Off Topic - Tipping Delivery Drivers

"hillrat" (hillrat) 08/20/2020 at 08:22 • Filed to: None

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30 years ago when I delivered pizza and $1 tip on a delivery was solid, $2 was awesome, and $5/ 10 tips were unheard of unless you were delivering 10 pizzas at once. These days I’m no longer sure what the expectation is for tipping delivery drivers.

I usually tip $10 on a food delivery order and, before #ThatRona, I tried to always hand the driver a sawbuck so I know who got the money. But all these fucking apps are trying to make it seem like I should be tipping a percentage of the food order which seems kind of whack to me. A person delivering $100 worth of food is not doing twice as much work as a person delivering $50 worth of food.

I got some groceries delivered to my mother today and tipped $5 on $36 order for delivery, but who is getting that money? The person that grabbed the stuff off the shelves, the driver, Amazon/Whole Foods?

What are y’all doing with tipping delivery drivers these days? Are you tipping a percentage of the order, do you generally go with a flat number, do you tip differently for grocery delivery, and are you tipping more these days? Does tipping through an app change your thinking?

pip bip - choose Corrour > hillrat 08/20/2020 at 09:01

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i don’t tip, not the done thing here in Oz

Ash78, voting early and often > hillrat 08/20/2020 at 09:02

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Complex question, made even more complex by the fact that most places charged for delivery in the 80s, made it free for about 20 years, then have been charging for the past 10 years or so (the fuel spike of 2008-09 brought it back and it never receded).

IMHO as a former delivery driver, a delivery fee is a bad idea and necessarily cuts into tipping. As economists might say, the store is forcibly taking a piece of the “rent” that the driver would otherwise receive directly. Also, I work on the assumption that most drivers today get a little extra money for gas or “per run,” which is something I never had (ie, I was totally dependent on pure wage plus tips)

Pizza: I still abide by the old a dollar a pie, or $2 if it’s a fancy place or a really big pie. I’ll sometimes round it up if the delivery is super fast.

Other: 5-10% on average, but a $2 minimum no matter what

I’ve never done grocery delivery, Postmates, Grubhub, etc, in part because I just don’t like the middleman aspect. I’m certain their delivery fees are also eating into their tips (vs a “free delivery” option), so I hope they’re getting compensated reasonably well.

EDIT: FWIW, I hate the idea of tips being tied to the value of the food, which seems arbitrary. I try to think about it based on the work the server (or delivery person) did, not what their employer charges for the product. So I’ll tip 20% on cheap meals, then more like 10% for $100+ tickets unless some extraordinary work was done.

shop-teacher > hillrat 08/20/2020 at 09:03

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I honestly have no idea what to do about this.  I still only get pizza delivered, and I do 20%+, with a minimum of $5.  It usually ends up being $8-10.  

facw > hillrat 08/20/2020 at 09:04

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I usually just do 15-20%, depending on my mood and if the weather is crappy (maybe more if it’s really bad out, especially when I lived in NYC and everything was delivered by bicycle). I have a lot of restaurants around though so I usually just walk to pick up takeout (and don’t tip for that).

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > hillrat 08/20/2020 at 09:07

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All the places I get delivery from have a delivery charge associated with the order. I pay with card, then mark no tip on the receipt, but still give the driver cash. Usually 2-3 bucks. I know for a fact that the drivers already get paid a little over $10 an hour (at least they did when one of my friends delivered for them), so that’s probably fine. I dunno.

Just Jeepin' > hillrat 08/20/2020 at 09:15

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A person delivering $100 worth of food is not doing twice as much work as a person delivering $50 worth of food. 

Well, maybe.

I recall one memorable pizza delivery in my misspent youth. It took two of us to fit all of the pizzas into our cars. Total cost was over  $200, which back then was real money.

Total tip was $5. So , we each earned $2.50.

That felt a bit shitty.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > hillrat 08/20/2020 at 09:17

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At a full-service restaurant, I generally tip 20% . At a place where I’m doing pretty much all the work, but they bring the food to me and maybe clean up after me, I’ll give ‘em a buck. Same if someone’s pouring me a beer or a coffee. For delivery, I try to keep in mind that the delivery person is likely making minimum wage, and depending on tips, and only getting a couple tips an hour , so (especially recently) I’ll do at least $3 on a small order, $5 on a normal order, and more if it’s bigger, and randomly, I’ll drop a larger tip just to make someone’s day.

