How much should you tip at a restaurant drive-thru, or should you tip at all? —Maia B., Denver
It’s safe to say that we’re all currently experiencing tip fatigue. The pandemic caused a shift in tipping policy and percentages in restaurants (which the dining public largely accepted), but the hangover effect is real and long-lasting. The pandemic tip prompt never went away, and now we’re ready for some relief…especially because expected tip percentages have risen from reasonable to ridiculous.
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Compounding the problem is that seemingly every person or company providing a service now seems to have their collective hand out in expectation. Well, collectively, we feel like anchorman Howard Beale in the movie Network, who famously proclaimed, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore.”
And yet we must, at least as far as restaurants are concerned: Alas, tipping is still part of the dining culture, at least in the short-term.
Today, the subject is tipping at drive-thru windows. First off, there don’t seem to be any specific rules on the issue, and opinions vary. Some consumers feel that since these employees are paid at least minimum wage (as opposed to servers, bartenders, etc.), there’s no need to tip, that the person is just doing their job. But that same person may tip if the service was exceptional or out of the ordinary (such as running the order to your car in the rain).
Other consumers object to the entire process, feeling that restaurants aren’t paying the staff what they should and are passing the proverbial buck to the consumer. They would rather be charged a bit more upfront than have to deal with the indignity of figuring a proper tip. Still others avoid the tip-prompting issue altogether by simply paying cash and tipping in cash.
Then there’s Maralee McKee, founder of The Etiquette School of America, who writes on her website that “only when you’re picking up a to-go order from anything other than a drive-thru window,” is it standard practice to leave gratuity.
We queried several local restaurant owners with drive-thrus to see where they stand on the issue.
At Nachomama’s in Rock Hill, owner John St. Eve says, “We don’t have a process for tipping at the window, and we don’t have a tip jar. We allow for tips, but we don’t expect them, prompt for them, or encourage them. But if people feel good about their experience and want to leave something to show their appreciation, we’re fine with that, especially in this day and age, when it’s hard to get good service in a drive-thru type of environment.”
Mary Hancock, chef/owner of Yolklore in Crestwood, says, “We don’t have a set policy. We offer the option, ‘Would you like to leave a tip for the team today?’ We all understand that tips are acts of generosity, not expectation, especially at the drive-thru window. When people do tip, a couple bucks is usually the norm. I know that at Starbucks, they hand their devices out the window to add a tip or not, which offers the option without being pushy.”
Angelica and Simon Lusky recently opened a third Revel Kitchen location in Maplewood, in a former Jack-in-the Box, the brand’s first location with a drive-thru. “As operators,“ Angelica says, “we believe that the 20, 25, and 30 percent tip requests in fast-casual operation are a bit high. Our system is set to give the option of 10,15, and 20 percent, with 10 percent being the default. There is always the option to remove it, and they can choose not to tip, which is fine, too. But we do pride ourselves in hiring really good people and want them to be rewarded for their service.”
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