In my decades of paying for delivery, never has it occurred to me to calculate the distance someone drove when tipping. Generally places don’t deliver very far.
Delivery driving is a shitty job and I’m grateful that someone figured out how to get to my place from wherever they are to get me food in a reasonable time. If I decided that wasn’t worth paying for, I’d drive my ass over to the restaurant and pick it up.
Ordering delivery and then skimping on tips is a dick move.
I endorse this pitting.
Yes! This right here is all that needs to be said. (although I’d personally replace “skimping” with “stiffing”)
This is incorrect. Uber Eats uses distance and time to calculate delivery pay.
All the food delivery services in my area also have staggered delivery fees by distance. Depending on various factors (location of restaurant, etc.), you’ll be given a map with concentric rings, and escalating tiers of delivery cost, with “no delivery” outside the last ring.
That said, anyone who objects to tipping the delivery driver is an asshat.
I’ve used the same takeaway place for 30 years.
I tip the drivers generously. (It doesn’t cost much in my overall budget.)
My food always arrives promptly and the drivers always thank me.
Max_S,
if you are polite and friendly in such dealings, you will be a better person and get better service.
Europeans have a different attitude towards tipping. Roughly half of those countries already include a service fee, and the rest think pocket change to 10% is enough.
Tipping in Every European Country: Where You Should and Shouldn't Tip.
Wait staff pay in Europe (same minimum wage as anybody else with higher minimum than the US) are paid better than the US (lower minimum wage for tipped staff).
Edited: Never mind, I realized that it does sound kind of jerkish.
I get that some people aren’t as generous a tipper as I am and that they have several ways they rationalize it for themselves, but it speaks to just how shaky that rationale is that they feel the need to (usually futilely) seek public approval for their stinginess on forums like this. No one needs to know you’re a cheapskate except you and the poor bastard that has to schlep sustenance to your door.
Well, that’s the internet, innit?
Seeking validation from anonymous internet strangers and then indignation when they don’t provide it?
Not me dude. I have nothing against automatic gratuities. I may or may not tip on top of that. I’d normally do a $2 tip for a $12 meal.
~Max
When at a restaurant do you adjust your tip based on how far the waitress has to walk from the kitchen to your table?
I do not.
~Max
Then why do it to the person who delivers your food right to your door instead of right to your table?
Because in the latter case the variation in distance significantly affects how much I value the service provided. A difference in 20 feet walked versus 10 feet walked is insignificant. The things I am avoiding by having food delivered - car expenses, time spent - vary significantly with distance.
~Max
While I will certainly not be disputing the general proposition that Max-S is an asshat, I’m puzzled by one aspect of this pitting. In general, we give someone a larger tip for doing more work. Surely you would tip somewhat more for a delivery driver who has to take more time to drive (significantly) further? The amount of work involved is not directly proportional to distance, but it’s still more work to drive further, surely?
It all boils down to whether you are using this as a reason to pay less than normal to the deliverer that doesn’t have too far to travel(in your opinion), or a reason to pay more than normal to someone who goes the extra mile(literally), “normal” being the baseline amount.
Fair enough. Because I found your analogy to restaurant waitstaff a bit odd. We generally tip as percentage of total cost of a meal, which is a proxy for their time and effort - and which probably is fairly well correlated with the total distance they walk back and forth between your table and the kitchen or bar.
But it’s fair to say that most people apply a baseline tip amount, which I think is where the analogy is valid. If you occupy a table alone for an hour and are not very hungry, that’s fine - but it’s a dick move then to just tip 15-20% of a the $10 check for your sandwich.
I tip extremely well for short distances and 50% or more over that for longer distances. The amount the app suggests is always so low as to be insulting. Part of my logic for tipping more for longer distances is that I am taking time away from a driver who could be doing several shorter trips in the time it takes them to do mine. I want to compensate them for that.