Tipping Pizza Delivery Drivers...

[vilk]

This is not a debate.
If you do not tip people who rely on it as part of their living, you are:
1)An asshole
2)Cheap
3)Looked down upon by your peers for the above two reasons


Honestly, I feel it's an excellent way to make a character call. When I see someone who is a bad tipper, I judge them on several parameters-- greed, propriety, tact, social awareness...

Go ahead. Excuse yourself whatever stupid way you want. But I and everyone else know that you're pretty much knowingly doing something bad to a stranger just because you can get away with it without legal repercussion.

When I'm with someone who tips like a jerk, I call them out. And I fix their tip. If I'm with someone who tries to not tip at all, I tell them whats up, pay the tip for them, and then tell them I'm not going to go out with them if they don't start tipping.

If you can't "afford" to tip your bartender, go to the liquor store. If you can't tip your server, go to mcdonalds. If you can't tip your delivery driver, pick it up yourself.

Stop trying to pretend to yourself that not tipping is OK.


Edit: Just to be clear I'm talking about in the United States.

 

[TedEH]

Sometimes it's not as easy as "taking responsibility to find something better".

it's not "easy" per-se, but simple

In your example, there were not enough jobs where you were, so you moved. That's simple. Was it easy? I'm sure it wasn't. But deciding that no jobs here equals moving wasn't complicated.

 

[TedEH]

This is not a debate.[...]Stop trying to pretend to yourself that not tipping is OK.

I don't think anyone was making that argument- but remember that circumstances are not same same in every place. I was making the point that where I live, people aren't depending on tips to get by- they're already compensated by their hourly rate (Edit: and better jobs are available here for those willing to work for it or look harder). That doesn't mean that the tips don't help or aren't deserved- I just don't feel it's an obligation or an indication of a person's character if they don't tip here, because it has much less impact.

 

[asher]

I don't think anyone was making that argument- but remember that circumstances are not same same in every place. I was making the point that where I live, people aren't depending on tips to get by- they're already compensated by their hourly rate (Edit: and better jobs are available here for those willing to work for it or look harder). That doesn't mean that the tips don't help or aren't deserved- I just don't feel it's an obligation or an indication of a person's character if they don't tip here, because it has much less impact.

I think that mainly applies to us Amurikans. Obviously, where culture is different, norms don't apply.

 

[loqtrall]

In your example, there were not enough jobs where you were, so you moved. That's simple. Was it easy? I'm sure it wasn't. But deciding that no jobs here equals moving wasn't complicated.

But moving isn't an option for everyone. I lived with my grandfather who got military disabiity. It wasn't enough to pay the bills, but with one check the whole move was paid for, my sister made the down payment for us. My friend would have had to save money for three ....ing years to have enough to move and make a down-payment, assuming his car didn't break down from constant driving, thus forcing him to buy a new car. When he quit deivery, he had to beg his dad's friend to pay him in turn for being on-call and actively working on, maintaining, and participating in the guy's church, and he still gets shit pay.

 

[TedEH]

@loqtrall - I get it. Sometimes things are difficult or complicated. My point was only that it's not always the case. You either missed my point entirely or just want to argue for arguments sake. I'm not putting down cases where people are in complicated or difficult situations, just acknowledging that sometimes peoples difficulties are self-inflicted. If it doesn't apply to you, then that's fine.

 

[WestOfSeven]

...

 

[BlackMastodon]

I think Ted is pretty spot on but that's because we're both Canadian and it's different here. I'm pretty sure Ontario also only pays them maybe $1-2 less an hour if they're "expected" to get tips (service industry mainly). But since this whole tipping culture is ingrained in all of us (blaming you Yanks for that ) they often end up making a lot more money. I remember people in high school/early university that were making more as waiters than other people making minimum wage or slightly above minimum wage in a different industry, like labour or something.

Also, leave it to SSO to start up a cultural debate about tipping when the op just asked how much he should troop his pizza delivery guy who by now is long gone.

 

[JoeyW]

or blame the employers for your low wages, not the consumers.

I never order delivery because I don't want to tip for service whether or not it's extraordinary, therefore there are fewer delivery jobs in existence because of my actions. Would you rather have no tip or no job?

If tipping was built into the cost (delivery charge), then I would order delivery and if I got an extraordinary delivery I would actually offer a tip - but simply doing your job competently is not worthy of getting tips.

Tipping for average service is like awarding a participation trophy to all entrants in a race. You didn't win the @#!*% race, you just showed up. You don't deserve a trophy.

I know I'm a minority with Troy here, I DO tip but I think the idea of it is really silly. Tipping is what allows restaurants and pizza places to pay their employees next to nothing. Not sure the validity but I heard somewhere its considered rude to tip in Japan because it suggests the employer isn't paying their employees well enough to live.

 

[vilk]

You're right Joe, that point does have no validity. People don't make tips in Japan because service jobs pay regular wages, unlike here.

 

[asher]

It's not like it's mutually exclusive, either. You can be against tipping culture because it screws those workers, but still tip decently until it changes so you aren't screwing those workers too.

