I always add a $1 tip when paying at the drive thru stall when doing sonic shops because I feel bad otherwise. If it's under $10 do I include it when it asks for receipt amount? Or do I put what the amount was before tip? For example, if the food was $8 and I add a dollar tip to my card payment, do I enter in $8 or $9...since the reimbursement amount is up to $10? Thanks

Sonic does not reimburse for tips. The guidelines specifically say it is not part of their business model. If you feel the need to tip, just do it with cash.

Sonic employees are not paid a tipable wage, so the franchisee has no obligation to give the employess the tips collected. The folks you think you are tipping are not getting that money.

The instructions state, "Tipping is not part of the Sonic Business Model. You will not be reimbursed for tips." This was copied and pasted. So, I do not tip.

Feel bad for what? You tip $1 to make yourself feel better? Do you do this at McD and any other fast food places or just specifically at Sonic?

I'm not opposed to tipping, but they better do something more than just take an order and hand me the bag of food I paid for.

I have tipped at non-tipping fast food places for someone who's walking around the dining room and offering to remove trash from your table or even getting you a refill. That is beyond their job expectations (at least my expectation). I'm not tipping cuz I feel sorry. I'm tipping because the person went ABOVE and BEYOND.

@tcolwell wrote:

I always add a $1 tip when paying at the drive thru stall when doing sonic shops because I feel bad otherwise. If it's under $10 do I include it when it asks for receipt amount? Or do I put what the amount was before tip? For example, if the food was $8 and I add a dollar tip to my card payment, do I enter in $8 or $9...since the reimbursement amount is up to $10? Thanks

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/07/2023 12:41AM by hbbigdaddy.

They keep stressing that tipping is not part of their business model yet the payment screen tries to extort a tip out of you before you even get any service. That pisses me off.

This is an endlessly debated topic. There is not a national Sonic wage standard. It varies by region or even location, from what I have learned. Some make minimum wage or a little above, some less. Either way they make suck wages.

I just don't get it..if they are going to reimburse $10 why wouldn't they reimburse an $8 total that includes a $1 tip..it's still under $10

If I tip anywhere, it's always cash.

That way I know the person I'm tipping gets it and they can spend it that night if they want to instead of waiting to get it in their paycheck where it is taxed.

@sestrahelena wrote:

They keep stressing that tipping is not part of their business model yet the payment screen tries to extort a tip out of you before you even get any service. That pisses me off.

I also dislike being asked to tip before service. That whole thing has been a disaster with food delivery services. In the case of Sonic, however, I believe there was strong public sentiment to add the option, as the customer would not be able to leave a tip on the table, and many did not carry cash.

@tcolwell wrote:

I just don't get it..if they are going to reimburse $10 why wouldn't they reimburse an $8 total that includes a $1 tip..it's still under $10

Because then corporate will end up paying an employee an extra dollar if they reimburse us for that. Instead, they want to reimburse only what counts as, "sales" on the record.

Because they state they will not.

@tcolwell wrote:

I just don't get it..if they are going to reimburse $10 why wouldn't they reimburse an $8 total that includes a $1 tip..it's still under $10

(MSC name) reimburses up to $10 for your required purchase only.
That was directly from the guidelines.

@tcolwell - I give them a tip, too.

I would likely only tip in extreme weather- super hot, rainy, etc. or amazing service, and would give cash.

I'm over the whole "tip for everything" culture we've created here in the US.

Many consumers are very frustrated with the constant requests for tips, for little or no service, and being asked to tip in advance before any service is provided. Many restaurants don't even list a 15% option anymore on the kiosks. The prices of the meals have gone way up, so the servers are getting higher tips. I don't see why the percentage should go up, too, especially since a lot of payments are done on kiosks, so the servers are doing even less work than when they had to process the payments. I have even seen notes on tip jars begging/guilting for tips at fast casual restaurants. Tacky!

Also, the whole system of tipping is not really logical. The server does the same amount of work whether someone orders an $8 burger or a $40 lobster dinner.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/13/2023 10:15PM by mjt9598.

Sonic pays their people a regular wage, NOT server's wages. The minimum wage for servers in the US is $2.13 per hour. Tips are supposed to make up the difference. Because Sonic does not employ servers at a tipped wage, they are not required to pass any amount of the tips collected on to their employees. You are effectively just giving Sonic more money for no good reason.

@Morledzep wrote:

Sonic pays their people a regular wage, NOT server's wages. The minimum wage for servers in the US is $2.13 per hour. Tips are supposed to make up the difference. Because Sonic does not employ servers at a tipped wage, they are not required to pass any amount of the tips collected on to their employees. You are effectively just giving Sonic more money for no good reason.

Thanks for the info. I tip the amount up to the next dollar but always pay in cash at Sonic. I figure that's OK ... employee can pocket the tip (if they know how to calculate the overage lol). What Sonic don't know, Sonic can't steal.

