Many full service restaurants including the clubs at TV have the bartenders take to go orders. Others have dedicated take out stations, while some pull servers from table duty.

Normally I tip 10 to 15% except if the bar or restaurant is very busy and the servers are doing "extra duty". Then I tip more. Take out service requires less of a servers time than an in house meal and the gratuity can reflect that.

I went to a Cracker Barrel quite a bit before moving to TV and the servers took to go orders. The cashier pulled me aside one day after I tipped the server and told me how appreciative they were that I tipped them as almost no one did. This was in a tourist/vacation area elsewhere in Florida so we can't just fault TV.

I personally think the way server compensation is done is wrong in that big ticket restaurants generate much more money than "family" lower ticket restaurants where the servers work harder for less. I wish standard service was included in the meal and tipping was for really extra effort. Google Noodles restaurants for an example of a true no tip business.

Everyone has a well founded opinion of what is the right or wrong time to do regarding gratuities of any sort. What they do doesn't mean they are extra generous or cheap or mean spirited. It is simply the way the are. Low tippers may give much more to charities and vice versa. Some of the posts are starting to get a bit over the top.

:wave:

why would i tip a mail person all they do is bring my mail - that there job -

TIP????? Lets tip our hats to all the military personnel who serve or served our country to have the Liberties we enjoy today!!!!! And "Hats Off" to there families also! That tip is 100%!!! (and theres no tip jar):clap2::BigApplause:

:agree::BigApplause:

Talk about tipping issues..just look at cruise ships and the problems they are going through. The crew on a cruise ship really do depend upon tips as part of their monthly wage BUT when you are dealing with a multi-national passenger list from different countries herein lies the problem.

People who live in Europe and England simply donot tip...they simply round up on their wait bills. This is not wrong ..this is their culture within their country, while americans on the other hand assume you must tip everyone.

There is no simple answer to tipping and if anyone asks me I always tell them tip what you feel comfortable tipping. If im with someone from a different country I try to explain customs in the US but always leave the final decision to the individual person......

I will provide a good tip to a person that provides me good individual service, but now a days what really bugs me is when you go into a resturant and they have a waiter taking your order and a runner serving your order ...and that runner has no idea of the special requests or side issues you may have brought up to the waiter unless it is written down. I know this is a function of the resturant and not the wait staff, but I find this type of operation less appealing to me and in many instances someone at the table runs into a problem with the food delivery. NOw is that good service simply because it may have come out faster...but I got the wrong order or no one can address my steak not cooked to order????

784Caroline brings up a good point about restaurants that have servers who are professional and attentive, but the server does not actually "serve" the food!

Runners and cooks (or sometimes even a dishwasher) bringing the food and serving it is a terrible idea. Almost always, they come with several plates in hand (instead of on a large oval tray), and when they arrive at the table they have no idea who gets what.

They often hold out the plate under the customers' faces, for everybody to breathe on it and decide whether that is theirs or not. Many times a plate is placed in front of us, only to be the wrong one and then it gets passed down the table by the other guests at the table. And I'm not talking about cheap restaurants. I'm talking about upscale ones.

Servers should do the serving, and then we are tipping them, not every other Tom Dick & Harry working in the place.

If you had read the post a little closer the server was doing extra work away from their tables. Cracker Barrel is not a fast food restaurant.

Calling me stupid is what I meant about posters getting nasty instead of civil in their comments.

chilout

Spring1, I'm going to hope that you don't know that using all caps is considered shouting online. If you do know, then you are terribly rude. But, then, calling people stupid isn't exactly polite.

The fact that you had someone at Wendy's cook and serve your food is irrelevant -- there should have been a cook and a cashier. Tossing a burger and fries into a paper bag is not all the difficult, especially when you don't have to worry about spillage. Don't know about you, but half the time my fries are more in the bag than in the paper container. Unless I specifically ask, I rarely get condiments.

