................................. But it is graciously accepted.

I deliver pizza for a living. It isn't going to make me rich, by any stretch of the imagination, but I do OK. I make enough to pay my bills and have a little left over. I make minimum wage and $1.40 for each delivery I make. I'm not going to complain about the money I make. I have a job, and for that I am grateful. What I really hate, though, are some of the people that apparently don't realize that I have a brain:

When one customer hands me $30 on a $24 order, and as I am handing him his change back, says "Sorry I can't tip you, I don't have any extra money." My mouth (by necessity, and the rules of the job) has to stay closed. However, my brain is screaming, "How stupid do you think I am? You spent $24 on pizza and can't toss me a buck, you piece of ......."

When a man is signing the credit card receipt I handed him (and for the customer's convenience, there is a line for the tip, the total and the signature) says to me "I can't tip you today, I had to put this on my credit card." I was utterly speechless! I was afraid to speak for fear of saying something so ridiculously obvious that I would offend the customer and get into trouble. This particular guy lived in a beautiful home- probably in the half-million dollar range, with new vehicles in the driveway (not that it matters). This is the same house where I had another adventure:

For some reason (call it a brain fart on my part) I couldn't find the house. I called the home (we have the phone # on the ticket we take with us). Me: "Is this Carla?"
Customer: "No, this is Corrella" (click)
*calling back*
Someone picks up the phone and sets it on the table, I can hear voices in the background, but no one is talking to me. I hang up and call again....... Same thing. Now I am pretty mad, but I looked up and was sitting in front of the house I was looking for....doh!!!
Anyway, I knock on the door, and when the young lady answered, I said, "That was me trying to call."
She said, "Oh my God!" Slammed the door (screen door) and ran away! Now I am standing at the door, holding pizza looking throught he glass, getting very mad. Finally, the guy comes to the door (her dad, I think)and asked what the problem was. "I don't know, I told the young lady that it was me that had called and she ran away." He paid for the pizza (zact change...) and I left. Weird.

Often times, the only tip I get is the remaining change (I do not carry small change). One time, on the rare occassion when the customer waited for his change (the bill was $18.08 and I gave him a dollar back from the $20). Since I didn't have the change, I gave him another dollar and ate the 8 cents myself.... pathetic.

We deliver pizzas to schools during the day sometimes. Most schools tip a few bucks. Some do not. My coworker, just yesterday, delivered 20 pizzas to a school and the receipt did not match the schools order (they had called and added 3 more pizzas to the order, which the driver was unaware of). Not only did they keep him there for almost an hour, while they straightened it out, they stiffed him on the tip! I was VERY glad it wasn't me. I don't know if I could have walked away without saying something.

I guess some people think that the $1.40 we get for our time, trouble and wear and tear on our vehicles is generous enough. They must not have noticed the price of gas these days. All in all, I like my job. I get paid pretty well, get to drive most of the day, and have almost no stress at all. But sometimes, you gotta just laugh at people (becasue crying isn't very manly).

This wasn't supposed to be a rant, but I guess it turned into one. Feel free to share your own experience. Do you tip the pizza guy? Why or why not?

 

Depends on the individuals attitude delivering, and how genuine they are at the time Most of the time yes.

 

Thank you! I should have mentioned that. I always smile and try to make small talk- nice house, beautiful yard, nice bike, whatever. When you get stiffed, the only thing you can do is to brush it off, and move on. Go to the next delivery with the best possible attitude. Like a pitcher that gave up 10 runs in one game, you go out the next time with a clean slate, or you'll go crazy.

 

I tip the guy 5 bucks because it's worth that to me not to go and get it.

 

Don't laugh, but I don't think I have ever had pizza delivered to the house! We live so close, I always fly for pizza. If I ordered delivery though, I think $5 min. or 20% tip. Which ever is the greater ammount.

