The "tip line"
With all the controversy surrounding the latest Served columns, I realized I had a question about tipping. I posted it under one of the comments sections, but it (understandably) got lost in the flood of comments.
At normal restaurants, I tip 20% unless the service was exceptional, in which case I leave a little extra, so I am not an intentionally stingy tipper. Anyway, I often go to bagel shops and buy day old bagels, where you can get a dozen bagels for $3-5, depending on the shop. They're always pre-bagged and are sitting on a shelf in the corner of the shop. These shops also make made-to-order sandwiches and serve coffee and whatnot, so the receipt has a line for tips on it (and on the rare occasion I get a sandwich, I do leave a tip). I realize that at some point someone had to prepare and bag the bagels, but I've never tipped, since I just figured I was picking up a bag and all the cashier had to do was swipe my credit card. But now I'm worried that I'm really in the wrong, and should have been tipping all this time. What do you say, Serious Eaters? Tip to pick up the bag of day olds, and if so, how much?
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
30 Comments:
I wouldn't in that situation. If I just buy a bag of coffee beans I don't leave a tip, even though I do every time I actually get coffee to drink from that place.
joyyy at 11:48PM on 04/22/09
i don't think tipping in that circumstance is necessary.... it's not like they're preparing something especially for you. if i pick up a pizza or a sandwich, i leave a buck or two... but for bagels in a bag, don't think it's expected.
now if you wanted to show appreciation maybe on a holiday you could throw an extra couple of bucks their way .... just as a friendly thank you.
pooch at 11:49PM on 04/22/09
For myself I don't tip when i have to prepare a bag of anything. I only tip restaurants, bars, ect. If I go to a supermarket and buy something from the deli I do not tip either. Coffee shops I only tip if I order a drink or pastry. No tip if I buy a coffe mug, on sale item or a bag of already ground coffee.
pjracz10 at 11:53PM on 04/22/09
I always tip when 'served' 17-20%. But when I buy something from a counter or am just paying for a bag of something, I dont necessarily tip unless the person at the register happens to do something which exceeds my expectations. Example - gives me a free sample, maybe a larger cup of coffee, could be 13 bagels instead of 12, gives my kid a donut hole etc.etc.
Ribster at 5:26AM on 04/23/09
Should you tip on takeout? I usually do but wonder if I need to.
CanadianFoodieGirl at 11:34AM on 04/23/09
@CanadianFoodieGirl - interesting - I have never tipped for takeout - if it is delivered to my door, of course, but if I go to the establishment after phoning my order to pick up the food, no. I guess I assume that I am using the establishment, paying for the food, they have not really performed a "service" - they have just handed over the food. The cost of materials for packing and bagging the food is probably built into the price of take-out. I am not a cheapskate and would never cheat anyone out of a tip, but, it has never occurred to me to tip for pick-up. I also don't tip at "take-out" windows.
bareneed at 11:59AM on 04/23/09
@CanadianFoodieGirl: I used to not tip on takeout until someone brought it up in a tipping Talk thread a year or two ago. Now I give a dollar or two, depending on the size of the order.
Regarding tipping on a bag of bagels? No. Someone had to bag, deliver, price-tag, and stock the potato chips at the grocery store, but I wouldn't tip for those.
Adam Kuban at 12:09PM on 04/23/09
@AdamKuban - what made you change your mind? Who is losing out on a tip? Was there a reason given in the tipping Thread you read?
bareneed at 12:52PM on 04/23/09
Thanks guys. Good to know I haven't been stiffing the employees! I guess that Served column just made me nervous.
cycorider at 12:54PM on 04/23/09
I'm with Ribster- if no one carried the food out to me I don't tip. Do you tip the people that take your order at McDonald's/Chipotle/In-N-Out? No? That's why I don't tip the person who hands the cup of coffee to me over the counter that holds the cheerful "Thanks a Latte!" tip jar.
AuntJone at 1:24PM on 04/23/09
I tip at buffets (since they do more work than your average server) and take out. I wouldn't tip the bagel person who just handed you a presorted, prepacked bag.
Take out, of course, only gets 10% or so of my total meal, including tax, which usually means a $4-5 tip.
At buffets, I usually start at 20% and then work my way up or down depending on how often they clean up and the water service. It usually doesn't get more than 25%.
At standard restaurants, I start off at 20% and can go as low as 0% and as high as 75% depending on the service, my questions answered, recommendations, and how a wrong order is handled. If I get the response: "why don't you scrape it off yourself?" that gets a HUGE deduction.
Oddly, I don't tip at coffee shop kiosks...unless they do something exceptional.
Cassaendra at 2:45PM on 04/23/09
i would never tip in that situation but i would pay cash for a purchase that small out of respect for the business owner. credit card companies charge exorbitant rates to small businesses (big surprise).
sloppy at 3:17PM on 04/23/09
@sloppy - Good point, and one I'm going take care to remember in the future.
mollykate678 at 3:59PM on 04/23/09
I was just wondering about the tipping for takeout thing the other day. I usually only tip if it's delivered, but I frequent the same thai restaurant for pick-up takeout and wondered whether I should tip since they have great food and are always friendly.
I wouldn't tip for buying a bag of bagels, only if someone was preparing them for me.
LauraJ at 4:10PM on 04/23/09
@LauraJ, if you go to the same place often, it probably wouldn't hurt to tip once in a while.
In a way, I guess it depends on how the takeout service works. In some cases, takeout it handled by the servers, and in others, the takeout is a separate operation. I think I'd be more likely to tip the server regularly than someone who was hired specifically to manage the takeout, since I suspect that person is getting better wages for that job.
