Dammit, Tip Your Pizza Delivery Person Good !!!!!!!

The BBQ Pit
101

[QUOTE=x-ray vision]

No, it wouldn’t be. A delivery charge is a charge for the delivery- not the food. I would not tip the delivery person less because I thought the pizza cost too much. Likewise, I would not tip a waitress less because I thought the price of the food was high. I would skip tipping the waitress altogether if the establishment added a gratuity that I thought was sufficient. That’s what the situation in this thread is tantamount to.
[/QUOTE]

Delivery Fee != Gratuity.

A tacked on gratuity goes to the waitstaff, so it makes sense to subtract it from the tip.

A delivery fee generally does not go to the waitstaff, so it doesn’t make sense to subtract it from the tip.

The delivery fee is a fee you pay to the restaurant for its sending the pizza over to you. The tip is a gratuity you give to the driver for the quality of his service.* These are two separate payments to two separate entitites for two separate considerations. It does not make sense to subtract the amount that you give to the one based on the amount you give to the other. In terms of who owes what to who, the two payments have nothing to do with each other.

-FrL-
*(We usually think of it as “quality of service” but really there’s not much opportunity for a driver to show that, so it seems people tip drivers for different reasons. It seems, in fact, to be a kind of “sympathy tip.” But this is a separate issue than the one we’re directly discussing. In point of fact, I tip drivers less than I would tip a waiter because their is not as much of a question about the quality of their service.)

102

[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright]
Right… these “delivery charges” border on fraud, inasmuch as little to none of the additional charge goes to the driver. I’d start boycotting the major chains if… well, if Papa John’s wasn’t so damn delicious. :mad:
[/QUOTE]

I’m not sure this is fact. When I worked in the business, the delivery fee was $1.50, or $1.75 and all of it went to the driver to pay for gas & automobile upkeep. Tips & minimum wage were what we lived on. Maybe things have changed in the last decade.

103

[QUOTE=Labrador Deceiver]
I’m not sure this is fact. When I worked in the business, the delivery fee was $1.50, or $1.75 and all of it went to the driver to pay for gas & automobile upkeep. Tips & minimum wage were what we lived on. Maybe things have changed in the last decade.
[/QUOTE]

According to the current (chain-store) drivers in the last thread we had about this, they still get more or less the same 65 cents per delivery (or whatever) they used to - with no service charge at all.

By way of example, my local Papa John’s now charges $1.75 for delivery, of which 25 cents (more) goes to the driver.

104

[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright]
According to the current (chain-store) drivers in the last thread we had about this, they still get more or less the same 65 cents per delivery (or whatever) they used to - with no service charge at all.

By way of example, my local Papa John’s now charges $1.75 for delivery, of which 25 cents (more) goes to the driver.
[/QUOTE]

The “(more)” is confusing me. What does that mean?

-FrL-

105

I found a way around this whole issue, I just pick it up myself. I got tired of the $2 delivery charge and the $2. I was spending $4 extra dollars because I was too lazy to get it myself? Screw that.

I’ve found that picking it up myself has a few advantages. I can always get it back to my apartment faster and hotter than the driver would plus I can stop at anywhere I need to and pick up drinks, dessert, porn, etc. that I can then enjoy with my pizza.

106

[QUOTE=wring]
I was with you til here. No, I don’t get paid more 'cause it’s costing me more to get to and fromwork, but work related mileage rates did in fact go up as of 7/1/08
[/QUOTE]
Jobs in which transportation costs are figured as part of income, I easily believe those folks have gotten raises to go with rising costs. I meant - say someone lives 25 minutes from a regular office job. It’s costing them more to get to and from work, but I don’t believe many businesses have given this type of worker a cost-of-living increase specifically for transportation costs.

107

[QUOTE=Frylock]
The “(more)” is confusing me. What does that mean?

-FrL-
[/QUOTE]

Prior to the institution of (nationwide) delivery charges, chain store gave their drivers a per-delivery/per-mile stipend of <$1/<30 cents.

Some stores in rural areas - ie. with longer delivery distances - charged delivery fees and paid a higher stipend.

In the last 3-4 years, the chains have instituted delivery charges across the board, ranging from $1 to $4. However, a small fraction of this sum goes where you’d expect - to the driver, presumably to help defray rising fuel costs. The drivers are getting abour 25 cents of each dollar of “delivery charge”, at most, in addition to their delivery stipend. See here.

Customers don’t know that, for the most part, so they tip less, assuming that the delivery fee should count as some or all of the customary tip. Those of us who know tip on top of the fee, of course.

The pizza chains are basically raising prices without officially raising prices, and disguising the price hike as a delivery charge. That’s why I called it borderline fraud. The drivers are the ones taking the hit, in most cases, rather than customers.

