# Extortionist restaurants: "Tip or we won't deliver." **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 25, 2006, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extortionist-restaurants-tip-or-we-wont-deliver/354174 "2006-04-25T17:53:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extortionist-restaurants-tip-or-we-wont-deliver/354174/1 "2006-04-25T17:53:25Z")
Some drone here at the office just passed around a memo titled “Food Deliveries.” It reads: > [@Corporate guy](#): > > I’m certain many of you appreciate the convenience of having the lunch or dinner delivered to the center, and a number of companies are willing to do this. We have had a few incidents lately that are causing these companies to rethink this practice. Some of them are reconsidering their delivery policies to (company). The people making the delivery only deliver, they don’t prepare the food. If the order is incorrect please contact the restaurant to rectify the situation. OK, fair enough so far, although if the delivery person is right there when you figure out the order is wrong, you should be able to just tell the delivery guy and expect him to take the wrong order back and bring out the right one. Sadly this seems not to be in the job descriptions of delivery drivers, but whatever. From there the memo continues: > [@Corporate guy](#): > > The drivers provide their own transportation and gas. Much of their income is based on tips and in many situations we are not leaving a tip. This is the reason they are going to refuse to deliver to (company). > > Not leaving a tip is also affecting our receptionist and security guard. When a person doesn’t leave a tip the receptionist and guard are the ones that catch the flack from the delivery person. And corporate guy goes on to suggest tipping 15% and not paying for lunch with all coins. Holy fuck, where even to begin. The restaurants are going to stop delivering because the delivery guy isn’t getting enough tips? What the hell sort of blackmail is that? Tips are _optional_. If you want to charge for delivery, then go ahead and charge for delivery and give the delivery charge to the driver. Don’t take an optional and voluntary gratuity and turn it into a _de facto_ delivery charge, and don’t act like you’re acting out of some concern for the drivers’ well-being. If you’re that concerned about how much the driver is making, give the driver a raise out of your pocket. Don’t expect me to make up for your salary shortfall and then blackmail me into it if I don’t volunteer. Second, your drivers are mouthing off to customers because they’re not getting tipped? That’s how you want your drivers representing your businesses? And rather than taking the appropriate action toward an employee with that attitude (reprimanding or firing them), you reinforce that sort of shitty customer service with the aforementioned tip extortion scheme. Fuck that shit. See if I ever have anything delivered here now. ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extortionist-restaurants-tip-or-we-wont-deliver/354174/2 "2006-04-25T17:56:13Z")
Good for them. Fuck non-tippers. ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extortionist-restaurants-tip-or-we-wont-deliver/354174/3 "2006-04-25T18:01:59Z")
> [@Eleusis](#): > > Good for them. > > Fuck non-tippers. God damn right! I just cut some code here at work, and I used my own gas to get here, and paid for parking. The nerve that I only get my wage for what I do. My employer should not only pay for my services, but the user community should reward me as well! ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extortionist-restaurants-tip-or-we-wont-deliver/354174/4 "2006-04-25T18:03:56Z")
Fuck non-tippers, but fuck the tipping system. Do they draw the line at “any” tipper at all is ok? Or do they have a “Shitty Tippers Need Not Call” sign on their car as well? What’s enough? Who makes that call?I have a well-to-do relative who never tips more than 15% and I would only leave 15% if the service is shitty. The whole system stinks. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extortionist-restaurants-tip-or-we-wont-deliver/354174/5 "2006-04-25T18:07:50Z")
I’m not seeing what’s pittable in this memo. The fact that the memo needed to be sent in the first place - now that’s pittable. What kind of tight-fisted clench-ass doesn’t tip the delivery person. I’d be pissed as hell if I couldn’t get food delivered to my office because a bunch of other assholes don’t have the common decency to cough up a couple bucks for the delivery schmuck, or were giving him shit because someone else entirely put the wrong food in his bag. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extortionist-restaurants-tip-or-we-wont-deliver/354174/6 "2006-04-25T18:10:17Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Fuck non-tippers, but fuck the tipping system. Amen! We should just have a service charge added onto the bill for delivery and restaurant meals. That way, the service people don’t get underpaid, and I don’t have to try to remember how much I’m supposed to tip in this situation or try to figure out 15% in my head. