i've been giving 20% or even more if the person is helpful, polite & appears to care about his/her job performance. since the shutdown, i've been doing that more & more. it must suck to be trying to live off what they are earning. your tip might buy gas for their car, or that xtra jug of milk for the kids or even pet food, or family member's medicine

I disagree those laid off/furloughed received unemployment plus $600 weekly stimulus then reduced to $300 weekly. Financially we can’t support everyone

Please be careful if you pay with a credit card and use cash for tipping.

A couple months ago there was a story about the Fenney Grill adding tips to credit card receipts even though the customer had given a tip with cash.

In our case, we never use a credit card at restaurants. We always pay with cash. I never want to let our credit card out of our sight.

Around our area in Cotswolds, I do not know any that add a service charge.
Probably in larger city areas, but we avoid them anyway!

Some restaurants will add an automatic tip of 15 percent to a large group of about 10 people. I would never make a reservation at a restaurant that mandated a tip. A tip is a gratuity, and should not be a mandatory charge. Where is the incentive to provide good service?

Here in Florida, many, many of those laid off were not able to get anything out of the state for a long time and some still haven't received a dime. We may not be able to support everyone, but I will always be willing to help someone who is trying and struggling if I can.

No, your point is useless, apples and oranges, they are NOT the same. The person at the drive-up window at McDonalds is completely different in scope of work then the person who comes out of a store and provides post COVID curb-side pickup. I tip 10 to 15 %

WOW, you have absolutely NO clue do you....
Here is a hint... there IS a difference in salary between the server and a nurse.

Isn’t being exposed to the public for an entire shift for low wages during a pandemic over and above and don t say they re essential workers because it doesn’t change anything I said above

I agree...these folks have been hard hit financially, we should be as generous as possible

They're coming to work, trying to make a living....

Way I look at it is there's not much difference between tipping because they brought my meal to me at the table...vs. tipping because they boxed it up and brought my meal to me in my car curbside....okay so, they didn't ask if everything was alright or clear the table...

So nurses are the new super rich?
Many nurses, and ancillary staff were laid off during the pandemic
I am sure they will be pleased to know how wealthy they are!

Lots of people are hurting, not just folks working in restaurants.

absolutely...that's why we keep donating to our favorite causes....the local ones that don't take a lot off the top

and whenever we can give money to a small business for something around the house that we'd like to have done...that's a win / win too

we need them all here tomorrow...they all have families to support

I've always said.. When times are good your contractors take care of you. When times are bad you take care of your contractors. Same pretty much goes for anyone in the service industry too.

Totally agree