I’ve noticed lately that the tip I give during takeout (e.g. mexican, thai food, etc) may not be going to the person who prepared my takeout order.
For example, I recently gave a cash tip to the lady who gave me my order at a Thai place and she just opened the cash register, put the money in, and closed it.
For those who have worked in restaurants: Is my tip for takeout going to the right people, or is the owner of the restaurant getting them?
Maybe the Thai place was family owned and operated?
Do most people tip for takeout? I generally don’t, except to through change or a few bucks in a tip jar. Tipping is for service.
If it’s a waiter/waitress type place, I usually go 10% as they have to take time away from table service to package up the order.
Fair enough.
Unfortunately, the IRS doesn’t see it that way. Someone has to write that ticket up just like a table service sale, and that person gets taxed on 8% of the total, just like any other ticket. That’s why we always fought like hell to avoid answering the takeout phone when I was waiting tables–people almost never tipped on takeout orders, so we were getting taxed on money we weren’t making.
I never knew that! Glad to find that out. Will definitely change what we do…
In places I’ve worked, the host packages to go orders. It js basically as much work as serving a table, and it does affect what they end up bringing home in tips (hosts generally get a small cut of the waiters tips- which will go down if they are packing to go orders rather than backing up waiters). They don’t expect tips, but those who do tip are much appreciated, as hosts generally make much less than waitstaff.
The 8% rule only applies to large restaurants, defined as having 10 or more employees totaling 80 or more hours on a typical business day. And it only applies if total tips reported by all employees is less than 8% of the total of all sales. That’s for the year, not an individual pay period, so they won’t know if they have to allocate tips until they’re doing W-2s . Also if the employee keeps accurate daily records of all tips received (which they should be dong anyway) they don’t have to report allocated tips.
Explained by Hospitality Guild.
Packaging an order properly does take time and effort, so I tip about 10% usually.
No one has really answered my question in the OP: For those who have worked in restaurants: Is my tip for takeout going to the right people, or is the owner of the restaurant getting them?
When you leave a tip for table service, I assume that goes to the waiter who waited on you (i.e. the check for that table gets associated with the waiter for that table)
When you leave a tip for takeout, does that tip get associated with the person who packed it up for you?
Recent experiences in a couple of restaurants have made me think that restaurants don’t necessarily associate tips for takeout with the person who packaged it up. Is this correct?
Me, too. Plus, if I’m getting take-out from somewhere, there’s a good chance I’m doing it on a regular basis. Always nice to be on their good side!
Sometimes I tip a buck or 2 or up to 10%, sometimes I don’t. In my experience whenever I have a carryout order at a place that is normally a sit-down restaurant (which I assume is what we are discussing. I would never consider tipping a strictly carry-out place, probably), I receive a bill/receipt before paying that will include a name- “Your server today was Amy,” “Your order was prepared by Candy”, whatever. And I usually see a person packaging the order and handing it to me- a quick glance at the breast will tell me whether she is Amy or Candy. That said, I rarely use cash ( so I would have to have the “check” that shows a server name and includes a place for a charged tip) and I usually order food online. If I leave a charged tip I assume it goes to the name on the receipt, and if I give cash I assume that person keeps it.
I worked in a restaurant during college. On most nights we had a person who worked as a coordinator, that was me on many nights. Other nights, it was an server who wanted to get home early. The coordinator handled take out orders as well as 100 other tasks, making tea and coffee, changing out the soft drinks, helping to finish plates from the kitchen so the server could take them out, adding butter, sauces, lemons, basically whatever the plate needed.
I got the tips that customers left. I was paid hourly and the tips weren’t enough to bother reporting, on a busy night they might add up to $20.
During a very slow time, usually a manager handled take out orders. They’d usually give the tip money to one of the servers on duty at that time, usually helping to make up if someone had gotten stiffed or if they came into work and only had a couple of tables.
During holiday party season and big football weekends, we had a lot of party platter orders. Customers didn’t often tip on these, but we made about $10 an hour or so, plus the managers offered us beer or well cocktails for free while we were assembling the party platters!
I order takeout from a local restaurant a couple times a month. At this place, the bartender handles take out orders, it’s common for single people to eat at the bar. I’ll usually order a beer and tip about $5 for the beer and the to go order. He gets to keep the tips on all the food and drinks ordered at the bar as well as the take out orders he prepares.
Every place does it differently. I actually work for Thai people at a fusion restaurant and all of our cash tips go straight in the till (in their own slot) like you saw. At the end of the night all the cash and credit card tips are divided equally among the wait staff; our floor manager, the owner, doesn’t take any. It makes sense because even though I’m a floor server primarily, I take and pack plenty of orders. But I’ve heard of places where takeout tips are considered property of the restaurant.
No tips on takeout. You wouldn’t tip at McDonalds, would you? Yeah, you get a tip if you have to serve me for ~an hour, keep bringing me drinks, take dirty dishes, keep me happy. Asking me what I want and then bringing it to me in a sack isn’t the same.