I’ve been very fortunate in life so far. If I can brighten someone’s day with a few bucks, why not?

(delivery only applies when I’m renting a place - NO ONE is willing to come all the way out to our home. Ha!)

i86hotdogs > hillrat 08/20/2020 at 09:17

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For me, the distance of the location to my home plays a factor. The nearest Popeyes is a good 35 minutes from me. I make sure they are tipped well for making the haul from there to my home. I also take the time of day into account. If I’m looking for some late night Taco Bell after deleting adult beve rages, I’ll tip them well for coming to my home at the late hour.

In response to your $50 vs $100 worth of food, it’s also dependent on the complexity of the order. I like to make sure they’re tipped well for hauling multiple bags/boxes/packages. I want a burger, he wants wings with two kinds of sauce, she wants a salad with no onions. I know the delivery person likely won’t play a role in prepping the food, but they still have to get it to my home in one hot (or cold) package.

I don’t know if these Doordash/UberEats apps do this, but Jimmy Johns will compensate you annually for miles driven (.20 cents per mile IIRC) plus a small percentage for wear n’ tear on your car (since most employees use their own vehicle to deliver). That’s what their “delivery fee” goes to. For Jimmy Johns, they add a dollar and round up to the next half dollar for their products ($5.89 sandwich rounds up to 7$).

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > pip bip - choose Corrour 08/20/2020 at 09:17

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Must be nice! What’s minimum wage there?

hillrat > Just Jeepin' 08/20/2020 at 09:28

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Yeah, that’s terrible. If I’m getting a large, catering style order I’ll tip accordingly.

pip bip - choose Corrour > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 08/20/2020 at 09:28

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not sure. 

smobgirl > hillrat 08/20/2020 at 09:30

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On the rare occasion when I can’t be bothered to drive the mile to the pizza place I usually tip $3 on my $12 purchase. Dominos also charges $4.99 for delivery (which increased around the start of the pandemic) or I’d probably tip the driver more.

I tip $5 for prime now because that’s the default.

I don’t get anything else delivered. I’ve been tipping better for curbside/to-go  at restaurants since the Rona though - I used to do roughly 10% for takeout but I know those employees are probably struggling more than usual so I’ve been giving closer to 25%+. I can’t really afford takeout too often but if I’ve decided to treat myself the extra $2-3 probably means more to them than me.

facw > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 08/20/2020 at 09:36

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It seems pretty complex based on a whole range of factors, but I put in info for a 21+ non-trainee food delivery driver and it spit out $21.41/hour ($15.29/hour US) as the minimum (no idea what that is at purchasing power parity ) .

Tipping culture is awful though, and I wish we could get rid of it, even though that would obviously mean higher menu prices.

hillrat > pip bip - choose Corrour 08/20/2020 at 09:45

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No tipping ever, under any circumstances? Valets, bell hops, baristas, food servers, and bartenders are simply paid a wage commensurate with the value of the work they do?

Madness!!!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > facw 08/20/2020 at 09:47

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If Biden wins, I’m guessing we’ll see a $15 min wage before long (the biggest employers are already heading that way). Plenty of places here in the US still have some crazy $3/hr wage for employees who make most of their money from tips...

I also wish we could do away with tipping. While it gives you the opportunity to make someone’s day, it also leaves the door open for lots of shitty behavior by shitty people (like a big group that takes all of a server’s time for 2 hours, and then leaves some small tip).

pip bip - choose Corrour > hillrat 08/20/2020 at 09:47

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no. workers here get paid a living wage

hillrat > facw 08/20/2020 at 09:49

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I still tip on takeout, not 20% like I would for a full meal but usually $5 for taking my order and bringing me a bag filled with delicious hot food.  With restaurants and staff struggling it’s the least I can do when I’m fully employed and pretty damn comfortable.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > hillrat 08/20/2020 at 09:50

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Plenty of places it’s viewed as an insult:

Purple: Don’t tip – you risk insulting people. This is the case in Japan, South Korea, Georgia and Iceland.

Light blue: Don’t tip – you’ll unduly surprise or confuse people. They even might attempt to return your money, creating embarrassment all round. This may happen in Peru, Bolivia, Spain, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Thailand.