Corrected...The minimum wage for servers in California is the same as the min wage for anyone else...now somewhere around $15. I have seen signs in windows of fast food places that they pay $18-20 an hour. I believe the fast food workers elsewhere do not get paid the restaurant wage of $2.13 as that wage is for those providing table service. I believe some other states also have no special min wage for restaurants. I think California is still part of the the US. Maybe not for long though.

@Morledzep wrote:

Sonic pays their people a regular wage, NOT server's wages. The minimum wage for servers in the US is $2.13 per hour. Tips are supposed to make up the difference. Because Sonic does not employ servers at a tipped wage, they are not required to pass any amount of the tips collected on to their employees. You are effectively just giving Sonic more money for no good reason.

Sonic is talking out two sides of its arse.

One one hand in the MS instructions it will claim that "tipping is not part of its business mode" (and so by golly you will NOT reimbursed if you tip!) ..;;however the tipping mechanism has now been added to the app. They want it both ways...............and don't reimburse shoppers for tipping. I tip if they bring me my food.

Sandyf, I'm NOT in CA. and servers, not fast food employees, do get paid less than the federal minimum wage here. Judging by the difficulty restaurants have getting servers to work for them, I believe the wage they are offering is very close to the federal minimum wage of $2.13 for servers (tipped). We have restaurants that are only open from noon to 16:00 here because they can't get anyone to work any later. And when they are open, 80% of the tables are empty. So there aren't any tips to be made.

I was correcting this statement of yours....
@Morledzep wrote:

" The minimum wage for servers in the US is $2.13 per hour. "

@Morledzep wrote:

Sandyf, I'm NOT in CA. and servers, not fast food employees, do get paid less than the federal minimum wage here. Judging by the difficulty restaurants have getting servers to work for them, I believe the wage they are offering is very close to the federal minimum wage of $2.13 for servers (tipped). We have restaurants that are only open from noon to 16:00 here because they can't get anyone to work any later. And when they are open, 80% of the tables are empty. So there aren't any tips to be made.

Sandyf,

That IS the current Federal minimum wage for servers who get tips. In ALL 50 states. But states can choose a higher minimum wage, they just can't choose to inact lower minimum wages. And individual business owners CAN pay their servers what they are actually worth, regardless of the minimum wage.

It may be true that California can choose to pay servers $2.13 an hour but California has chosen to pay servers the same minimum wage as anyone else who is an employee.(over $15 an hour plus tips) So your statement, although it may be true, is in fact misleading without the qualification that quite a few states over ride that federal law. I have included a chart I found online showing the minimum wages paid in different states. I just want to point out that if you walk into a restaurant in a different state than yours you should not assume the servers are earning $2.13 an hour. Many of them are but in some states servers earn twice Federal minimum wage for regular (non tipped ) employees.

[www.dol.gov]

And all of that nonsense still doesn't make it so that the tips that Sonic collects are given to the employees.

Calling on my lifelong experience as a waitress, I certainly do not begrudge ANYONE a tip if, and when, it is deserved. I have often tipped for things like oil changes and home repairs when they did an excellent job. Carhops have to work in freezing cold, atomic heat, deal with idiot customers and idiot corporate BS. Whatever their meager wage is, it is not enough IMO. As mentioned in other posts, the best way to insure that the person you want to tip is the actual recipient of said tip is to tip the person DIRECTLY. IN CASH (as wrosie said) and AFTER BEING SERVED. Here’s why from my real-life stories:

One diner owner, when at the restaurant (Croton Diner I am calling you out!), would disappear to the office after the dinner rush and tell all the wait staff that no one received any credit card tips that night. Yet we knew differently, especially since there were many regular customers who never would have stiffed us
.
At another restaurant, all credit card tips were pooled and divided, as far as we knew, evenly among ALL staff, even the ones who got more than $2/hr.

At yet another, we received our CC tips at the end of the night – minus “Service charges.”

These are some of the lighter stories but, yes, there are many ways in which a corporation, manager, coworker or owner can and will steal the gratuity meant for a server.
As mentioned, you never know who will get your money when tipping via credit card, whether the server will get it at all or even a portion of it. If you pay by card for everything, as I do, you might keep a little pile of fives and singles in your glove compartment for just this casual type of occasion. Just something to think about.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/18/2023 07:06PM by sestrahelena.

@sestrahelena Thanks for sharing your experience! I'll definitely be tipping in cash for now on!

I got my hair cut at a walk in, no appointment chain. It cost $18.00. The screen on the charge card terminal offered several pre-determined options for tips. The lowest option was $5 (more than 25 percent of the bill) and went up from there. I chose the add my own amount option, and gave the stylist a 20% tip.

@mjt9598 wrote:

Many restaurants don't even list a 15% option anymore on the kiosks

It seems to me we shoppers might want to use our influence in our reports: "I overheard several customers complaining about the tipping options", etc.