Tipping delivery drivers using their own vehicles

[chozoghost79]

Just my opinion, but I think the customer should think before stiffing the driver. The act of ordering delivery pizza means the customer is making use of someone else's car (gas, wear tear), so saying "we don't have enough to tip you" isn't a valid excuse when you can go get it yourself, often for a better deal. That's just a false economy IMO. If the order is late or wrong, tell someone and don't take it out on the driver by not tipping. It's in most cases not the fault of the driver. (end of rant) To those who do tip well, we applaud you.

[MaggieTheCat]

I would possibly not tip a driver if the delivery was late and it was his fault. For instance, if I ordered and an hour later I called the store to see where my pizza was and they said the delivery driver left half an hour prior and was supposed to be at my place in 10 minutes. If he got lost, he should have called for directions. In that case I may not tip. (I've never had that happen so I've never actually had to make that decision before.)

But otherwise I pretty much always tip when we get pizza. We don't get delivery very much anyway, but when we do I make sure to tip at least $3 (for a small order) and usually more if the order is over $25.

Question, though: Don't delivery drivers get a certain amount from the store for every mile they put on their vehicle while on the clock? A friend of mine who used to work for Pizza Hut (many many years ago) did. I'm not saying people shouldn't tip because of this, I'm just curious if you do get compensated in some way for using your vehicle.

Edit to add: Oh hey, welcome to Fratching.

[Ipecac Drano]

Although I am a very generous tipper, I do not believe in the practice. I feel that it should be up to the employer to cover all of the overhead. Yes, I know that the tip is supposed to be incentive for the employee to give good service, but their salary should be totally covered by their employer and they should do their best.

[chozoghost79]

I would possibly not tip a driver if the delivery was late and it was his fault. For instance, if I ordered and an hour later I called the store to see where my pizza was and they said the delivery driver left half an hour prior and was supposed to be at my place in 10 minutes. If he got lost, he should have called for directions. In that case I may not tip. (I've never had that happen so I've never actually had to make that decision before.)

But otherwise I pretty much always tip when we get pizza. We don't get delivery very much anyway, but when we do I make sure to tip at least $3 (for a small order) and usually more if the order is over $25.

Question, though: Don't delivery drivers get a certain amount from the store for every mile they put on their vehicle while on the clock? A friend of mine who used to work for Pizza Hut (many many years ago) did. I'm not saying people shouldn't tip because of this, I'm just curious if you do get compensated in some way for using your vehicle.

Edit to add: Oh hey, welcome to Fratching.

As for your comment about the driver getting lost or messing something up, that happens too and I understand the issue with it. I'm referring to customers who get their stuff in a reasonable time (reasonable for the area I work in is <45 minutes) and still stiff. Some even do so after only waiting 20 mins.
I get some regular customers who tip well like you do, so I make sure they get their order in a reasonable time, if I can help it, and give a reason if it wasn't, even if it was me.
We do get some pay but it's per run and not per mile. On the longer distance runs (I've done up to 8.5 miles one way) it won't cover gas at its current price of 3.05 to 3.25. As anyone well enough knows gas is far from the only expense involved in running a vehicle. By the way I get 1.50 per run owing to my experience at that place. BTW Thanks for the welcome!

[Plaidman]

Although I am a very generous tipper, I do not believe in the practice. I feel that it should be up to the employer to cover all of the overhead. Yes, I know that the tip is supposed to be incentive for the employee to give good service, but their salary should be totally covered by their employer and they should do their best.

It should be up to the eomployeer, but it aint ever going to happen. Just isn't cost effective. It's why the put labor stores over in other countries where they can pay a kid ten cents to work a week, versus the hundreds of dollar it be for same deal.

(No before people start screaming the inhumane way of child labor and how it should be completely outlawed, you do gotta realize that kid may be helping his/her entire family to eat that week. Shutting down child labor would cause familes to starve. Raising the pay rate should be there at least).


Thus the above is why they typically pay crap if anything to drivers. The drivers want money, they need to be tipped which all people should do. (Not all do). Meanwhile, since the driver pays for his gas, insurence and car in general, that saves alot of money for the company, so they can keep selling cheaper pizzas. Since people buy said cheap pizzas, they see no reason to raise the price as raising it can lose customers. SO keep it cheap by not needing to spend money on expenses, and having their drivers pay the cost, they make their money.


That being said, I tipped. I've always tipped. I've had to sneak money from my piggy bank when I was a child to tip the driver caused my mom refused to since it was his job to deliver pizza.

