What's an acceptable tip for a driver who delivers a $20 pizza?
A TikTok video purporting to show a DoorDash delivery driver in Texas swearing at a customer over the $5 tip she gave him has gone viral, sparking fresh online debate over tipping culture in the U.S.
"I just want to say it's a nice house for a $5 tip," the driver can be heard saying as he walks away from a home in the door camera video posted to TikTok earlier this week by a user under the name Lacey Purciful.
"You're welcome!" the resident says, appearing surprised by the remark. "F*** you," the driver responds before walking away.
A spokesperson for DoorDash said a delivery driver had been removed from their platform in connection with the incident.
I did a little digging into DoorDash's pay scheme, and from what it sounds, larger orders might carry a higher delivery premium paid to the driver, plus incentives, plus the tip. They are paid as follows: Base Pay + Tip + Promotions. Base pay is anywhere from $2-$10 based on time, distance, and deliverability. Tip is 100% to the driver for the delivery. Incentive includes peak pay, guaranteed earnings, and challenges.
So the least the delivery driver would have earned was $7.00 for the delivery ($2.00 service plus the $5.00 tip). If it was peak they could have earned $1-$3 more if you make 5 deliveries with an acceptance rate of 60%. So the driver could've made up to an additional $3.00 if he met this criteria.
I personally don't believe DoorDash has a really great payout model, it heavily pays the company over the delivery driver. If anything the driver shouldn't have a beef with the customer; they should have issue with DoorDash for their pay model. Honestly I wonder why the restaurant didn't have a delivery service of their own; those that serve pizza almost always employ delivery drivers.
As far as tip culture is concerned, I am personally not a fan even though I live in the U.S. but we have to live with it. There are scales used as guidelines for properly tipping service, and we use them. That said, 25% is a generous tip for a driver...they drove the food there. They didn't seat the customer, take their order, cook the food, serve it, serve drinks, clean the table, etc.
we don't have to, but the steps to change it will be uncomfortable for everyone, including the low paid service workers. companies aren't willing to change because it helps their bottom line, and the kind-hearted customers aren't willing to change because they'll feel like they're the ones hurting the service workers. i struggle with this as well.