The wife and I enjoy eating out quite often. We are good tippers. Always 20% and we round up. So sometimes it's more. Besides that, we are very manerly. Always say please when we ask for something and thank you for every coffee or drink refill. We are not picky and don't demand to have everything "just so." There are several places we go to all the time and on the rare occasion we ask for a substitution they gladly do so. I like to think it's not because we tip good, but because we are pleasant guests. We have made a lot of good friends at the places we eat at.

 

I'm the reverse of Scott...I live a mile and half out of town so they don't generally deliver to in my neighborhood. One of the two pizza places in town will deliver to me, for a 5 dollar surcharge. Only took 'em up on it once and then tipped the person who delivered it a couple of bucks. She was the owner of the pizza place as it happens...

I play music in a Irish pub one night a week, and it's really amazing to see how people act regarding tips for the musicians (there are two of us.) Sometimes we get people who really seem to appreciate the music, clap along, make comments and give us compliments, and then leave without dropping anything in the tip jar. Last night we had a couple who were finished with dinner and just finishing up their beer when we came in and set up, the woman came over and dropped a fiver into the tip jar before we'd even finished the first tune and they left a few minutes later. Very generous, I thought. Some nights we do as much as 40 bucks in tips, some nights we wind up with as little as 2 or 3...you just never know.

I'm unemployed right now, so every dollar makes a difference...

 

I always tip. And I tip very well. I tip the paper boy, the barber, the bartender, the pizza guy. I've even got into a fight with wife (at the time...she's an ex now) over how much to tip a server. I'll even tip a bad server or service...just not as much. Most, if not all of the people in the service industry usually make their living off of the tips not the wage they make. I'd venture to say that 98% of the people that are being 'serviced' (minds out of the gutter please... ) know this too. They're just tight asses.

 

Stu, is this a chain or a Mom and Pop pizza place???????? I used to deliver for a Mom and Pop place that had awesome pizza, and did really well with it. When i 1st got out of the service I had my favorite pizza place, I called on them once a week. I always ordered stuffed pizza, and i got to wear i knew my drivers schedule. Man was that guy sharp..... He always got a fiver on top of there delivery charge. I used to laugh when the order taker told me it would 45 to an hour. The driver new my name and my pizza, and it never went match past a 1/2 hour on a pizza that takes all of 20 minutes to make. I could all up from different locations, friends houses etc, he saw the name and he came through. alas i moved out of there delivery area, and dont eat nearly as much pizza as i used to! Damn I miss Steve! I am a habitual overtipper, especially in those diner type places where you eat for 5-6 bucks a head. I cant walk out with a 6 dollar bill and not just leave the whole ten or more! Anyways I asked about the chain or not? I was asking because usually the chains are lower quality, more expensive and not as accomodating, which I would believe to trickle down to the driver. Just my experience. Dan

 

I refuse to tip if service is not up to par. I will not punish a server for crappy kitchen workers. I refuse to tip nail tech, hairdresser. They make big bucks and I am paying them for their service already so I am not going to tip. Would i tip the fire or Police department? Nope they get paid.
Now my Paoli Pizza delivery guy? He gets rewarded greatly. He is pretty kewlies. never late.
My daughter is waitress at the attached restaurant here and she kicks butt on tips. Sometimes 75.00 for her 530am to 2 pm shift. She make a little over 3 an hour wages.

I get tips here at motel. Most just tip me with beer. That is okay with me. usually its 3.00 but 20.00 is not uncommon. But I spoil my guests. (and no not for tip)

Do you think that taxing tips is BS? I think its bullsnot that a waitperson, pizza guy etc who are given a GRATUITY have to claim it. It is a thank you from the guest. How can a business owner get off paying less because their worker gets cash as a thanks? Not only does the restaurant owner have the customer pay for food they also pay for the employees too.
Pooling tips is crapola too. But just my opinion. Here ta one pizza place they pool their tips. At the end of year they sue it to pay for party. If you are fired or have to quit you have no claim to any of the money.

