To tip or not to tip: take-out and pick-ups (tacran)

JackieG

Wonder how people would feel if retail cashiers at grocery stores, etc. put out tip jars? 

 As a native NYer and also an ex-server I consider myself to be a generous tipper (although I will alter my tip to the level of service) but I do not tip either of the situations you described. If I stop in a coffee shop and the person paid to make a cup of coffee or run the register does their job I cannot fathom why I would tip.

Same for take out food that I pick up? 

Tipping is, to me, for providing a service  - and is merit pay for servers because they are often on <$3/hr.

I find it irritating to think I am expected to tip someone for doing what they are paid to do, as in I buy a cup of coffee and they provide it. Would one tip at a fast food restaurant because they gave you the food you ordered????

I generally don't tip in those situations. They didn't really serve me, they just handed me my food and took my money. Occasionally I might throw in a dollar if they were particularly nice or helpful or something. I do make a point to reinforce behavior I like. I generally don't tip at coffee shop type places either, not that I go to those often. I also try to write or tell someone's manager, or fill in a comment card about someone who gave me particularly good service in a place where they don't get tips. On the other hand, if you hand me a survey or tell me there is one on my receipt, and to fill it out and give you all the best scores, I'm not going to do it. I know the management tells them to do it, but maybe I didn't like your service (although they tend not to point it out if they were bad). 

I tip for curbside service.  If they manage to place and put my order together correctly - I tip.

I always tip my pizza guys because I know for a fact they are all working for some bucks while attending college.

I usually tip my chinese food guy, but not as much as my pizza guys.

I don't ever tip at a coffee shop or deli/sandwich shop.

Deb W. 

Julie -- I love your idea of a tip jar on our desks at work!  Maybe if I put one on my desk, my employers would get the hint that 6 years without a raise has driven me to begging!

I would tip for curbside service, but I've never been anywhere to use it.  Also, delivery in this town is minimal -- just the chain pizza shops offer it (like Domino's, which I don't eat).  I don't think any chinese or other ethnic food places offer delivery.  But I would tip for home delivery, definitely.

Thanks for all the feedback -- I'm going to let go of my guilt about not tipping at coffee and sandwich shops.  I will not be bullied by a tip jar on the counter, no matter how many smiley faces or clever quips the staff have drawn on the label! 

I definitely tip curbside to go, on the rare occasion that I order it, which has been maybe twice in my life. Probably just the coins plus another dollar. It's not quite as much as delivering my food, but they still had to wait on my lazy butt.
What about this... we have some pizza shops here where you order at the counter, but then they bring the food out to your table,instead of the regular putting it up on the counter and having you take it. What do you tip those people? Some of them have trash cans that you throw your own away, others take your trash.

 Everyone agrees pretty much on the tipping protocol for food pickup vs delivery I see - and I agree. The situation that always confuses me is going to the hair dressers. Apparently you should tip the person who washes your hair, but how much? Then you are suppose to tip the person who does your colour - again how much? Last but not least is the hair cut itself. ???? Someone told me you don't tip if the owner cuts your hair. So confusing! What I end up doing is I add 20% to the total bill and ask the receptionist to make sure everyone is covered. I have no idea if I am being cheap or generous or if the little girl who washed my hair ever sees a dime. Mostly I let my hair grow out and use colour from the drug store and avoid the whole situation. Set me straight girls!

Denise, you raise great questions.  I've heard the same thing about not having to tip the stylist if he/she owns the shop.  But, I've gotten myself stuck in the habit when I've not realized someone is the owner and tipped them, then I feel bad suddenly NOT tipping after I find out they are, so I keep tipping them!

I've always had the same person wash, color, and cut my hair, so I've never had the issue of having to tip multiple people for a salon visit.  I guess you have to trust that the total tip gets split out fairly if you add it to the total bill. 

I think a similar dilemma happens with super fancy restaurants where one person seats you, another person pours your water and/or clears dishes between courses, another person takes your order and generally checks on you during the meal, etc.  I've only eaten at a place like that a couple times (in Vegas), and we just added on a huge tip to the bill and assumed it would be split among all the staff.

Geesh, it's all enough to give you a stress headache!

Curbside -- probably 15% (and I'm more generous than that at a table if the service is good) -- In most places that actually do "curbside" - -those folks are often servers that HAVE to do one night a week curbside (so no one gets stuck with a tipless job night after night).  They typically do more 'running' than you may think - they literally take the food off plates, put it in boxes attractively, make sure you have all condiments, flatware, etc., and have that all hustled together hopefully before you get there.  i.e., if the coffee is stale, or they have to go back in to get you extra salad dressing they're   pretty much running around like a normal server would, all for what usually amounts to considerably LESS tips than they'd get inside and yet they are paid server's wages (which is way below minimum wage.

A tip jar at a counter?  I pretty much never tip there unless it's change and they've' done something extra.

At a salon?  I tip *my* hairdresser -- and he's definitely not cheap.       But he's always gone to the extra effort for me -- he'll meet me outside of hours if the need arises, and is just plain incredibly helpful to me.  A "washer" is typically paid by all the stylists using them .... but I would typically tip *my* stylist (and I do actually tip 20% most of the time) -- but at the same time, I do NOT bring folks like this Christmas presents, etc.  *grin* besides -- he's Jewish! and that's a long-standing joke between us

Essentially David and I are both good tippers

***BUT***

I'm also going to mention that also - I don't hesitate to NOT leave a tip at all for really crap service, but oh no -- you don't get off THAT lightly with me.  If you have screwed up THAT bad then I'm going to talk to management about you (either then or with a phone call later).  If they've been stellarly BAD at service, I don't want them blaming ME for 'being hceap" -- oh no -- I want it WELL KNOWN by management that they screwed up, and *why* I didn't leave a tip.  The only way management is going to have a clue if someone is doing a bad job is to tell them -- otherwise you just have a server who is bitter and who badmouths a client and a ton of people have to get served badly before anyone has a clue they're screwing up.

The other thing I will dock a server for is attitude.  I don't want you to bring my meal, all the whilel "blaming the kitchen" if you didn't bother to make sure the coffee was fresh, or that the steak was poorly cooked.  If that steak looks        inedible to ME, then probably you could see when you picked it up that it looked like          yesterday's  leftovers and maybe you should have brought THAT to the kitchen manager's eye before you brought it out and put it in front of ME to complain about it.  Don't tell ME that this or that is someone else's fault -- I'm not there to listen to you whine!!

eww -- hot button??

I always tip a to-the-door delivery person 20% at least -- either they are paying for their own gas (or leg-power) to bring something to me (which I was unwilling to do or didn't have the time to do) -- then I figure I should pay them for that.

 Callie - I laughed at your Christmas present comment. Another angst for me!!!