Carside To Go - Tip?

[Corinne]

I work at a bank - sometimes we order take-out from nearby restaurants. A few days ago we ordered from Applebee's. They have carside to go service. You call in the order & they bring it out to your car when you get there. This was my first time using this service. I asked others who had done the pick-up before, about tipping. I was told no - no tip involved. When I went there the other day with my husband, he was a bit dismayed that I didn't have the extra money for a tip. He felt that it should have been offered & the girl who brought our food out seemed to be waiting for something. I've been feeling so guilty since then that I feel like I should go back, find that girl, & give her a tip!

What's the protocol? Will someone spit in our food the next time because we didn't tip this time?

 

[Andy M.]

I'd tip. They're saving you the trouble of getting out of the car and going into the restaurant to pick up your order.

 

[Constance]

Please give them a tip. Those kids don't make squat. The restaurants are allowed to pay servers below minimum wage, as their tips constitute part of their earnings. It's a loop-hole in the law that I think is quite unfair.

 

[sydfan]

Tipping is very irritating to me sometimes. I understand that they don't make a bunch of money, but heck, neither do I!!!! I suppose I could see a buck for bringing it out to the car......I guess. I wouldn't give any more than that though. It's not like they took your order, or refilled your drinks. They ran it our to your car. I'd say a buck is plenty, and believe it or not, I'm a very good tipper.

 

[BreezyCooking]

I'm on the fence with this one. And I was waitressing back in the 70's where we were paid $2.50/hour "because our tips made up the rest". And you know what? Those of us who gave good service ended making, on the average, about $10/hour, which was pretty darn good back then. But we were providing cheerful yet serious attention to our tables/customers & deserved that money. We weren't just walking out the door & handing someone a bag.

However, to be frank, I don't think that carrying a bag out to a car constitutes a service that deserves a tip. A chimp could probably carry a bag out to a car without dropping it. It's just one tiny step up from going thru a fast-food drive-thru. How many of you leave tips at McDonalds?

I doubt the person delivering the bag to the car has checked the order to make sure it's correct or had anything else to do with the order - they're just moving it from Point A to Point B. In my mind a tip is meant to be a reward for good service, not an automatic given because the food industry doesn't pay its employees enough. If I'm dining at a restaurant & the service is abysmal, I don't leave a tip - nor do I usually return to that restaurant.

I don't think you should feel badly at all, & if that person made you uncomfortable because she was obviously "waiting around for something" for walking 10 feet out of the restaurant & handing you a bag - shame on her, not you.

Oh - & before you all think I'm some kind of cheapskate, for decent, not even exceptional, service I always leave a tip of between 20-25% - regardless of the restaurant.

 

[marmalady]

Hmmm - I've never the 'car service' thing with Applebee's or any of the other places where that's catching on - however, we do have 'Sonic' here, where they have the curbside 'roller-skaters' who bring your order out - like a 50's style burger place. I do give the kids a tip, although it may be just 50 cents of a buck, depending on how much I've ordered. They do check your order - I was inside one day (before I realized you shouldn't go inside at Sonic, lol) and saw all of the kids looking in the bag and at the drink orders before they carried them outside. They do work hard - and especially here in SC, in the heat as well!

And I don't leave a 'routine' tip at restaurants; drives hubby crazy, but their tip is based on their service - period. I don't knock the tip if the food is bad - that's not their fault - but if the service is bad, they get less from me.

 

[expatgirl]

There is an interesting website devoted to this very topic of tipping at www.bitterwaitress.com. You'd be surprised which celebrities are considered cheapskates.

 

[BreezyCooking]

I think websites like that are ridiculous & are just looking to glean points because supposed "celebrities" were served. WHO CARES!!! They're still just people, & if they don't think the service they received was decent, they have just as much right to tip accordingly. Folks who start these types of websites are just looking for notoriety - nothing else.

 

[Banana Brain]

I usually tip, but I always tip and usually overtip waiters. They're scary to me for some reason.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Banana Brain - tipping because you're "scared" is definitely NOT a reason to tip.

