There is a shred of “benefit of the doubt” I will extend to the elderly. My parents are up around 80 and still think it’s 1965. So a) they still mistakenly believe that companies pay normal people such as delivery drivers an actual living wage like the dads in their neighborhoods used to get, and b) they think a $2 tip for pizza of any amount (including a big order) is generous. They are just kinda clueless.
Once upon a time, I used to do deliveries for an upscale grocery store. No car. Pile all the various bags into a giant cart and truck it by hand. The price-point alone meant a mix of ritzy customers and elderly pensioners. I didn't much mind the latter; we're all gonna get old someday, and they usually gave a decent tip
The richies not so much. I tried not to let it bother me, but I can recall one in particular that did. She was a six-story walk-up at the very edge (and, technically, just outside the edge) of my route. Twenty-two bags of groceries, packed to the gills with items that were way above my price range. It was a rainy day, and I was pretty spent from my shift. But i kept them safe in. The vestibule, hauled them up the stairs five or six at a time.
When I was done -- soaked to the bone, breathing heavy, sweating like a pig -- she tipped me a dollar. This, on an order that cost at least $250, and probably more like 3. I remember wishing that she didn't tip me at all, so I could've pretended she forgot. But some people are just sadistic.
Great story. The few years I spent as a delivery driver--usually for pizza--gave me a very similar experience to yours.
Speaking of ways drivers get back at people, I delivered pizza in a Denver suburb, with fairly sharply delineated working class and upper middle class neighborhoods(white liberal to boot). After just a couple of days, I quickly learned to deliver to working class customers first.
This wasn't out of any sense of class solidarity on my part. At the time, the average tip for a $20 order in the working class hood was $5, sometimes more if I got there really quick. White, black, Latino, it didn't matter. By contrast, the wealthier people usually just tossed me some change.
Darn well said, Ohio Barbarian. I delivered in Indianapolis area and Denver area for years. Go to working class first and save all your Highlands Ranch deliveries for afterwards lol. Worked all over the Denver metro though, Parker, Highlands Ranch, inner Metro, Aurora, what you say is TRUE. Can confirm. Great comment.
If you haven’t read Snow Crash, you must. First chapter, in the near future, the main character is delivering pizzas in the equivalent of the bat mobile.
Hahahah, never thought of that when I was reading Sevenses, was an interesting concept that just didn’t land, really disliked the ending. Terminal Shock was nothing but straight up climate change propaganda. The Rise and Fall of Dodo was great though, really loved reading that book.
Yeah, in Seveneves, it’s basically Hilary Clinton stowing away and fucking everything up. Will add Dodo to the stack. I absolutely loved Anathem (long) and couldn’t make it through Cryptonomicon
Great story. During my delivery days, I would keep a 3 X 5 set of index cards on a spiral notebook. If someone stiffed me, they got their address written down on my list. If they stiffed me AGAIN, they got a checkmark next to their address. Next time I'd deliver to them (inevitably) they were certain to get a shaken box, or soda, OR (my favorite petty revenge) if I had a multi-pie run (so three - six consecutive customers to deliver to on a single outing from the store, the people that stiffed me would be my dead LAST destination even if they were just a few blocks away from the store/restaurant. Good times.
My wife used to be scandalized by my generous tips to drivers but then I told her that we not only had to tip 20% but if it's on-time and good service, we should throw in something extra to make up for all the rich A-holes (and certain demographics like foreigners who's cultures don't practice tipping) who fail to tip. Your driver risks his/her life to get you your food. If you're lazy enough to order delivery, that's great! Keeps people in a job; but at least have the courtesy to tip. Stiff people at your own risk. Call it Karma, Divine Justice, whatever, but you will get back from the Universe what you put out there. Excellent post, thank you!
Even though I do not make much money, I always try to tip as well as possible. I do not understand those that make large amounts of money and tip small. If I made much more money than I currently make I would tip even better. I just see it as basic politeness. Someone would have to try and do a horrible job to receive a bad tip from me.
