Do you tip in restaurant and food delivery people at the same rate?

I've literally never had food delivered to me.

But I tip based on the quality of the service;
Excellent service - 30%
Good service - 20%
Adequate service - 10%
Bad service - an explanation of my failure to leave a tip. (I've left no tip about 5-6 times in my life.

I tip actual restaurant workers 18-20% depending on the service...maybe less if it is really atrocious or they are rude, but it has to be really bad cause everyone has a bad or off day.

For deliveries I usually tip 10% or $4 whichever is greater because they didn't wait on me, take my order, refill my glass, take away the dirties etc. they just delivered the food.

I tip based on level of service. I've left a $10 tip on a $10 meal because the server was absolutely outstanding. I've also left a penny in the bottom of a water glass on a $40 meal. If I have to order and receive my food while standing at a counter, you probably are not getting a tip at all.

Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Been a While since I Ate in a Restaurant but I Live across the Street from Lots, Usually walk acroos the Street to get Food to Go. Love that I can get a Margaritta to Go from Salty Iguana.

I Do Just The Opposite.
Since The Delivery Person Must Take Your Meals
To Their Vehicle, Place The Order In A Safe Place.
Drives To Your Location , Reverse The Procedure,
Then Drives Back To His Original Locating..
He Receives The Bigger Bucks.
Inside The Restaurant, The Server Comes From The Kitchen,
Places You Order On The Table, ~ He's Done~

Having been a resident of Florida for past 9 years, our experience has been tipping in a restaurant is at a higher percentage because servers are actually performing duties of serving drinks and food. Recently determined waiters/waitresses are now receiving higher hourly wages which should affect tip amounts. Delivery tips are still recommended because of time and gas, but usually not as high as in restaurant tipping.

Depends on the circumstances. My best tip ever was for an unplanned Christmas meal. I forget why we weren't able to conjure something up ourselves, but it resulted in me placing an order with a local place. I felt really really bad for the driver so I tipped accordingly. What do I mean by that? I tipped him the final retail price of what was delivered. I don't recall how much it was, but it was quite the tip. I signed the receipt and handed it back to him. He started walking away and then read the receipt. He stopped, turned around, and asked, "Wait a minute; are you sure?!" My reply, "Merry Christmas!"

Anywho, so while wait staff at an eatery of some sort are localized to the facility's confines a delivery driver has to take the food from the eatery to the delivery place and back again, and many places can't afford to cover much for the driver. Vehicle fuel is usually on the driver. Ditto for auto insurance and vehicle maintenance. It all adds up.

On the other hand: while I don't mind tipping delivery drivers and wait staff I do believe that tipping has gotten way out of control with many other workers (including those in visibly volunteer positions) more or less demanding tips, and then acting like you're the Scrooge from a Christmas Carol if you don't pay them to breathe for the rest of the day.

I tip 15% at restaurants if the service is good. Tipping was established to make up for poor salaries, but in Washington state, minimum wage is over $15 an hour. So tipping is not there for the original purpose. Frustrating to me that we are expected to continue to tip people who have a decent hourly wage. I don't tip unless I'm sitting at a table being served.

As a former delivery guy, I look at things a bit different.

When I tip delivery, I tip based on effort required. A $75 pizza takes the same effort to deliver as a $15 pizza. You get $5 and change. Now, if it is raining, or on the edge of your delivery area (or maybe even a little outside it) that goes up. If it is snowing, that goes up some more. If there is a tornado warning, I call the store and tell them to hold my order until the warning is over, I don't care if it is cold. Then the tip goes up a LOT when it finally gets to me.

If I order 7 pizzas, the tip goes up, even if they were free with points.

And so on.


When I was delivering, a run was a run was a run. I never compared total to tip, and, honestly, never really worried too much about how high the tip was. I never *expected* a tip on any normal orders, but if you had a BIG order, regardless of cost, and you didn't tip, it was upsetting. Likewise if we were bending the rules to deliver to you outside of our area. Or if you asked for special effort and I put that effort in - I had requests for songs at delivery, draw pictures on the box, "knock like the Po Po", even stop and pick up some smokes. If I put in that effort for you, I don't expect a *lot* but SOMETHING to show you appreciate the effort was expected.


When I am dining, it is a bit different. I still believe that the wait staff should not be penalized for my light order. If I just have a coffee and I occupy your booth for an hour sipping my coffee because I am waiting for someone who never shows up, you don't get tipped 20% of $2. You are still getting $5. Especially if you kept me topped off.

$5 is pretty much the floor for actual fine in service. Baristas and others may get less. From there it goes up, and, yes, is *generally* percentage based.

Standard service is 20% and change (I always round to even dollars, usually even $5). Slightly substandard service with a reasonable excuse (they were packed, she also had a table of 16, 15 of which were named Karen, etc.) is the same.

Good service gets AROUND 25%, and exceptional service can go as high as 50%, depending on how rich I am that day and how good the service was.

Even poor service that *tried* will get around 15%.

Anything less than 15% is a discussion with the manager. But so is anything over 25%. And I have a lot more of the positive discussions than the negative ones.


But I think a lot of that comes from my time delivering which gives me a lot more empathy for the plight of the server / delivery guy - both financial plight and workspace plight. I can *see* when that server is having a rough night of it through no (or very little) fault of their own or when they are just hanging out at the bar, flirting with the bartender, rather than asking my wife if she wants another.

My wife and I go out several times a week and we have our favorite places. At these eateries the waitresses or waiters know my name and my preference for drinks. I don't even have to tell them what I want, so usually I tip anywhere from 20 to 30 percent. I have given as much as 40% when the service is really exceptional. I don't have food brought to my home so I don't know the amount I should consider. When I was teaching at a local college I would order pizza for the students on the last day, and I would always give somewhere between 20% and 25%. As far as poor service I agree with Major John Bell and would let someone know why I was either leaving a very small tip or none at all. I do know food service people work really hard and sometimes it's not there fault when the service is poor. For example, the restaurant may be short staffed and the wait staff are just swamped. In those cases, I always try to talk with the manager to let them know I am displeased.