And I find this subtle underlying thread that people are afraid NOT to tip because they think they're going to get substandard (or contaminated) food next time around is really really sad.

I hope that anyone reading here who is a part of the food service industry reads this - because it's unbelievably SAD & FRIGHTENING at the same time.

Food service folks - you're not curing cancer, you're providing wonderful/decent food for people who appreciate it. Whether it's McDonalds or the local pricey bistro, you folks need to get a grip.

 

[amber]

I think I would tip a couple dollars. Breezycooking, it's not uncommon for people to spit or do worse things to your food. I saw a show on tv about it, with a hidden camera.

 

[jpmcgrew]

I tip at sonic and would tip at applebees not 15 % but a couple of bucks, at a hotel room service gets tips so why not a curbside deal.

 

[Little Miss J]

As I live in Australia, we generally dont tip, although obviously if you get good service you do (not something I did until I went to uni and lived in the city and saw some of the crap that the hospitality workers had to put up with!).

Doesn't it get confusing? When to tip, when not to tip, how much to tip? Arghh

 

[BreezyCooking]

Ah, but Amber, tipping because you're afraid someone is going to doctor your food the next time you visit the restaurant isn't a "gratuity", it then becomes "extortion".

And like I said, I'm NOT against tipping, & I tip generously when it's deserved. I just don't think carrying a bag to the car is deserving of a tip. Just like I don't tip the person at McDonalds who hands me the bag thru the window. Do you?

 

[corazon]

"breezy" You're not allowed to tip at McDonalds anyway. I'm sure places like Applebee's will check your order. They are a chain and have rules (like checking orders before taking them out) to keep a good reputation.

Amber-I've worked at many different restaurants and as long as it's a clean place where you see people working hard, they probably won't spit in your food. Along with coworkers, I've had some pretty awful customers in my day and none of us would ever think of doing something like that. Especially in a place like Applebee's, a chain of some sort, they are surprizingly strict.

As far as the tipping goes, I would do it. At every restaurant I've worked at, almost everyone gets a cut at the end of the night. I'd tip out a certain percentage to the kitchen (they get the orders right, especially for the picky customers and they get the food out fast), bussers, runners, hosts & bartender. I know at this car service it's just some dude walking out to the car but the kitchen took part in your order as well and will be getting a cut of your tip. Take into account if you had to sit and wait in your car because your order wasn't ready yet or if you got it right away. Also, if you requested specific items, did they bring them with your order or did you have to ask for them again? If the service is fast and correct, I'd say that deserves a tip.

 

[GB]

Tipping is a very personal thing. I would think that if you are the type of person who tips when you get any sort of takeout (pizza, Chinese, or just calling in an order to a restaurant and picking it up) then you would probably want to tip for car side service.

I tip well (a minimum of 20% unless something drastic happens), but I do not tip for takeout. I have never done the carside thing, but I doubt I would tip for it. I hope that does not make me a cheapskate.

 

[corazon]

Do you guys tip for delivery?

 

[GB]

Do you guys tip for delivery?

Yes, I do.

 

[mish]

I asked others who had done the pick-up before, about tipping. I was told no - no tip involved.

What's the protocol?

I would check with the restaurant, and ask if a tip is required/permitted. I don't tip out of fear, guilt, or feeling sorry for what I think someone's wages may or may not be, or what kind of work one does. Belittling remarks like how much effort/work is involved in bringing something from point A to point B, or food service people are not curing cancer, is not the point... And we're not talking about handing a bag through a window or how much to tip/what a good tipper one is. Check with the restaurant policy for car-service pick up.

PS, We had a lengthy topic here, not long ago about tipping.

 

[GB]

I would check with the restaurant, and ask if a tip is required/permitted.

I am not really sure if that would be the best way to get an honest answer. If you were to call the restaurant chances are the person on the phone is someone who might be bring your food out to your car. Of course they are going to say you should tip.