I'm betting you weren't supporting yourself at the time.

This whole thread reminds me just how much I hate tips. In any industry.

The guy who cuts my hair owns his own salon, works very hard, clears over 100k a year, but gets very agitated if his clients don't tip $15 on a $35 haircut. My position is if he expects $50, he should charge $50.

I never tip at Applebee's period.

...because I never eat there....ugh.

I started tipping even when I go inside a restaurant for takeout. Crazy I know, or is it?

The closest Applebee's in my town is at this mall out on the outskirts of town. But whether it's an Applebees or a Chili's (where I frequent since it's next to where I work) I will tip for take out. The Chili's has a tip jar and I'll give some cash for "Chili's To Go" orders. Plus the customer service at this Chili's is exeptionally very good.

I also tipped a few times for the Outback to go in Secaucus.

I thought you didn't tip the salon owner. Is this incorrect?

I thought a tip was given according to service, not something they automatically receive.

I work as a "carside specialist" for applebees. Not a lot of people really know if you are suppose to tip or not, because so little people have carside to go. Carside to go employees make below minimum wage. We are like servers but instead of having 5 tables in our section we can have up to 65 orders at a time. The most I have had at a time is 20. We have to take orders,garnish food, make sure your sauces and sides are together, box up your orders, label all orders according to the store rules, and take your food out to your car rain or shine. Cold or hot. Most of us need tips to make the money the store should be paying us because we dont make minimum wage. Even though it's a lot. It's a nice job if you like to move your whole shift. I enjoy not just standing still so it was the ideal job for me! So to answer everyone's questions. The company expects you to tip their employees so they dont have to pay them minimum wage.

Also I live in Pennsylvania. I've seen some other people who's states dont allow tips as income. Our servers, car sides, hostess, and bartenders all make less then minimum wage. Only kitchen members make more. The hostess and bartenders split the tips they get from servers, because in our store 2% of the servers sales go to tip money for those people. Carside must make their own. Our minimum wage is 7.25. Servers make 2.65 an hour and the rest of us make 5.65 to 6.65 an hour.

I didn't even know that carside was an option at Applebee's. Then again, I don't exactly eat there all that often.

Anyway, for the purposes of tipping I consider it the same as picking up takeout at a nominally sit-down restaurant, since that's basically what it is.

To me how much to tip for takeout orders at table service restaurants is irrelevant. I never do it. When I go to a place that has table service I'll just dine in and tip accordingly. If I want something quick to go I'll just go to a fast food or fast casual place.

Wow. The local Applebee's can't get food orders right or cooked properly for table orders, I shudder to think what they might do to takeout orders.