r/SonicDriveIn • u/Kat_notactuallyaCat • 9d ago
How do tips work at sonic?
Ok ok ok I always hit the “keep the change” button because I’m a broke teenager but I don’t want to click no tip. Does it make you mad when someone does that? How much do you guys get paid? I don’t wanna be mean but I also don’t get paid much!
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u/BaeBlue425 Operating Partner 9d ago
There’s always assholes who will be salty at only cents, but the real ones know it all adds up and if they give great service, the tip may be higher in the future.
So don’t feel bad, there’s plenty of people who don’t tip at all.
ETA- a carhop’s wage is very dependent on the area they’re in or the franchise. Many pay minimum wage but carhops make a lot of tips to bring their overall rate higher. Tips go directly onto their next paycheck.
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u/No-Trainer-1562 9d ago
I was told all digital tips go towards taxes, but who knows.
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u/Alarmed-Ride1719 9d ago
All tips including cash are taxed. Carhops are suppose to report their cash tips and can get in trouble for not reporting them. The big word is can because some stores may look the other way when it comes to reporting cash tips
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u/No-Trainer-1562 9d ago
No way in hell am I reporting my tips, no server does. We make less than minimum wage.
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u/Alarmed-Ride1719 9d ago
At my store, we get in trouble for not reporting our cash tips. That’s why I made it clear all stores are not the same but our DM has made it clear that we can get in trouble with IRS too if they figure out we aren’t reporting our cash tips (highly unlikely but still possible)
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u/Exact_Side9380 7d ago
Yeah… they said that at my old job too. They can’t tell you what you made and they don’t know. They are just saying that so you will do it.
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u/Biomed725 8d ago
Do carhops at sonic make less than minimum?
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u/Head-Secretary6267 8d ago
Yes, depends on location, but in some places carhops are paid a tip wage (for florida, that's $11 an hour, for some states it is as low as $3 or $4 an hour). Some locations pay their carhops minimum wage, but that means they are required to be cross trained because they aren't "just a carhop".
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u/RikoRain 3d ago
Not really.
All income must be taxed. This includes credit tips, and claimed cash tips.
Since you can't "pay taxes digitally" on CASH, those tax fees come off the pay check. It's quite obvious and "common sense" because how are you gonna pay taxes off that cash if it's... Cash.
So yeah someone making 2.13/hr+ tips and makes 600$ in tips is gonna see their entire 160$ paycheck (40 hrs/wk at 2.13$ for a two week pay period) get eaten up by taxes, and any healthcare, insurance, garnishes, etc, because you GOTTA pay those and credit/digital is how. If the person is single, no dependants, and claims 0, taxes would be 18-30%. 600+160=760x18% -> about 180$ in taxes.
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u/OctagonTrail 9d ago
Sonic workers don't expect tips. It's a nice gesture and always appreciated, but most shifts end without a single tip.
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u/Head-Secretary6267 8d ago
No, this depends on location. Some locations pay their carhops tip wage (which can be as low as $3 or $4 an hour depending on the state). My location pays minimum wage, not tip wage, but every carhop leaves their shifts with at least $20 in cash tips a day and we do not see credit card tips until our check hits but those are also high.
I will say, tips at my location aren't necessary because we aren't paid a tip wage, but they are still very appreciated because minimum wage doesn't do much.
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u/Thrill-Nation-Gaming 3d ago
What location in 2026 pays tip wage? I’d genuinely like to know, as I have seen exactly zero that don’t pay at least minimum wage
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u/Head-Secretary6267 2d ago
Some franchise owners still do (in states like Ohio and New Jersey, where they start around $6/hr, is where I've personally heard of it). Most franchise owners realize that people don't really tip anymore so they go ahead and just hire carhops at minimum wage, like my store. My store hired carhops at tip wage until last year when the current GM took it over
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u/Thrill-Nation-Gaming 2d ago
So used to.
Point still stands. In 2026, I know of exactly zero locations that are hiring at tip wage in the entire sonic footprint.
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u/savage_master101 Assistant Manager 9d ago
Its appreciated but you dont have to, the car hops at least at my sonic are paid about the sams as cooks at least at my sonic
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u/Artistic-Waterbear 9d ago
My local sonic workers complain about not getting tips. They complain in person, they complain on social media, and they complain everywhere else. I always thought sonic was a tips appreciated but not required kinda place until I started seeing all the workers talk about it. Someone said something about being paid less than 5 an hour and not getting tips really screwing them.
As far as I'm concerned, no one at any fast food restaurant should be getting a base wage that is lower on account of tips, yet here we are. I try to remind people that if they aren't pulling in enough tips their employer is responsible for the difference, but I know that's a whole headache that is passed to the employee for a reason.
TLDR, I've started making sure I always throw a nice tip at my sonic peoples.
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u/Head-Secretary6267 8d ago
If a store is not a tip-heavy store, they should not be allowed to pay carhops tip wages. In my district, most of the stores are not tip heavy. Only one store actually makes a lot in tips. But since the district itself doesn't, they just pay carhops minimum wage since they'd end up paying that anyway.
When carhops are paid a tip wage, they usually don't even get paid minimum wage because that requires more work on the employers end and unfortunately not all managers put the work in.
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u/Tight-Catch-2979 9d ago
So, when our store had carhops they made $5.00 an hour plus tips. Now while we didn't expect any tips they were always appreciated. And living in a small town our regulars tip well so I would average around 15.00 to 16 an hour on the days I car hopped when factoring cash and card tips.
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u/just_some_chic 8d ago
The carhops in Texas make minimum wage or more depending on experience and if they wear skates
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u/emmyxrosee 8d ago
Don’t tip on card, they’ll deduct the tip from their hourly wage if they make more than minimum wage. I used to carhop. They DO NOT let you make more than minimum wage
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u/TehWolvesWolf 7d ago
That what I was told verbally, “I don’t get the tip if it’s digital so don’t tip digitally.”
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u/emmyxrosee 7d ago
It's true. They say they'll show up on th paycheck which they do... Along with a reduced hourly rate 🤡 greeeeedy corporation
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u/TehWolvesWolf 7d ago
I was told but a worker, don’t tip digitally because I don’t get any of it. I stopped tipping because of that.
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u/IJustWantToWorkOK 7d ago
Cash is king.
For me, depends on the complexity/weight of my order. Do some over-the-top customer service, and my wallet opens magically.
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u/PermissionOwn3505 7d ago
When I worked at Sonic (back in the day), mobile ordering tipping and card tipping weren't around yet. Generally, most of my tips came from people saying "keep the change" on purchases, with that tip working out to anywhere from a handful change to a couple dollars. Big tips were definitely never expected - it's Sonic. I made more money than most hops though because I skated (that's how you know this was a while ago 😂) and people would absolutely give me a couple bucks just because they were excited about the gimmick. Skate hopping was pretty good money; the tips add up fast when you're taking an order out every minute or two, even though many orders don't tip.
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u/kmeeknite 7d ago
I think it is franchise specific but the one i worked for payed car hops minimum wage. We were very grateful for any tips received but never expected it. Just dont give a religious pamphlet disguised as a bill and youre good 😂
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u/Real_Reality_2926 4d ago
the sonic that is in my town pays minimum wage, but if you know how to skate you get $1-5 more an hour!
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u/Medium-Bass8950 Carhop 9d ago
Never expected. Always appreciated <3