I always feel like a schmuck for not giving a tip to the carhops at Sonic. Then again, I’m not really seeing a need to, either.
What’s your opinion?
I almost always tip a little bit: a 99 cent Route 44 gets a quarter, a meal gets 50 cents or the coin change from my $5 or $10, whichever is larger. More meal combos get $1 plus the coin change.
A buck for a meal or the change if it’s nearly a buck. Maybe a buck + the change if she’s cute and freindly.
You are parked and someone takes your order and brings it to you. You leave you garbage on the tray and someone takes it away. It’s not a restaurant, but sounds like a reason to tip for me.
It’s appreciated, but not expected, and unlike tipping at sit-down restaurants that’s actually true. I’ll tip if I happen to have a dollar on me, but I don’t worry over it.
We usually tip a buck or two, depending on how many people are in the car.
Why not, pray tell? Seriously.
Assuming you aren’t philosophically opposed to tipping, and do tip waitresses, what about a carhop gives rise to the “no need to tip” idea?
It’s fast food. With few exceptions, tipping isn’t expected at fast food shops.
I’m quite willing to bet that Sonic carhops get paid at least minimum wage, and not the BS $2.13 or whatever that tipped servers get. They do more than the folks who just stand behind a register and take orders, so I’m not averse to giving them a couple bucks, but it’s hardly like I’m screwing them out of a wage.
And with few exceptions, fast food isn’t brought to you. Tipping is related to service, and this is a critical distinction. Fast food/not fast food isn’t the issue, service/no service is. I don’t buy the “fast food” argument as being relevant here.
Out of curiosity, what is your definition of “service” in this context?
Sleeps With Butterflies outlined it in post #4, but essentially it’s bringing your order to you.
I don’t go behind the counter at McDonald’s and put my food on a tray; someone does that for me. That’s not service?
Whataburger and Carl’s Jr. have the workers bring you your food if you dine in. I think they’d be very puzzled and a little embarrassed if I tried to tip them for that.
A Sonic carhop doesn’t come out to the car to take my order. She doesn’t bring me drink refills or ask me how my food is. She makes a single trip, to deliver the food, and has nothing to do with me thereafter. I agree it’s nice to tip, especially here in Arizona where the ramada isn’t a good cover against the heat, but I also think it doesn’t make one an asshole to not tip. This is reinforced by the credit card system they have: usually, if the establishment expects you to tip, there’ll usually be a way to add a tip onto your credit card charge. Not so with Sonic.
Like I said, I do tip if I happen to have the cash, and I once gave a girl a fiver after she had to walk through a downpour to deliver someone else’s food before getting to mine. But I don’t sweat it if all I have on me is plastic.
Not service that we normally tip for. At McDonald’s, you stand around waiting for your order (or take a seat and have to get back up) and carry it to your table. At Sonic, you get to stay in your seat throughout the ordering, waiting, and eating of the meal. I see a value to someone fetching my food for me and bringing it out to where I’ve comfortably settled.
Hmm, the line gets thinner and thinner.
This exemplifies the value I mentioned in my reply to Q.E.D. above. Obviously not every carhop situation is that dramatic. I guess the notion of someone making a delivery outdoors on foot (pretty thin line now 
) leads me to think of tipping.
I always, always, always tip at least a dollar at Sonic, even if it’s just a drink order. IME, carhops do not get minimum wage and they generally work their butts off. They also get to put up with a disproportionate amount of really immature behavior from their largely high-school aged customers.
Really, if not for the tips, no one would put up with such a crappy job at fast food wages.
If this were true, wouldn’t there be a little line I could use to tip with my card?
Sonic’s servers get paid at least minimum wage, as far as I’ve been able to figure out without talking to an employee firsthand or applying for a job there myself:
From this thread.
I was gonna start this thread a few days ago!
I don’t typically eat at Sonic, but the wife likes their flavored teas, milkshakes, etc. Usually the order is about a dollar, or a little more than that. We don’t stay to drink.
My thought is that a larger order, with a burger and the like, deserves a small tip. I know it’s the way Sonic is set up, but honestly, I think I’d rather go to a counter and order a milkshake instead of having someone bring it to me…
At my local Sonic, one carhop is generally on CS duty. She has a tray with (plastic, but very realistic looking) desserts, and she asks if I need more napkins, utensils, or condiments. And then she waves the tray under my nose as she asks if I wouldn’t like a shake or sundae. Obviously, someone at this Sonic knows about marketing and impulse buys.