The e-mail asked about the tipping policy when you order a meal “to go” from a restaurant with curbside pick up.

I asked the manager of a popular restaurant chain about the tipping policy. She stated that the corporation headquarters assumes the waiters are being tipped but she found that not to be true. She pays the people doing curbside delivery on an hourly basis so they don’t have to depend on tips. She said tips were always welcome, however, and that a dollar or two would be appropriate.

A restaurant owner in Virginia said the wait staff doing curbside receives the same salary as the regular staff. He added that the staff seems to like doing curbside so he believes they are being tipped. As to what amount, he said it would be up to the customer. So while I don’t have a definitive answer for our WTOP listeners, I would say that tipping is the right thing to do, on a scale considerably lower than for restaurant service.