108

[QUOTE=Fuji]
That’s OK. Fortunately, I (as hypothetical pizza driver) feel a similar lack of obligation to bust my ass to get your pizza to you as soon as possible. If I have three deliveries in the car, and the other two are going to established good tippers, then yours will most likely not be the first (or second) stop I make.
[/QUOTE]
If you, as hypothetical pizza driver, REALLY want to waste the time and effort (and gas) of delivering to others first just because I don’t tip as well … I think you’re only really screwing YOURSELF.

109

[QUOTE=Frylock]
Delivery Fee != Gratuity.

A tacked on gratuity goes to the waitstaff, so it makes sense to subtract it from the tip.

A delivery fee generally does not go to the waitstaff, so it doesn’t make sense to subtract it from the tip.
[/quote]

What tip? If I’m being charged sufficiently for delivery (and I believe $3 is), I won’t be tipping. Why should I? I’m already being charged for a delivery. If I find out later that the restaurant is pocketing that money (or 2/3 in this case), then I’ll assume that management is compensating the driver with a higher hourly wage than if they didn’t pocket the charge. Either way, it’s up to the drivers to work out the finances with the boss. Expecting to be “tipped well” on top of a $3 delivery charge for a pizza is unreasonable.

[QUOTE=Frylock]

The delivery fee is a fee you pay to the restaurant for its sending the pizza over to you.
[/quote]

For its sending the pizza over. Right. The driver that works for the restaurant sends the pizza over. And the charge for the delivery service is $3.

Including charge for service = No Gratuity

[QUOTE=Frylock]

The tip is a gratuity you give to the driver for the quality of his service.* These are two separate payments to two separate entitites for two separate considerations. It does not make sense to subtract the amount that you give to the one based on the amount you give to the other. In terms of who owes what to who, the two payments have nothing to do with each other.
[/quote]

Oh please. A $3 delivery charge is for the service. If I find the quality of deliveries, the crust or anything else to be lacking, I’ll get my pizza elsewhere.

[QUOTE=Frylock]

*(We usually think of it as “quality of service” but really there’s not much opportunity for a driver to show that, so it seems people tip drivers for different reasons. It seems, in fact, to be a kind of “sympathy tip.” But this is a separate issue than the one we’re directly discussing. In point of fact, I tip drivers less than I would tip a waiter because their is not as much of a question about the quality of their service.)
[/QUOTE]

A sympathy tip. Sweet.

110

[QUOTE=Hamadryad]
If you, as hypothetical pizza driver, REALLY want to waste the time and effort (and gas) of delivering to others first just because I don’t tip as well … I think you’re only really screwing YOURSELF.
[/QUOTE]

Please explain how this would be wasted gas. As a driver, I would just put you at the end of the circuit, rather than the beginning.

111

[QUOTE=Hamadryad]
If you, as hypothetical pizza driver, REALLY want to waste the time and effort (and gas) of delivering to others first just because I don’t tip as well … I think you’re only really screwing YOURSELF.
[/QUOTE]

It only really works like that in a groupthink setting:

You (driver) get to take the top order on the list, and then you can choose 1-2 other orders to take on the same run. Obviously, you’ll usually pick orders which are close to the primary drop. If there’s a household which is known to tip poorly, you won’t choose it, so while you personally may not have anything to do with it getting slow service, it won’t get quick service because it will have to wait until it reaches the top of the queue and the next guy up is forced to take it.

112

[QUOTE=Fuji]
You also forgot the part where every single time the driver leaves the store, he risks the damage or destruction of what is most likely to be his only bankable asset (his car), not to mention the risk of assault, robbery, serious injury, or even death via auto accident or murder. These risks increase significantly at night, in poor weather, and in shady neighborhoods.
[/quote]

I thought that covered it. I should have broken them out in bullet points I guess. I was afraid something would get missed in the middle there.

I probably would too, but mainly because I’ve seen people burn up cars doing it. The wear and tear on the vehicle is much higher than most people realize and unless you’re working consistently and have a good neighborhood, it’s probably not worth it.

I freely admit having no personal experience as either a waitperson or a delivery driver. My experience is limited to having been waited upon and watching the delivery drivers as they pick up orders to deliver from my local Pizza Hut while I’m waiting on my carry-out order. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a delivery driver package a pizza, take an order, fixing a salad, etc. If they do these things regularly, that increases their responsibilities significantly. Taking orders means knowing how to run the PoS system, knowing the menu and pricing, etc. In some areas of responsibility it looks like they’re moving closer to a sit-down waitperson(normally tipped), but in some it sounds like they’re more like an assistant in the kitchen(not tipped).

The question is, are they close enough to merit the same, or indeed any, tip even though they make more money base, have less duties, and don’t have to share any tips they do get? The amount of work a waitperson does is generally proportional to the amount of food ordered, thus a proportional tip makes sense. If we accept delivery drivers should be tipped at all, what is the justification for a tip proportional to the food prices? I can see additional tip for hazardous conditions, or peak times, or a remote delivery area, but is there a significant difference between carrying one pizza box and two pizza boxes? Enough to ~double the tip? If there is any measure a delivery driver could be proportionally tipped on, I would think it would be distance from the shop. The further a driver drives, the more wear and tear on their vehicle, and the more gas they use. I can see increasing a tip based on this, but I don’t see a good argument for making it a proportion of the tab. Is there one?

