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.
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.
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
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.
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.
An alternative way to view this: if I order three sodas at a fancy restaurant vs three top shelf alcohols, the service is functionally the same but the bill is wildly different. Would you still say I should tip on pure percentage in the latter scenario?
You should because that’s how tipping works. No one likes tipping (as a customer anyway, plenty of servers and owners do), but until servers are provided with a living wage that’s how it works. You’re not changing the system by tipping less - you’re just being a dick.
And not for nothing, but there is a slight difference between soda service and a simple pour service. Actual liquor service usually comes with someone asking how you like it (e.g. on the rocks vs straight vs three drops of water) whereas a soda is just a soda. Sitting at a bar, no one is gonna get pissy if you’re not tipping 15-20% on opening beers or straight pours, but that’s just how table service works.
If they’re working at a fancy restaurant, they’re being paid a living wage.
You have clearly never worked in the service industry. They make the same sub minimum wage as every server unless there’s a local ordinance otherwise.
I’ve heard legend of places that pay servers up to $5/hr!