YES, you should tip! I need to make a living!

[Barracuda]

So I work as a driver for Grubhub, a third party service like Uber except I specifically deliver food from partner restaurants as an independent contractor. For the most part, it's been nice, I get to pick my hours every week, and I don't really have a boss I answer to, just need to get my deliveries done in a reasonable amount of time. However, some customers do not seem to understand that when you call for food delivery, you need to PAY for that service, and tips are how you do that. I do get reimbursed a small amount for mileage and a 3.50 delivery fee, but that's barely enough to break even. Today, I got a delivery request and I showed up at the restaurant to pick up the order; turns out it was a huge order with 7 full entrees. Delivery was about 5 miles away through decent traffic. So I show up, and no tip! Woman takes the food and actually has the gall to say, "So, we good?" I managed somehow to refrain from cursing her out and calling her a cheapskate and said, "I guess so, apparently." And I left. Guarantee her though, I see her address show up again and she isn't getting a delivery from ME again.

[Racket_Man]

I do understand as I am a pizza delivery driver. Unfortuneately stiffs or near stiffs on large orders are a fact of life in the Biz.

When I train new drivers this is one of the things I stress -- TIPS are not guarranted or required.

[Minflick]

My SIL orders through one of those services (or two, I don't know) and he said tipping the driver was built in to it. Because I asked one time when I answered the door and when I took the bag from the driver, I asked if he needed a tip and the driver told me it was built in! And then SIL confirmed it.

[kaherbert]

Speaking as a customer - the app needs to have the ability to tip built in. I often order this way because I have no cash on hand. Since I'm using a credit care or mobile payments I want to include my tip that way. So I don't use the apps that don't let me tip through the app. (I always tip between 20% - 50% )

[Barracuda]

Grubhub does have the ability to tip built in the app. In fact, you have to select custom tip and manually put in $0 to not tip.

[Marmalady]

Last time I treated my son and myself to a takeaway, I paid the driver for the food and then gave him his tip and he said 'Are you sure?' And I said 'Yes of course' and he said I'd made his day. Makes me wonder how often he got stiffed on tips.

[Mytical]

Delivery drivers love coming to my door. Most pizza places have a delivery charge, but it does not go to the drivers. I always tip (even if food is late, because often that is the stores fault.. not the drivers), and not only generously, but THEN I round up .. so if food is delivered I add a 25% tip to food+delivery charge... then round up to the nearest round number. For some reason I always get my food super fast....

[Mr Hero]

I don't know anything about the app, so I have to ask. Is the only option to tip when you're ordering your food and entering payment?

[Jester]

Even in traditionally tipped professions, such as servers and bartenders, tips are not guaranteed. We get stiffed on an alarmingly regular basis, and we get lousy tips even more frequently, for a number of reasons. If you continue in the food delivery business, this will happen. It sucks, but as has already been stated, it's part of the job.

[sirwired]

I gotta ask... for deliveries such as pizza, where it's the same amount of work for one small cheese pizza (say, $8) or three XXL Super-Mega-Ultra-Deluxe pies ($40), it seems to me like it would make more sense to tip a flat amount rather than based on the dollar amount of the order. Am I making sense here?

(Now, if you are getting a dozen pies delivered, yeah, of course one should tip more for those orders, 'cause they are definitely more work.)

I've always wondered why tipping is based on a percentage of the check rather than the number of items ordered. As in, why do we tip bartenders less for four pints of WateryPissMacroBeer vs. the same amount of SnootyTinyTownBrewingCompany's swill? It's still four glasses and four pours, just pulling a different handle... And how much less work does the waitress at CheapGreasySpoon do vs. ChainPlace Inc. that she's gonna get tipped half the amount based on the amount of the check?

[Catwoman2965]

Delivery drivers love coming to my door. Most pizza places have a delivery charge, but it does not go to the drivers. I always tip (even if food is late, because often that is the stores fault.. not the drivers), and not only generously, but THEN I round up .. so if food is delivered I add a 25% tip to food+delivery charge... then round up to the nearest round number. For some reason I always get my food super fast....

I do the same. I figure if I'm lazy enough to want food brought to my door, the few extra dollars I tip by rounding up isn't going to break me. My normal place also has a delivery fee and I've had to argue with people who think a tip isn't necessary because they charge that. Um no, the driver DOES NOT get it. I know because I asked.

a plain pizza in my neck of the woods is usually about 13-14, and I just give the driver $20 and call it a day.

[Cia]

My BFF just moved back from Seattle to our hometown. Her hubby asked if we had anything like Grubhub. I laughed, no. Then he asked about Uber. Laughed again. I don't even think Sioux Falls has Uber.

[EricKei]

My normal place also has a delivery fee ...no, the driver DOES NOT get it. I know because I asked.

Same with every other place I know of that charges that fee. Its primary purpose is to increase profits while staving off an across-the-board menu price hike for a while. Also, I would imagine it's a subtle way to get people to order more. I mean, who wants to pay a $2 fee to get a $5 order of breadsticks?

[Racket_Man]

Same with every other place I know of that charges that fee. Its primary purpose is to increase profits while staving off an across-the-board menu price hike for a while. Also, I would imagine it's a subtle way to get people to order more. I mean, who wants to pay a $2 fee to get a $5 order of breadsticks?

THIS ^^^^^^^^

You would be surprised how many people will try and order something small like a order of breadsticks or a personal pizza ($5 and under) and throw a BIG hissy fit when told that is not enough for delivery. That small of an order really really wastes my time as a deliver driver and is not all that productive tip wise either.

the $5 breadstick thing is one of the primary reasons most places have a minimum order total before tax and the delivery charge (ours is $10)

[protege]

You would be surprised how many people will try and order something small like a order of breadsticks or a personal pizza ($5 and under) and throw a BIG hissy fit when told that is not enough for delivery. That small of an order really really wastes my time as a deliver driver and is not all that productive tip wise either.

It's not just food either--some office supply firms have a minimum order amount. I remember my boss getting upset when I told him that they weren't going to deliver a $5 of cheap Bic pens to our door. They're not going to drive across town because you're too lazy to get off your ass and walk to the variety store across the street