tip in order to ensure good service the next time around. I do not tip because they paid shitty. If the service is good, I tip well and expect to get the same level of service the next time around. In the case of sushi takeout, whenever I come in, they get my order ASAP and they give me a glass of water or refill my drink however many times I need it while I am waiting. I get a level of service that I would not get had I not tipped like the majority of the people.

Now, if the service starts going to shit, then I will stop tipping. I do not believe take-out tips should be expected since the people are not serving you. You take the food home and serve yourself. This is the same reason why I don't tip the jackasses at Starbucks either.

[Infectious]

I do take out at a local sushi joint regularly enough that I will leave a 10-15% tip (usually about $5) whenever I go.

$5 tip? How much sushi do you order, angi?

[angi]

$25-35 worth including a diet coke on the run. It sounds like a lot but a hand roll is typically $3-5 each and a side of shrimp tenpura is like $7, so it adds up. Plus, that's it for me the whole day and sometimes breakfast too.

[Kuroyama]

Used to go about 20%+ in JP places. Being (back then) what is known as 'jouren-san' or; "regular customer"... I tried to make my presence as likeable (without kissing too much ass) on the local JP community. In time they got to know me and my friends. In some cases I was introduced to some places BECAUSE of my friends.

JP peeps are big on whos inside the circle, and whos outside. When you are brought inside (to whatever degree) by someone who was already in... you tread LIGHT like Richard Simmons, or risk not only your own status, but thiers as well for bringing you in. Tipping was just another way of keeping it smooth. Being the only Black guy/non JP guy in an underground club or out of the way restaurant... pretty much called for that IMO.

Now that I live in JP... you dont tip. Ever. After years of carefully tipping... my wife has to sometimes check me.

As far as take out... a coupla bucks.

But, a non-Asian joint that I will probably never return to? I better get some damn good service if they want that 13%. If not, they can have the sweat off my twins.

[aelward]

I generally tip 20% at places I regularly go to. 15% at other places. But if I get shitty service, I'll leave a quarter so that the server knows I didn't just forget or something. It's only happened twice, once where my wife and I were certain that the crappy service was because of our race.

[maogirl]

what's everyone's take on tipping in places that have a "cover charge?"

most restaurants in italy charge just to sit your ass down between 1.50 to 2.50 euros. and bread ain't free either, so before you start munching on that basket, better ask how much it costs! :lol:

last night we ate at a medium-priced restaurant where there was a charge of 2.50 euros per person. the food was excellent but the service was typical italian (ie, slow). our server was fairly nice except towards the end when he got really nervous because my bf was getting sick of waiting and was threateningly tapping the giant pepper grinder against the table and glaring at him. :oops: :lol:

we ended up not tipping because there were 3 of us and that came out to 7.50 euros in cover charge! more than the cost of an entree! and the service wasn't super fantastic.

i would've tipped the chef, who was japanese and i'm convinced gave us bigger portions than the other tables, but how do you do that? i know in paris, you can buy the chef a bottle of wine but is there another way?

ps. another tip for travellers to europe, if you want to drink coffee at a bar/cafe, don't sit down. drink it at the bar. it's the difference between a 0.50 coffee and a 3 euro coffee.

[ellencho]

On the topic of European customs, I never did any food shopping in Europe, but I've been told that you're not allowed to touch the produce and if you do you get a nice smack on the back of your hand.

I do remember certain seating in Italian restaurants did cost more than others. When we visited it was during the summertime, and lots of places had outdoor seating, and those seats generally cost more than eating indoors.

[vsoy]

Yeah, I heard the vendor gets really mad if you touch the produce(they think it's bad manners?) and they pick it out for you. So if you have established rapport with them, they give you the good stuff but if you're some shlubb off the street, then you get the crappy stuff.

Maogirl, if the bread is not free, then what is the cover charge for? Water? Linens and silverware? Certainly not ambience! :?

[maogirl]

yeah, DO NOT TOUCH THE PRODUCE! it's considered unsanitary to have so many random people fondling the fruit and veg. :? makes me miss my veggie lady in hk.

it's true, you have to know the vendor otherwise you get the dregs of the barrel. i've been going to the same fruit place since 2004 and i get the ripest, freshest stuff but it wasn't like that when i first started going.

vsoy, i really have no idea what the cover is for. maybe because europeans don't tip? usually, the menu will indicate whether bread is included in the cover (although this is usually in italian so it doesn't help tourists). i used to assume that it was included, until a chinese waitress tipped me off in a restaurant. yay for asian food solidarity! :D

usually, if the cover is ridiculous, like over 2 euros, then you can usually assume that bread is included.

[KeJia Sista]

Interesting to hear about not touching produce. Here in Flushing, not only do we touch, but dig, overturn, examine all sides and in the case of small things like cherries or grapes, eat a few before deciding they are too sour or tart.

Of course I would never taste things I didnt buy. Thats why I'm the one who got stuck with $15 worth of litchees that were not fully ripened.

Ke Jia

[Pimp Kim Chee]

PKC'S TIPPIN GUIDELINES

FOOD
1. TAKE-OUT: FUCK YOU.
2. DELIVERY: 15%, 10% IF DA FOOD SHOWS UP COLD.
3. DINE-IN: 20%, +5% IF DA SERVER IS FEMALE AND HOT AS FUCK (AY, AT LEAST IM HONEST, SUCKA).

TIPPIN AT DA BAR IS A TOTALLY DIFFERENT MATTER AND I AINT GETTIN INTO DA MINUTIA CAUSE IT REQUIRES MORE EFFORT DAN I GOTS AVAILABLE AT DA PRESENT TIME.

BTW, VANITY FAIR IS AT LEAST 20% HOTTER DAN DIS FORUM (CONSERVATIVELY SPEAKIN).

V.F., R.O.D.