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extortionist-restaurants-tip-or-we-wont-deliver/354174/7 "2006-04-25T18:10:56Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I’m not seeing what’s pittable in this memo. The fact that the memo needed to be sent in the first place - now that’s pittable. What kind of tight-fisted clench-ass doesn’t tip the delivery person. I’d be pissed as hell if I couldn’t get food delivered to my office because a bunch of other assholes don’t have the common decency to cough up a couple bucks for the delivery schmuck, or were giving him shit because someone else entirely put the wrong food in his bag. Hear, hear. Tipping is optional, but guess what? So is delivering food to your company! If you don’t like their food or their tipping policy, you’re free to eat elsewhere. And if they don’t like your tipping policy, they’re free to deliver elsewhere. Ain’t capitalism grand? It’s not blackmail or extortion, unless they’re threatening to tell the police what you’ve been eating, or threatening to boil your puppy and serve him to the competition. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extortionist-restaurants-tip-or-we-wont-deliver/354174/8 "2006-04-25T18:12:09Z")
I always tip the fuckers. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extortionist-restaurants-tip-or-we-wont-deliver/354174/9 "2006-04-25T18:12:39Z")
The delivery guys should not be harassing receptionists and security people when they don’t get tipped. That’s bullshit. On the other hand, it’s also bullshit to order out and not tip the delivery guy. It’s customary and expected, so if you don’t want to tip, drag your lazy ass out of the office and pick up your own food. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extortionist-restaurants-tip-or-we-wont-deliver/354174/10 "2006-04-25T18:14:35Z")
> [@FordPrefect](#): > > God damn right! I just cut some code here at work, and I used my own gas to get here, and paid for parking. The nerve that I only get my wage for what I do. My employer should not only pay for my services, but the user community should reward me as well! The analogy might hold if you had to pay for your own developer’s suite and to keep your hardware running, your wage didn’t cover these expenses, and when April rolled around, taxes were deducted from your income based on the expected tips. If you have people stiffing delivery people at your workplace, it reflects poorly on the people working in the building, and _naturally_ it’s going to be hard to get people to deliver to you. If you can’t bear to part with the expected tip, take the time to pick up your order or go without. Jerks. ---
**Author:** ![Omegaman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e480ec/32.png) [@Omegaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omegaman)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extortionist-restaurants-tip-or-we-wont-deliver/354174/11 "2006-04-25T18:16:40Z")
Everything goes better with a tip. At least in Vegas anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extortionist-restaurants-tip-or-we-wont-deliver/354174/12 "2006-04-25T18:17:24Z")
> [@Anne Neville](#): > > Amen! We should just have a service charge added onto the bill for delivery and restaurant meals. That way, the service people don’t get underpaid, and I don’t have to try to remember how much I’m supposed to tip in this situation or try to figure out 15% in my head. When we’ve ordered food for delivery to the office, it’s generally been for a meeting or event, so the accounting is simpler if the delivery charge is part of the bill (either charged to a credit card or charged to the company account). A cash tip means another line on the expense report. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extortionist-restaurants-tip-or-we-wont-deliver/354174/13 "2006-04-25T18:25:42Z")
It annoys me when I can’t put the tip for the delivery person on my credit card. Ever since my purse got stolen years ago, I’ve tried not to carry much cash. The cash I do have is very likely to be in the form of $20 bills, because I almost never pay cash for anything when there’s another option (it means I get to put off going to the ATM for longer, and anything that allows me to put off doing something for longer is good). ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extortionist-restaurants-tip-or-we-wont-deliver/354174/14 "2006-04-25T18:49:41Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > It’s not blackmail or extortion, unless they’re threatening to tell the police what you’ve been eating, or threatening to boil your puppy and serve him to the competition. Of course it’s extortion. It’s fairly mild extortion but it’s extortion nonetheless. The restaurant is saying if customers don’t give up money in excess of the cost of the food they can’t have it delivered. If the food costs $10 and there’s no disclosed delivery charge (something that the restaurant is certainly allowed to establish) then I should be able to get the food for $10. If they’re telling me that my $10 of food is going to cost me $12, that’s bullshit. > [@DianaG](#): > > On the other hand, it’s also bullshit to order out and not tip the delivery guy. It’s customary and expected… Yes, it’s customary and expected, but it’s not mandatory. These restaurants are trying to make it mandatory. