Do people really tip the pizza delivery person so little?

[MillauFr]

I don't understand why tipping a delivery person should be based on the total of your purchase. It takes the same amount of time, creates the same wear & tear on the vehicle, and uses the same amount of gas to deliver $2 worth of food or $100. I base a delivery tip on the distance from the restaurant I order from and the weather conditions outside. If the roads are dicey, I always tip extra.

I agree with you. Tips based on a % of the bill seem crazy.

 

[MillauFr]

I usually tip $4 or $5 which works out to 10%.

 

[amberpi]

The guy I have been seeing is an over tipper. But I only know this because he used to be a customer at the bar I worked at. Otherwise I’d have no clue. I don’t pay attention to what he tips when we go out.

I never followed along that closely, but you notice the truly egregious ones. Every single woman has some bad tipper stories; and of course, more to boot. I could write a book.

The more I hear about your guy, he sounds really sweet Is that how you met? He was your customer, or ya'll met and he started coming to see you?

 

[disneychrista]

The more I hear about your guy, he sounds really sweet Is that how you met? He was your customer, or ya'll met and he started coming to see you?

Yes. This is how we met. Can't say he started coming in to see me though, as I was involved with someone else at the time (but I could tell he had interest). It wasn't until my company went out of business that we started to see each other. We met for a beer at another local brewery and things just kinda evolved from there. He helped me through a really tough period of time - losing my job after 21 years, the end of the "involvement" with the other guy. If you had asked me a year ago if we'd be seeing each other I would have told you, you were crazy. But here we are.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

See I can’t compare tableside restaurant service to delivery. In a restaurant I’m getting multiple interactions with someone over a 40-60 minute time period. If my bill is higher the server is having to make multiple trips for appetizers/desserts, enter my orders, refill multiple drinks for more people and clear more plates. So I totally understand why tips are tied to food cost.

For a delivery I’m paying for a 5 minute drive and a 30 second handoff. They may also be assembling my order but that’s literally just making sure they are picking up x number of boxes.

Maybe it’s my bias from former restaurant jobs but it always seems like a server works way harder and longer for the 20% on a $35 meal than a pizza delivery driver does on a $35 order. $7 for 40 minutes of restaurant service versus 10 minute delivery service seems off. It’s another place where I kinda feel we’ve had a lot of “tip creep”.
(That said if all people really tipped based on how the dis consensus seemed I would never have left service for a corporate job! The “average” tipper isn’t likely to fess up while the minority that do tip well don’t hesitate to post so it skews what normal tipping really is in reality).

I think 5 minutes each way is way below average for delivery. When I drove for Dominoes, my average round trip was 40 minutes, and occasionally stretched to nearly an hour, often with a single pizza on board. We had 6 locations in a city of 130,000. The computer assigned the closest store, but places on the fringe of the route were often quite a drive (the newspaper was the WORST spot as it was not only a long drive, but you had to go inside). People who lived super close tended to carry out rather than get delivery.

There were occasions where a multiple stop delivery was the case, but it wasn’t the norm. On the flip side, it would be highly unusual for a server at a busy restaurant to be 100% dedicated to a single table for 40-60 minutes.

 

[ronandannette]

The guy I have been seeing is an over tipper. But I only know this because he used to be a customer at the bar I worked at. Otherwise I’d have no clue. I don’t pay attention to what he tips when we go out.

This is what confused me about @amberpi 's post - how do you know what somebody else tips if they are paying the bill? Do you ask them? Crane your neck to see what they're entering on the payment machine? Go behind and ask the server what was left? I'd think if the only way you could judge somebody as a jerk is based on their tipping habits, they're probably not much of a jerk at all.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I agree with you. Tips based on a % of the bill seem crazy.

It’s for this very reason I tend to over tip on cheap meals. I’ve had exceptional service on meals as cheap as $3. Even 25% seems like a slap in the face in such a case. On the flip side, 15-20% on a $100 meal where you see your waiter 3 times seems pretty generous.

 

[amberpi]

This is what confused me about @amberpi 's post - how do you know what somebody else tips if they are paying the bill? Do you ask them? Crane your neck to see what they're entering on the payment machine? Go behind and ask the server what was left? I'd think if the only way you could judge somebody as a jerk is based on their tipping habits, they're probably not much of a jerk at all.

It's more that you tend to know the bad ones. The waitress who looks at the tab disgusted, the bartender who isn't tipped at all, etc. Invariably, they also don't treat the wait staff with respect. As I went along in my in dating career, I started just meeting for drinks, arriving early, and opening a tab so I didn't have to worry about any weirdness. This totally charmed my now DH and it made for easy, less awkward escapes, or an easy transition to a dinner.

 

[Sandeep1]

No one wants to date a cheap skate; if they’ll cheap out during courting they’re just cheap. There are far too many candidates with all the apps available; and someone who doesn’t tip well loses market value.

We do agree with about happy wife = happy life.

Just to play devil's advocate. Suppose I'm on a date, how would my date even know what I tip? I write it on the receipt and then put the receipt in the folder and close it.

The only way to know would be to grab the folder and look inside (which would then be raising alarm bells in my head and there would definitely not be a 2nd date).

 

[Sandeep1]

Nevermind I just noticed someone else asked the same thing

 

[amberpi]

Just to play devil's advocate. Suppose I'm on a date, how would my date even know what I tip? I write it on the receipt and then put the receipt in the folder and close it.