[chozoghost79]

Although I am a very generous tipper, I do not believe in the practice. I feel that it should be up to the employer to cover all of the overhead. Yes, I know that the tip is supposed to be incentive for the employee to give good service, but their salary should be totally covered by their employer and they should do their best.

That's the idea behind company vehicles, but few pizza chains do that. Most franchisees figure they can pass vehicle operating expense on to the driver, considering for the most part tips cover it (hence their importance to the driver). Passing that expense to the customer would mean the prices wouldn't be competitive with other chains. Makes me wonder though how feasible it would be for a chain to run a fleet of electric vehicles. Fratching,but then again that's the site.

[Plaidman]

I never got why so many people are so against electric vehicles. From what I can tell, people are just pissed it cannot go 100 mph.

[Racket_Man]

Just my opinion, but I think the customer should think before stiffing the driver. The act of ordering delivery pizza means the customer is making use of someone else's car (gas, wear tear), so saying "we don't have enough to tip you" isn't a valid excuse when you can go get it yourself, often for a better deal. That's just a false economy IMO. If the order is late or wrong, tell someone and don't take it out on the driver by not tipping. It's in most cases not the fault of the driver. (end of rant) To those who do tip well, we applaud you.

a seasoned delivery driver here. thank you for your kind words. I know that a lot of drivers who would echo what you posted.

you would not believe the "excuses" people use not to tip a tipped worker.

fixed income (like I am NOT on a fixed income), no money, not enough money, cup fulls of change, welfare week (a rant in and of itself), the order was early (yes we do get that a lot), the order was late

I would possibly not tip a driver if the delivery was late and it was his fault. For instance, if I ordered and an hour later I called the store to see where my pizza was and they said the delivery driver left half an hour prior and was supposed to be at my place in 10 minutes. If he got lost, he should have called for directions. In that case I may not tip. (I've never had that happen so I've never actually had to make that decision before.)

Question, though: Don't delivery drivers get a certain amount from the store for every mile they put on their vehicle while on the clock? A friend of mine who used to work for Pizza Hut (many many years ago) did. I'm not saying people shouldn't tip because of this, I'm just curious if you do get compensated in some way for using your vehicle.

Edit to add: Oh hey, welcome to Fratching.

Maggie good comment on the first point UNLESS you live in one of the suburban "mazes" that now dot the landscape, or live in an area with inconsistant house numbering, or in an area that is rural, or in an area that does NOT encourage well designed roads or house placement.

If you get a new driver they may not be real familiar with the area yet

to your second point. No, most places now do NOT pay a per mile reembursment for the drivers vehicles. 99% of all chains and a LOT of smaller places only "pay" the driver a fixed per run "fee" which does NOT by any stretch of the imagination, fully compensate a driver for the use of their vehicle.

take me for example say my place pays $1 for each delivery I make. I make 20 deliveries. I drive 100 miles that shift. that works out to 20 cents per mile. however the US IRS strongly suggest that the per mile rate "Should" be 50 cents per mile. inother words the company has shifted the drivers expences over to the customer

to give everyone a better idea of the situation here are a few links that better explain the delivery driver's situation

What tips are NOT

Generalized reasons for tipping the driver

Objections to tipping the delivery driver

The dreaded Delivery Charge is NOT a built in tip

The 1st big problem is that people ASSUME the drivers are making BIG BUCKS doing delivery. that may be true in some cases BUT I would say 95% of ALL delivery drivers make well below minimum wage and their employer gets a "credit of sorts" for paying them that wage. the rest of their income is tips. The expenses we have pay out of our own pocket digs deep into those tips.

the second BIG thing that most people do NOT realize is that the delivery charge does NOT go directly to the dirver nor is it a built in tip. The DC it goes right to the store as revenue. the store then expenses out what ever per run compensation to driver

[Eisa]

I'm pretty sure that every time we've had a pizza delivered, we've tipped...even if it wasn't much, we always try to tip something.

I'm proud I know that the delivery charge is NOT the driver's tip now. Why would you assume it is? It's not like they can just pocket what you handed them and "forget" to hand it in or something...

