Went to Sonic for the first time and didn't know if it was a tipping place or not.
Do you tip at Sonic?

911=yes
914=no

Or is it the other way around?

P

What is Sonic?

its a burger joint! do you tip at in n out? nope :finger2:

I've only been there once, but I don't remember leaving a tip.

In some sense I find it annoying that tip jars are everywhere now. A tip is for service, not for punching buttons on a cash register.

i agree, i use that to put all my pennies in or the change from the sale. i hate carrying coins

If I'm sitting down when I order, I tip. If I'm standing when I order I usually don't, unless I feel like I'm geting extrordinary service for some reason. The grey area is when I stand up to order, sit down, and then people start refilling my drink, clearing the table and such. I've never been to sonic (they don't have any near me or anywhere I regularly go), so I don't know what category it fits in to.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5334880/

If I were this guy I'd be filling tip jars everywhere

Depends on service. I worked in restaurants for years. I even received tips on carry-out orders from time to time.

I always leave a tip when I go to CiCi's pizza joint cause I feel guilty about the mess my two little ones always leave...

yep, I tip.....I normally end up sending the poor server back and forth a few times for condiments or due to the fries being too cold

meals are cheap at sonic, if you get good service tip
what is 15% of 5 bucks it wont kill ya
or just let them keep the change

thats what i usually do "keep the coins"

I agree about the service vs. button pushing thing. I used to be bugged by jars too, until my daughter worked at a counter service restaurant. She would get some pretty good tips and I asked her what she did to deserve them. She had many examples of how she provided extra service to make the customer’s visit better. The most notable is the time she noticed that a young man was having trouble placing his order at a different register. Turns out the man was deaf and could not speak well. My daughter knows sign language and stepped right in. I think she got as much pleasure from helping him as he got by not having to feel out of place and frustrated. She also told me about several times she would help out a parent struggling to manage several kids while placing an order. When the person behind the counter does something special for me I believe they deserve a tip.

-Jeff

First off holy crap 1m illion pennies? that's crazy. Second we had a good friend who use to work at a Sonic so we'd always ask for her and tip well. My mother supported me through tips and I made a good bit over the summers in tips. So we generally tip well.

The day that tipping goes out of style is the day the world has gone to SHIT! And of course that will be all the more reason to do it!

I wind up tipping at sonic all the time, because the servers don't speak english, and getting them to give me the correct change is like beating your head against the wall!

Don't go there any more since the son went off to college, it was his favorite fast food joint.

I stop at Sonic rarely, since there are none convenient for my work lunch break and I don't usually eat fast food at home on weekends. But when I have stopped, if it was for take out from the pickup window, I didn't tip, and if it was served by a carhop while I sat at the outside tables, I did tip.

I try to tip fairly, 15-20%, a dollar minimum. It kills me to see people leave 38 cents on the table!

I don't really agree with the whole tipping thing. Mostly because I'm a cheap bastard, but I have other reasons as well. If the service is outstanding, or the server goes out of their way to help you, then I think a tip is in order. I find that at most restaurants, the service is mediocre at best, yet a tip is still expected. I figure that if you get paid to do a job, you shouldn't expect to get extra. Nobody ever stops by my desk and gives me $10 for a really nice piece of code I wrote. Oh, and I usually tip if the waitress is hot too.

So, I guess I'm a cheap perverted bastard.

If they serve ya...yes...
Tip jar out at the front...yer choice....
Gal has big boobs.....hell yes....

That's how I do it.

I never tipped at Sonic. You do order sitting down (in your car) at the Sonic I used to go to, but I never felt the urge to tip them 'cause it still felt like a fast food joint.

Now that I think about it, I probably will tip them next time, since they do come over and serve you.

i never tip because "i have to" and i don't listen to that "always 20%" crap either.
i'm from europe. people over there don't tip unless the service was exceptional. no-one expects to be tipped either. they make enough money, they don't need the tips to survive.

this whole tipping thing pisses me off, actually.
you're doing your job and on top of your salery, you're expecting *me* to give you extra money for nothing?
Andy

The Sonics here.. they serve you in your car... usually a cute girl on roller skates. They bring your order... give you straws, a couple of mints... and will bring you something else if you need it (more ketchup extra napkins, etc.). Of course you should tip of served this way.

