Gratuities and tips have long been controversial with regards to travel and dining — to the point of contentiousness from all sides of the issue, as evidenced by the following articles which I wrote for The Gate over the years…
- Should Breakfast Attendants at Hotels Receive Tips and Gratuities From Guests?
- Should Flight Attendants Receive Tips and Gratuities From Passengers?
- Should Customers Pay Servers By the Hour as a New Concept Pertaining to Tipping and Gratuities?
- Should Gratuities and Tips in Restaurants Be Discontinued?
- Tips and Gratuities: Your Thoughts, Please
- How Much Should You Tip Around The World?
- No Tipping Policy Pared Down at One Restaurant Chain
- Comparing Tipping to Paying Taxes? Get Real…
- When Is a Tip Not a Tip? When It is Mandatory
- Hey, Marriott: I Will Tip When I Darn Well Feel Like It
- Should the Practice of Tipping Be Abolished?
- Tipping the Hotel Maid: Yes or No?
- Tip: Charge the Charge to Tip the Tip Separately From Charging the Tip as a Charge
- Bad Service at a Restaurant: Should You Leave a Tip?
Do You Leave a Tip or Gratuity for Taking Out Food From a Restaurant?
When considering flights, getting to your hotel or resort property from the airport, and perhaps preparing for that business meeting the next day, the process of travel can potentially consume an inordinate amount of time — and sometimes renders the option of going to a restaurant to sit down and relax while enjoying a dining experience virtually impossible.
Options can include partaking in a hamburger from a fast food restaurant or ordering room service from the hotel room — or perhaps picking up the food at a restaurant and taking it back to the room.
I have opted to pick up food from a restaurant lately more so than dine there because this option is indeed quicker: simply order the food via telephone or computer and do what needs to be done prior to leaving in time to pick up the food while it is hot and freshly cooked…
…but when I pick up the food, one of two options to spend extra money awaits me: the tip jar at the counter where the bill is paid; or a line on the receipt which suggests leaving a gratuity when paying by credit card.
Summary
One can argue that because a customer is not served at a table by an actual person — including having the plates, cutlery and cloth napkins washed and prepared, taking the order manually, pouring drinking water when needed, bringing bread and the courses of the meal in more than one trip, clearing the used dirty plates once the meal is finished, and ensuring that the diner is having a good experience — one is not required to leave a tip or gratuity for simply picking up the food in containers, plastic utensils and paper napkins, and taking it out for consumption elsewhere…
…but then again, someone had to ensure that the order was prepared properly and collected together in a conveyance which is easy to carry — such as a bag with handles — and collect what is owed on the bill if it was not already paid in advance when the food was ordered. Perhaps the person handling your order took special care or did something beyond what was expected to ensure that your dining experience elsewhere would be better.
Should you leave a tip or gratuity — whether or not it is a reduced amount — when you take out food from a restaurant; and what are your reasons regardless of the answer to that question?
Photograph ©2019 by Brian Cohen.