 

[jemfloral]

15-20% rounded up seems normal, usually what I do unless I'm picking it up myself. I do agree that the whole idea of tipping being the norm is dumb as hell and they should he paid more so we aren't obligated to tip. If I'm out at a restaurant/bar then I tip 10%, unless they do a great job then they get 15-20%. I also have no problem not tipping if I got shitty service, or not tipping a bartender for just opening a beer bottle.
QUOTE]

I tip 20%+ when the service is as expected, more if it is better and less if it is worse, but 100% agree with the above statement. I won't order delivery pizza because I don't see why I couldn't get in the car (or walk/ride there) and pick up myself for far cheaper (or free + exercise if walking/biking). As a general rule of thumb though, I tip/respect any food prep industries because I appreciate my food being prepared correctly. I also tip at bars, typically $1/drink, but only because I feel obligated to do as it is the norm. The person is doing their standard job duties and the employer HAS to compensate them at a rate of AT LEAST minimum wage, it is quite literally the law in the US (elsewhere... eh, not sure about elsewhere ). If the employee doesn't know/speak up about this then shame on them. Not sure when/why Americans decided that we should be paying the bartender extra for popping the cap on a bottle... guessing it was before any sort of minimum wage laws took effect though. If I asked the bartender to prepare some special set of drinks that took more work, or there was a change in the order, I tip appropriately.

Also, I don't tip the FedEx guy because he leaves my "signature required" packages in the rain and on the ground without me signing for them. Thankfully, no guitars were harmed in the process.

 

[Joose]

For those who don't know, the "Delivery Charge" doesn't really go to the drivers. Location dependent. Domino's actually even puts it on the boxes/receipts that the delivery charge isn't for the drivers. Which, of course, seems odd. I took it upon myself to ask 2 of my friends who deliver for Pizza Hut about this last night. They work at different locations in the same city.

Driver 1: "I have no idea where it goes, each franchise location is different; my store just keeps it. Not really sure what the owner needs that $2 for when me delivering has no effect on him."

Driver 2: "Our owner gives us 10% of the delivery charge for 'gas and maintenance'... but it takes 20 deliveries to even get that initial delivery charge; it's more like a slap in the face when, at the end of a 30 delivery shift my boss says, 'and here's your $3 for gas and maintenance", after I spent $15-$25 worth of gas and put somewhere between 100-200 miles on my car that night'... sometimes, my tips are only enough to allow me to work the next day. I used to stiff delivery drivers because 'it's their job', never again. The worst is when you get stuck in traffic, or there are closed roads or something and you don't get tipped because it took 10-20 minutes longer than the customer expected. As if it's my fault."

 

[UnderTheSign]

I can't stand the "get a better job" or "complain to your employer about your wage, don't blame is for not tipping" mentality. Even if you do get a better job, someone else WILL still be doing the shitty job. It's not like the job magically disappears.

As for the wages - one half of the people will tell you to complain to your employer. The other half will tell you "your employer is right, why would you raise the minimum wages? They deserve to earn that little because it's a simple job!". Screw that.

 

[Nightside]

I always wondered about tipping the car hops at Sonic. I never even heard of it until my ex started working there. Are you seriously supposed to tip someone who walks 25ft to bring your fast food to your car?

I personally think delivery drivers and other employees who get less than minimum wage because they are expected to get tips should do something about it. I don't know how companies get away with it to begin with. There is no guarantee that you will get tips at all so you can have a really good day or a really bad day. These companies like to use people who can't get better jobs and are grateful to have anything at all.

They pay you less than minimum wage. They don't pay you for the gas you spend in service of their company. They don't pay you for wear and tear on your vehicle or things like oil/brake changes. Being a delivery driver has to be one of the worst jobs in the US as far as I am concerned.

In other delivery services such as the trucking industry, truckers who have to use their own trucks and are responsible for paying the upkeep of said trucks, are paid well above what a driver using company equipment is paid.

 

[Joose]

I've never tipped the skaters at Sonic. I worked at Sonic when I was 16; everyone got paid the same. If the skaters got paid less, then sure. I don't know if it's still the same 10 years later. Back then, we had a good staff. If the skaters got tipped, they'd split it with whoever made that particular order.

I say I've never tipped, doesn't mean I haven't given the change from my $20 bill on an $18.95 order or something. Often times I just don't care enough about such a small amount to put it back in my pocket when it might buy that person a soda on their break.

 

[Kobalt]

I usually give 4 or 5 bucks, whether I order from the small 2-for-1 place we've ordered since 2001 or Domino's. Order's always around 30 bucks, give or take.

 

[tedtan]

The person is doing their standard job duties and the employer HAS to compensate them at a rate of AT LEAST minimum wage, it is quite literally the law in the US (elsewhere... eh, not sure about elsewhere ). If the employee doesn't know/speak up about this then shame on them.

Jobs that involve tips or commissions are not required to pay minimum wage, so waiters, pizza delivery drivers, etc. are not in the minimum wage camp and speaking up won't do any good.

 

[asher]

Jobs that involve tips or commissions are not required to pay minimum wage, so waiters, pizza delivery drivers, etc. are not in the minimum wage camp and speaking up won't do any good.

Well, not to their employers at any rate.

 

[wannabguitarist]

$2-$3 unless your house is in butt .... nowhere. Most stores have a fair per delivery compensation plan the driver gets.

This is in CA so our minimum wage laws aren't total shit like some other states but pizza delivery was the highest paying job (per hour on average at least) I had until I graduated college

Breakdown (at a Round Table circa 2008):
-$8.35 an hour (minimum wage was $8). Usually worked 4-6 hour shifts.
-$1.50 from the store for every delivery (for gas+vehicle mileage). Could do about 4 deliveries an hour (drove the hell out of my car)
-Kept 100% of my tips on top of that. Usually $2-5 dollars per order.

I had a room mate living off 30 hours a week in San Diego doing this thing for a Papa John's. Was averaging about $18 an hour with a decent chunk of it tax free. If you know the area, have reliable car (or know how to fix shit), and don't care about speed limits pizza delivery is probably the best job you can have as a student (barring any necessary internships of course).

Nothing really beats driving around all day blasting metal, smoking weed, and hitting on girls