Tipping delivery drivers using their own vehicles

[blas87]

If you live in America and you refuse to tip, you better just get eat at home or plan on eating at a different restaurant every time you go out, because it only takes one stiff and you get a reputation, and you'll never get great service again.

Sorry. That's the way it is. Tip accordingly, or eat fast food or at home. If any questions, please refer to my comments on a previous page about your beliefs not always being the way things really work.

Now, IF the situation really warranted a stiff or a bad tip, that is different. But to the people out there who don't "believe" in tipping, or the ignorant people like a lot of my relatives (who tip $1 no matter how much the bill is and ONLY $1), please get with the times and the customs or don't go out to eat or order delivery.

Servers and delivery drivers are already punished by being paid below minimum wage, do not further punish them by your "beliefs".

[Racket_Man]

If you live in America and you refuse to tip, you better just get eat at home or plan on eating at a different restaurant every time you go out, because it only takes one stiff and you get a reputation, and you'll never get great service again.

Sorry. That's the way it is. Tip accordingly, or eat fast food or at home. If any questions, please refer to my comments on a previous page about your beliefs not always being the way things really work.

Now, IF the situation really warranted a stiff or a bad tip, that is different. But to the people out there who don't "believe" in tipping, or the ignorant people like a lot of my relatives (who tip $1 no matter how much the bill is and ONLY $1), please get with the times and the customs or don't go out to eat or order delivery.

Servers and delivery drivers are already punished by being paid below minimum wage, do not further punish them by your "beliefs".

Quoted for TRUTH. another person I love THANK YOU Blas

then you have the groups of people who grew up in the US but have not been engaged in the "normative" culture of tipping. they just think they "are stickin it to the MAN".

ask most any server or delivery driver and they WILL tell you that certain groups can be stereotyped. again that is REALITY. MY and the people I work with and around and know REALITY.

Frankly some of the stereotypes become that way because they tend to be true. not to get into specifics but I can predict, sometime with a 95%+ accuracy rate, just by what "group" or an area lived in if a customer belongs to (and not even at times specific racial, enthic or nationality group either) that I will be stiffed.

There are even certain times of the month or year where (and I have data to back this up) that I know I will have a much higher stiff rate than normal.

it may seem counter-intuative but some of my worst stiff rates have come during blizzards or bad weather. (a 65% stiff rate is my highest so far with more than enough shifts coming damn close)

all of this may be dependant on the area in question, but taking to servers and drivers over a wide area we all seem to agree the above statements are, at least, ancedotially true (though some like me do keep somewhat detailed records so the data bears out the conculsion).

when half of my income is dependant on the "generosity" of others it becomes vital to ME that my income is paramount, esp with all the the related "business" expenses I have that I am NOT fairly compensated for.

[Rantsylvania 6-5000]

No wonder there are always delivery driver jobs available. Who the hell would want to work under those conditions? It sounds more like you pay them for the "privelege" of working there!

They should pay, at the least, minimum wage plus gas/mileage compensation. Tips should be a bonus, especially since you can't always be sure you'll get them.

[Plaidman]

They should pay, at the least, minimum wage plus gas/mileage compensation. Tips should be a bonus, especially since you can't always be sure you'll get them.

Delivery drivers get to write off gas payments as business on their taxes. They're required to keep recipts, and it's only for on the job buying of gas, not their normal car.

[Andara Bledin]

Supposedly, business are supposed to compensate drivers so that with tips their pay equals at least the local minimum wage.

But we all know how well that works out.

I remember one story I read somewhere online about a guy who made a point of tipping at a base rate rather than based on the bill. He'd start with a $10 tip (for every 2 members of the party), and then adjust based on service. It didn't matter if the bill came out to $10 or $1000. His main reasoning was that those who work for higher-end establishments already make a fair wage, and those who work at the low-end cafes and diners shouldn't be punished for the fact that their establishments had lower prices when they worked just as hard, if not harder, than their high-end counterparts.

^-.-^

[crashhelmet]

Minimum Wage for Tipped Employees

As others have pointed out, employers rely on these reduced wages to keep their overhead down. Like any other business, they're constantly looking for and exploiting ways to keep that overhead down. Layoff higher paid employees to pay the ones that make less, move their call center to India or the Philippines, child labor sweat shops, tip and/or commission based pay.

