What about these places: Freebirds? Marble Slab/Cold Stone Creamery? Golden Corral? Does anyone tip at any of these?

depends
was the service i received just ''out of this world?"
otherwise, at GC im doing most of the work <shrug>
although at times i do get a generous bone.

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um tipping is a normal custom in our culture, that includes sonic, and its something decent people do

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Reb, do you tip the cashier at the grocery store when you buy stuff?

Do you tip a salesperson at a store when they ask you if they can help you with anything, and they do?

Do you tip the UPS/FedEx guy when he delivers a package to your house?

Do you tip the lifeguards when you go to Schlitterbahn/public pool/etc?

I have never tipped at Sonic and I most likley never will (we are moving to a part of the world that doesn't have them). The level of service that genrally warrants a tip is just not there.

Just as importantly one of the reasons I go to a fast food restaurant is becasue I don't want the added expense of having to tip.

[This message has been edited by C.99 (edited 8/1/2008 8:26a).]

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Reb, do you tip the cashier at the grocery store when you buy stuff?

Do you tip a salesperson at a store when they ask you if they can help you with anything, and they do?

Do you tip the UPS/FedEx guy when he delivers a package to your house?

Do you tip the lifeguards when you go to Schlitterbahn/public pool/etc?

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rebelionel (and a bunch of other people on the first page, including Quantum with his bit about Tourette's) was just trolling for a reaction. Mocking people who tip at Sonic is a recurring joke on the General Board.

everynow and then I will tip at Sonic...its usually a high school kid probably working part time for minium wage...its not gonna break me to tip them .50cents to a dollar

but no employees at sonic should not expect a tip....

I've only seen the response "they are paid hourly"---but I have the same question as the previous poster...at what wage? $ 2.13 (or whatever the wage for service industry) or minimum wage?

It's fast food...I'm eating out of my car.
The end.

I had a friend that worked the grill at Sonic in high school. At the time, he told me that Sonic got paid well compared to what I was making at Freebirds at the time, which was minimum wage.

After that, I decided tipping would greatly depend on the weather or how busy it was.

But now I go to the Sonic in the Gateway Exxon, which just has a drive thru, and it's a non-issue.

BTW, the absolute worst Sonic is the one in Caldwell. I have gone there twice (while traveling) and they have to be the most incompotent Sonic employees. Both times, I order a Cherry-limeade, and both time they didn't put any cherry flavoring. I had to buzz them back to fix it, which is a huge risk...

originally, tipping occured PRIOR to the meal/drinks, to ensure proper service, but now its become a post event. Not sure when it transitioned.

HALF PRICE DRINK!
T(-) FIVE MINUTES AND COUNTING
MAYBE ILL TIP UP TO THE DOLLAR

I will tip at Sonic if I don't go through the drive through. If they are really busy and the servers are running around like crazy,,and it is really hot out...I think it is nice to tip them a little...

i went to sonic the other night, first we did the drive through and he said only one order per car, so we pulled forward into the parking spot with the intercom, he asked us if we could move closer so that his carhop didnt have to walk so far...

so we left, they probably didnt care because that meant they didnt have to do any work

NO TIP FOR YOU!!!!

RIP

Tipping at Sonic was a good thread and lived a long and fruitful life. This thread had a great influence on many peoples life in our beutiful BCS forum. Today (hopefully) we lay it to rest. RIP my friend RIP.

Let me give you a tip for letting this issue die.........oh wait we don't tip at sonic/yes we do/no we don't/ahhh the madness

bump

little things like this really bug me too..but I mean seriously..when he handed you the change, you couldnt notice that it was 3 bills and not 4? I mean its not like he handed you 10 bills?
I also agree, tipping at Sonic is not needed. I do however tell them to kee the coins..only need the bills back

I would tip on EXTREMELY hot days especially. Its not a fun job if you have to work in the heat (regardless of what the job is)

If someone that brings your food has tourettes or some other disability, I would tip. these people have medical bills and need all the help they can get. Besides, more than likely, management makes them feel like dirt, just like any other employee. (and it sucks that they treat people that way just because they are "management"


[This message has been edited by 1984Consol (edited 8/10/2008 12:06p).]

i pay with a CC to avoid change (which implies giving a tip)

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Are you supposed to tip at Sonic?

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If you don't do the drive-thru, yes.

Tip the person who delivers your order to your car ... no less than $1.00 ... even if you only order the happy hour limeade.

Surprised to see so many cheapskates and tightwads here.

