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It's the age-old question: Should I tip for takeout?

After all, nobody sets your table, fills your water glass or listens to you whine about the spots on your butter knife. The kitchen does most of the work.

On the other hand, somebody goes to the trouble of packaging the food, utensils and napkins, and double-checking the order -- hopefully -- before ringing it up.

Understandably, opinions on the subject vary.

"The more value and service you get from the wait staff should determine the level of tip," said Ryan Lippe of the Northwest Side. "I believe tips are unnecessary when I pick up items rather than relying on service for my meal. I see a difference between a two-minute carryout transaction and an hour or two of value-added service from wait staff."

Some in the industry, such as Michelle Zidian, disagree. When she didn't work in a restaurant, she never tipped for take-out. That changed when she became general manager of Aladdin's Eatery in Dublin.

"And now when I go and get carryout, I always do," she said. "I really didn't see what goes on behind the scenes, what they have to do."

Most Aladdin's customers don't tip, she said. However, "I do have a few customers who do 15 to 20 percent, but mostly it's a buck or two."

It seems everybody has his hands out these days, from the pizza delivery guy to the counter-service operators who leave tip jars near the cash register.

The average tip is generally 15 to 20 percent for dine-in customers at full-service restaurants. Kevin Moll, president of the Denver-based Restaurant Startup Consultants Inc., said he believes it's fair to leave a minimum of 10 percent for a take-out order from those types of establishments. The reason, he said, is there usually is a dedicated staff member -- server or bartender -- who takes care of the orders and relies on tips for income.

"It doesn't involve running back and forth to the bar or running back and forth to the kitchen, but it does involve some extra time, extra labor and extra care to properly put the order together and make sure it's correct," Moll said.

To put it in perspective, he added, it would be $4 on a $40 bill.

"There are weeks when you get tips and there are weeks when you get none," said Richard Malak, who owns Krystyna's Delicatessen on Grandview Avenue. Even though he does all the cooking, cleaning and preparation, customers don't see fit to tip the owner. Still, tips are appreciated, not so much for the cash but for the show of support for the business, he said.

"I don't expect them," he said. "You pay your price for whatever you purchase."

Restaurants in the Bravo Development Inc. chain -- Bravo, Brio, Bon Vie and Lindey's Polaris -- put the host or hostess in charge of preparing to-go orders. Tim Nikolai, general manager of Lindey's Polaris, said customers at his restaurant get curbside treatment, though the staff doesn't prepare a large number of orders per week. At Bravo on Hayden Run Road, however, carryout accounts for roughly 10 percent of weekly sales. Still, about 20 percent of customers dutifully contribute 5 to 10 percent for the effort.

"It was never anything that we encouraged," Nikolai said. "We didn't discourage it by any stretch of the imagination. It was hit or miss."

Circumstances might dictate how much you leave. It does for Tim Cummiskey, a music professor at Ohio State University and guitarist who performs at many restaurants and taverns.

"If it's a more upscale place that required extra prep, I would tip," he said.

The Gramercy, the new full-service restaurant in the Westerville area, soon will become Barnum & Tibbetts. The name change is being made because it loosely shares the moniker of a popular eatery called Gramercy Tavern in New York City. Fearing a lengthy -- and costly -- trademark battle, the restaurant's owners decided to change the name.

Gramercy, 496 Polaris Parkway, just east of the freeway, was opened a couple of months ago by Craig Barnum, Mike Tibbetts and Bradley Balch. The former two are founding partners of Tucci's, Oscar's and Brazenhead in Dublin; the latter is the executive chef and managing partner of the soon-to-be Barnum & Tibbetts.

Barnum said customers can expect a two- to four-week transition with the name. He points out that two-name restaurants aren't that uncommon in Columbus. Think Smith & Wollensky and McCormick & Schmick's.

Meanwhile, the restaurant has been well-received and could serve as a prototype for future stores, Barnum said.

"We have a name that has some meaning, has some significance," he said. "And we don't have a trademark thing."

Send comments and information via e-mail to Gary Seman Jr. at gseman@thisweeknews.com. Please include contact name and phone number for information.