# Tipping for Take Out **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 30, 2011, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-for-take-out/604515 "2011-11-30T00:59:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2011, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-for-take-out/604515/61 "2011-12-04T13:20:04Z")
In a fast food situation, I may put some of the change in the tip jar but mainly no unless they went out of their way. But if it’s a sit-down restaurant with table service then I will tip about 10-15%. After all the pay structure is different and that wait person is serving you in the hope that you will appreciate their service enough to pay. In many ways that is a unique thing. If only plumbers . ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2011, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-for-take-out/604515/62 "2011-12-04T13:46:16Z")
No, I don’t tip on take-out. If a restaurant only offers take-out, they should be paying their workers minimum wage vs. the below-minimum wage they can pay to waitstaff who work for tips. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-for-take-out/604515/63 "2011-12-05T20:31:13Z")
I’ve started tipping around 5-10% when I pick up food - non-fast food. The person who hands me my food has to order it from the kitchen, pick it up, box and bag it and bring it to me. In the end , it looks to me like they are doing almost as much work fo rme as a regular waiter, so I tip. They only have to visit my “table” (the checkout counter) once though, so I think 5-10% is fine, depending upon how nice they are. ---
**Author:** ![cruel\_butterfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5daacb/32.png) [@cruel\_butterfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cruel_butterfly)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-for-take-out/604515/64 "2011-12-05T20:54:39Z")
Employers have to make sure that the tips reported equal at least 8% of the total receipts. The IRS allows the employer to disregard revenue generated by carry-out orders. [Cite.](http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/industries/article/0,,id=98401,00.html) That being said, a dollar or two might put a smile on someone’s face. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-for-take-out/604515/65 "2011-12-05T22:05:00Z")
I was just coming back to say I did ask a restaurant owning friend and he told me the same thing, total sales volume that they look at for tips does not include carry out orders. ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-for-take-out/604515/66 "2011-12-08T00:37:26Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > I took out from a sushi place a few months ago. The bill came to about $33 and I handed the girl two twenties. She asked “do you want any change?” > > OK, first, that phrase infuriates me. Secondly, no, I’m not tipping you like 22% because you handed me a bag full of plastic and styrofoam. I felt stupid even giving her three dollars after that. I should have just taken my food and left. No, because that would have meant you **did** give her the 22% tip. She really should not have asked in the first place. She should have handed your change back to you, and you would then have had the discretion to [count it for correctness and then] pocket it or split some out to hand back as a tip. Part of the custom is in the customer deciding and (hopefully) making an effort to hand over extra money. This is why I disagree with restaurants of any type “automatically” adding in a tip. [I believe this has been discussed in another thread, so I’ll get off the soapbox now.] > [@Queen\_Tonya](#): > > Which means the servers with the slower shifts or that just aren’t tipped as highly for whatever reason are screwed. Yeah, but that’s kind of the point of the system. New waitstaff gets quiet/dead shifts while they’re learning the trade and the menu. As they get better at the job (keeping diners complaint-free – or even happy) they are scheduled more and more on the busier and busier shifts. If they don’t get better at the trade, they either stay on the slower shifts or get out and make way for others who want to try their hand. The Peter Principle is especially relevant in the waitstaff field. ETA: Overall, though, I really prefer the Japanese approach: Servers are paid to serve and that’s enough. No tips necessary (and handed back if you ‘accidentally’ leave money on the table). –G! So I called up the Captain “Please bring me my wine…” . --Don Henley (The Eagles) . _Hotel California_ . Hotel California ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-for-take-out/604515/67 "2011-12-08T00:44:21Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > If it’s not delivered, no I don’t tip. But I’m Canadian. Can I get this printed on a t-shirt? ---
**Author:** ![ProbablyProcrastinating](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/57b2e6/32.png) [@ProbablyProcrastinating](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ProbablyProcrastinating)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2011, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-for-take-out/604515/68 "2011-12-11T04:48:42Z")
Delivery: 10% and about 2.5% more for every flight of stairs and block from parking. At my present place that’s 15%. Our sales tax is 9%. Take-out including any prepared coffee (latté): I tip the change or a dollar. **Audrey Levins** > [@](#): > > And yes, it IS more trouble to package up an entire meal to go than it is to just serve it to you. How is that possible? How much service do you give people who are sitting at your tables? I worked in food service throughout my college studies, plus a summer before. To-go is no fun because you miss tips, sure, but you don’t spend nearly as much time per meal as you do per table. Unless you’re not paying attention to your tables. > [@Balthisar](#): > > Another question relevant to this thread: it’s common knowledge that employers have to report 15% of a waitperson’s tab to the IRS and state governments, but does that also go for the carry-out tabs? This is not true for every state. In Washington State you count and report tips per day. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2011, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-for-take-out/604515/69 "2011-12-11T17:47:50Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > Can I get this printed on a t-shirt? You can get a shirt with anything you want printed on it here: [Create Custom T-Shirts - CafePress – No Minimums](http://www.cafepress.com/make/custom-t-shirts) (no, I get no kickback from that link) ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-for-take-out/604515/70 "2011-12-11T17:49:47Z")
> [@ProbablyProcrastinating](#): > > This is not true for every state. In Washington State you count and report tips per day. When I worked as a waitress in Arizona in the early 1990s we counted our tips and reported them each day, each person, and that’s what got reported. Note, this was a long time ago and the laws may well have changed; I haven’t kept up with those laws. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2011, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-for-take-out/604515/71 "2011-12-11T17:51:37Z")
Most of the time, I’ll sit at the bar and place my order. I’ll drink a beer while I wait for my food and then usually tip $5 for the drink and the food. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2011, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-for-take-out/604515/72 "2011-12-11T18:38:05Z")
In that case you’re getting more service than just having your food packed up, so a higher tip makes sense. I usually call in my order and just walking, pick it up, pay, leave. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-for-take-out/604515.md?page=3)