Tipping the "to-go" person

In My Humble Opinion
41

People order milkshakes in a carry-out meal from Denny’s? That is the most disturbing thing I have read in this thread.

I do not tip carry out - See above answers about it’s not my problem if the owner screws his help. I tip to reward good service, not arbitrarily supplement income. If you are bringing food to my table promptly, filling my water glass, etc, I am perfectly willing to tip well. With carryout, I have no idea what condition the food is in until I get home, no idea who is responsible for packing it, and no idea how much work is involved in packing. Most of of the carryouts I get can just be slopped from the pot into a plastic tub and BAM! Instant meal.

42

That’s not necessarily true.

43

What the…? - indeed.

YOU said:

*But by that reasoning, you shouldn’t tip table servers either, because bringing the food to your table is their job. The preparation of a to-go order is a service just like bringing it to a table, but since it’s a one shot deal that doesn’t take as much time or effort as waiting on a table for the full meal, the tip is correspondingly smaller. *

And I said, if one reasons that a tip is required because “preparation of a to-go order is a service just like bringing it to a table” (which is what you said), then, using that same reasoning, one would have to conclude that McDonald’s employees are deserving of a tip, since they prepare to-go orders. I was merely extending YOUR reasoning to its absurd conclusion. That is inescapable logic.

I’m not saying whether one should tip or not; I’m saying that it’s pretty silly of you to criticize SlyFrog’s “reasoning” when your own reasoning is suspect.

44

Well, now you know. It’s a server, host, bartender. or occassionally dedicated to-go person. 90% of the time it is someone with another full-time job that they would be making tips on if it wern’t for you. And you also know how much work it is- any cold items must be prepared and packaged and some hot item require a fair amount of work (Ladeling you extra BBQ sauce or whatever into those little plastic tubs is a lot harder than just pouring some in a dish and slapping it on your table.) All those little lids and packets are not well suited to the fast pace of restraurant work and it takes a fair amount of time to place your order, make sure the cook got it right, round up all the little sauces and whatever that you need, bag it up properly so it doesn’t slide around, and cash out your order.

Now, I only worked on busy weekend mornings (30+ minute waits) so I don’t know what it’s like to deal with to-go orders at other times. But if you ordered breakfast for six and figured you’d be clever by ordering to-go so you don’t have to tip, don’t be surprised if your getting your order right next time you come in isn’t my highest priority. 90% of to-go orders are frequent customers. Even the bum that comes in every day for biscuits and gravy tries to give me a couple bucks when he can.

Anyway, if you don’t want to tip, own up to it at least. Plenty of others have. But don’t feed me this BS about “I don’t know blah blah blah” or “It’s not my problem.”

45

And McDonalds is a very different circumstance. Their salads come in little tubs with little packets of dressing. Their milkshakes come out of a machine and don’t require three minutes of fucking around with milk and ice cream and strawberry syrup. They’ve got little trays of all the condiments they need all packaged up already. Most of all, they don’t have other tipped tasks that they are ignoring to make your order.

46

I’m actually a manager for one of the casual dining chains mentioned above, think “Pepper”. Anyway, the To-Go person for most of our restaurants is usually a reasonably new hire that management has decided isn’t quite ready to be a server. And they get paid minimum wage. The hosts actually get paid more than the to-go person. And there is a lot of running around involved, especially if they’re busy. Most of my servers can only handle between 4 and 6 tables, but my to-go has 10-12 orders up much of the time, has to answer phones, and make sure that you, the loyal customer get what you are paying for, in the time promised. Are we as an industry still working the kinks out of the system? Sure. But we are getting better. Most restaurants in my category now have dedicated to-go windows and staff during busy periods of the day.

As far as curbside takeout where it is delivered to your car, its a cool theory, but there are concerns with safety. Our to-go people are often some of the youngest on the staff and may not always be smart enough to recognize danger. And it opens the business up to a huge liability if something happens out there.

I know this is long, but it has a point, if they get the order right, and your food is hot and ready for you, tip them like you’d tip a server. I know my people would thank you.

47

Don’t feed me your BS about how you should get tipped because your cheap-ass management is short staffing the restaurant.

It’s not my problem that you have too much to do. That does not suddenly convert a non-tipping job into a tipping job. By your logic, because your restaurant has not hired someone to do the job properly, the customer should bear the burden of paying you more for it. That’s ridiculous.

48

The gentleman and I’ve placed to-go orders from a restaurant near us a few times, and I’m afraid it’s never occurred to me to tip the to-go person. We also eat at that restaurant fairly regularly and tip generously when we do. The difference between the amount of time a server spends looking after you, even if it’s only checking to see when drinks need to be refilled or the check needs to be brought is much greater than the amount of time a to-go person spends looking after you.

