I will tip on take out if I enjoy the place. I also tip on delivery based on driving distance usually, but I do my best to pick up food 90% of the time.
For coffee and the like, I don’t tip. Any time I’m being served beyond “making the food/drink” I usually tip. I generally tip a general 15, wont tip if the service is really bad (it rarely is) and will tip extra if it was exceptionally good.
The problem about “tipping culture,” I find, is not about the expectations or standard amounts, but the tippers themselves. Tipping is extremely straightforward and, thankfully, you can actually just use your own judgement 100% of the time. The problem is people who treat tipping like a rating system or a carrot to dangle, people who panic when a machine gives options over 20% and are too afraid to hit “other,” and people who generally overthink tipping in any way at all. I’m sure sometimes when I hit “No tip” on a coffee or takeout order someone thinks I’m cheap. It’s probably extremely rare, but I’m just going to assume it happens and I also just don’t care. If there are places where the standard is 20% and I tip 15%? Guess what, nobody has ever told me and it’s never come up in any way at all.
Some of y’all complain about a system that exists entirely in your head. “Tipping culture is out of control!” … no friend, you’ve just lost the plot entirely.
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