I never tip less than $2. - Miss Elle

I almost never tip on a take out order - Rodfather

Do you tip at McDonalds? For me it depends on the restaurant. If I knew the tip was going to go to the cook, I'd tip for take-out. Otherwise, no. - Phil Calvin

I would not tip on take-out. $1 tip is worse than $0. :) - Louis Gray

Depends which country you're in at the time too. I've never seen anyone tip in the UK, NZ or Australia unless they had food delivered to their house or restaurant table. - Aidan

Aidan... very good point. I made the dumb mistake of assuming everyone's in America, something that annoys me about other people and posters sometimes ;-). And Louis, that's an interesting way of looking at it. In case it wasn't clear, this has been my practice (tipping a small token amount on takeout, often in the form of cash despite paying for the bill by credit card), thinking that it was just a little something nice and different for takeout. But from the consensus here, it seems that my gesture may be backfiring so I should likely reconsider (though for the places I'm a regular take-out'er at, they may wonder why the sudden misery'ness, so perhaps I should apply this no-tipping-for-takeout only at places that are new for me). - Adam Lasnik

After my comment, I checked with my wife, who confirmed she does not tip for takeout, only delivery (or of course in-restaurant orders). - Louis Gray

if you tipped me $1 instead of $0 i would be happy, because $1 > $0 - Tyler Gillies

I've always been interested just how commonplace tipping is in US. - Bryce Roney

Personally I don't tip for takeout, but I agree with tylergillies. I wouldn't be insulted to get $1 when expecting $0. - marziah

In the Netherlands we accept tips (I'm also dependent on it), but on take-out it's not necessary. € 1,- on € 14,- is a nice tip and sounds very logical, € 2,- would be exaggerated. Please throw away tourist guides that say we don't like tips. I hate those books written by people who didn't dive into the culture of the land they are describing. Especially because it costs me money. ;-) - Ton Zijp

I don't tip for take-out. - Andy Bakun

Depends who takes my order. I tend to tip if the bartender has to take and process my order. I don't know why. Just a habit I started ages ago and continue to do. - pea♥fierce as a woozle

I remember being totally baffled by tipping logic when I lived in the US. How was I supposed to know you DO tip the guy who delivers furniture or pizza, but you DON'T tip the cable guy or the mail man? If there's an easy rule of thumb please share it! - Aidan

@Aidan -- I don't know that there is an easy rule of thumb (except for the fact that the cable guy and the mailman are in respected careers whereas the pizza guy and the furniture delivery guy are "blue collar") but I can tell you that the guy who writes the WaiterRant blog is writing a book on US tipping customs to help out those of us who are easily confused. - Miss Elle

Take-out? No tip. Nobody served me. I had to get up to get the food. Leaving a $1 tip could be considered an insult depending on where you did it. At certain jobs I've worked, I had people tip me $1 or something like that and it felt kinda awkward since I wasn't a server or anything (earnings based on tips). I was just doing my job. - Rahsheen is aWeSoMe ™

take-out or delivered? take-out, no tip. delivered, usually $2 - $5, depending on what and where. - kelly

Kelly, I'm curious to better understand the circumstances between a $5 delivery tip. Distance? Rain? And do you pay that even if there's already a delivery charge? - Adam Lasnik

Tipping is crazy in the states. I think tip's should be a reward/thanks for exceptional service not an expectation and part of the employee's wage. I found out a while back that in a number of states it's legal for employers to pay staff below minimum wage if they can prove that average tips brings the wage above the state minimum. - Jamie Vidamour

Wow, I guess any thread that mentions "tips" is bound to attract attention ;-). For the record, I personally HATE HATE HATE the semi-mandatory nature of tipping in the U.S. (as noted in detail at http://www.bladam.com/main...), but, as I've stated elsewhere, it's a system we're stuck with for now so I can only try to do my best to be kind and appropriate to those who depend upon those tips for their livelihood. - Adam Lasnik

We tip for just about everything (my wife is a waitress). I would have tipped $2-3 in this case. - Brett Kelly from iPhone

Totally agree Adam and Jamie. I once refused to tip in a Californian restaurant after a terrible meal and appalling service. Waitress made a scene and called the manager. I paid the menu price and never returned. However, I ALWAYS tip when it's deserved (even though I find the sycophantic fawning nauseating sometimes). I wish I got tipped for SEO results ;) - Aidan

I usually tip at eat-in minimum (10%) for take outs. - andrei_c from iPhone

I was taught by my parents that it's effort to package up food to go, so the person who prepares your to-go order should get $1 or $2. So that's what I do. (I usually leave $2 these days, more if it's a big order, nothing if it's a very small order.) However, Miss Manners says nothing: http://news.google.com/newspap... and Emily Post says "no obligation, up to 10% for exceptional service" (http://www.emilypost.com/everyda...). If I'm a regular at the restaurant and/or it's local, I'll pretty much always tip for the good karma. - Stephen Mack

As a European, I'm glad to not have this worry. I spent half a year in Canada and I have bad souvenirs of tipping: whatever the amount, I felt ashamed or judged on my tip. Has anyone worked as a waiter in both North America and Europe? Did you prefer to be tipped (and were you better paid)? How did that affect team-working and your relationship with customers? - Jérôme

They usually don't give you a spot on the receipt on takeout to tip, and I almost never have cash, so I usually don't. When I do have cash, I will, mostly because I have food allergies, so I know I'm a little bit more difficult. - Alix Whitmire

When the tip is an unspoken part of the price you are expected to pay anyway, it feels useless (through European eyes). Just tell me how much has to be paid... And when the service is exceptional, then there is reason for extra reward. If the service is good I tend to 'leave the change' in lots of places, and people like it almost always. If they do not want it, that's okay too. I am glad everything is okay without tipping too. - Ruud van Wijngaarden

Seems fine to me. I did takeout last night, roughly the same price, and just dropped the coin change in the tip jar. Maybe I'm a cheapskate. - Greg Grothaus

Depends on the place. If you are at a restaurant where the bartender puts it all together for you, then yes you should tip $2 or more. - Ben Hanten

Is this the opening scene from reservoir dogs or what ? - Nicholas Paul Gordon from iPhone

for me, %10 is the tipping ratio for the waiters, but for cargo or take out orders it is 1 usd. - burak

Hey, thanks everyone for all the interesting feedback! - Adam Lasnik