As a bartender, I didn't mind it. I was paid $5.15 an hour, in an attempt to keep me from going to work for someone else since they could've paid me $2.13, and relied on tips. I made enough in tips to compensate for the crap I made in wages. In fact, I think my paycheck basically paid taxes and insurance, when I worked for someone that provided it. After that, it was gas money. I lived off of my tips. I couldn't afford to take time off, regardless if it was paid or not.

Drivers using their own vehicles are allowed to write off mileage on their taxes. Current Tax Laws allow for the employee to write off 50 cents per mile driven for business purposes. While it doesn't cover everything, it helps to cover the cost of gas and routine maintenance.

I've never delivered pizzas, but I'm sure that delivery drivers have to report their tips as well. They could very well be like I was on rely solely on those tips because their measly pay check only covers what it costs them to have a job.

It would be nice if employers covered those expenses, but that gets back to the overhead issue again.

[EricKei]

I don't LIKE the system, and many, many restaurants overseas do just fine without mandatory tipping, but I won't penalize the employee for that.

I'm not a traveler, so I can't actually name any, but how do THOSE places stay in business when American companies claim they could not?

Basically, in cultures where its rude to leave tips, it's because the tip they'd /earn/ is already factored into the price.

EXactly. It may or may not be universal, but taxes AND tips are already included in the price of that five-dollar Mickey D's mini-burger. It's not that people outside of the US don't pay tips, it's that they are not used to it being a separate thing -- and, of course, to an SC, "didn't see" equals "didn't happen".

Supposedly, business are supposed to compensate drivers so that with tips their pay equals at least the local minimum wage.

But we all know how well that works out.

Heh. Indeed. Keep in mind that, even with the recent Federal Minimum Wage upgrade, the "tipped worker" rate still hovers at around one third to one half of the real MW (for most, not all, such workers).

Crash is right about the 50c/mi thing (applies only in the USA) -- claim the Mileage on your taxes (all of it if you do not get reimbursed for travel/car expenses, the difference if you get partial). Note that, for most tip-dependent workers, your Standard Deduction will far outweigh this amount anyway. Whether Mileage can be claimed separately from the Itemized stuff may vary, as well. Check the instructions when you file next year. For people under a certain age (23?), remember that almost ALL of your taxes are automatically refundable, tips or no.

PS as far as gas goes -- Deep South US, here, y'all -- local gas is around $2.60-2.95/gal on a good day, as of late.

[muses_nightmare]

If you live in America and you refuse to tip, you better just get eat at home or plan on eating at a different restaurant every time you go out, because it only takes one stiff and you get a reputation, and you'll never get great service again.

Sorry. That's the way it is. Tip accordingly, or eat fast food or at home. If any questions, please refer to my comments on a previous page about your beliefs not always being the way things really work.

Now, IF the situation really warranted a stiff or a bad tip, that is different. But to the people out there who don't "believe" in tipping, or the ignorant people like a lot of my relatives (who tip $1 no matter how much the bill is and ONLY $1), please get with the times and the customs or don't go out to eat or order delivery.

Servers and delivery drivers are already punished by being paid below minimum wage, do not further punish them by your "beliefs".

In the states I totally agree with you, because of the employees being paid less than minimum.

Frankly, I think here in BC it's fair enough to want to practice the belief in not tipping because the servers do make minimum or higher. Given I tip at places I want to go back to regularly, and I tip for awesome service. If my service was just so-so, or outright bad I won't tip and I don't feel bad about it. If it's bad enough I will complain, which doesn't happen often. If I went to gas stations like the one I worked at that are locked down and night and the cashier has to run around getting stuff for you, I'd tip them too (in my whole stint at that station I made a total of $1 as a tip, it made my day, even though it was only $1)

[Racket_Man]

Delivery drivers get to write off gas payments as business on their taxes. They're required to keep recipts, and it's only for on the job buying of gas, not their normal car.

techniqully you are correct Plaid, BUT you also have to keep very very accurate records of your EXACT "businnes use" milage as well as all other related business "expences" for that vehicle.

