Do you cheat delivery people out of their tip, just because a delivery charge is included? Would you be a part of someone else doing so?

I like the way you responded. The delivery person does not get the delivery fee, the restaurant does. He most likely works for tips, not the pay from the restaurant.

No, I’ve never done that and probably wouldn’t help someone else do it either.

This woman is obviously very professional at the workplace. HR would be hearing about that “fucking retarded” comment if I were you, that’s for sure.

I let my boss know what happened.

We don’t tip here. Yay.

Here’s the problem. For many years, there was no such thing as a delivery charge. It was built into the price of the item. Then several years ago, in a totally brazen move, places started charging a delivery fee, but (of course) didn’t lower prices to compensate. So essentially anything you bought (and had delivered) was not at the advertised price, but $3 or $5 more.

So the food vendors essentially snuck in a delivery tax.

And now there is a tip expected over and above that.

The way I see it, the food places ought to pay their people a living wage.

I generally don’t order from places with a delivery charge for exactly this reason. I’m not paying a tip to the driver if I’m already being asked for a specific amount for delivery. That’s obscene.

But this is a personal thing. Your coworker was an ass for trying to make you comply with her rule, and a bigger ass for disparaging you for it.

@elbanditoroso They ought to, but don’t.

I always tip, but tipping is a personal choice, like political party, and religion. Nobody should be made to feel forced into a tip.

I always tip if I’m satisfied with the service. I see what some places pay their workers were tipping is allowed.

It’s called I’ll get in the car and go pick it up before I pay a delivery charge on top of the tip. I had no problem tipping btw.

You did the right thing.

I just look at it as a delivery fee is exactly what it says. The cost of gas and insurance and car maintenance. Hopefully that goes to the driver.

The tip is simply a tip. If my food is hot and you aren’t a dick I will give you a nice tip.

@johnpowell is right. The delivery charge covers the cost of all the trips the driver has to make to deliver everyone their food. Your co-worker doesn’t have to drive to get her food today, so she has saved a tiny amount of money. Multiply that many times a day, and the driver is out a substantial amount for gas and repairs.

The tip is probably the only part they get to keep as wages. By not tipping, she is making him work for free.

Some people use that as an excuse to be cheap and not judged for it! Good for you!

@Haleth “The tip is probably the only part they get to keep as wages. By not tipping, she is making him work for free.”

I have never understood this reasoning. The employee has a job, and is paid wages by his employer. I am not his employer. I do not pay his wages. If the employee is underpaid, it is the responsibility of his employer to rectify that – I am under no responsibility to supplement his income.

A tip is a tip. It is not a wage supplement. I don’t care that it has become culturally acceptable to think of it that way in some countries. That is just nonsense.

@dappled_leaves Most tipped employees are paid a minimum wage of around $2.13 an hour, which covers their payroll taxes. Technically, the employer is required to make up the difference if the employee makes less than minimum wage on a given workday.

So for waiters and delivery people, the tips are the wages. They don’t get to take home anything else. It’s not an “argument”- that’s all they earn. It just isn’t common knowledge outside of the service industry.

In a perfect world, it would be the employer’s responsibility to pay them a better wage. American tipping culture is totally jacked up. However, we do not live in a perfect world. So if you stiff a delivery person or waiter on the tip, you are making them work for free.

@Haleth “Most tipped employees are paid a minimum wage of around $2.13 an hour, which covers their payroll taxes.”

Even assuming that delivery people accept such a wage, that is an American statistic. We do not all live in the US.

“In a perfect world, it would be the employer’s responsibility to pay them a better wage.”

Whether or not we are in a perfect world, it is their responsibility. The fact that some do not meet it does not shift that responsibility to the customer. I meant what I wrote above. Why would I reward a company that systematically starves its own workers, by covering wages for employees they will not pay?

@dappled_leaves “Why would I reward a company that systematically starves its own workers, by covering wages for employees they will not pay?”