[muses_nightmare]

Me and the bf rarely get delivery (especially if we're ordering from Pizza hut, it's literally a 1 minute walk from our building), when we do we usually tip a few dollars because it's customary. If anything I think delivery drivers who use their own car (which I think is most of them around here) deserve tips more than any server in a restaurant here (I'm in BC, servers make at the very least minimum wage and they don't have to use their own vehicle as delivery drivers do). Do I think that the employer should cover this cost? yes. I'm not entirely sure if they do here actually, I've never known a delivery driver personally, but I'm thinking not, though I know a lot of places hiring for deliver pay $10/h plus.

We do get some pay but it's per run and not per mile. On the longer distance runs (I've done up to 8.5 miles one way) it won't cover gas at its current price of 3.05 to 3.25. As anyone well enough knows gas is far from the only expense involved in running a vehicle. By the way I get 1.50 per run owing to my experience at that place. BTW Thanks for the welcome!

I have to comment on the fact that it's crappy that you don't get paid enough to cover the cost of $0.85 a liter of gas. This is part of the reason I don't have a problem tipping delivery drivers. ( I may have to start another topic about the insane price difference of gas between the US and Canada, well BC at least. Seriously we pay $1.15-1.20 a liter, that's $4.35 - 4.54 a gallon. but I digress )

[Ipecac Drano]

It should be up to the eomployeer, but it aint ever going to happen. Just isn't cost effective.

Let's see some figures.

It's why the put labor stores over in other countries where they can pay a kid ten cents to work a week, versus the hundreds of dollar it be for same deal.

Really? My pizza order is made in China, is shipped to the pizzeria and delivered to my door in 30 minutes? Holy crap!

[QUOTE=Plaidman;70447]
(No before people start screaming the inhumane way of child labor and how it should be completely outlawed, you do gotta realize that kid may be helping his/her entire family to eat that week. Shutting down child labor would cause familes to starve. Raising the pay rate should be there at least).
Not all companies do that.

Thus the above is why they typically pay crap if anything to drivers. The drivers want money, they need to be tipped which all people should do. (Not all do). Meanwhile, since the driver pays for his gas, insurence and car in general, that saves alot of money for the company, so they can keep selling cheaper pizzas. Since people buy said cheap pizzas, they see no reason to raise the price as raising it can lose customers. SO keep it cheap by not needing to spend money on expenses, and having their drivers pay the cost, they make their money.

You're talking about not changing things; I'm saying that it should have been higher to begin with to cover costs.

[AdminAssistant]

Every time we order pizza, Fiance looks at me funny because I tip $5 - always. In addition to the car expense, the driver has to call me so that I know to come down and get the pizza because my building has a locked security door and no buzzer. So, I see $5 as totally fair to cover all of that. Besides, I never have to wait too long for my pizza now.

[Greenday]

Let's see some figures.

I own a pizza delivery service. I pay my driver $5 an hour (less than minimum) and he works 5 hours a day. I have to pay him $25 a day.

I do the ethical thing and pay him $10 an hour and he works 5 hours a day. I now have to pay him $50 a day.

Which is more cost-effective for me, the owner?

[Plaidman]

I own a pizza delivery service. I pay my driver $5 an hour (less than minimum) and he works 5 hours a day. I have to pay him $25 a day.

I do the ethical thing and pay him $10 an hour and he works 5 hours a day. I now have to pay him $50 a day.

Which is more cost-effective for me, the owner?

Which isn't even getting into the price of toppings, price of pizza, price of rent, price of ultities, price of ads, price of other workers, price of benifits, taxes etc. You'd need to sell an x amount of pizza to make that alone. Start having to throw in money for gas, or inseurince for your drivers? Your going to go in the red very fast. Not to mention if your driver gets in an accident, and you have to pay for it since it's under your insurence.

Or you could cut out that part, and save money by making the driver pay his own gas/insurence and hope the tips he gets makes up for it.

[Peppergirl]

So, I see $5 as totally fair to cover all of that. Besides, I never have to wait too long for my pizza now.

This.

My pizzas and sandwiches always arrive much more quickly than the time given when I order.

I also get little extras of sauce and spices.

Back when I delivered pizzas (100 years ago), nothing was computerized...but we remembered the houses that tipped well. They always got little extras (chesse and toppings back then), and got their stuff really fast.

Cheapskates who don't tip aren't just assholes, they're stupid. You're paying for a service, and you get better service when you compensate people properly.

Now, before anyone jumps on me - I'm not suggesting anyone tip for crappy service. Like Maggie said above, if whomever you're tipping is *clearly* at fault for an issue, the tip should be reduced accordingly.

The problem comes in when people reduce or stiff based upon things that the person serving them had ZERO control over.