ottawa foodies

I get takeout a lot, and I'm confused as to the rules for tipping in this scenario. Sometimes I tip, sometimes I don't - especially when whomever I am picking the food up from is surly. What do you guys do?

I consider myself to be a good tipper. Excellent service gets 20 percent and good service gets 15 percent.

However, the key is that I am paying for service. I am happy to tip on delivery as there really is service involved but takeout, well, most often I do not tip.

Cheers

I'm with Medicinejar on this one: I tip when they bring the food to me, but don't if I'm I go to them for it.

Part of my reasoning is thus: by having it delivered, somebody is actually doing work to bring it to you. When you go to get it yourself, however, what you're really doing is freeing up chairs in the restaurant so that they can get more covers in a night.

This is probably not how the world really works, but it helps me feel OK about not tipping when I get takeout.

I usually tip 10% to 15% depending on level of service. On the rare occasion I have something delivered I figure the delivery person has to pay gas to bring dinner to me. I usually pick up dinner however since I live downtown and most of my favourite restaurants are within easy walking distance and I figure if I eat in the restaurant I would leave a tip so I do the same when I get take out. I do leave around 20% at one place because I go there alot, it's a family run business and I have always received EXCELLENT service from the staff.

I don't usually tip when I am picking up the food myself, the exception is one chinese restaurant in my neighbourhood that was for the longest time, the only "show in town". Consequently, over the years I've gotten to know them really well, and they always greet me and give me great service (fast, hot, efficient) and many a time they'll throw in something extra that I don't have to pay for, such as a pile of fortune cookies.

When I get delivery, I do tip the driver well. As the others have said I really look at this as a special service, face it, if I really wanted something badly I would go out on my own... the driver just means I conveniently don't have to. Besides, I've been told drivers don't make much, and have to cover their own expenses, so I tip well (20%). And if the weather is bad I will tip more.

When it comes to take-out I see tipping as an investment... I truly believe that you get better service over time if you are a good tipper. Drivers have to check the addresses and plan their routes when they leave the restaurant, so if they recognize yours, there is a very good chance they'll alter their route to hit your house first, which equals less waiting for me, and better quality food.

I've often wondered the same thing. I don't usually tip on take-out because I'm doing the work to get the food. :)

Don't tip on take out
Tip on delivery - for me about the same as in resto

I tip when i'm picking up -- not as much, but still a nominal amt ... i dunno, maybe 5 or 10%. I do so, in part, b/c i view the food prep as part of the service that i would normally tip on. And, i generally take away from restaurants i like, so the tip is sort of a pre-thank-you.

I also think of the tip as an environmental penalty i'm paying on the styro containers, etc. (One NY resolution was to start bringing in re-usable containers ... but i haven't worked up to that yet.)

Itchy Feet - Penance for styrofoam, I love it. I wish more places would switch to another form of container, but I suppose it is the cost. Interestingly enough it has been my experience that Chinese Take-Away is the most environmentally friendly... a lot of places use those metal containers for the mains, and plastic containers for hot soup, both are recycleable.

Not only are both recyclable, but after a couple of large Chinese food purchases you amass a staggeringly large collection of plastic containers.

I found a group that encourages restaurants to go green with their containers by using bio degradable.(made with corn and potatoes no less.I am not affiliated - actually I found it through a google ad this week.

www.naturopack.org/

Ottawa Foodies can do something positive for the environment. The restaurants will only make the change if they are aware their clients want it (and might even pay extra for it). The naturopath site also lists suppliers in Toronto. The next time you collect your dinner ask if the container is 'green'. If they say yes then congratulate them, if not point them to the site. If they start to hear the request a lot they will get the message!

Olivers Rock - Interesting info, I wasn't familiar with these "veggie" containers. LOL I'm not a terribly vocal person when it comes to "complaining", so I'm more likely to give positive feedback by saying "Thank you for not using styrofoam" when I find an environmentally conscious restaurant. It would be difficult for me to give "negative" feedback or advice. Of course I'd be more likely to swing my business towards a place that is environmentally aware over one that isn't (given that the food is on par). So I guess my positive feedback is voting with my dollars.

I don't tip when I pick up the food. But because Canadian are normally generous, the cashiers do not show happy face when I don't tip. This happened to me once. So, I felt like I need to leave couple dollars there before I left.