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extortionist-restaurants-tip-or-we-wont-deliver/354174/15 "2006-04-25T18:52:10Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Yes, it’s customary and expected, but it’s not mandatory. These restaurants are trying to make it mandatory. So don’t order from them. From the sounds of things, that would make everyone happier. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extortionist-restaurants-tip-or-we-wont-deliver/354174/16 "2006-04-25T18:54:13Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Of course it’s extortion. It’s fairly mild extortion but it’s extortion nonetheless. The restaurant is saying if customers don’t give up money in excess of the cost of the food they can’t have it delivered. No they’re not: they’re saying that part of the cost of having it delivered is that you tip. If they required you to do a funny monkey-dance, then that would become part fo the cost of having the food delivered. Extortion doesn’t enter into it. > [@](#): > > Yes, it’s customary and expected, but it’s not mandatory. These restaurants are trying to make it mandatory. Actually, if they require you to tip, then by definition it is mandatory already. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extortionist-restaurants-tip-or-we-wont-deliver/354174/17 "2006-04-25T18:55:47Z")
Why don’t they have a right to make it mandatory? Why should they be obliged to deliver to your office, without you being obliged to tip them? ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extortionist-restaurants-tip-or-we-wont-deliver/354174/18 "2006-04-25T19:12:02Z")
Whatever, Mr. Pink. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extortionist-restaurants-tip-or-we-wont-deliver/354174/19 "2006-04-25T19:19:35Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > No they’re not: they’re saying that part of the cost of having it delivered is that you tip. If they required you to do a funny monkey-dance, then that would become part fo the cost of having the food delivered. Extortion doesn’t enter into it. “Tips” are voluntary. Demanding that a customer make a payment that is voluntary is extortion. If they want to charge a delivery charge, I have no problem with that. But this “give our drivers more money than you owe or go hug a rope” is extortion. What’s next, they start refusing delivery if people don’t deliver enough? > [@DianaG](#): > > Why don’t they have a right to make it mandatory? That would be a delivery charge. And again, I’m fine with that, if they want to disclose the delivery charge up front. Put it on the delivery menu, the website, whatever, and then (and this is the crucial part) give the delivery charge directly to the driver. Even better would be to charge a realistic amount for the food which allows them to pay the delivery drivers an actual wage instead of forcing the drivers to rely on customers who have already agreed to a price for their food pay more than what they’ve agreed to. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extortionist-restaurants-tip-or-we-wont-deliver/354174/20 "2006-04-25T19:25:44Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > “Tips” are voluntary. Demanding that a customer make a payment that is voluntary is extortion. If they want to charge a delivery charge, I have no problem with that. But this “give our drivers more money than you owe or go hug a rope” is extortion. What’s next, they start refusing delivery if people don’t deliver enough? > That would be a delivery charge. And again, I’m fine with that, if they want to disclose the delivery charge up front. Put it on the delivery menu, the website, whatever, and then (and this is the crucial part) give the delivery charge directly to the driver. Even better would be to charge a realistic amount for the food which allows them to pay the delivery drivers an actual wage instead of forcing the drivers to rely on customers who have already agreed to a price for their food pay more than what they’ve agreed to. Well, in our society, by virtue of having someone deliver your food you have agreed to tip. No it’s not the law, but it is the custom. That’s the part that pisses me off. There’s no standard. I know people who tip anywhere from 10% to 25%. With that wide a variance, the driver can choose to withhold deliveries to the lower tippers as well. That’s just fucked up. A delivery charge would make more sense, though I suspect they’d still expect a tip. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extortionist-restaurants-tip-or-we-wont-deliver/354174.md?page=2)