You want some food, and you may not feel like sitting down, or tipping.
So you order a $100 to-go order, you tip $0, and then you leave.
Do you think that’s ok?
IT’S NOT.
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Someone still had to take your order, put it in correctly, bag it up correctly, etc.
A service was still performed for you to have your food.
Just because you didn’t sit down and get served directly, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t tip at all.
I would think this goes without saying, but apparently it needs to be said.
Where I work, there is a separate area to order your food to-go at, and this is also where all of the desserts come from.
Every dessert for the entire restaurant, and every to-go order, comes from this counter.
Needless to say, it gets pretty crazy, especially on a weekend.
Sometimes it can take 20 minutes to get your dessert for your table, which is a long time.
So all these people that just ordered stuff to-go, seem to think they will get it faster because they ordered it to-go.
I can see how that makes sense in your perfect, selfish world.
But here, on a Saturday night, where I can’t get a cappuccino in less than 10 minutes, you are going to have to settle down.
Because I have no problem turning around and telling you to do so.
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So there’s a crowd of guests and servers waiting for their desserts, and I will hear people:
“I have been standing here for 20 minutes”
“This is ridiculous”
“Look at them back there. It isn’t that hard.”
“If I hadn’t paid, I would just leave.”
Excuse me while I go pull my hair out listening to you speak.
When you see a chaotic restaurant on a Saturday night, and a line of people working on tickets that are pouring out of the printer faster than I blink my eyes, why do you think that you are number one?
Why do you think you are more important than the people around you?
News flash: you aren’t.
What is almost worse than dealing with the people picking up their orders is taking the order over the phone.
“Hi, what can I get started for you?”
“I am looking at the menu, but can you tell me about all of your pastas?”
Yes this phone call is all I have to do for the rest of my life, no problem.
“Hang on, Sarah what do you want? Matt, what do you want? I am ordering the food now, what do you want?”
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Ok so you called with no clue what everyone wants. I would love to sit here while my ears bleed because you’re shouting to everyone in your home.
Are they in the next home over because you’re really yelling too loud?
Consideration and patience don’t go out the window simply because you are ordering your food to-go.
The same basic human rules apply, so please follow them.