The whole point of takeout is to avoid having to tip.

This happened the other day--not one but two "service dogs" were just hanging out at commerce top section. They were w/their owners a few feet away from the 100/200 limit game. One of them was a longhaired german shepherd. The other was a purebred blue pit--pretty sure pits are not often "service dogs". He was super playful and interactive with random ppl-definitely not service dog trained, but they had the license (you can order them online). She said their dog often stays overnight in the hotel w them lol.

Congrats! Keep it fun.

Same here. You tip a waiter for waiting on your table, and you tip a delivery man to deliver food, but when you pickup, you just pay for the price of the prepared food.

As a general rule, I don't tip takeout regardless of how I pay. But I will tip 5-10% when I ask for substitutions or otherwise force the packer to look more carefully at my order than usual.

Pretty sure any dog can be called a service dog if you just say you have stress/anxiety problems and that the dog helps you stay calm. There's a lady here who has two purse sized fluffy dogs that she can bring in when she plays. Normally she brings in only one, and they're really well behaved. It was funny to see one get loose once and eat the pepperoni bits out of her neighbors bag

Also if you lose enough in the pits you could probably get a cock fighting rooster registered as a service dog at most casinos

I'll usually tip like $2-3 on any order

I tip 15% for takeout, at least 20% for any meals I dine in if it is in the U.S.

I've been told I overtip so might be an outlier. I just imagine the 15% tip will help whomever like Rakeback, bonuses, and low commissions has in my life.

For dining in, my friend's and my logic to always tip at least 20% and then request manager and file a complaint if the service/food was atrocious. This is more effective than tipping less based on my friend who owns a popular Chinese restaurant in a college town. To each their own though, U.S. is overly generous when it comes to tipping in comparison to Asian countries I've lived/traveled to.

No, it's just right in the US.

It's also just right in Asia.

Tipping is a cultural thing, not an economic one. In places where tipping is not expected, wages are what people expect to be paid for that work. In places where tipping is expected, wages are lower than what people expect to be paid for that work.

Tipping should be banned, because of... reasons. If people with culinary degrees are quitting in the kitchen to be waiters, you've screwed something up.

Banned is strong. It should be reduced to the point where there is no expectation of tip, but they should still be accepted if the customer wants to give one.

Think of McDonalds. Most people don't tip there, and don't feel compelled to. But if someone goes out of your way to help you beyond what is customary, sure, tip them and feel good about it.

The Freakenomics piece was about how our tipping culture has lead to huge disparities in front of house and back of house total compensation. It is actually illegal in New York to share tips with people who don't deal with customers directly. The podcast is an interesting listen. In the restaurant in the story, the servers must refuse tips. If you listen to the podcast, interested in your thoughts about it.

I'll listen to podcast over the weekend but find it hard to believe how an entire culture's tipping standard can be changed from one outlier state/strike/author/books.

I've heard Freakanomics is a great book but I've never read it but will read it eventually this year.

Speaking of tipping. Do you guys tip less than 20% at Asian restaurants? A general rule of thumb for me is 10% at Asian restaurants.

To each their own but I tip 20% if I dine in anywhere other than fast food and I eat fast food maybe 5 times a year.

If I goto a foreign country, I don't tip if that's the cultural norm (ex: Japan).

I have several Chinese friends and Jewish friends who tip close to 10% range or lower. Never comment on it but do think servers/restaurants will classify and range a 10% tip person differently and serve you accordingly if that is your default at Asian restaurants.

About 50/50. Depends on how often I go there. Usually around $2 if I do.

20% in the US. What about an Asian restaurant prompts you to tip differently?

April, fools!

The generally terrible service

Well yeah, for terrible service. No matter what type of restaurant.