 

I delivered pizza for a summer while in college. Unfortunately, it was in my hometown, which was not a college town, and it was for a chain. They had all kinds of stupid rules, so I didn't make squat. The dumbest rule was that you could only take one delivery at a time. If the cashier forgot to tell you that it was a credit card order and send the ticket with you, you had to make two trips. I definitely met quite a few rude and/or stingy people. But that's okay, because that experience turned me into a good tipper, when it's appropriate. I will not tip for coffee at a coffee shop if I am ordering at the counter and taking it to a table or to go. That doesn't fly with me. Otherwise, in a restaurant, if the server is on top of things without bugging me too much, I'll go 15% + whatever it takes to get the bill to an even dollar amount. If I'm feeling generous, or it's near the holidays, I'll shoot for over 20%. I've even left a tip for over 100% once when I was working out of town by myself, on Christmas eve and having breakfast at a Denny's.

Heck, I've even gotten a few tips as a painter (not many, though, it's NOT common), usually in the $20-50 range.

Jason

 

I got a bottle of Jack Daniels as a tip today. A big one 1.75 litres. And $50 bucks.

 

Why?

Dan, I work for Domino's. I usually work about 35-39 hours per week. I usually make around $300 per week in tips and gas. The manager, when he is cashing me out, reports my tips (the ones on the credit cards, not the cash ones). On a good night (my best nights are Sunday and Monday), I walk out with $70-90 cash. That's actually pretty good money, so I try not to get down on a night that only nets me $40. We don't share our tips with anyone, but we also have to pay for all of our wear and tear on the vehicle. Of course, at the end of the year, I'll be claiming everything I've done to the truck on my taxes. I have worked in a bar where the waitresses tipped out at the end of their shift. They put 3% of their bsank into a fund for the hostess, DJ's and the barback (where I got started in the biz). Barbacks also traditionally get tipped out by the bartenders. I worked my butt off during those days, so my bartenders were prety generous to me. When I started bartending full time, I also tipped my barback pretty well, depending on how many times I ran out of stuff that he was supposed to keep up with.

That brings up another good point for me. If I was tending bar and someone didn't tip, I took care of that problem staright away.... I simply wouldn't wait on them again until I knew they were pretty mad. I'd walk right past them to the customers that I know would tip. When they would ask why I kept avoiding them, I'd say that I didn't notice them, I am busy waiting on that guy that is holding up a $10 bill trying to get my attention. (except I was a real bastidge about it.) I developed a pretty sarcastic and rough edginess when I was behind the bar, but it seemed the bigger jerk I was, the more money I made. Go figure.

 

We always tip as appropriate to the bill. I never put a tip on my CC. I alawys pay my tips in cash so the server / delvery person has a choice weather or not to claim it. I think that's very fair. I even tip bad service, everyone has a crappy day.

I was a cook for 24 years in the Coast Guard and am very sensitive to food service workers and people who simply provide a service. These folks make our lives easier.

I have managed Coast Guard clubs serving a variety of military and civilian clients. My food and beverage menus were always priced so a customer would h ave to break a bill to pay the bill, in hopes that he/she would leave some for the server.

Now that I'm a military retiree, I work for the Post office. It amazes me how many people tip me around Christmas time. Money, cakes, booze, nearly everything. I very HUMBLY accept any offerings and bring them a thankyou card the very next day.

If you provide a service and if the service that you provided enhanced your customer experience then you deserve some sort of a gratuitous offering.

Tim

 

Delivery guys deserve a tip/ Who knows when someone will jump them as they start to walk back to their car. A friend had it happin to him.

 

Thats funny i got 50 bucks 2 weeks ago, and so did my employee Rick,
i have been blessed with a 500 dollar tip above a contracted price before.
almost a 10,000 dollar job

I always tip when i get my hair cut, when i have pizza delivered, a fiver is worth not having to deal with traffic! and the Barber has sharp objects near my head.... gotta keep him happy!