Tipping Pick-Up Take-Out

So if I call and order food and pick up the food myself, do I still need to tip? If so, how much?

I don't know what the rules are, but I tip for pick-up when the person in front of me actually preps the food. Like he spoons it into the dish or whatever, then I'll give him a dollar. If he hollers the order to someone in back, and then just hands me what they hand him, then I don't tip. I've never really thought about though, it is just what seems right to me. YMMV.

Subject: Tipping

Depends on how much the order is.

When pick up food at Coco Roco.. I don't tip. The person that hands me the bag had nothing to do with preparing the food.. they just put it in the bag. If I pick up from Yayo on9th street I do tip because that person scoops it out, packages it, runs to the back to get my fried plantains.

I don't think there is an Emily Post answer here (you guys know that reference to the etiquette queen.. who is long gone and probably outdated).

Subject: Tipping

I think that the art of tipping has lost focus. Order a bagel and a cup of coffee to go and leave a tip in a cup. Gee... lets tip the supermarket or drugstore cashier...the airline steward(ess), the toll taker at the Verrazano ............We could go on forever. We know which professions historically depend on tips including taxi drivers, barbers and hairdressers, waiters and waitresses, delivery people,etc. I would tip others only if they really went out of their way to do something extra special. Other than that, a thank you is sufficient. Well, one persons view on the subject.

Subject: Re: Tipping

[quote="Brooklyn Dodger"]I think that the art of tipping has lost focus. Order a bagel and a cup of coffee to go and leave a tip in a cup. Gee... lets tip the supermarket or drugstore cashier...the airline steward(ess), the toll taker at the Verrazano ............We could go on forever. We know which professions historically depend on tips including taxi drivers, barbers and hairdressers, waiters and waitresses, delivery people,etc. I would tip others only if they really went out of their way to do something extra special.

[Actually, I tipped a mugger last week]

You don't tip if you pick up your food and carry it to your home and unwrap it and serve it to yourself at your table that you clean yourself after you eat.

here's a tip: don't smoke in bed.

raw wrote: You don't tip if you pick up your food and carry it to your home and unwrap it and serve it to yourself at your table that you clean yourself after you eat.

word. i do however tip the guys at Brothers Pizza when i go pick up, cause they always have the biggest damn smile on their faces and it makes me so stoked to eat that pizza and knots. though i suppose that falls into the category of preparing the food. either way, those guys are the best.

As an ex-waiter I would say that you should drop a buck when you pick up, someone had to pack it up for you, and a lot of places that do this kind of thing just split the night's tips, so you would still be benefiting the guy who actually packed up your food.

As far as delivery goes, please don't just give a buck - these guys don't hardly get paid other than your tips, so hook them up, especially if the weather sucks.

after buying a sandwich that cost
$7.50 I left a $1.00 tip, I later asked myself why am I subsidizing an owner who is not paying his hard working staff a living wage.
I feel those tip jars are unprofessional and are a form of intimidation.
If you work in this type of envioment that will lead you nowhere,I feel you should take courses that will lead you to a better occupation and not be subjected to hoping someone will drop a dollar in a jar so you may survive.
I wish you the best of luck.

Hamilton wrote: I feel those tip jars are unprofessional and are a form of intimidation.
If you work in this type of envioment that will lead you nowhere,I feel you should take courses that will lead you to a better occupation and not be subjected to hoping someone will drop a dollar in ajar so you may survive.
I wish you the best of luck.

ALRIGHT MR. PINK!

I usually tip about 15% for delivery, more if the weather sucks. But I don't tip if I go to pick up takeout.

Subject: Re: Tipping

[quote="Brooklyn Dodger"]I think that the art of tipping has lost focus. Order a bagel and a cup of coffee to go and leave a tip in a cup. Gee... lets tip the supermarket or drugstore cashier...the airline steward(ess), the toll taker at the Verrazano ............We could go on forever.
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[I can envision some day visiting a funeral parlor and seeing a tip jar at the foot of a casket]
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I waited tables for years, and hardly anyone ever tipped for pick-up. I don't think it's necessary. That being said, use your judgement with the place. If it's a restauraunt/pub, and you can see that the food comes up and then the waiter/bartender has to pack it in to-go containers and everything for you (what I used to have to do) then maybe throw them a buck or two. But if it's a place with someone working the register/hostess stand (La Villa, Olive Vine, japanese places) I wouldn't tip.

And I always tip delivery guys 20%... sometimes even more when they come out in the pouring rain or snow.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm from Singapore where it's not the culture to tip so I don't know tacit rules sometimes. I ask my American friends abt this pick-up tipping thing and got very different opinions. Delivery and sit-down service, I've always tipped, but when it comes to pick-up, I really don't see why I need to unless the person did something extraordinarily nice. So you guys seem to affirm my suspicions. Good to hear from peeps that have actually worked in the restaurant before too.

You basically tip for service, not for what you've already paid for. If they serve/deliver, then you tip accordingly. If you went to pick it up, there was no service, so *generally* there's not a need to tip.

Exceptions are there, such as the one mentioned above, if the guy there prepares food in front of you, then you should probably acknowledge it a little..