Question: If you order food to go at a restaurant, should you tip the person who gets it for you?

        Answer: Jeff Cochran, a bartender at Copeland's of New Orleans in Deerfield Township, puts it best: “Customers don't have to tip for takeout orders, but it's a beautiful thing when they do.”

        Tipping, of course, is always voluntary. You could get through life without ever leaving tips. What are they going to do, arrest you? But it's amazing how strong the expectations are for tipping.

        We know that people depend on tips for income, we want to do the right thing, and probably most important, we don't want to look cheap.

        So maybe the question really is: Do other people tip when they get orders to go?

        “It's about 50-50 on whether people tip,” says Alex Blust, manager at Trio in Kenwood. “Leaving a tip for a takeout order is a courtesy, and it depends on the size of the order or the amount of trouble. Most people leave 8-10 percent.”

        “It's purely up to the guest,” Mr. Cochran says. “Nobody's offended if you don't. Most people generally throw in a buck or two.”

        At places built on takeout, most people don't tip.

        “I pay my counter people above minimum wage,” says Tommy Behle, owner of Behle Street To Go in Fort Mitchell. “We say gratuities are accepted but not expected. If people do tip, it's usually 5-10 percent.”

        At Roly-Poly, downtown, owner Barry Elkus says: “Tips aren't built into the equation. Our workers are paid like they aren't going to be tipped.”

        I've never heard of anyone tipping at McDonald's, though their employees generally could use it. Why tip a bartender but not a barista?

        Perhaps the rule of thumb should be: If the person getting your order together normally depends on tips for income, then tip at least a modest amount. If it's a place that's set up for counter service, then tip if you're in a good mood.

       Send questions to dining critic Polly Campbell by fax: 768-8330; e-mail: pcampbell@enquirer.com.

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