I organize and pick up lunches at my job on the days we order out. Take the orders, collect the money, drive to get the food, and distribute it.
When collecting the funds for their individual orders, some people figure out their cost with the tax and give me exactly that. Others give me extra. I really don’t care either way, as I don’t really pay attention – I’m sure people have gotten a free meal as I don’t bother to total things up myself or verify they’ve paid. Again, I really don’t care.
However, on the odd occasion when someone else must pick up, I always give them extra (a tip, we’ll call it) because they have to spend their gas / vehicle wear and tear to pick it up. In these days where gas prices in the US are rapidly approaching $4.00/gallon (or over that) for most of us, things get pricey.
If I drive 10 miles one way to get lunch, and drive back, that’s 1/2 gallon of gas for me if I drive my car or 2 gallons if I drive my truck. So not counting vehicle wear and tear, it’s anywhere from $2 to $8 for me to be the nice guy and pick up lunch.
So if someone else drives, or if I am, should people be pitching in towards the transportation / delivery costs?
I’ll generally leave them with the left over change, provided it’s under a buck or two, but generally I won’t tip. In jobs where we’ve had people running out for lunch, the burden of driving is more or less even.
The exception for chipping in for gas would be if it’s mentioned beforehand. I can recall instances when nobody has wanted to go out, but somebody says, “I don’t mind going, but I need gas money.” Then we’ll all chip in a little extra.
I’ve usually been in the situation where it would be a work vehicle used for the lunch run. Therefore we didn’t factor the transport cost as an issue. Generally I think that if you offer to pick stuff up for others while you are out getting your own, you do so at your own expense. You gain the good will of your colleagues, no one forced you to offer. Hopefully you’ll take turns to go, not lump it on the one person all the time.
I hate getting lunch for more than one other person at a time. Better if you can all go together and each get their own.
I’ve never priced out the gas, and I still don’t think I will, because I’ve only ever asked people to pick up food from someplace they were already going - you’d use the same gas for your Value Meal or both of ours.
But I do add in extra money anyway, partly as a “thanks for the favor” gesture, but mostly because I’ve been that person to make the lunch run and come up short at the counter. I’d rather guesstimate high - not only for tax, but for the possibility that the restaurant has increased their prices since the last time I was there. And even if I’m spot on, you’ll probably be slightly shorted by one or two other folks, and I’d rather help you bear the cost of that than do it alone.
So for a $6.99 meal off a year old menu, I’d probably give you $10, and not expect any change back. If it all came out even, just go ahead and keep it.
But I’m also not the kind of person to keep close tabs on the debits and credits between friends or long term acquaintances. I figure it’ll all come out in the wash. (Which reminds me, I still owe **HazelNutCoffee **some money from the last Dopefest when she had to leave early and left more money than she ended up owing. Guess her burger at the next fest is on me!)
I’ve never heard of tipping a co-worker who went out for lunch, but I’ve never worked anywhere where you had to drive to get food. I think a little gas money is appropriate. Beyond that I’d just look at it as part of the job, not something I’d expect extra money for beyond my salary.
I am the fetcher. No one else does, nor do I ask them to. Occasionally when I’m out of the office or ride my motorcycle, someone else must go. Otherwise it’s me, and I’m fine with that.
It’s not part of the job, I’m going out, and so others join in. If I drive for work purposes I get .50 a mile. So if the company was paying me I would have made $10.
Z. I’m not asking for tipping, but if it cost you $8.00 to pick up lunch for everyone (to go where they want to go) I think a little sumptin’ is reasonable to cover my gas costs.
/I trying to break the habit of making numbered lists.
I don’t bother to keep track of it these days. Now I pocket the cash and pay with a debit card, that way I never have to worry about being shorted when I get to the register.
I was just thinking that if you gave $6.00 for a meal across town, and it came to $5.95 – you’d have spend a few bucks of your own gas to go get it as well, so chipping in seems like “the right thing to do”.
Well, I might have chosen to bring lunch instead, or go without, or paid for delivery (which would be less than $8.)
Like I said, I do give extra money, just for different reasons. The gas money reason doesn’t seem logical to me - it’s not costing you more gas to get my lunch if you were going there already.
Ah, but now I re-read and it looks like you’re driving to multiple places to get people what they want. Yes, in that case, gas money does become an issue. I’ve just never asked someone to drive to somewhere they weren’t going already. It didn’t actually occur to me that was an option. If I asked you to drive elsewhere, I’d throw in some extra for gas.
Agreed with the general principle that if I’m asking you to go somewhere you were not already going, and if it involves going more than about two miles, than I should flip you a buck or two for doing it.
But I shy away from this kind of thing in general because I’ve known too many skeevy co-workers who would consider it cool to go 1/2 mile to McDonalds, place 10 orders and charge an extra $1-2 from every single person.
No, I’ not driving to multiple destinations. I’m more than happy getting a salad from the cafeteria or chinese food from the local place (rat droppings or no - I’m not squeamish about food). I was merely saying that if the place you wanted to go was outside of my norm, that chipping in towards my costs for your luncheon choice would be polite. It just seems strange for people to count out the meal cost with tax to the penny and then give that to me. I’m not starving for cash, but counting to the penny? I don’t want pennies. Keep 'em if it’s that tight for you.
I would not presume to tip a cow-orker; we’re equals (or, at least, that’s the pretense; most of them are as fleas to the mighty lion that is groo. However, that’s another story). I think it would be rude to tip. In my area, people have a tendency to want to round up to the nearest dollar, but that’s more a reflection of the fact that no one seems to carry coins.
Yes, and it’s enforced. There’s a guy at work who fetches ( ) food every Thursday. His policy is that everyone who orders adds $.50 to their order total. I’m fine with that. It’s less than I’d tip the delivery person when we order from a place that delivers. I’ve heard that he usually gets enough in “tips” to cover his lunch.
If people do it in some form of alternating amnner no tip is necessary: if one person does to all the time, either it’s that person’s job and no tip is necessary, or that person is being shat on and should stop doing it.
) food every Thursday. His policy is that everyone who orders adds $.50 to their order total. I’m fine with that. It’s less than I’d tip the delivery person when we order from a place that delivers. I’ve heard that he usually gets enough in “tips” to cover his lunch.