You are delivering pizzas in the UK. If you don’t want a tip, absolutely do not notice that the customer has payment (a £20 note) in his hand. Definitely demand payment beforehand. Be sure to give incorrect change (change should have been £2.01, not £2) before handing over the pizzas. And do give the change as a £2 coin, but two £1 coins.
OTOH if you do want a tip, you notice that the pizzas you are delivering have a price of £17.99 and the customer has a £20 note in his hand. You hand over the pizzas, the customer hands over the £20 note and says, “Keep the change.” Simple, right?
I was wondering about that, too. Plus, it’s pretty usual to break down higher denominations for smaller ones for tipping purposes. The customer might not want to bother with a 2 pound tip, but more likely with a one pound tip, or something like that. I don’t know what the standard tipping for delivery is in the UK, but I do remember tipping culture there in general was not as universal or as generous as in the US.
Oddly, this thread reminded me of the bit in Douglas Adams’ “Long dark tea-time of the soul”, in which expatriate New Yorker Kate becomes so desperate for pizza delivery that she actually hires a bike courier to go and pick up a “to go” pizza for her…
London’s quite blessed now with delivery options. Here in Battersea (south London) I can get Pizza, Thai, Indian, Chinese, Sushi and so on, and that’s just from restaurants that have their own delivery service. There are also web sites such as Deliveroo, Hungry House and Just Eat that provide a pick-up / delivery service for restaurants that otherwise wouldn’t be willing or able to manage one, extending my choices to African, Arabic, Brazilian, American, Mexican, Caribbean, Filipino, Italian, Korean, Lebanese, Nepalese, Russian, Syrian and Turkish food.
I’m going to miss that… moving out of London tomorrow for the sticks, where I’ll probably have to scour the hedgerows for grubs or something
With the change thing, always make it easy for the person to give you a tip. This was standard in the restaurants i have worked at. If the change is $5, give the person five ones, not a five. That is unless the “expected” tip (15% in the US) is in the area of $5, then you might give back a five dollar bill to nudge them to just throw it in, instead of asking for change. Unless their experience was bad, they won’t want to stiff you.
Pizza delivery is probably different because you don’t have the relationship with a delivery person the way you do with a server, so it’s easier to just say thanks and close the door with no tip.
No, I’m not squabbling over that. This guy missed out on a tip because of poor service. His colleagues provide better service. And, in the general case, by him giving me two £1 coins he would have given me the opportunity to have given him a £1 tip, though I would not have done so in this specific case. Always make it easy for the customer to give you a tip, as purple cow notes.
I normally tip decently - £2 on a £18 order - and the pizza parlour is a modest walk away, so the deliverer can be back very quickly for the next order and the next tip.
That’s actually a pretty chintzy tip, 11%. You were prepared to give him half of that only? I realize things are different in the UK, but you don’t need to be insulting.
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I’ll just throw it out there before I run and hide… I live in the UK and don’t know of a single person who has ever tipped a delivery driver other than as a convenience to themselves (I hate carrying around change). I have never noticed a delivery driver waver as if expecting a tip either.
It is it not out of maliciousness, it is just something that has never occurred to me.
Well I left myself open to that. Please feel free to add the qualifier “people I interact with regularly outside of online message boards”.
I am now going to have to ask everyone I know* if they tip. I would be surprised if I’m not part of the large majority but I remain open to the possibility…