Car hops at sonic get paid minimum wage or better depending on how quick and how long they have been there, trust me they make a lot better than the guys in the kitchen

does no one realize that the car hops at Sonic dont really do anything but bring you your order and verify it was correct and hand back change if you paid cash. Its a rare sight to see them patrol the establishment with the condiment tray. THEY DO NOTHING WORTHY OF A TIP

they bring the food to your car. You do not have to get out of your car- even if it is 107 degrees. Is that not worthy of a tip?

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they bring the food to your car. You do not have to get out of your car- even if it is 107 degrees. Is that not worthy of a tip?

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As already stated: Do you tip the person at the drive through? You don't even have to get out of your car then. Do you tip the person the drive through cleaners, drive through pharmacy? You don't have to get out of your car either place.

nope. that is 1 min outside per customer, tops. that is not tip worthy, especially if they have an attitude. now that i know that they get minimum wage at least and possibly more, that only further solidifies the action of not giving a tip.

Servers at restaurants are a different story, they deserve a tip according to the level of CONTINUOUS service they provide you. for min 30min that you are seated in the restaurant, they are to cater to your needs and make sure your experience is an enjoyable one and you would want to return. if you like the experience, you are going to tip more. they constantly ust check on you and make sure you are set on drinks and you like your order. And they do all this while getting paid less than federal minimum wage

At sonic, that does not happen; its a short-order diner that made the dining room your car. they do not check on your needs, they only attempt to fix it if YOU go out of your way to complain. If you notice the sequence of events at a sonic restaurant, it happens something along the lines as this.....

(Traditionally)
1. You pull up in your ride at an empty stall and think about what you would like to order.

2. When ready, you roll down the window or lean over (if windows are not present) and press the non-illuminated red button; which if working properly will then illuminate when pressed.

3. When the voice on the other end answers the request, you then place your order according to your liking. The voice then verifies your order and asks if you would to order additional items. This process can be repeated until both parties (Sonic and the customer) come to an agreement on the order. the Sonic voice then informs you of the amount due on the order you just placed.

4. At this point you have choices. You may use plastic to complete the transaction before the food is brought to you via the card device attached to menu and ordering system. You may push the button again to modify/cancel your order. Or you may gather sufficient cash & coin to pay the carhop when the food is brought out to you.

5. The car hop ventures out to your stall, they greet you and then verifies your order while handing it to you. You either confirm that is indeed your order, or then make known the error(s) and the carhop then corrects the mistakes (or at least tries to). When both parties are in agreement that the order is fulfilled, the carhop will hand you a receipt if you paid via card system, or repeat your total amount due, which at that point you provide sufficient funds.

6. If change is needed, the carhop provides the correct amount at that time. Process is then complete.

Note that in the average sequence of events, you only interact with Sonic employees twice during the entire process... once when you place your order through the menu stall; the other being when the carhop brings your order and if needed, funds are excahnged. Now when in that process, does the carhop, who only has a minuscule part in the entire process, should they deserve a tip? if a tip is to be given at Sonic, it should be to the cooks who have to juggle many orders at one time and get it right the first time.

With this long long tirade, remember that Sonic is a fast food restaurant (Short order cooking) and transfers the dining room to your appropriate stall outside the brick and mortar building. it is essentially a 50's drive in diner with less service and interaction.

no tip is needed for such a lack of service

excuse me while I run off with my tail between my legs....

I would suppose that all "Crew" members make the same as far as salary goes. If you'll look at the link from Sonic's Web site, you'll see that they don't even break it down to server, cook, order-taker (?). So basically, if you fill out a Crew application, you get any one of the Crew jobs. This means that they'd all pretty much have to be making the same thing; otherwise, people would apply for individual positions. Right? (I don't know! I don't tip on a regular basis because I heard they already make good money and are only transferring.)

http://www.sonicdrivein.com/business/careers/positionsCrew.jsp

jasonarredondo said:

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Sometimes I tip.

But I dont feel obligated to tip anyone who is making a full wage.

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I'm not sure if this is still the case but when the daughter of a friend of mine worked there about 5 years ago, you didn't get a full wage if you were working as a car hop. Only if you worked the drive thru. Car hops got waiter pay plus tips.

Tipping (or not) at Sonic since 2008.

The thing that's changed is tipping is on pay screens everywhere these days.

2001AggieDJ said:

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originally, tipping occured PRIOR to the meal/drinks, to ensure proper service, but now its become a post event. Not sure when it transitioned.

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When was that? 1800s?

If you're paid as a waiter/less than minimum wage, then yes I tip as that is part of their income equation.

If you're paid more than minimum wage, then no tip.