OK. Now that I have wished everyone a Happy New Year, it is time for a little rant.I know times are tough and the economy is in a shambles. It is tough for me too. If it wasn't, I wouldn't be delivering pizzas on the weekends.
I have only been delivering pizzas for about a year, but I have always gone by the guideline that you should tip the same for a pizza delivery as you would if you were eating at a restaurant, that would be 15-20%. I also tend to tip a little more if the weather is bad. After all, the pizza delivery driver is performing the same function as a server in a restaurant, they are just bringing the food in their own car, using their own gas.
Having said that, there are a lot of people out there in serious need of learning some tipping ettiquette. There is a great resource at Tip the Pizza Guy where you can learn what is considered appropriate. They say the minimum tip for a delivery should be around $3. They also go into some of the hazards and difficulties of getting your pizza to you.
Last night was a particularly frustrating night for me in delivering pizza. First it was a particularly cold and windy night last night with wind chills in the teens. Second it was a holiday. For some reason, there were an awful lot of cheap ass people last night, more so than usual. I can't remember the last time I received so many $2 or less tips in an evening. It is particularly frustrating to deliver $45 worth of pizzas, be complimented on how quick the service was, and then walk away with a $2 tip on the credit card slip. (Don't think that we won't remember that the next time your address shows up for delivery.)
There are some people out there who still restore my faith in humanity when I am out delivering pizzas. My last delivery of the night was a $50 delivery and the young lady gave me a generous $10 tip (thank you very much). For the rest of you out there, if you are unwilling or unable to afford to pay for your pizza and give a proper tip, do yourself and the pizza guy a favor: Get DiGiorno, not delivery.
Pizza delivery is one of the very few aspects of city life that I actually miss. Last time I tried to order a pizza to be delivered where I'm at in the mountains, the guy actually laughed in my ear before he hung up the phone. All I get here is frozen cardboard pseudo-pizza.
ReplyDeleteIn a former life, I was a frozen food buyer for a grocery chain. They have made quite a lot of improvements in the quality of frozen pizzas. However, they still don't come close to the real thing.
ReplyDeleteI always tip the pzza guy or girl $5.00.Both my sons have done this job for extra money over the years.
ReplyDelete^most people are pretty decent when it comes to tipping. I would say on average I get about $3 per delivery. I can even understand a $2 tip if it is a small pizza for around $10-12. That night though, there was just an unusually high number of poor tippers.
ReplyDeleteI had to deliver pizzas (Dave Ramsey)
ReplyDeleteduring a rough time and I know exactly what you mean about tight wads. It took all my will power not to strangle some of the pukes that I came across.