Q&A: "Should I tip 20% on delivery?"

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Here's the question we'll be answering today:

Hey Nicole! Kyle from New York here. My girlfriend and I have done a lot of ordering in during quarantine and we need you to settle an argument for us. Do you tip 20% on delivery? My girlfriend says yes, but I say no. My thinking is that you’re really tipping for the act of them coming to your house… and it’s the same distance whether you’re ordering $10 in cookies or $80 in Chinese takeout. What do you think?

I understand why it’s such a hotly debated topic because there’s definitely an argument for both sides. Let’s think about why we tip. At a sit-down restaurant, if you have stellar service, the convention is to leave ~20% for the tip— we all know this.

And what is that 20% tip for? Well, a big part of the job is feeding you, right? The waiter is the person keeping you from getting hangry, and for that, they’re worth their weight in gold. And bringing you food? Well, that's the same thing a delivery driver does.

But, unlike a delivery driver, a waiter at a restaurant is also making sure that you’re enjoying your meal. I mean think about it— I know you’ve been to a restaurant where the waiter introduces themselves by saying “Hi, I’m Nicole and I’ll be taking care of you tonight.” Right?

That’s a go-to restaurant ice breaker. A waiter takes care of you! They give you their recommendations on the menu, they check back to see how you like what you ordered, if you need a little extra salt they’ll bring it to you, if you didn’t get what you ordered they’ll fix it; a waiter does all of these things for you, but a delivery person does not.

Here’s another key difference.

It’s pretty well understood that waiters and waitresses live off their tips. Waiters make less than minimum wage in most cases. And I mean, way under minimum wage: less than $3 an hour is totally acceptable according to the US Government. Seriously!

According to the US Department of Labor, and I’m quoting here: “An employer may pay a tipped employee not less than $2.13 an hour in direct wages if that amount plus the tips received equal at least the federal minimum wage, the employee retains all tips and the employee customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips.”

You gotta love that double-negative government jargon. In other words: according to the US Department of Labor, you can get away with paying restaurant employees $2.13 an hour so long as they’re making more than $30 a month in tips. That’s an extremely low bar.

So when we’re eating at a restaurant, we have an awareness that the majority of a waiter’s paycheck comes from us. There’s not the same understanding when it comes to delivery drivers. We assume that delivery drivers are making a higher hourly wage, so the possibility of a tip is not as important to their income.

And part of that is true. Delivery drivers do tend to make over minimum wage. According to Indeed, the average hourly wage for a delivery driver is around $22/hour. All of this taken together is why some people argue that delivery drivers should get a flat tip— a chunk of change that is not a percentage of a bill, but a fixed amount to thank them for the service of bringing you your food. So this is the crux of your argument with your girlfriend, Kyle… and you both make good points.

That said...

You can see how delivery drivers may get the short end of the stick often. Customers may assume that delivery drivers are making a better hourly wage so they tip lower, while employers may use the possibility of tips as an argument for paying a lower hourly wage.

Plus, delivery peeps have higher costs than waiters; they’re on bicycles, motorcycles or in cars. Plus, they are paying for their own gas (in this economy!), tune-ups or spare parts. And they need to make sure their mode of transport is in tip-top shape because if their car breaks down, they can’t do their job.

So let’s settle this. According to the Emily Post Etiquette Institute, you should tip 10-15% of the bill for delivery. What I’d recommend is starting by calculating 20% and then think about some other factors:

• Is the food pricier than the average meal in your area? And are you only getting one bag of food? I give you my blessing to only tip 15%.

• If you’ve ordered 7 bags of food and drippy soups and live over the river and through the woods… yeah, you should be tipping around 20%.

• And what about if you’re just picking up? Well, there is no obligation to tip whoever hands you your food in a takeout situation, but 10% is nice if they go above and beyond for you— like meeting you at your car or putting your meal together faster than expected.

If you’re rolling your eyes at the 20%, I get it! That can really bump up your bill… but just like you’re budgeting for emergencies in your spending plan, you should factor the 20% tip in your spending plan for ordering in. Pay it forward, literally.

xo,

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