I've seen this debate hashed out on food sites for years. The argument against is "why?" and the argument for is "they're taking time out of their otherwise tipped workday". I realized that the division really seems to split on urban vs non-urban.

In the former category people are primarily doing carryout from places built around carryout in that there aren't servers waiting tables and bagging up orders. In the latter category people tend to more frequently do carryout from actual restaurants and in those cases they really are interacting with an otherwise typical server.

I'm sure that I'm doing it wrong somehow, but I typically tip 10% for carryout that involves "significant" effort in packaging. Sushi or Chinese food with sauces and rice boxed separately from the main dishes gets a tip. Pizza tossed into a box does not. I also tip 10% at a buffet restaurant since there is some service involved, but it's not quite "full" service. More typical restaurant service usually gets 20% from me.

I realize it's completely arbitrary, but so is tipping culture in general.

Certainly not a faux pas. Nothing wrong with giving some extra money to workers who aren't paid much. Probably not something that I would do though. If I pickup a pizza or sub, no I don't tip. And I don't think that's the normal expectation other than some extra pocket change--which increasingly doesn't exist.

I would suspect that you are just overpaying the business, at that point.

To be honest, unless I'm leaving cash, I have my doubts about whether the tip actually makes it to the server.

> To be honest, unless I'm leaving cash, I have my doubts about whether the tip actually makes it to the server.

I would be shocked to hear of any restaurants that do that. A warning sign would be the owner running the register.

And for one data point: the restaurant I worked at would convert all tips on credit cards to cash that the servers could take home that day at end of business.

A previous employer of mine was a hotel. All banquets had a builtin gratuity, and they took 50% off the top before it was even split up among the servers and porters.

The proper allocation of tips left with a credit card are trivially auditable by the IRS, and indeed is one of the Small Business Division's focus points when auditing restaurants.

It's not just a tax matter; if the audit uncovers fraud, they refer the case to the DOL and the DOJ.

Not a faux pas, it is rarely expected though.

I absolutely will leave a tip on takeout.