I wholeheartedly agree with this policy.

It's confusing. Some restaurants I feel expect tips for takeout orders and some don't. You have to try to divine which type it is. If I am unsure then I leave a tip.

Chilis restaurant has a ToGo counter for picking up food orders for takeout (to go) and on the ToGo counter they have a tip jar so clearly they are hoping for tips for takeout orders. I usually tip for takeout about 10%. I would say probably 5% would be OK but I feel maybe a little more will send good Karma back to me on my next visit.

If a restaurant is a "to go" only place then their business model probably doesn't expect most people to tip.

To me, it doesn't matter what the restaurant's expectation is. To me, what matters is whether the service (or the lack thereof, which doesn't necessarily mean that it is bad service -- it could just mean that if I am getting a to-go order, I won't tip for that, just like I won't tip for silverware or restroom access) is such that a tip is warranted.

I just picked up take-out for a group, and left a ~18% tip when signing the bill. After I sat down to wait for the food to be brought out, the hostess showed the other hostess my bill and pointed to the tip in a surprised way (she tried to be discrete, wasn't).

Is tipping for take-out that unusual? What's the norm?

I might leave something smaller but definitely won't tip 18% for take-out. I see it added to large groups for dining in.

Most of the stories say something like this

The vast majority of people do not tip for take out. Then they will go on to say

Tipping for takeout is easy. Leave a couple of bucks, no matter how cheap or expensive the tab. If you're a regular, it never hurts to give a little more.

It is probably very unusual, and probably anything more than the spare change they hand over shocked them.

Some earlier threads about it

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/dinin...-take-out.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/dinin...-take-out.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/dinin...eout-okay.html

I don't tip for takeout. I see the tip as something for the waiter to serve the food and then the bus boy to clean the table. They don't have to do either when I do takeout.

Tipping for takeout is not necessary for regular routine stuff. In food service I only tip if the employee brings the food out to me, either at the table I am sitting at for table service, or to my house for delivery. Tipping is to reward good personalized service, and calling out either a name or number at the counter to me doesn't qualify to be a tipped event.


Now there are special situations where I feel one should tip for counter service or takeout. If you order a fairly large order at a place regularly, such as lunch for the office every Friday, then telling the employees to keep the change of a few bucks is a nice gesture. Or if you order a massive complicated order for a school group of like 50 people each order requireing the special care or something (Little jaynee wants extra pickles on her burger, little brandon loves extra ketchup, but hates onions) then it is definitely appropriate to give a nice tip of 10-15% in that case. If you are going to jam up the flow of a joint, then it is appropriate to pitch in a little extra, otherwise for routine stuff no tip.

Tipping has gotten out of control in this country (USA) and this is coming from a former server. With respect to food, I am a very gracious tipper for sit down meal service but always pass in other circumstances.

no tip for takeout unless something was done out of the ordinary to warrant one (which is almost never)

^

An 18% tip was a bit odd, but very nice, especially if it was a large order. Be happy that you did something that was really appreciated and made others happy today! If more people did things like that, the world would be a better place.

I usually tip about 18% for take-out at the two or three places where we order take-out. They are a bit on the high-end side, go out of their way for us on a regular basis, and have extraordinary service. I appreciate them and their staff, and let them know (not only by tipping).

I tipped $3 on a $15 tab today because the bartender who gave me my takeout...but I only did due to her physical attributes.
Side question: do you tip "pleasant girls" more?
I do.

Recently, I cut what I was going to leave as a tip when the bartender charged me $3 for a Diet Coke while I was waiting for my take-out.