6 ms·

On the other hand fast food restaurants are about as low-end as you can get. Yet they have no problem getting rid of tips there.

ythl 10y ago
Last time I checked, the McDonald's employees didn't refill my soda cup when it was empty or bring me more fries when I ran out.
- continuations 10y ago
  McDonald's employees prepare your food. What's so special about refilling your soda that it requires tipping while preparing your food can be done without tipping?
  - highstep 10y ago
    Yes! The fact that the kitchen staff often don't get tipped is outrageous.
    - miah_ 10y ago
      At some restaurants, a percentage of servers tips are split with back end staff like cooks, bar backs, dish washers.
ghaff 10y ago
Fast-food restaurants don't have servers. The (yes, weirdly specific) restaurant tipping expectations in the US (and, generally, where tipping is the custom) revolve specifically around tipping the person who brings you your food at your table.
- dragonwriter 10y ago
  Carl's Jr. is a fast food restaurant, has (or had, last time I was in one instead of driving through) table service of the same style as fast-casual restaurants where tipping is common, and yet I've never seen anyone tip at Carl's Jr. I think "one does not tip at a fast food restaurant" is a culturally-accepted rule that trumps "one tips one's server at a restaurant".
  - ghaff 10y ago
    There's also a class of restaurant where you order at a counter, typically are given a flag with a number or whatever, and someone brings the food to your table when it's ready. In general, there isn't tipping in those situations either.
    - dragonwriter 10y ago
      Not working at such a restaurant and given the prevalence of credit cards it's hard to be certain, and in any case it's anecdotal and not structured, but tipping seems that common (at least moreso than in fast food) in that type (fast casual) restaurant. I suspect that, as well as the bills being smaller, the average tip percentage is smaller than at full-service restaurants.
- abalashov 10y ago
  When picking up carry-out orders, I always leave a $3-4 tip when signing the card receipt for it. Is this considered a faux pas, then?
  - placeybordeaux 10y ago
    Not a faux pas, it is rarely expected though.
  - jghn 10y ago
    I've seen this debate hashed out on food sites for years. The argument against is "why?" and the argument for is "they're taking time out of their otherwise tipped workday". I realized that the division really seems to split on urban vs non-urban. In the former category people are primarily doing carryout from places built around carryout in that there aren't servers waiting tables and bagging up orders. In the latter category people tend to more frequently do carryout from actual restaurants and in those cases they really are interacting with an otherwise typical server.
  - douche 10y ago
    I would suspect that you are just overpaying the business, at that point. To be honest, unless I'm leaving cash, I have my doubts about whether the tip actually makes it to the server.
    - placeybordeaux 10y ago
      > To be honest, unless I'm leaving cash, I have my doubts about whether the tip actually makes it to the server. I would be shocked to hear of any restaurants that do that. A warning sign would be the owner running the register. And for one data point: the restaurant I worked at would convert all tips on credit cards to cash that the servers could take home that day at end of business.
    - rbritton 10y ago
      A previous employer of mine was a hotel. All banquets had a builtin gratuity, and they took 50% off the top before it was even split up among the servers and porters.
- continuations 10y ago
  That's kinda my point. There's nothing special about servers that they alone require tipping while other employees like cooks and cashiers do their jobs without tipping.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - DougWebb 10y ago
    Tips that servers get are generally shared with the staff that don't interact directly with customers, but are part of providing the service that's being tipped.
    - continuations 10y ago
      In the case of fast food restaurants there were never any tips to begin with. That proves that it is possible to get rid of tipping altogether at low-end restaurants.
      - dragonwriter 10y ago
        No, its proof that there is a distinct class of restaurants where tipping was never a convention; it doesn't say anything about the ease or difficulty of getting rid of it where it has been a convention. Culture is path-dependent.
        continuations 10y ago
        > No, its proof that there is a distinct class of restaurants where tipping was never a convention The existence of such a class of (low end) restaurants without tipping proves that it is possible to get rid of tipping altogether at low-end restaurants. Which is exactly what I said. > it doesn't say anything about the ease or difficulty of getting rid of it where it has been a convention. This is besides the point. I didn't say anything about the ease or difficulty of getting rid of tipping.
- cellularmitosis 10y ago
  I don't know if this is a nation-wide phenomenon, but I've observed in Austin over the past 10 years a growing trend towards having tip jars at establishments which don't have servers of any kind. I'm still not sure how I feel about it.