We’ve also ordered from a service which delivers restaurant meals to one’s home. We tip the driver, of course. It seems to me that, if I tip the to-go person, I should also give the driver a tip to take back to the restaurant which prepared the meal because the amount of service from the restaurant is nearly identical. That, of course, assumes the driver will be going back to the restaurant which isn’t necessarily the case since the two services which do this offer meals from a couple of dozen restaurants.

As I’ve typed this, I’ve remembered that I may have given the to-go person a dollar or two, but not a full 20% tip. I’m a firm believer in tipping – my brother worked as a bartender for years, among other things – but surely there’s a difference between a to-go person and a waiter?

CJ

49

No, they do quite a bit of work - have you ever actually watched them? They have to scoop the fries, fill the drinks (yes, they come out of a machine, but they still have to operate the machine), get the sandwiches, put everything in bags, make sure napkins are in the bags, put ketchup and condiments in the bags, etc. And then if the customer has a special order, they’re responsible for making sure it’s filled. For example, I like my fries without salt, so the cashier has to keep an eye on the fryer to make sure the next batch that comes out doesn’t get salted right away.

And then there are other fast food places that DO mix their shakes by hand, like In & Out Burger or Foster’s Freeze. Should they get tips, but not McDonald’s employees?

Frankly, it’s insulting to fast-food workers to imply that they don’t work hard.

50

Wow, that’s pretty low, dude.

51

I didn’t say I’d do actively do anything to their order. When I worked in restaurants, I took my job seriously and took great pride in providing excellent service even though it was in all respects a shit job. The manager decided not to promote me to a server because I was the “best hostess they’ve ever had.” I didn’t hang around much longer after she told me that.

The practical matter is at the only Denny’s in a busy beach town on summer weekend, there is just too much to be done to do it all. When I’ve got a list of thirty customers waiting to be seated, a party of ten who insists they need to be seated before Grandma soils her pants, a line of people waiting to pay, some angry guy asking for the manager who is nowhere around, both phones ringing, a half-dozen tables that need bussing if I want to actually seat any of these people, three drink orders sitting in my head slowly melding in to each other, some guy in a booth shouting “Hey you, bring me my fat-free mayonaisse!” and five waitresses yelling “Why the fuck are you slamming me, Sven!”, “You have to help me out with these drink orders, asshole!” and “Hey Sven, can you make three chocolate milkshakes and a banana split for table 20, thanks bye!”, I’ve got make priorities. And if Mr. Smartypants’ to-go order sitting under the heat lamp there is the thing that has to break, well, so be it.

52

So once again… is this not a failure of managment to properly staff? Because you are overworked by uncaring managment, we owe more money for our food?

Your forks, napkins, and condiments are not readily at hand and have to be gathered from all across the room and slopped into little containers? Once again, failure of management to set things up properly. I have been to many restaurants where they scoop these things up with one hand as they get out the stapler to close the bag. So your managment screwed you and I have to pay extra?

If I just order Jamalaya that gets scooped out of a pot, am I still supposed to tip even though all you did was scoop it into a container?

What if management short staffs the dining room, do I have to tip more than 20% to make up for the short staffing?

Most people I know get food “to go” because, well, they want to eat somewhere other than the restaurant. It has nothing to do with tips.

53

I didn’t say you did. But I don’t think it’s right to inactively neglect to fill an order properly just because you suspect you aren’t going to make as much profit on it.

And what BoringDad said.

54

I used to bartend at a steakhouse, and the bartender was responsible for to-go orders.

I always cashed out the to-go order the moment I rang it in; if they tipped me, I treated their to-go order with as much care and attention as I did my bar customers.

If they stiffed me, they got their food when I got around to it, when it cost me the least amount of time and money to get it done.

I agree that it’s bullshit to make customers pay for the fact that restaurants don’t want to pay for a dedicated full-wage “to-go person,” but by the same token, it’s also bullshit to expect that tipped employee to go out of their way to work for free. In that steakhouse, and in most restaurants I’ve worked at, to-go orders are more trouble than serving the freakin’ meal.

Ever tried to put all the toppings for five baked potatoes “loaded on the side!” into little tiny plastic containers with lids? Plus extra ranch for the salads? Plus containers with lids for the soups/vegetables? Plus butter for the bread? Plus the napkins, the salt, the pepper, the mustard, the ketchup, the mayo, etc, etc…

It took me away from my bar, where I was making money, in order to fill a time-consuming order that made me absolutely zero money. There were many times when it cost me money, b/c I was gone from the bar when my customers needed me.

