Do you tip for carry outs?

[dman4486 5,000+ posts]

Not enough information. What is the race of the person ringing my up order in your hypothetical?

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[cotjones 10+ year member]

I only tip for a carryout if it's a local restaurant where I know the people and I like the waitress who's working. How well I know/like a person plays a big factor in my tipping. Even when I go out to the bars, I generally tip double if I'm being served by a friend.

And Cotjones, seriously? The complexity of a to-go order does not mean you should tip for carry out. Plating a to-go order is no harder than an in-house order, and it's the cooks that do it, not the waitperson. All they have to do is look at the ticket, check the food, and hand it to me. Not that difficult, and not worthy of a tip IMO. When I tip at a restaurant, I do so based on how friendly the waitress is, how often she checks in, refills drinks, etc, and how she handles any questions (in other words, has she made an effort to learn the menu or does she just coast through the job).

Just speaking from experience. gathering and organizing 10 to-go orders at a time can be stressful. I would have to Take calls and decipher orders from people who had no idea what they want, handle complaints, find the orders of the line, give them chips and salsa, forks etc. If they ordered things like guacamole, i literally had to crush the avocados and mix the ingredients from scratch myself. For fajitas, i had to go cook the tortillas myself, gather all the sides and find the entrée on the line while 8-12 other waiters are trying to get the food and you can have your fajitas taken to another table by mistake, Meanwhile, you have to try to stay in the to go room to take calls and orders. This for usually 5 hours with no break, you literally sometimes don't stop moving the entire shift. and you do all this for $7/ per hour? And If I'm going to make minimum wage for it, I'd rather fold clothes.

How many of you have actually worked in a busy restaurant taking to go orders?

 

[Hintzyboy 5,000+ posts]

Just speaking from experience. gathering and organizing 10 to-go orders at a time can be stressful. I would have to Take calls and decipher orders from people who had no idea what they want, handle complaints, find the orders of the line, give them chips and salsa, forks etc. If they ordered things like guacamole, i literally had to crush the avocados and mix the ingredients from scratch myself. For fajitas, i had to go cook the tortillas myself, gather all the sides and find the entrée on the line while 8-12 other waiters are trying to get the food and you can have your fajitas taken to another table by mistake, Meanwhile, you have to try to stay in the to go room to take calls and orders. This for usually 5 hours with no break, you literally sometimes don't stop moving the entire shift. and you do all this for $7/ per hour? And If I'm going to make minimum wage for it, I'd rather fold clothes.
How many of you have actually worked in a busy restaurant takeing to go orders?

I worked as a cook for over four years and I did every last bit of work on to-go orders. It provided no extra hassle on either end, and was less of a burden on the waitress. The only reason a waitress should have to do extra work for to-go orders is if the kitchen is not well-organized. When I was a cook, I made all the food, packaged it up, took care of silverware, bagged it up, and put it in the window. All the waitress had to do was fill to-go cups if the customer ordered drinks, and hand the food to the customer. If the customer wanted any extra sauces or dressing or anything, we either had them pre-portioned for the waitress to just toss in the bag, we had packets (ketchup, dressing, steak sauce, etc), or I took care of it.

I understand that this might not be the case in some restaurants, but I made it a point to make the waitress' job as easy as possible.

 

[crunktimes.com 5,000+ posts]

Just speaking from experience. gathering and organizing 10 to-go orders at a time can be stressful. I would have to Take calls and decipher orders from people who had no idea what they want, handle complaints, find the orders of the line, give them chips and salsa, forks etc. If they ordered things like guacamole, i literally had to crush the avocados and mix the ingredients from scratch myself. For fajitas, i had to go cook the tortillas myself, gather all the sides and find the entrée on the line while 8-12 other waiters are trying to get the food and you can have your fajitas taken to another table by mistake, Meanwhile, you have to try to stay in the to go room to take calls and orders. This for usually 5 hours with no break, you literally sometimes don't stop moving the entire shift. and you do all this for $7/ per hour? And If I'm going to make minimum wage for it, I'd rather fold clothes.
How many of you have actually worked in a busy restaurant taking to go orders?

The thing is that is your only job taking care of those people, its not like you are bar tending, dealing with seated customers AND doing to-go orders.

Also how come you make $7/hr and those handling the seated customers only make 2.xx/hr?

 

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

Sounds like cot jones is at a mis-managed resturant.

 

[Hintzyboy 5,000+ posts]

The thing is that is your only job taking care of those people, its not like you are bar tending, dealing with seated customers AND doing to-go orders.
Also how come you make $7/hr and those handling the seated customers only make 2.xx/hr?

Because, and get this, to-go waiters aren't supposed to get tips. The reason waitresses get paid so little is because a decent one at a half-way busy restaurant can pull $75 at lunch and $150 at dinner.