If you don’t want to reward a company, just don’t give them your business in the first place. Don’t order delivery or eat in sit-down restaurants. If you spend money with a company, but don’t tip the employee, the company has been rewarded. They get to keep doing business because people spent money there. It’s only the employee who gets hurt.

Imagine being the employee for a second. If you’re a tipped employee, and complain to your manager that someone stiffed you on a tip, they will probably just shrug. It only hurts the employee, it doesn’t touch the company. Not tipping won’t change a single thing. Not spending money at these businesses might, if enough people do it.

You’re right, in different parts of the world this is usually not the case. In most other countries, tips are extras and don’t make up their whole take-home pay.

But for people who are in the US, not tipping is probably the least effective thing you could do if you want to change tipping culture. Instead, write to your local congressperson or to the corporate headquarters of a company. The minimum wage fairness act includes a provision for raising base pay for tipped workers. Or start an online petition for tipping laws to be changed. Or encourage people to stop spending money on the restaurant industry until tipping practices change.

I think we could use a much better model for restaurant/ delivery employees. What if they earned a commission on all their sales, say 20%? And they could choose between either that, or an hourly wage (to cover slow nights.) Incentive would still be built into the pay structure, but their pay wouldn’t be subject to people’s whims in quite the same way.

Until the tipping system changes, I’m going to keep tipping people. In fact, I usually throw in a little extra, because a meal at a restaurant or for delivery is a luxury, those jobs are hard, and other people don’t always tip. We’re all equals, including people in the service industry. I just can’t stomach the idea of doing that to someone.

@Haleth I have already said that I don’t order from places that charge for delivery for exactly this reason: that I refuse to pay twice for the service. I am not cheating anyone, and I understand the concept of voting with money.

Let me guess… now I’m cheating the delivery guy by not patronising the restaurant he works for? I mean, after all, the restaurant makes less profit because I don’t order there, and this must have a domino effect on delivery guy’s employment as well.

@dappled_leaves Let me guess… now I’m cheating the delivery guy by not patronising the restaurant he works for? I mean, after all, the restaurant makes less profit because I don’t order there, and this must have a domino effect on delivery guy’s employment as well.

Not at all. I didn’t see you say that in this thread, so I was basing my argument off the premise that you spend money at these businesses, but don’t pay a tip. If you’ve said that elsewhere- awesome! That’s exactly right.

Personally, I like eating other people’s cooking, and sometimes I get lazy and order delivery. Doing something like this is a luxury, so I don’t mind spending extra on a nice tip when I use these services. With a tip, you could either make someone’s day or ruin it. I like the idea of spending a little extra, and maybe making someone’s day.

A long time ago we had a pizza delivery woman who brought our dog a treat each time she came. I felt that thoughtfulness was deserving of a generous tip. I’m sure that’s why she went the extra mile.

@chyna At my work now, we have a regular customer who owns this really sweet older lab. She walks up to the store with him and I watch him while she’s shopping. That dog is, like, my best buddy. I like him better than most people. So I started keeping dog treats in a little bowl at work for when she comes by.

I don’t get tips here. But being in the service industry, one thing I’ve learned is that things go soooo much better if you get to know people and go the extra mile for them.

Working with the general public can be extremely difficult and draining. People blame you for things that you have no control over, they lose their tempers, I’ve seen people get violent and break things, and I’ve had to call the cops on people before- you truly have to be prepared for everything. Many customers don’t expect customer service people to be competent, and they go into it with an attitude somewhere between suspicion and annoyance. For the employee, that can lead to this terribly beleaguered, us vs. them feeling, where it’s like people are coming into your store and antagonizing you all day, and it never ends.

If you can win someone over, and create a friendly repeat customer who is happy to see you, it’s just so much better. Do that with enough people, and your entire day becomes remarkably easier. I’m at the point where probably 80% of my customers are people like this. And it’s just nice to spread good feelings around. That lady and her dog are actually both really awesome! So I’m happy to stop and chat with her and give the dog a nice belly rub.