Enjoy,
Steven

113

[QUOTE=Mtgman]
The amount of work a waitperson does is generally proportional to the amount of food ordered, thus a proportional tip makes sense. If we accept delivery drivers should be tipped at all, what is the justification for a tip proportional to the food prices?
[/QUOTE]

Good question. One flaw I see in your premise though, is that most don’t tip wait staff based on the amount of food ordered, but on the total of the bill, and the total is very frequently not proportional to the amount of food ordered.

For instance, my local diner has quite a variety of foods from inexpensive to expensive. Does my waitress work harder delivering me lobster and bringing me foreign beer than she would if I ordered two eggs over easy with coffee?

If you’ll accept that one’s bill does not necessarily reflect the amount of food one ordered, then you have to also ask yourself your question with “wait staff” in place of “delivery drivers”:

“If we accept wait staff should be tipped at all, what is the justification for a tip proportional to the food prices?”

114

True, but that’s where the “generally proportional” bit comes in. If the work is not proportional to the price, there could be exceptions. Say you bought a 1,000 bottle of wine and had a $200 meal. I’ve heard people say a tip of about 5-10% on the wine and 20% on the food, assuming good service, is perfectly fine. These kinds of fringe situations aren’t really enlightening though because in 90+% of the situations we’re dealing with an order where more money = more work on the server’s part. The $1,200 meal with a $90-140 tip where wine was the biggest part of the tab was much less work for the server than a $1,200 meal of just food dishes, which would command a $240 tip at 20%.

Still, the generality holds. The more the tab the more the work for a waitperson. Does this hold true for delivery drivers? If so, then sure, proportional tips. Otherwise, why tip proportionally?

Enjoy,
Steven

115

[QUOTE=Mtgman]
True, but that’s where the “generally proportional” bit comes in.
[/quote]

[QUOTE=Mtgman]

Still, the generality holds. The more the tab the more the work for a waitperson. Does this hold true for delivery drivers? If so, then sure, proportional tips. Otherwise, why tip proportionally?
[/QUOTE]

But it’s not so. At least no more so for delivery drivers than waitresses. Actually, I think it’s more likely for a delivery drivers to deliver more food based on the tab than a wait person would. See my example of lobster vs. eggs over easy. That’s not exactly a “fringe situation” as you called it. It’s pretty common for restaurants to have a wide variety of foods at drastically different prices, that all can be carried to a table with the same degree of ease or difficulty.

So how do you tip in the following situations:

  1. Tuesday night. You’re in the mood for some breakfast food. You order two eggs over easy, hash browns, wheat toast, and a cup of coffee. You stick around for about 40 minutes total and enjoy reading the paper. Bill total: $6.95

  2. Wednesday night. You haven’t had a lobster tail in a while and want to splurge. Twin lobster tails with drawn butter, ooh, lets get some scallops too and some caviar. And a Heineken. You get a call and are out of there in 40 minutes. Bill total: $32.45

116

[QUOTE=Hamadryad]
If you, as hypothetical pizza driver, REALLY want to waste the time and effort (and gas) of delivering to others first just because I don’t tip as well … I think you’re only really screwing YOURSELF.
[/QUOTE]

You don’t get it.

It’s none done to screw you - it’s done to reward those who do tip well.

If yours is the only stop on a particular run that I have to make, of course I’ll get it over with ASAP so that I can get back to actually making money.

117

[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright]
Right… these “delivery charges” border on fraud, inasmuch as little to none of the additional charge goes to the driver.
[/QUOTE]

As I tried to point out to my former boss, why are drivers the only one whose labor is singled out of the entire lengthy process that goes into getting someone a pizza? Why not a “truck driver” surchage for the guys who delivered our supplies? Or a “phone service” surcharge for the people who only answer phones and take customer orders? Or a “marketing” surcharge for the advertisers who promote our products?

She wasn’t having any of it. Probably afraid that the customers might see the “owner” surcharge…

118

[QUOTE=Mtgman]
I thought that covered it.
[/QUOTE]

Not really. Risk assessment is not the same as risk exposure. I don’t care how well you “assess” things, bad things will happen in the course of pizza delivery that simply don’t apply to those who wait tables.

119

[QUOTE=Fantome]

  1. Wednesday night. You haven’t had a lobster tail in a while and want to splurge. Twin lobster tails with drawn butter, ooh, lets get some scallops too and some caviar. And a Heineken. You get a call and are out of there in 40 minutes. Bill total: $32.45
    [/QUOTE]

Lobster, scallops and caviar? Plus beverage? For $32???

I want the address of this restaurant!!!

120

[QUOTE=clairobscur]
Lobster, scallops and caviar? Plus beverage? For $32???

I want the address of this restaurant!!!
[/QUOTE]

No way, Jose. I don’t want any part of $32 caviar & lobster.