 

[Hintzyboy 5,000+ posts]

Sounds like cot jones is at a mis-managed resturant.

My conclusion exactly. In my experience, waitstaff may have been the easiest job in the restaurant when it was busy. They didn't have to do much of anything with the food, the dishwasher/busperson cleaned all their tables, and they made the most money. Dealing with customers really isn't that hard. Even the dicks are easy enough to handle if you know what you're doing.

Not saying any job in a restaurant is easy, but being a waitperson shouldn't be that complicated. They deserve tips because they provide service and help keep the front of the house organized. Take that factor out by being a carry-out waitress, and the reason for a tip disappears.

 

[cotjones 10+ year member]

I worked as a cook for over four years and I did every last bit of work on to-go orders. It provided no extra hassle on either end, and was less of a burden on the waitress. The only reason a waitress should have to do extra work for to-go orders is if the kitchen is not well-organized. When I was a cook, I made all the food, packaged it up, took care of silverware, bagged it up, and put it in the window. All the waitress had to do was fill to-go cups if the customer ordered drinks, and hand the food to the customer. If the customer wanted any extra sauces or dressing or anything, we either had them pre-portioned for the waitress to just toss in the bag, we had packets (ketchup, dressing, steak sauce, etc), or I took care of it.
I understand that this might not be the case in some restaurants, but I made it a point to make the waitress' job as easy as possible.

The thing is that is your only job taking care of those people, its not like you are bar tending, dealing with seated customers AND doing to-go orders.
Also how come you make $7/hr and those handling the seated customers only make 2.xx/hr?

Sounds like cot jones is at a mis-managed resturant.

Different restaurants have different styles. But imagine this. in the above situation, When a waiter takes the to go order, if you don't tip them they are wasting time and money on you, not serving their tables who give them a 15-20% tip. I'm not saying you should give them allot! just a dollar or two is VERY appreciated. After all without ANY tip's there are many easier entry-level jobs they could do more as much or more money. I worked at on the border where the "extra" uncommon server work was high. (chips and salsa, EVERYONE orders margaritas, MANY popular presentation items) there was a lot to do. I think most people are used to fast-food where tipping is not conventional.

Right now different restaurants do to-go differently, but its a relatively new concept for most restaurants as a regular service. I think as it becomes more popular and familiarized, you will see more of a convention for the method of service and in-turn a convention for tipping.

The problem is that in some restaurants the To-Go person is just a host. So why would a host do extra work for the same money by working in To-Go, a dollar a person would not put ANYONE out too much, and if you are that cheap, you don't need to be eating out in the first place, take your as$ to the grocery store and cook your own **** food.

Waiters make a HELLS of a lot more money than 7$ an hour... As a waiter i made 4.15/hr... If I make (1) $5 tip an hour I'm making $9.15 an hour. I generally would adverage around 25/per hour figured out

 

[Hintzyboy 5,000+ posts]

Different restaurants have different styles. But imagine this. in the above situation, When a waiter takes the to go order, if you don't tip them they are wasting time and money on you, not serving their tables who give them a 15-20% tip.

They are not generally wasting time. Most of the time, in my experience, waitresses would take care of to-go orders in between making rounds of their tables.

I worked at on the border where the "extra" uncommon server work was high. (chips and salsa, EVERYONE orders margaritas, MANY popular presentation items) there was a lot to do.

Again, I feel that this situation is the product of a mismanaged restaurant. Salsa, guac, etc. should be made in the kitchen, not by waitstaff. Margaritas should be made by bartenders, not waitstaff. I'm not sure what you mean by "presentation items," but I'm sure I'd have an answer for that as well.

The problem is that in some restaurants the To-Go person is just a host. So why would a host do extra work for the same money by working in To-Go

I fail to see how carrying food to a person is any harder than carrying menus while walking people to their table. It isn't extra work if the restaurant is organized and managed properly

 

[BoomBoomBoy 10+ year member]

Rarely to never.

 

[iamamp3pimp 5,000+ posts]

I dont

and i dont follow 18%

you either get a 20, a 5, or a buck, and that depends on how you are as a waitress

 

[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

I dont. I live across from a bar that has th best burgers in town. Hand packed meat, fresh veggies only from local farms etc. If I get carry out, which i do alot, I dont tip. I am also there sitting at the bar alot drinking too lol. But no I dont. I only tip the waitresses that bring me food to my table.

 

[DBfan187 5,000+ posts]

hand packed meat sounds kinky

 

[sic402 10+ year member]

a lot of places share tips with the cooks, and since i once cooked and loved getting the tips i always tip on take outs

 

[Scoobydoo 5,000+ posts]

i will leave the spare change behind only because i dont want it rattling around in my pocket