That is a great heartwarming story about that pizza delivery guy. I have family members who sometimes do delivery for takeaway restaurants, and the norm here (I think) is for the business owner to pay so much per delivery (about £1.50 or £2 here in Scotland but I guess much more in bigger cities). Then the driver would really expect and get a tip for most if not all deliveries. But it would all be pretty local within a few miles radius. A couple I know made about £300 between them for one short night's work in December. That was two cars though, so not as good as it sounds I suppose.
It seems like you have bigger area to cover, so that hourly rate would make it pretty bad if the tips weren't a regular thing!
By the way, do you ever get tips for your own delivery job?
I have a friend who does parcels and gets a set rate per parcel and various bonuses if she meets customer satisfaction targets online, and hits all delivery deadlines etc. But she also gets boxes of chocs or wine from regular customers. And at Christmas she got quite a lot of cash tips as well. As for the rich guys being tight with tips....that doesn't surprise me at all. You often find that the wealthy are the meanest. "Much always wants more", as someone once said to me ! :)
I still can't make the poll thing work on my PC, so for the record, I always tip a minimum of 15% for delivery, and more often 15 - 20% I would guess. I always round up to the next pound. But even if it's say just a meal for one, I would still bung the driver about a fiver these days.
God Bless delivery peeps! There’s a sprcial place in heaven for you. You’re always the busiest during the lousiest weather because people are too fucking lazy to go out themselves.
Dominos almost always gets $5 whether the order is $15 or $25. Funny how it’s always a fast delivery and still hot. 😉
What a beautiful story 🙏❤️🎈
There is a shred of “benefit of the doubt” I will extend to the elderly. My parents are up around 80 and still think it’s 1965. So a) they still mistakenly believe that companies pay normal people such as delivery drivers an actual living wage like the dads in their neighborhoods used to get, and b) they think a $2 tip for pizza of any amount (including a big order) is generous. They are just kinda clueless.
Once upon a time, I used to do deliveries for an upscale grocery store. No car. Pile all the various bags into a giant cart and truck it by hand. The price-point alone meant a mix of ritzy customers and elderly pensioners. I didn't much mind the latter; we're all gonna get old someday, and they usually gave a decent tip
The richies not so much. I tried not to let it bother me, but I can recall one in particular that did. She was a six-story walk-up at the very edge (and, technically, just outside the edge) of my route. Twenty-two bags of groceries, packed to the gills with items that were way above my price range. It was a rainy day, and I was pretty spent from my shift. But i kept them safe in. The vestibule, hauled them up the stairs five or six at a time.
When I was done -- soaked to the bone, breathing heavy, sweating like a pig -- she tipped me a dollar. This, on an order that cost at least $250, and probably more like 3. I remember wishing that she didn't tip me at all, so I could've pretended she forgot. But some people are just sadistic.
Here’s to hoping she one day broke a hip on that stairwell after she stiffed you and likely many others ❤️
Great story. The few years I spent as a delivery driver--usually for pizza--gave me a very similar experience to yours.
Speaking of ways drivers get back at people, I delivered pizza in a Denver suburb, with fairly sharply delineated working class and upper middle class neighborhoods(white liberal to boot). After just a couple of days, I quickly learned to deliver to working class customers first.
This wasn't out of any sense of class solidarity on my part. At the time, the average tip for a $20 order in the working class hood was $5, sometimes more if I got there really quick. White, black, Latino, it didn't matter. By contrast, the wealthier people usually just tossed me some change.
Guess who got their pizza hot?
Darn well said, Ohio Barbarian. I delivered in Indianapolis area and Denver area for years. Go to working class first and save all your Highlands Ranch deliveries for afterwards lol. Worked all over the Denver metro though, Parker, Highlands Ranch, inner Metro, Aurora, what you say is TRUE. Can confirm. Great comment.
I lived in Arvada at the time. Delivered there and in Westminster, mainly.
My brother lived around 103rd and Pecos in Westminster and tips from that area were always GREAT! Working class, just like you said, Man.