The only way to know would be to grab the folder and look inside (which would then be raising alarm bells in my head and there would definitely not be a 2nd date).

I'm positive there are crazy enough people in the world to do just that.

 

[Sandeep1]

I'm positive there are crazy enough people in the world to do just that.

Fortunately, in all my life, I've never had the displeasure of meeting a single one.

 

[DisneyHardin]

It’s for this very reason I tend to over tip on cheap meals. I’ve had exceptional service on meals as cheap as $3. Even 25% seems like a slap in the face in such a case. On the flip side, 15-20% on a $100 meal where you see your waiter 3 times seems pretty generous.

I am like this. I am not a super generous tipper all the time - I usually stick to 15-20% of the bill at sit down restaurants, but I can't leave a tip less than $3-4 though. Sometimes when you eat out for lunch and only drink water, the bill is maybe $7. I could never leave a tip of $1.40 which would be 20%.

 

[dislal]

I didn't read through all the replies but my DD delivers pizzas in the evening and I don't know if it just the shop she works at or all are like this but she gets paid like a waitress which I believe she is currently making $3 (can't remember exact figure) an hour, so she relies heavily on her tips. She is also expected to help out in the kitchen as much as her deliveries allow and she helps clean up at the end of the night mop dishes etc.

She always has great stories about the tips she receives one elderly lady gives her three nickels and tells her it's her .75 tip every time

 

[Squirlz]

It’s for this very reason I tend to over tip on cheap meals. I’ve had exceptional service on meals as cheap as $3. Even 25% seems like a slap in the face in such a case. On the flip side, 15-20% on a $100 meal where you see your waiter 3 times seems pretty generous.

We go to Steak & Shake occasionally which is already ridiculously cheap. Last time we had a couple coupons and altogether we had 3 deluxe burgers, fries, a cup of chili, cole slaw and a shake and the tab was less than ten dollars! Service is always exceptional there. Gave the server a 20.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Funny how I see the dis completely opposite. Many here are married and admit to being (in my mind) terrible tippers. I wonder how these people ever got 2nd, more or less 3rd dates.

Eh that's a bit overreaching thought TBH. I tip pre-tax (but off of pre-discount/coupon) but to some that would seem cheap; for example on the machines where you do it all yourself it could seem like a 13% tip when in reality I'm tipping 15% but I do that when the machines don't calculate off pre-tax (which some of them do so then it goes back to 15% tip given)--pretty sure I'm not a terrible spouse and I've had too many to count nights out with my husband after 11 years of knowing him.

I never followed along that closely, but you notice the truly egregious ones. Every single woman has some bad tipper stories; and of course, more to boot. I could write a book.

It's more that you tend to know the bad ones. The waitress who looks at the tab disgusted, the bartender who isn't tipped at all, etc. Invariably, they also don't treat the wait staff with respect. As I went along in my in dating career, I started just meeting for drinks, arriving early, and opening a tab so I didn't have to worry about any weirdness. This totally charmed my now DH and it made for easy, less awkward escapes, or an easy transition to a dinner.

I've been out of the dating game for a while even being younger so I don't really know how people have been doing it in the last 10yrs or so other than hearing about my mom's travels. For instance I never ever have tried dating apps myself.

But I'll be honest I never knew what any of my dates tipped.

Now if I'm at a restaurant and see a waitress who looks at the tab disgusted that would be the last time I'd go to that place..not for my date but because of the waitress. I do agree that you can tell at least some qualities of people based on how they treat wait staff but I couldn't really discern that they tip 10% vs 15% vs 20%. Bartender not tipped at all is easy to tell you're right about that unless you don't see if they paid with a higher bill out of your sight and told the bartender to keep the change.

But knowing from past posts you had some doozies of guys that's for sure lol so it def. sounds like you got a good one

 

[Meglen]

I always tip 20% delivery or sitdown. It its bad service I will tip less but 20% is always my got to. I always feel bad when I see 2 people eat and they leave 2 dollars. I will leave a bit extra if i have the same waitress. Drivers deserve there tips and need them to make a living. Dont be cheap ppl.. your ordering pizza for 5x the amount it would be to make it yourself, whats another couple bucks gonna hurt?

 

[gina2000]

I'm a big believer in tipping...deliveries (not just food) as well as services. I budget for it and I do it. I get great service and I appreciate it. I live in an area where it seems that tips are a matter of course. I'm good with it.

 

[superme80]

I live outside of city limits, so no one will deliver to me. I got delivery at my hotel in Disneyland because we had just arrived and I was too tired to go to Downtown Disney. I don't remember what I tipped, but the food was amazing. I hope I tipped good!!!!

 

[amberpi]

Now if I'm at a restaurant and see a waitress who looks at the tab disgusted that would be the last time I'd go to that place..not for my date but because of the waitress. I do agree that you can tell at least some qualities of people based on how they treat wait staff but I couldn't really discern that they tip 10% vs 15% vs 20%. Bartender not tipped at all is easy to tell you're right about that unless you don't see if they paid with a higher bill out of your sight and told the bartender to keep the change.

But knowing from past posts you had some doozies of guys that's for sure lol so it def. sounds like you got a good one

Both the restaurant and the date suck at that point, that's not even the worst cases. I've had every bad kind of date - so I probably have dating PTDS (post traumatic dating syndrome) instead of PTSD.