# Do YOU tip at Sonics? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 17, 2019, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tip-at-sonics/831277 "2019-03-17T21:45:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tip-at-sonics/831277/21 "2019-03-18T21:37:49Z")
I don’t tip at Sonic. I don’t consider the act of carrying the milkshakes out to my car to be sufficient service to merit tipping. Also I consider the concept of reducing wages on the pretense that tips will make up the difference to be satanic. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tip-at-sonics/831277/22 "2019-03-18T22:56:03Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > … > > Also I consider the concept of reducing wages on the pretense that tips will make up the difference to be satanic. And Sonic doesn’t do that, it is quite clear, despite what the OP claimed. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tip-at-sonics/831277/23 "2019-03-18T23:36:58Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > And Sonic doesn’t do that, it is quite clear, despite what the OP claimed. Sure, but a lot of places in this country do, so merely _thinking_ about tipping fills me with rage. ETA: Which is not to say I don’t tip - I usually do, if the service exceeds “carrying the food out of the kitchen”. I just hate everything about tipping culture even as I continue to support it by action. ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tip-at-sonics/831277/24 "2019-03-18T23:55:51Z")
I tip at Sonic, but it pisses me off, so I rarely go there. Seriously, does someone deserve a couple of bucks for skating 30 feet? One Sonic around here added a drive-through for awhile. I used it just to order a drink. The order taker told me to pull up into a parking spot and the server would bring my drink to me. ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tip-at-sonics/831277/25 "2019-03-19T00:30:38Z")
Always. ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tip-at-sonics/831277/26 "2019-03-19T01:00:33Z")
I give the person $1. They always seem surprised and it feels like a genuine “oh, she tipped!” surprise and not a “cheapskate only gave me $1” surprise. Every time I’ve gone in or through the drive-thru, it’s been a total disaster in some way, so I don’t mind eating in the car there. My kid thinks it’s funny and a treat so I can’t argue with that once every season or so. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tip-at-sonics/831277/27 "2019-03-19T01:40:00Z")
I don’t comprehend. They did reduce the wages from $8.55 to the “restaurant server” minimum of $4.30 “plus tips” or they didn’t? But the workers still get the same amount because tips make up the difference? But they got tips before also right? So where did that tip money go beforehand? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tip-at-sonics/831277/28 "2019-03-19T02:39:47Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > I don’t comprehend. > > They did reduce the wages from $8.55 to the “restaurant server” minimum of $4.30 “plus tips” or they didn’t? B…? They did \*\*not \*\*, that was a just a rumor started. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tip-at-sonics/831277/29 "2019-03-19T03:26:40Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I’ve never been to a Sonics, there isn’t one near me and they seem kind of exotic because I’ve never been to one. Same here. And I didn’t know until this thread that the carhops were really a thing and not just something from some of the ads from years ago when they first began national advertising. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tip-at-sonics/831277/30 "2019-03-19T04:13:47Z")
I try to always tip at Sonic, and wish their electronic payment option included a way to add a tip. StG ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tip-at-sonics/831277/31 "2019-03-19T04:17:44Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > They did \*\*not \*\*, that was a just a rumor started. OK Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tip-at-sonics/831277/32 "2019-03-19T20:02:57Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Remember when Sonic hung the tray on your car window? The food wasn’t bagged. It was nice having that serving space instead of the car seat. They _don’t_ have window trays? Now I completely fail to understand why they bother to have carhops at all. And, what about A&W? There are still a few with carhops, but any of the ones I go to don’t have. As long as you’re willing to use their app, McDonald’s lets you skip the drive through and have carhop service in designated spots. The intention is to get you to order ahead, but I suppose you could occupy the spot first, then order. I would never think of tipping that person. When I was younger we frequented A&W drive-ins, but I don’t recall if my aunt tipped or not. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tip-at-sonics/831277/33 "2019-03-19T21:31:07Z")
I usually tip the carhop at Sonic but it’s rarely more than loose change. I hardly ever get food there, I just go for the limeades. > [@Jasmine](#): > > I only tip for sit-down service, period. > > I just love that, when I pick up food at a place like Barracos, there is a place for a tip on the receipt that I have to sign. Yeah, right. I’m going to drag myself out in who knows what kind of weather, take the time to drive there using my gas, and then give them a tip for taking my money? Hah! Panera does this and it drives me crazy. I pay with my debit card and it pops up a bunch of tipping options on the screen. I always hit None. Then I get home and find out they’ve screwed up my order again. Which makes me feel justified in not tipping, but then I wonder if they screwed it up _because_ I didn’t tip. It’s a chicken-and-egg thing. What’s next? The grocery store asking me if I want to tip the cashier and bagger boy? ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tip-at-sonics/831277/34 "2019-03-19T23:46:26Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > I only tip for sit-down service, period. > > I just love that, when I pick up food at a place like Barracos, there is a place for a tip on the receipt that I have to sign. Yeah, right. I’m going to drag myself out in who knows what kind of weather, take the time to drive there using my gas, and then give them a tip for taking my money? Hah! Just put in a negative number and thank them for their tip. See if they notice it and how they reconcile it with the credit card company. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tip-at-sonics/831277/35 "2019-03-19T23:59:28Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > As many have probably heard, the [entire staff of three locations of Sonics in Ohio quit](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ohio-sonic-employees-quit-near-columbus-leave-scathing-notes-over-paychecks/). The issue was a new corporate owner buying the franchise and changing minimum wage from $8.55 to the “restaurant server” minimum of $4.30 “plus tips.” The response from the company seems somewhat mealy-mouthed (“They’re making the same hourly rate” rather than an unequivocal “we’ve made no changes, period.”) That aside, do people tip when going to Sonics? I’ve never heard of anyone doing so. Let me make this clear again- _“The issue was a new corporate owner buying the franchise and changing minimum wage from $8.55 to the “restaurant server” minimum of $4.30 “plus tips.””_ **This is absolutely false.** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tip-at-sonics/831277.md?page=1)