Do you tip at Sonic? That’s a discussion I’ve had with several people recently after discovering that the workers who bring you your food actually expect tips. Should I feel like a jerk for my ignorance in not knowing this already? In my defense, I usually use the drive through, but when I don’t, I usually don’t tip.

I know, they don’t expect a lot but the thought of tipping at a fast food restaurant just seems weird to me. When you go through a drive through somewhere, and they ask you to pull up because your food isn’t ready yet, do you tip the person that finally does bring it?

If I have about 50 cents or so left, I may let them keep the change but I’m not going to go out of my way to give an extra something. No offense, but unless you’re coming by and refilling my drinks, I just don’t see it as being necessary. Not to mention, if you expect a tip, you need to make that an option for people paying with a debit card. One point that’s been made to me is the fact that the workers usually get paid minimum wage. They’re not actual waiters and waitresses here.

Almost every time I have this conversation with someone, I’m reminded of something that happened to me. A couple days or so after my cousin and I had gone to Sonic on the Loop and 64 in Tyler, I was cleaning out my car which required me to pick take out the Sonic bag from just nights before. In it, I found some ketchup packets. On one of those packets was written a girls name and phone number.

This had us puzzled. Was it intended for me, or him, which one? Or was it not intended for either of us. Perhaps someone had written a name and number on several packets and threw them in there and we happened to be one of the (not so) “lucky” ones. Regardless, the possibilities were endless.

That night at Sonic, there was no flirtatious Sonic employee. There was no drop dead gorgeous woman for whom either of us would consider buying a Rout 44 strawberry limeade. We simply came to the conclusion if the number actually belonged to a girl worth calling, we would have remembered it and therefore, we decided to let it remain a mystery. Who knows, maybe she was just trying to get a tip.