Tipping Guide

I tend to tip for most things, and I think I do a pretty good job, but mostly this is due to years of my wife urging me to leave a bit more.

One of the things that I haven’t quite seemed to figure out is tipping for takeout food. Because we have small children, I will more often wait till the kids go to sleep and then get food from a restaurant to bring home as take out. This way we can enjoy a quite dinner without having to prepare the meal or clean up. I had always believed the tip at restaurants was for the service that you received during the meal. So do you tip when you pick up food to go?

I found this tipping guide, which states…

Takeout: Nothing is necessary. But if you receive some service, like a waiter packaging your food, then tip $1 to $2 or up to 10 percent. For sushi, tip 10 percent for its preparation, Hoffman says.

So typically for an inexpensive order I’ll tip $2, and at a nicer restaurant I’ll leave $4.

Happy tipping.