Search And Ye Shall Receive: "Tipping Food Ordered Over the Counter"
Author: Nick
Category: Money
Topics: food
(Based on an actual Google query: tipping food ordered over the counter)
A quick trip through the Punny Money search engine referral logs reveals that one reader was curious as to whether it is appropriate to tip for food served over the counter as opposed to at your table.
The original tipping topic covers the answer to this nicely, but it’s worth repeating: do not tip for food served over the counter. Cashiers and behind-the-counter food servers are paid a wage for a reason–they are not waiters.
Tipping should be used as a reward for service beyond what is expected. For example, it is expected that when you pop into Starbucks and order a double-tall, half-caf latte that you will receive a double-tall, half-caf latte. There shouldn’t be much room for deviation from that order; either you receive your latte, or you don’t. And if you don’t get your latte, you don’t pay for it! I don’t see any room for tip-deserving behavior in there.
Here’s another common situation. You order food that is served over-the-counter with a credit card, and you’re presented with a receipt that includes the food bill and an extra blank line for you to write in a tip. Were this a sit-down restaurant, you’d fill in that line and add up the numbers. But all you did was order a bucket of drumsticks from Chickenland USA, so you should write “N/A” on the tip line and duplicate the food bill amount on the total line.
So if you see a makeshift tip jar sitting in front of a cash register, don’t even think about dropping in a dime of your pocket change.
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2 Responses »
1.
Ralph
September 18th, 2006 at 9:15 pm
Just check that the makeshift “tip” jar at the end of the counter isn’t actually raising money for charity! Lots of over the counter food outlets seem to have these sitting near the checkout to collect loose change. If you get adequate service at such places, think about dropping some change into the jar.
I don’t think adequate service at such places requires tipping - but I wish there was somehow to give a negative tip for the really crappy service you sometimes get at such places!
http://www.enoughwealth.blogspot.com
2.
Mike
September 19th, 2006 at 2:44 pm
I mostly agree with this post but I think you should leave room for at least one type of exception.
I used to work as a host at a fancy, sit-down restaurant. While we were not set up to do take-out orders like Outback and Chili’s, occasionally a regular would decide that they wanted to do one. Fine. But since we did not plan our waitstaff for this, it fell to me, the host, to handle the order. I’ve heard that a lot of family-owned, fine dining restaurants work like this.
Yes, I was paid an hourly wage more than the servers, but the duties of taking the order, entering it into the computer, collecting it from the kitchen, assembling it, and cashing it out added to my normal duties and made the night much more hectic for me. In situations like this, I greatly appreciated the tip that I was always given.
I still generally agree with not tipping cashiers and barristas. If there is a cash register in front of you, your job is to ring people up and you dont’ get a tip. However, if someone has to do a substantial amount of work beyond their usual duties (hint: we didn’t have a cash register at our reception desk), I think one should tip them. I still feel this way even though now I’m the tipper, not the tipee.
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