With all the detailed (and somewhat repetitive) bitching in the OP, I was surprised that there was no mention of the fact that delivery drivers are also usually expected to perform tasks and chores in the shop when they’re not out on deliveries. That often includes actual food preparation, as well. They do more than just sit around when not driving or walking from car to door.
That fact alone goes a long way in justifying the view that they should at least be paid actual minimum wage. Either that, or the company should provide the vehicles/fuel/insurance. Oh, that would cost them too much? Imagine that!
Unless something has changed since I worked in a bank years ago, the paychecks have a statement to the effect of “I certify that I had received enough tip s to bring my pay up to minimum wage” on the back. I don’t know if it would hold up, but I’m sure it discourages people from doing anything to cover the lack of tips.
That’s what I was thinking as well; even back in 1989 when I was a busboy, I got $2.01/hr, with the promise of the extra $1.34/hr coming to me from the company’s dime if I didn’t make enough from my share of the tips to cover it.
That being said, even a busboy at a low-volume Chili’s in 1989 would usually clear something on the order of 15-20 dollars per day as his tip share(1% of total restaurant tips) on the lunch shift (11-3).
I always tip my delivery drivers well- if nothing else, they seem to bring me my pizzas and chinese food first, since when I get repeat drivers, my food’s always fresher and hotter than when I get the new guys.
But ultimately what I get out of that huge rant is to not be a pizza delivery driver. That doesn’t seem to be very much of a career hurdle to overcome.
What effect does this have on the customer who has to tip at so many opportunities?
The right to consider a wide range of people from quite separate businesses: the waiter, the delivery guy, hotel staff as on being on a separate discretionary payroll operated by you the customer? A power trip?
As the paymaster for these underpaid unfortunates, you have the power to reward or punish on your whim. An extra dollar if they smile at you, a complaint to their boss if the food is not hot enough.
For fancy restaurants, where service and customer loyalty is big part of the deal, tipping makes much more sense. How it is divided between management and the service and non-service staff? I thought that should be up to each business until I discovered one restaurant owner regularly used the withdrawl of a share of the tips as an arbitrary punishment for staff deemed guilty minor misdemeanors. Sharp practice and one of a series of misjudgements that cost them their business.
Tipping is a charade that is open to abuse, I shall make my own pizza.
This restaurant owner argues that getting rid of tips (and replacing them with a service charge that is split with cooks) improved both food and service at his restaurant. He equates it to moving from a system where employees basically have to constantly think about how to “negotiate” their wages to a system where they simply know how much they will be paid, and so can focus more on providing good service. Basically, it’s a morale booster, whereas the necessity to hope for tips is a morale drag.