Now that’s not your problem. I agree. That was my managers’ poor management at work. If they had half a brain they would’ve come up with a much better system that involved someone who was paid a normal wage to deal with to-go orders.

But your to-go-order was also not my problem to the extent that I could help it.

I don’t know anybody who happily and eagerly works for free.

55

As you pointed out, whose fault is that?

I’m not sure if I understand you. Are you saying you required them to tip you IN ADVANCE? And if they didn’t, you deliberately took longer to get their food? If that’s the case, I see 2 problems with that. 1) What if they were planning to tip you after they got the food? and 2) How can a tip possibly have any correlation to the quality of the service is the tip is given before the service? Or do you just expect a tip as some sort of birthright?

56

Question #1: I had them close out their tab as soon as I rang it in; thus they paid for their food, and any potential tip, immediately.

Question #2: I did not deliberately take longer to get their food. If the bar was slow, they got it as soon as it hit the window. (“Window” being the term for the deck in the kitchen where all food goes once it’s finished cooking and needs prepping.) But if I was busy behind the bar, and their food hit the window, it sat there until I had the time to kill to prep, finish, and package it.

Like I said, I don’t know anybody who goes out of their way to work for free. If you didn’t tip me, you got your food at my convenience, not yours.

As for your other question…the tip on to-go orders did determine how important that to-go order was to me. So yes, the tip was given before the service. I’m not going to apologize for it. Yes, it was a bribe. No, I will not apologize. The fault doesn’t belong to the customer, but it also doesn’t belong to me; if you have problems assuming blame, realize that I did, too. If my boss was too cheap to pay a realistic wage for a non-tipped–or only partially-tipped job–then if somebody had a problem with it, they were free to take it up with him. (FTR, nobody ever did, but the point remains.)

So the question “did I expect it as a birthright” is something you would’ve had to take up with the owner/manager of the restaurant, not with me. If I have a bar full of tipping customers, and two to-go orders waiting who stiffed me, I’m going to take care of the bar full of tipping customers first.

I work for money. If that doesn’t make sense to you, I won’t bother explaining it.

57

I checked with the gentleman and he does tip a few dollars on to-go orders. I’d say it amounts to 5% or 10% of the total rather than the 20% we both tend to leave when dining in the restaurant. Again, there is a difference in the amount of time and service used for a to-go order versus dining in, and that difference is reflected in the tip.

CJ

58

I havve no beef with a discounted tip. You are practically a saint for tipping at all.

But there really is not a time difference most of the time. The to-go order is generally all done at once, and if it’s a phone order, before you get there. But minute for minute it’s about equal.

Sit Down: Place order and punch it in
To Go: Place order and punch it in

Sit Down: Get Drinks + prepare cold items
To Go: Deal with little packets of stuff, get drinks and lids and straws for them, prepare cold items- seperatly packaging sauces and componants.

Sit Down: Get food
To Go: Get food

Sit Down: Check back, get refills
To Go: Continue to deal with little packets. Bag food.

Sit Down: Cash out
To Go: Cash out

59

I don’t see how “not getting a tip” = “working for free”. AFAIK, all legal jobs pay an hourly wage. You may be making less, but you’re not working for free.

Did I ask you to apologize? I don’t believe I did. You don’t mind if I express my opinion that taking a tip before the service is given defeats the entire purpose of having a system of tipping, do you?

Well, no, if your boss isn’t paying a realistic wage, it would be YOUR responsibility to bring it up with him. The customers don’t know how much you get paid.

That makes no sense.

Strawman. I quite obviously never said “working for money doesn’t make sense to me”. You’re just being ridiculous now.

Look, if you deliberately perform a given task faster when you have been ‘bribed’, as you called it, then logically, you are performing the task slower when you have not been ‘bribed’. We can argue semantics as to what “deliberate” means, but it doesn’t change the facts.

I’m not saying you’re a bad person for doing it. I’ll admit I do some things at work that aren’t really ethical; for example, browsing message boards. :wink: But I’m not gonna sit here and tell you I’m proud of it.

60

I think the issue is that this person is not getting paid for you ‘the customer’ (since no tip) therefore they don’t really want to serve you. It is sort of a bad attitude which has been created by the tipping system (not their fault)

This I strongly disagree with. There is a big difference between getting an order done at your leasure at one time and having to coordinate with dine in people. You must have to be much more attentive, which is worth something in time and thought.

** I bet if you could serve everyone in to-go fashion or the current sitdown model and the pay (including tips) were exactly the same, you would chose the to-go fashion hands down**