If you haven’t read Snow Crash, you must. First chapter, in the near future, the main character is delivering pizzas in the equivalent of the bat mobile.
Fucking fantastic book, love Stephenson but fear the woke mind virus has started to infect his work.
He’s been in that orbit for awhile, although Seveneves was accidentally a critique of the Feminist Long House in space
Hahahah, never thought of that when I was reading Sevenses, was an interesting concept that just didn’t land, really disliked the ending. Terminal Shock was nothing but straight up climate change propaganda. The Rise and Fall of Dodo was great though, really loved reading that book.
Yeah, in Seveneves, it’s basically Hilary Clinton stowing away and fucking everything up. Will add Dodo to the stack. I absolutely loved Anathem (long) and couldn’t make it through Cryptonomicon
Imagine being in that situation and Hilary shows up, give it 30 seconds before someone shoots her out an airlock.
Be still my heart
Think my top 3 Stephenson novels would be:
Snow crash
Dodo
The Diamond age, this one took me 3 weeks to get through but well worth it
Great story. During my delivery days, I would keep a 3 X 5 set of index cards on a spiral notebook. If someone stiffed me, they got their address written down on my list. If they stiffed me AGAIN, they got a checkmark next to their address. Next time I'd deliver to them (inevitably) they were certain to get a shaken box, or soda, OR (my favorite petty revenge) if I had a multi-pie run (so three - six consecutive customers to deliver to on a single outing from the store, the people that stiffed me would be my dead LAST destination even if they were just a few blocks away from the store/restaurant. Good times.
My wife used to be scandalized by my generous tips to drivers but then I told her that we not only had to tip 20% but if it's on-time and good service, we should throw in something extra to make up for all the rich A-holes (and certain demographics like foreigners who's cultures don't practice tipping) who fail to tip. Your driver risks his/her life to get you your food. If you're lazy enough to order delivery, that's great! Keeps people in a job; but at least have the courtesy to tip. Stiff people at your own risk. Call it Karma, Divine Justice, whatever, but you will get back from the Universe what you put out there. Excellent post, thank you!
I suppose it was cold food so the customer was pissed lol. Tipping is the worst thing about the USA. But good on this guy.
Even though I do not make much money, I always try to tip as well as possible. I do not understand those that make large amounts of money and tip small. If I made much more money than I currently make I would tip even better. I just see it as basic politeness. Someone would have to try and do a horrible job to receive a bad tip from me.
That is a great heartwarming story about that pizza delivery guy. I have family members who sometimes do delivery for takeaway restaurants, and the norm here (I think) is for the business owner to pay so much per delivery (about £1.50 or £2 here in Scotland but I guess much more in bigger cities). Then the driver would really expect and get a tip for most if not all deliveries. But it would all be pretty local within a few miles radius. A couple I know made about £300 between them for one short night's work in December. That was two cars though, so not as good as it sounds I suppose.
It seems like you have bigger area to cover, so that hourly rate would make it pretty bad if the tips weren't a regular thing!
By the way, do you ever get tips for your own delivery job?
I have a friend who does parcels and gets a set rate per parcel and various bonuses if she meets customer satisfaction targets online, and hits all delivery deadlines etc. But she also gets boxes of chocs or wine from regular customers. And at Christmas she got quite a lot of cash tips as well. As for the rich guys being tight with tips....that doesn't surprise me at all. You often find that the wealthy are the meanest. "Much always wants more", as someone once said to me ! :)
I still can't make the poll thing work on my PC, so for the record, I always tip a minimum of 15% for delivery, and more often 15 - 20% I would guess. I always round up to the next pound. But even if it's say just a meal for one, I would still bung the driver about a fiver these days.
I'm a Hoosier and two bucks is the standard tip.
How much did the IRS take?
God Bless delivery peeps! There’s a sprcial place in heaven for you. You’re always the busiest during the lousiest weather because people are too fucking lazy to go out themselves.
Dominos almost always gets $5 whether the order is $15 or $25. Funny how it’s always a fast delivery and still hot. 😉