Dark blue: Don’t tip – it’s not expected. But if you do, people will react pleasantly surprised, or neutral at worst. That’s how it goes in China, Iran, Finland, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Croatia, Macedonia, Brazil and Paraguay.

https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/in-which-countries-should-you-tip-and-how-much

hillrat > pip bip - choose Corrour 08/20/2020 at 09:56

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Let me make sure I have this straight. If I’m in Australia and I go to a bar and have a drink, I should NOT tip the bartender?

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > shop-teacher 08/20/2020 at 09:57

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That’s solid. I’d think any delivery driver would be quite happy with that.

Tipping really is complicated, though. Maybe to make it clearer, every person in the service industry should wear their hourly pay on a button or something...

Oklahoma allows employers to take a tip credit of 50%. This means employers may pay employees as little as $3.63 an hour , as long as the employees earn enough in tips to bring their total hourly wage up to at least the state minimum.

For servers, because of the above, I very rarely do less than 20% (only for truly terrible service). In those quick service places, though, where I’m doing 90% of the work, I assume they’re not getting paid as a waiter, so I just tip a buck at the counter. For delivery folks, I assume they’re getting close to min. wage, and only getting a couple tips an hour, so I try to be a little more generous.

JustAnotherG6 > facw 08/20/2020 at 10:00

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Fun Fact: the person running the register and handing you your food when picking up take out gets paid the same shitty amount as a server (here I think it’s $3 -$4 / hr.). I always throw some cash their way.

But then again I follow the mantra of “ it’s not tipping I believe in, it’s over tipping.”

JustAnotherG6 > pip bip - choose Corrour 08/20/2020 at 10:00

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must be nice.

hillrat > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 08/20/2020 at 10:00

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Good stuff, thanks. T ipping is a horrible practice and should generally be done away with.

shop-teacher > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 08/20/2020 at 10:01

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When I delivered pizza in the late 90's, I made $2/hour, plus tips and delivery charges.

hillrat > JustAnotherG6 08/20/2020 at 10:05

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But then again I follow the mantra of “ it’s not tipping I believe in, it’s over tipping.”

You are correct sir!

I promised myself when I got out of the service industry I was NEVER going to be one of those assholes talking about how “ I used to be a bartender” and then leave an anemic tip. It’s a practice that has served me well over the years.  

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > shop-teacher 08/20/2020 at 10:06

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A listing here in town says “up to $15/hr”. Do the delivery charges still go directly to the drivers, I wonder?

My first job was for Domino’s, at 12, hanging door tags. We’d all load up in the back of a pickup , get dropped off on one side of a street, and picked up at the other. Got $20 and all the pizza I could eat for a morning’s work - I was living the dream!

pip bip - choose Corrour > hillrat 08/20/2020 at 10:08

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correct

JustAnotherG6 > hillrat 08/20/2020 at 10:13

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I worked the overnight shift at a Perkins in a College town. One of only two restaurants open after bar close. It was a good learning experience , I made a fair amount of money (turn over is key there, cause no one is leaving much) and it left me with a level of appreciation of the job that you can only get after having to slog through it.

shop-teacher > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 08/20/2020 at 10:14

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I guarantee they’re figuring tips into that number. I’d usually clear $ 10-12 an hour back then.  As for the delivery charge, I imagine that varies from place to place.

facw > JustAnotherG6 08/20/2020 at 10:14

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I just don’t see much reason to tip someone who hands me the bag. I pay online anyway, so they aren’t even working the register. Here in MA, workers need to be tipped a certain amount a month to qualify for the shitty minimum wage (though it’s a low amount), but they also must make at least $12.75 an hour between tips and wages, so they shouldn’t be stuck making $4.95 /hour if they aren’t getting tips.

JustAnotherG6 > facw 08/20/2020 at 10:24

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Every state has slightly different laws. And no, they shouldn’t be stuck making below minimum wage. I have no issue throwing a few extra bucks their way so I do. Kind of like a ‘thank you’ but with cash.

hillrat > facw 08/20/2020 at 10:29

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I disagree with you, but that’s fair. Business owners are forcing us to subsidize their labor costs via tipping. 

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > hillrat 08/20/2020 at 11:15

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Large orders take significantly longer to be prepared, so if you are using an app based system you SHOULD tip more with a large order to a certain point because they’ll be waiting quite a while without being able to pick up other orders. I tip based on time/delivery distance expected, not the value of the food itself. So $5 tip for a short distance at a fast food place and more from a sit down further away.