If you walk up to the window and order, then no. Would you tip walking up to the counter at Burger King?

to you non-tippers

you realise that waiters/waitresses in sit-down restaurants (not sonic/burger king) in america make $2.13/hour without tips, right? TIP YOU CHEAPIES!!

And doesn't the IRS assume they get tips and tax accordingly?

I realize that waiters/waitresses don't make that much, but they knew that when they took the job. If they don't like it, find something else. I went to school for 5 years to get a decent paying job.

Unfortunately, I have crumbled under the pressure of society, and I usually do tip, unless the service is poor, then no tip! In fact, I'm starting to feel guilty if I don't tip. I still don't agree with it though!

I like the system in Europe as well but that's not a reason not to tip in the US.

I just think tipping overall has gotten out of hand. A tip used to be 10%, and then it went to 15%, and now lots of people are talking 20%. I don't understand why the percentage needs to keep going up. Food prices keep going up and the amount tipped keeps going up. If servers aren't making enough then they should be paid more salary by employers.

I also don't like the fact that a tip jar has popped up everywhere.

TIP TIP TIP
My wife is a waitress at a nice restuarant in a small resort area. If it wasn't for the tips it would be a crappy low paying job but insead it is a semi-crappy ok paying job. Do you really think that somebody would kiss your ass like a good waiter/waitress does if they were not expecting something for their service.

As far as tip jars go there is a place for them. I used to own a coffee shop and yes baristas are doing a service- making you a good coffee. If your $4 drink sucks don't tip if it is made correctly throw something in the jar. Should 7-11 have a tip jar, I don't think so.

sr

Food service work sucks. It ain't no sit down job. How many people WANT to spend their life doing that crap? And it is critical to society, too. If people didn't do the shit jobs for you, you would have to do 'em yourself (uh, is this 914 content?). I tip well whenever it seems deserved. Not for "exceptional service", just willingness to do the service successfully and without negative attitude. I used to be on that end of the tip chain, and a couple of extra bucks had a much more significant use (like paying electricity) for me than for the people I was serving, I think.

and why does that have to be *my* problem?
shouldn't you be kicking her employers ass instead for not paying her the money she's entitled to! i'm sure she works just as hard as anybody else, but yet you seem to be fine with the fact that her boss doesn't give her good money for her work and you expect me (the customer) to tip the difference ...

i don't get it ...
Andy



isn't that their job? what am i missing here? isn't a waitress supposed to serve me at a restaurant? why do i have to tip her for doing her job? no-one tips me for sitting in front of the computer 12 hours a day, and guess what, i don't expect anyone to do so either ...

i still don't get it ...
Andy

i'm too young to remember the 50's car hop type places. did people tip those waitresses?
i consider sonic a fast food place so i don't tip. Some of my students that work at our local sonic give me crap about it. In a sit down, get served establishment, i tip according to the service.

What's the diff between a canoe and a Canadian?????





































Canoes WILL TIP.....

Ok Andy here is my take on your confusion: This is the system that is in place now. Waitstaff get paid very little per hour because they make up the dif with tips. The restuarant would have to up there prices by 15% across the board and then pass this on the the waitstaff. Do you think that will happen. NO! So next time you don't tip that nice waitperson think about that teener sitting in the garage waiting for parts that won't come because some cheapskate didn't tip.

And for all of you out there saying "well get a better paying job" or "don't people wait tables while there in college or trying to make it as an actor". Not always true. My wife did it so that we could raise our own kids and keep them out of day care. Sure it is a sacrifice but I don't want somebody spending more time with my children than me and my wife. Sure when the kids are in school she will make a career change but for now it works.

End rant

sr

it's a strange, illogical, particularly american institution. however, the government sets the minimum wage of waiters/waitresses (and others for whom tipping is a social institution) LOWER than the standard minimum wage. now, technically, if they don't make the higher (normal) minimum wage after tips, their boss has to pitch in for those hours to make the normal minimum wage. but this is still lower than they deserve to be payed. it's a social contract, essentially. and it's one little american detail that i like

Don't forget that, in sitdown resturants, waiters/waitresses typically share their tips with buspeople, cooks, etc.