As for the bagels, no I don't think so. I think that most people working in that sort of place are getting paid like they're working retail rather than that they're strictly servers. Or at least that's what the places around here, which may not be a good model for the civilized world.
dbcurrie at 5:18PM on 04/23/09
I know some people do tip when they get takeout, but in my mind, the work of the restaurant employee in getting my takeout food is basically the same as that of the McDonalds employee getting my burger.
runnereater at 11:53PM on 04/23/09
I would not tip for picking up a bag of bagels. While I tip the person giving me my take-out food, I don't want to see a trend starting of tipping for serving myself.
chanterelle at 11:53PM on 04/23/09
I wouldn't tip for the bagels or any other product purchase (mug, t-shirt...). As far as takeout, if someone gives me a tip, I consider it a bonus I appreciate. If there is something complicated about the order: I've read you the ingredients of every sandwich because you don't remember the name of the one you like, you have a very large order and you want me to write the name of each person on the box, etc., a tip is really appreciated because I'm taking time from my tables to fulfill your request. If I order take-out and the person offers me a drink while I'm waiting, I tip. I hope that helps.
twosavoie at 12:59AM on 04/24/09
I dont tip if
*I am picking up take out; pizza, chinese, thai. whatever.
*I am picking up any over the counter goods, like bakery items, deli items etc.
CATERPILLARGIRL at 10:29AM on 04/24/09
Restaurant servers- who expects tips with the service- has smaller hourly payment from the restaurant. I believe there is different minimum wage for the ones who get paid tips and for the ones who usually dont get tips....
soeun_lee at 12:25PM on 04/24/09
I am a generous tipper but I only tip for food delivery or wait service at a restaurant. I have ordered coffee and sandwiches for takeout for years and years without a tip jar on the counter and I don't feel the need for one now. I find it very awkward that the same deli that would have laughed and given me the tip back 10 years ago now has a jar next to the sandwich prep area. I consider service to be filling my water glass, or biking 5 blocks to bring me my order. Spending a few minutes preparing the product I am ordering is not a service. You don't tip the chef in a restaurant so why tip the sandwich guy? I know this might not be the most popular approach. I would also like you to know I bag my lunch almost everyday and have gone to a Starbucks maybe twice in the last year.
I also tip at salons for beauty service, but if I went in and bought a bottle of shampoo I obviously would not tip.
cesnyc at 12:29PM on 04/24/09
Unless the service is truly exceptional, I only tip when I am being served by someone who relies on tips as part of their wages. Servers, delivery drivers etc. usually make less than minimum wage (much less in some states) and they rely on tips to balance this out. Someone who puts bagels in a bag, makes a sandwich behind a counter or makes me a coffee recieves regular minimum wage or higher, so it's not neccessary to tip, although its nice to do if they do a great job.
Embackus at 12:38PM on 04/24/09
Tipping on your card for the transaction seems over the top. However, if there's a tip jar on the counter in a place I frequent, even just for a grocery-type exchange, I'll always leave the coins from my change or some stray pocket change just to acknowledge their efforts. I'm not going to miss the 60 cents, and it's definitely appreciated by the staff.
savecara at 1:08PM on 04/24/09
I must be getting old or stingier, but I was surprised last summer at a small vegetable stand near my home that had a tip jar. What is everyone's thought on that? I, too, leave my change at take out joints, though.
janaatwg at 7:15PM on 04/24/09
The difference between tipping someone who got your "to go" order ready and tipping someone who works at McDonalds is actually pretty large. People at fast food places make minimum wage or above, while the servers that box up your food, place napkins, silverware, condiments,etc into your bag make well below that (2.13 an hour in my state). Also, the server is usually taxed on the takeout meal, in addition to any sit-down meals that were ordered under his/her ID number. At my past serving job, 5% of total sales went to my bartender if I had sold any alcohol that night, so, yes, even that take out order was taxed.
Now that I'm a teacher, and can afford to tip a bit more, I usually will tip 10% of a take out order.
Oboegal1 at 11:01PM on 04/24/09
Is a buck or two really too much to show a little gratitude?
ebimono at 4:48PM on 04/25/09
@cesnyc--at most places, you are in fact tipping the chef, just not directly. Where I work, we tip out 5% of food sales to the kitchen, which usually equals about 20% of my tips. Therefore, if I do $100 in to go food sales and no one tips me, I have to actually pay $5 for the "privilege" of labeling, preparing sauces, bagging, and fetching change.
brittj8585 at 1:24PM on 04/26/09
I'm bad for this.
I used to serve to get by so I tip on EVERYTHNG (even my coffee in the AM and my A&W burger)
I just think KARMA; right?
hungrychristel at 8:42AM on 04/27/09
I have to tell y'all, all this tipping at the drive-through and take-out window is making me even more glad that we eat at home all the time! I have worked in food service, and I'm a good tipper for actual table service, but I won't be tipping the person who hands me the wrong burger and no ketchup for my fries...
dragonflyknits at 12:40PM on 04/27/09
I do not tip at drive thrus; i would tip at a takeout-only place if the order were complicated, I was a regular, or they routinely threw in an extra, or remembered my order when I walked in.
I always tip for takeout (around 10-15%) at restuarants whose primary business is dine-in eating. (I usually ask for whomever packed my order, rather than just handing over to the cashier if there is one) As many have mentioned, it usually falls to a server who must take time from tables to take the order, pack it, and check it, and they will be taxed as if they had recieved a tip. In these restaurants, I kind of consider it a favor that they even do takeout, and treat it as such.
Cary at 4:57PM on 04/27/09