A server has to carefully place the Styrofoam container into a plastic bag that rarely fits properly. Before placing the container into the bag, bread and other items have to be added. Frequently, a salad has to be put into containers and the dressing put into another container. In a fast food restaurant, salads are ready to be grabbed and tossed into the bag. Bread, butter, etc. are non-issues. Condiments are not in out-of-the-way spots.

Sadly, those working at fast food chains actually earn more hourly than servers in chain restaurants (it is the tips that make the difference). Serving the takeout order takes time away from seated customers, who frequently get upset that their server is not available to take care of them and then tip accordingly. So, not only is that server that you think is unfairly getting a tip from some of us making less money than the fast food cashier, the server is actually losing money from tables they could be taking care of instead.

Sorry, I don't even remotely see the unfairness of tipping for takeout.

Most restaurants hire a food runner to deliver items for all the Servers to make sure they are paying more attention to their guests rather than standing by the kitchen waiting for the food. The food runner will receive a percentage of all the Servers' total sales at the end of the night (which comes out of the tips). Also, in a well-run establishment, all servers work as a team so don't feel offended if someone besides your designated Server gives you attention. It isn't your Server being lazy or neglecting you, it is just team service. I know this isn't the classic way of service that a lot of people are used to but restaurants have adjusted and changed other the years to ensure efficiency. It's all done in the best interest of you and other valued guests :)

A lot of chain restaurants have "other servers running each other's food", not food runners.

Even when they have true food runners, because they have an AUTOMATIC tip of a certain percentage sales(NOT TIP) at the end, there's no INCENTIVE to check the food.

Some manager told me at one restaurant they have on the ticket seat 1, seat 2, even which side they would be sitting as to who gets what. If that is the case with all restaurants, a lot of food runners or other servers are lazy, because I find they have a lot of servers that don't know who had what all the time and even more that my order is wrong more times when another server runs the food than when my server runs the food. Obviously, not counting if the customer moved of course.

I don't find it's a good way, because since there's an automatic tip rather than an EARNED one, the person running the food doesn't care *WHAT* they are bringing out for obvious mistakes. It's also unfair to the server if the customers stiff or leave a low tip because they were cheap where the server may have to literally PAY to serve the customers.

I think it's not a good thing to have other people running the food. I'd rather have my food sit under a heat lamp and wait for my server to bring me my food personally, even if it takes 5 extra minutes, it's better that it's obviously correct than it wrong. Plus, you wouldn't believe sometimes I would ask to order something from this other server or food runner that would bring out the food and they would REFUSE to get it, for real. There's not much teamwork if the tip is automatic or the tip is non-existant(other server's running each other's food).

All I'm am saying is that Servers run each others food, drinks, and may even take each others orders. If a Server has a challenging table or guest, instead if neglecting their other tables other employees act as a team and care for each others guests. You are entitled to your opinion but sorry most people I have disagree with you and that is why restaurants work the way they do regardless of your view. Sounds like you are bitter from bad experiences I am sorry for that.

I agree it sounds like that, now can you two end this argument already.

We all know you disagree.

Regarding this about runners and servers other than one's own bringing/serving the food:

Ensure efficiency? Well, to some extent it is better to get the food out of the kitchen and onto the table fast.......

...but it sure ain't "efficient" when the runner brings 4 plates to the wrong 4 people at a table of 10, and sticks those plates under the faces of the wrong customers who then all handle it passing it down the line or trading plates with others at the table......because the runner is clueless about who gets what.

Also, this screws the server out of a decent tip, when the runner goofs up, which happens a lot. A server should serve.

You are assuming they do it wrong. Servers are rotated from time to time to all be Food Runners so they should be trained to know how to run food. The Servers are supposed to attach a seat number to each item which makes it easy to determine where each item goes. A Server can mess up too and forget where things go. Just because the person you have have experienced does their job wrong, doesn't mean the system is flawed. "Serving" is MUCH more than delivering food. That is a small part of it and once again, the person running food is also a Server. They all work as a team, the days of 1 Server being yours and everyone else acting like you don't exist are over. Team service, when correctly executed ensures excellent experiences for everyone.

LOL Jimbo!!!!!