What's a Sonic?


Hey! my 100th post!!! Glad it was a worthwhile one!

so, you're trying to tell me that, for example:

if Microsoft decided tomorrow that all their programmers are now only going to get minimum wage (or less) and next time you go to CompUSA to pick up some software, you would gladly give that programmer (that's standing next to the shelf with a tip-jar) a big 20% tip because the poor guy doesn't make good money anymore.
you're trying to tell me you wouldn't blame it on Microsoft, but instead think it's perfectly normal and simply give away your money because the guy paid some much attention to detail when he programmed that software ...

do you tip at the post-office? and if not, why not? aren't they providing a service to you as well?
do you tip the policeman that just gave you a speeding ticket? he was doing a good job as well ...

Andy

At Microsoft, and the high tech industry as a whole, rewards for work well done come in the form of bonuses, profit sharing, and stock options. That is on top of the extremely good pay.

Mike... please change your avatar. It's scarey...
You almost look intelligent in that pic (and we all know ya aint )

i know, that's why i said "what if", i had hoped you had some imagination ...

my point is simple, why do you blame the customer and not the employer for low wages???

i don't get it ...
Andy

Well, that is not what I am saying. Good service = Good tips. Think of it as you pay the resturant for the meal, you pay (tip) the waitperson for the service. The blame for poor pay in this scenario goes to the waitperson.

Unfortunately it is the standard that has taken hold in the US.

-Jeff

Here's my take on it.. the only reason they get such low pay is because people DO tip. If they didn't people would quit, and wages would go up. But as it is, because of tips, the people who serve you consider the pay good enough to work there. Because this system is in place (doesn't matter if it's right or wrong, it's in place) if you choose not to tip, whomever served you got paid less while they were serving you. If the service while they were serving you was poor, it seems justified to withhold a tip, since the system gives you that power. Perhaps that's the whole purpose of the system?

I've got a friend who works at a car wash... He gets a nice steady pay check, and about 5 to 15 bucks in tips every day... (tips are added together and devided at ends of shifts)
Plus he gets his minimum wage...

Me, I work at taco bell... I work in the back doin the grunt work (food prep... not food make... there Is a diff...) I get min wage, but I dont get tips.. Neither does anyone else in the store (cept a couple at register when people force them to take tips... wierd..)


I went to Sonic last night in the teener with my dad, Scott C. came too.
We sat down and didnt tip...

Andrew

now i know why waitresses in germany are always grumpy.

they get a real salary!
Andy

Hmmm. That might be it. Bummer when you are in a nice Beer Garden and the waitress acts like she doesn't want to be there. Maybe we should tip them!

Sure I tip. Here's why:

1. Because I can-what is just a few cents to me is a big deal for a high school kid

2. Because they always say "neat car" which strokes my ego and tickles the wife.

3. Too few kids work these days. I appreciate Sonic. Wife and I take the teener out in the evening to Sconic to park, drink a soda, and TALK. Its a cheap date that we do two or three times a week.

The kids know us, treat us well, so yes I tip. To them I am a valued regular, to me they are an escape to the drive in days from my nearly forgotten youth.

Oh yes, it is a heck of a lot of fun watching them try to deliver food on roller skates with out falling or dropping items.

That is the point of the tipping system, to get good service.

Can you imagine if it was a union wage resturant..."u's gets da food when I's done my break bub"

Opps, I don't mean to offend any union types....

We often go to a buffet type place near here, all the waiter does is refill the drinks. I tip just because of the mess my kids make.

Andy,

I thought there was a service charge automatically included in the food price in German restaurants? (Wow, it's been a long time since I lived in Germany.) As I remember most people would let the waiter keep the coin change. If and when you could ever get the waiter to deliver and collect the bill!

Or am I confusing that with the built in tax (which I sort of liked since its let you quickly calculate your total cost)?

Oh, and by the way, concerning this whole tipping controversy, you have to remember that we're all a bunch of cheap-ass 914 owners!

I'm going to go to Sonic today with my wife and Hunter.

I will give the server a tip!