You all probably know about my dining pet peeves. I will tip a server well, if they’ve done some work to earn that tip. But what about pizza delivery guys? I always tip them well, simply because they know where I live. HA! Tonight I called Papa John’s to order two pizzas and my total came to darn near $30, for TWO large pizzas, one cheese, and the other with a single topping. The person taking my order told me that the price included a $2.50 delivery fee.
Now, I don’t know about you, but having to pay a delivery fee on pizza irks me. I think that cost should be included in the price of the product I’m buying, not tacked on to my order. The clerk added that it would be “given to the driver” to cover gas, etc. Shouldn’t his employer pay him a wage that covers that? Paying a delivery fee makes me feel like I’m subsidizing part of the employer’s expenses for that driver. And what about his tip? I’ve always tipped well, but knowing that delivery fee is on there, and going directly to the drive makes me want to tip less. If I gave him $5 before, shouldn’t I be able to give him $2.50 less of a tip now, since he’s getting it from my order anyway?
Am I over analyzing a $2.50 delivery fee?
Comments
I’ve always been told the delivery fee does NOT go to the driver. And yeah I’d tip less if I knew for sure it was going to them.
You may be overanalyzing it, but I feel the same way!
I thought their wage did cover that, or they get mileage? I never heard of such a thing!
And, $30 for 2 pizzas is too high………you need to find a Mom & Pop pizza joint (ie” FLAG Pizza” - remember them?)……..
No way man. Not over analyzing at all. When we order from Papa Johns now, I just walk over and get it. I can be there in 5 minutes… They want to charge me a $2.50 fee to make a u-turn on Waters Ave, and then drive the mere seconds to my house. Screw that!!
And THEN, when yah give them a $2 tip, they look at me like I am taking food out of their kids mouths or something.
Bah.
I worked as a delivery driver for a local sub shop through college. We had a delivery fee ($0.50) that the owner justified by stating that he wouldn’t have to pay our wages if he didn’t deliver. Exactly none of that fee went to the drivers.
As to drivers’ wages, we did get paid minimum wage (or whatever the prevailing wage was), which was basically double that of waiters / waitresses. However, at least at my restaurant, where we provided our own vehicle, it would be easy to argue that the hourly wage above that of wait staffs would be eaten up by gas/vehicle maintenance (in the case of my beater car, I would have lost money in that job had it not been for tips…).
I wouldn’t have stayed in the job had it not been worth my time, and I was there for three of my college years, so I’m not going to claim I didn’t make decent money. But, a lot of times the delivery fee does not go to the driver and, based on the vehicle upkeep required, a $2 tip may be taking food out of their kids mouths. I had the luxury of providing only for myself, so it wasn’t quite that dire a situation when I was delivering.
That having been said, I NEVER order food for delivery as I feel obligated to tip generously (usually 50%+ — I had some customers who could be counted on for a 100% tip (they always got their food in less than 5 minutes)). And, since I don’t want to tack an extra 50% onto the cost of the food, I just pick it up…
I’ve asked several times about the delivery fees because EVERYONE here charges them. Even the local places. I always get told that it’s for the purpose of paying the drivers their “mileage” costs. I know our Pizza Huts and Domino’s also pay a portion of the car insurance for the drivers as well. So they claim that the delivery fee is for that.
However, I’m horrible because I rarely tip the drivers. Why? Because I always write a check and I’ve discovered that the places can’t be counted on to actually give them the money. I’ve had several drivers who told me that although I placed a nice tip on the check, they never got the money for it. And I can’t pick it up because I have no car and they aren’t withing walking distance.
It cost me less to drive to Papa Johns and pick it up. I hate the fees and I don’t actually like tipping for a service that a delivery-based establishment should have figured into their operating expenses. That’s just how I feel about delivery.
I never knew they included a delivery charge! I will have to ask about that next time. You tip well though. I only give $2…but I always feel like I’m cheap.
I find delivery charges irritating if they’re not clear on the menu. If they only tell you about it once you’ve ordered it makes it difficult to work out whether the pizza company is good value in advance (which is exactly what they’re counting on). It’s like airline fuel surcharges which make it difficult to compare flight prices side by side because you don’t know how much it is until you’ve virtually bought the ticket anyway.
Actually I feel exactly the same way about the delivery fee. There shouldn’t be one. Last time I checked fees were included in the products price. We actually stopped ordering from a pizza place last year because they started tacking on a delivery fee.
Well, I would prefer if they put it another way: “Free delivery when you spent above $30.” 2 pizza, some sideorders and drinks should easily exceed the amount. This way, the company would encourage consumers to spend more without irking them on the delivery charges issue.
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