I’ve never used grocery delivery apps so I don’t know how that works. Theoretically the tip money goes directly to the driver, but apps are pretty hazy on how they actually work. Also, cash tipping means the driver is just shown the built in amount earned for an order and is less likely to accept it . 

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > pip bip - choose Corrour 08/20/2020 at 11:17

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I wish they’d just build a living salary into the cost of the service. It’s not a good system we have here at all. Must be nice.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 08/20/2020 at 11:20

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I know with doordash pre tip wage on orders is genuinely awful. I think only a portion of the delivery fee is distributed to the driver but I think it went on a sliding scale where we earned a small base pay plus a portion of the value of the food included in the fee plus a ton of gravy for corporate. 

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > i86hotdogs 08/20/2020 at 11:23

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I wish I could have got a delivery job directly from a restaurant because you typically earn more that way, but the whole reason I delivered was because of my crazy unpredictable free hours. Doordash knows this and the app based economy revolves around “almost as good but more flexible”

Textured Soy Protein > hillrat 08/20/2020 at 12:06

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All the apps like Grubhub, Postmates, Doordash etc screw the hell out of the restaurants and they skim tips from their drivers in various ways. Generally speaking, the more direct the relationship between the driver and the place for which they’re delivering, the more likely they are to actually receive the tip. Both with restaurants and groceries. So if you’re trying to make your purchase as beneficial as possible to the business and/or the driver, always check for in-house online ordering/delivery first before using a 3rd party service.

Me personally, I live right in the middle of basically any and every possible restaurant and grocery store imaginable so I rarely order delivery. It’s so easy for me to pop over to these places that delivery only happens in moments of extreme laziness. I ordered a little more delivery than usual at the beginning of the lockdowns but since people and businesses around here are for the most part pretty good with mask wearing and sanitary precautions , I feel relatively safe going on shopping trips or picking up takeout.

I’ve been trying as much as I can to leave tips on takeout orders but sometimes it’s not possible. 

i86hotdogs > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 08/20/2020 at 12:34

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That’s why I drove for Lyft for a few months. If I had a few hours to kill, I’d go pick people up and take em around Detroit. It was a good way to get to know the area that you can’t find on a pamphlet.

hillrat > Textured Soy Protein 08/20/2020 at 13:00

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So if you’re trying to make your purchase as beneficial as possible to the business and/or the driver, always check for in-house online ordering/delivery first before using a 3rd party service.

^^^^^^^^^This right here. I mostly order from local joints and often go old school and call my order in if that’s the way the place likes to get down.

Textured Soy Protein > hillrat 08/20/2020 at 13:27

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One thing to watch out for is to make sure the number you’re calling is actually the restaurant. Companies like Grubhub create spoof numbers where thanks to SEO you google the number but you’re actually calling a Grubhub call center that’s stealth acting as an intermediary between you and the restaurant. Best to make sure any number you call matches what’s listed directly on the restaurant’s site. 

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > i86hotdogs 08/20/2020 at 13:42

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Indeed. You get taken to out of the way places frequently.

onlytwowheels > hillrat 08/20/2020 at 14:32

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Since I live in the sticks, there are not any restaurant/grocery deliveries available. At the onset of the pandemic, I was able to place an order with Schwan’s that totaled a bit over $100, reduced to just over $50 with the 50% off discount code. I tipped the driver $15, which I thought was very fair.

We have a nearby seafood/ ice cream res taurant not too far from home that w as closed for several weeks due to covid of regulations. It reopened, offering take out only, and a reduction in days of operation. I have made a handful of visits there since they reopened, and I have over tipped, sometimes as much as 50%, because I know they are working harder for less. The reduction in hours, along with the reduction in customers in an area that relies on tourism, has caused them financial hardship. Serving eve ryone through windows originally only for the ice cream parlor, disinfecting after each transaction, packing and bagging all the dinner orders, has created additional burden for a smaller paycheck. I hope my tips help to bring them closer to the wages they had an ticipated prior to the corona virus.

hillrat > Textured Soy Protein 08/20/2020 at 15:16

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Again, you are correct sir.

hillrat > onlytwowheels 08/20/2020 at 16:28

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That’s righteous. 

SmugAardvark > hillrat 08/20/2020 at 18:57

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For delivery, I tip a minimum of 20%, but usually 25% or more. They’re risking themselves for my benefit, and deserved to be compensated.

hillrat > SmugAardvark 08/21/2020 at 07:21

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That’s righteous.