ythl 10y ago

Last time I checked, the McDonald's employees didn't refill my soda cup when it was empty or bring me more fries when I ran out.

continuations 10y ago
McDonald's employees prepare your food. What's so special about refilling your soda that it requires tipping while preparing your food can be done without tipping?
- highstep 10y ago
  Yes! The fact that the kitchen staff often don't get tipped is outrageous.
  - miah_ 10y ago
    At some restaurants, a percentage of servers tips are split with back end staff like cooks, bar backs, dish washers.

ghaff 10y ago

Fast-food restaurants don't have servers. The (yes, weirdly specific) restaurant tipping expectations in the US (and, generally, where tipping is the custom) revolve specifically around tipping the person who brings you your food at your table.

dragonwriter 10y ago
Carl's Jr. is a fast food restaurant, has (or had, last time I was in one instead of driving through) table service of the same style as fast-casual restaurants where tipping is common, and yet I've never seen anyone tip at Carl's Jr. I think "one does not tip at a fast food restaurant" is a culturally-accepted rule that trumps "one tips one's server at a restaurant".
- ghaff 10y ago
  There's also a class of restaurant where you order at a counter, typically are given a flag with a number or whatever, and someone brings the food to your table when it's ready. In general, there isn't tipping in those situations either.
  - dragonwriter 10y ago
    Not working at such a restaurant and given the prevalence of credit cards it's hard to be certain, and in any case it's anecdotal and not structured, but tipping seems that common (at least moreso than in fast food) in that type (fast casual) restaurant. I suspect that, as well as the bills being smaller, the average tip percentage is smaller than at full-service restaurants.
abalashov 10y ago
When picking up carry-out orders, I always leave a $3-4 tip when signing the card receipt for it. Is this considered a faux pas, then?
- placeybordeaux 10y ago
  Not a faux pas, it is rarely expected though.
- jghn 10y ago
  I've seen this debate hashed out on food sites for years. The argument against is "why?" and the argument for is "they're taking time out of their otherwise tipped workday". I realized that the division really seems to split on urban vs non-urban. In the former category people are primarily doing carryout from places built around carryout in that there aren't servers waiting tables and bagging up orders. In the latter category people tend to more frequently do carryout from actual restaurants and in those cases they really are interacting with an otherwise typical server.
- douche 10y ago
  I would suspect that you are just overpaying the business, at that point. To be honest, unless I'm leaving cash, I have my doubts about whether the tip actually makes it to the server.
  - placeybordeaux 10y ago
    > To be honest, unless I'm leaving cash, I have my doubts about whether the tip actually makes it to the server. I would be shocked to hear of any restaurants that do that. A warning sign would be the owner running the register. And for one data point: the restaurant I worked at would convert all tips on credit cards to cash that the servers could take home that day at end of business.
  - rbritton 10y ago
    A previous employer of mine was a hotel. All banquets had a builtin gratuity, and they took 50% off the top before it was even split up among the servers and porters.
continuations 10y ago
That's kinda my point. There's nothing special about servers that they alone require tipping while other employees like cooks and cashiers do their jobs without tipping.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- DougWebb 10y ago
  Tips that servers get are generally shared with the staff that don't interact directly with customers, but are part of providing the service that's being tipped.
  - continuations 10y ago
    In the case of fast food restaurants there were never any tips to begin with. That proves that it is possible to get rid of tipping altogether at low-end restaurants.
    - dragonwriter 10y ago
      No, its proof that there is a distinct class of restaurants where tipping was never a convention; it doesn't say anything about the ease or difficulty of getting rid of it where it has been a convention. Culture is path-dependent.
      - continuations 10y ago
        > No, its proof that there is a distinct class of restaurants where tipping was never a convention The existence of such a class of (low end) restaurants without tipping proves that it is possible to get rid of tipping altogether at low-end restaurants. Which is exactly what I said. > it doesn't say anything about the ease or difficulty of getting rid of it where it has been a convention. This is besides the point. I didn't say anything about the ease or difficulty of getting rid of tipping.
cellularmitosis 10y ago
I don't know if this is a nation-wide phenomenon, but I've observed in Austin over the past 10 years a growing trend towards having tip jars at establishments which don't have servers of any kind. I'm still not sure how I feel about it.