Plus when drivers doing their annual tax forms they are allowed to either use the IRS "Standard reimbursment rate" of (as of 2010) 50 cents per mile to make things eaiser OR they can claim (again with very detailed receitps and bills AND EXACT milage so business and personal can be seperated out) ALL business related vehicle expenses including insurance, repairs, maintenance, depreciation, licensing, etc.

Minimum Wage for Tipped Employees

As others have pointed out, employers rely on these reduced wages to keep their overhead down. Like any other business, they're constantly looking for and exploiting ways to keep that overhead down. Layoff higher paid employees to pay the ones that make less, move their call center to India or the Philippines, child labor sweat shops, tip and/or commission based pay.

As a bartender, I didn't mind it. I was paid $5.15 an hour, in an attempt to keep me from going to work for someone else since they could've paid me $2.13, and relied on tips. I made enough in tips to compensate for the crap I made in wages. In fact, I think my paycheck basically paid taxes and insurance, when I worked for someone that provided it. After that, it was gas money. I lived off of my tips. I couldn't afford to take time off, regardless if it was paid or not.

Drivers using their own vehicles are allowed to write off mileage on their taxes. Current Tax Laws allow for the employee to write off 50 cents per mile driven for business purposes. While it doesn't cover everything, it helps to cover the cost of gas and routine maintenance.

I've never delivered pizzas, but I'm sure that delivery drivers have to report their tips as well. They could very well be like I was on rely solely on those tips because their measly pay check only covers what it costs them to have a job.

It would be nice if employers covered those expenses, but that gets back to the overhead issue again.

yes we are required to claim ALL of our tips. and yes half of my income comes from tips

the problem lies in the fact that until 10 years ago (when the Delivery Charge was introduced) the companies DID indeed pay the prevailing IRS suggested per mile reimbusment rate. now it is mostly driven by the profit motive

Partially what changed was the rapidly fluctuating commodity prices. 5 months ago our DC was raised from $2.00 to $2.25 (and our milage compensation was NOT raised). the reason given was thus (and I am paraphrasing here). "THe DC is being raised to cover our increasing costs as our profits for the last year, esp during 'insanely low priced promotion' were way below expectations ."

Translated this means "we just came off of a really insane low price promotion that we should have NOT run for as long as we did and our profits are WAY down. so rather than increasing the price of our product to reflect the increased costs we are going to hide that price increase in a not all that paid attention to delivery service charge (that is still widely and mistakenly believed to be a built in tip for the delivery drivers) that will most likely negatively affect some of our employees ability to make tips when the customer is given a higher ticket total."

[protege]

Delivery drivers get to write off gas payments as business on their taxes. They're required to keep recipts, and it's only for on the job buying of gas, not their normal car.

Depends if they're using a powered vehicle. Try doing that with a '79 Radio Flyer 'station wagon.' If you tried, the IRS would think you're on crack Seriously though, when I had my paper route, I usually made more money in tips than I did from selling papers. How? Well, after the Press took their cut (about $120 a week to pay for the papers), I actually made very little. As such, I counted on those tips.

Most people were pretty damn nice, and tipped accordingly. As such, I made sure to put the paper inside the door, or in one case...folded it up enough so it would fit into the milk box on the porch. There was one guy though, I was tempted to strangle. He was a cheap bastard...who not only lacked a screen door, but a porch too! His front door was totally open to the elements, and to prevent the paper from blowing (or getting soaked), I always put it in a plastic bag, and hung it on the doorknob. Did I get a tip for that? Of course not! 7 years I delivered to him, and I didn't get so much as a Christmas card! Even so, I did what I usually did--he was the type that would have bitched if there was so much a speck of dirt on the paper!

Back to the delivery vehicle--it was a somewhat beat-up wagon. When I took over the route, I had it repainted...but it soon started looking rather ragged. Mainly because it was old, but also because I wanted it that way. Why? Well, let's just say that it got me more in tips

[EricKei]

the problem lies in the fact that until 10 years ago (when the Delivery Charge was introduced) the companies DID indeed pay the prevailing IRS suggested per mile reimbusment rate. now it is mostly driven by the profit motive

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but, if the STORE pays that 50c/mi fee, don't they get 100% reimbursed by the IRS?

[jackfaire]

As a wise man once said never pay full price for late pizza

That being said I do tend to tip very well. Along the lines of 20%.