Tipping for Takeout and Delivery

[phlox]

I feel like I should get a tip for takeout orders at the restaurant where I work, because I (the hostess) am the person who has to have a 20-minute long conversation with the customer on the phone about how they want 'soft' bread, a different side, mashed potatoes 'without too much garlic - last time there was too much garlic' and on and on and on, while trying to deal with the first part of the dinner rush.

Seriously, this person's order practically took up a full page of notebook paper. I feel like we know each other well enough, after our involved conversation, that I should maybe send her a holiday card next year.

[tino27]

To add fuel to the conversation ... there are several restaurants I've seen that offer a DISCOUNT (like around 10%) if you order your meal to-go (meaning pick-up, not delivery).

It would appear from this fact that it is cheaper to the restaurant if you order your meal to go rather than a sit-down variety. Is this the case or are the people involved in getting your order together even MORE screwed?

And of course, the questions begs to be asked: if you get a 10% discount for getting your food to go, do you up the tip?

edited: for clarity.

Edited January 25, 2007 by tino27 (log)

[FlavoursGal]

And then there are those restaurants that give a 10% discount if you pay in cash. Since credit card companies charge way less than this I have to assume that, in order for the restaurant to benefit from this offer, the restaurant owner is pocketing the entire cash payment (including the taxes they'd added on to the bill, which in Ontario come to a whopping 14%).

Not a bad deal for the restaurant.

Edited January 25, 2007 by FlavoursGal (log)

[Jan Primus]

I'm curious what is appropriate to tip on delivery food? Does it really need to be a % of the bill? What if the place charges $5 for delivery and it is not that far at all?

[Niamh]

I'm curious what is appropriate to tip on delivery food? Does it really need to be a % of the bill? What if the place charges $5 for delivery and it is not that far at all?

←

I suppose it depends where you are. Is that a US dollar sign you are using there, or pesos, or something else? I would imagine a much bigger tip is expected in the US than in many other countries...

[Jan Primus]

It's in Canada, where the dollar is almost the same as the USA.

[JimH]

I tip delivery people well, especially if I am going to be a repeat customer. $5 tip for $14 of Chinese food gets my order bumped to the top of the list which cuts 20 to 30 minutes from the delivery time. It's not the greatest job in the world, they don't get tipped much, sometimes not at all.

Put another way, if you were the delivery person what kind of tip would you expect given that you've delivered on time and with the correct order?

[alanamoana]

In New York City where everywhere delivers (including McDonalds), we usually tipped a few bucks. Definitely not 20% but depending on the cost of the delivery it could certainly be 10% or more. There isn't any sort of favoritism being played with regard to tipping and service or delivery times. For the most part, the delivery guy doesn't speak English and the service sucks...but the delivery is fast and hot about 98% of the time. Gosh, I miss living in NYC!

edited to add: I guess my point was that depending on how many places deliver and how far away you are from the restaurant might make a difference. In NY, most restaurants have a delivery radius that they won't deliver beyond (remember the Seinfeld episode referencing this?), so they're never too far away from the customer.

Edited April 24, 2008 by alanamoana (log)

[hummingbirdkiss]

double the tax and round it up..it falls in the right spot ..considering the gas costs ...in Canada it comes out quite fair...I order food in Canada delivered to the beautiful views so I dont have move ..I can just eat something nice someone brought to me instead of visa versa and just stare

as far as how far or the delivery charge ..I just go with the flow ..great service gets a better tip ..some owners just keep the delivery charge

hope this helps

Edited April 24, 2008 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[Susie Q]

The pizza place that delivers uses company trucks so I just double the tax. The place I order spaghetti from uses personal vehicles. I give a couple extra bucks on top of my regular tip to help with the kid's gas since he's driving his own car.

Edited April 24, 2008 by Susie Q (log)

[rooftop1000]

what is delivery?

ha ha no not here

tracey

[Goatjunky]

Sorry if i am in the wrong topic here, couldnt find a better match. I work at a place where we work 12 hour shifts, often a person will offer to go get food. Usually that is me. Because if i go it doesnt mean i have to have burger king which is half a block away. So everyone gives me their money but never adds for tip.. im curious..i tip on takeouts, especially my group that wants xxx. A. What is a normal takeout tip and b. And is it unusual for people not to tip on takeout?

[Bjs229]

IMHO it depends on the type of restaurant and the service involved.

[Meredith380]

My general rule is that if I am getting take out from a restaurant, and the person giving it to me , i.e: bartender, hostess, someone who's main job is not to do take out, I tip. It may be only 10-15% but I recognize that I am taking this person away from their main job. If I get a pizza at a counter and call it in and the person I'm getting my food from is a cashier, I rarely tip unless the service is extraordinary.

[Mjx]

If a waiter or waitress is actually involved in the takeaway transaction, I'll tip (in the US), but generally, I seem to find myself ordering takeaway at a register, and part of the cashier's job at a restaurant that does takeaway is having takeaway orders handed to them, then turning and handing them along to customers, so it wouldn't occur to me to tip a cashier, under normal circumstances.

[gfweb]

Never. You'd not tip at a hardware store for the same service.

[Edward J]

Interesting responses..............

[Porthos]

I can't imagine tipping for take-out food. I wouldn't tip at the will-call desk of any other other business. Take out food is will-call food.

[Meredith380]

Depends on the establishment. A lot of fine dining places will do to go food but have hostesses or bar staff deal with the transaction as there isn't a cashier.

[Porthos]

Depends on the establishment. A lot of fine dining places will do to go food but have hostesses or bar staff deal with the transaction as there isn't a cashier.

I'm probably a bit of a Cretan but I would never even think of ordering to go from a fine dining restaurant. For part of the pleasure of fine dining food is the atmosphere and being waiting upon.

[Meredith380]

Porthos I completely agree and wouldn't do it either- however when I worked at a fine dining steak house people did it all the time. To me it defeats the purpose like you said. As a hostess there it made me nuts to have to take phone orders whiles guests stood waiting for tables and then to have to run around the kitchen in heels to out together their steaks which totally lose their temperature for the pleb who ordered it to drive and take home.

[OliverB]

I never tip for take out, as I tip for good service during my time spent at dinner, not just the fact of being handed food to me. I leave it up to the establishment to have internal tip sharing rules or something like that. But tips are reserved for service quality above just giving me what I ordered. And I'm happy to tip more for great service, just as I'm happy to tip less for bad service, though that's thankfully very rare nowadays.

I see take out more like a fast food thing, I order and I get handed a bag with my order a while later. I don't tip at fast food places either.

[annabelle]

I don't tip for take out food. Delivery, sure. If I go pick it up, what am I tipping for? The pleasure of driving there and paying for it?

Edited August 5, 2013 by annabelle (log)

[Meredith380]

I would never tip for fast food or someone who is a cashier. However I always tip people who are deviating from their main job to give me take out.

[Goatjunky]

I do it because i appreciate them handling the numerous requests we have, and really because i did appreciate the service i got. We have about three places we frequent at work a LOT and they treat our order so well. But i never tip as much as when we actually eat in there.

Edited August 5, 2013 by Goatjunky (log)