How much do you tip people for delivery or a service?

[Reflecto]

Serving: 15% flat, no matter how the server did.

Tipping is a necessary part of the dining experience, and servers do deserve a tip for what they do- especially since they get paid below minimum wage.

Having said that, however: Traditionally, proper etiquette has always said that 15% was the going rate for tips (and often times, proper etiquette said "15% for service that went above and beyond, 10% for normal service.)

In the last few years, though, servers THEMSELVES decided to turn it to "20%, AT LEAST, even if we openly spit in your food right in front of you or you are literally worse than Hitler- and I mean that literally, if the bill comes to $7.51 and you only give us $9.00 instead and don't come through with that extra penny, that is a worse crime than the Holocaust!". Many even go further and turned it to 25%, or higher, with the same viewpoints. Even a business where the servers can arbitrarily decide their own pay structure and how much they get, per tip, would be reasonable due to how servers get screwed...except in every place where tipping gets discussed, by an astonishing coincidence, the same servers who demand the 20%/25%-plus tips being mandatory happen to be the same people who always say "Don't even bother tipping your pizza guy, they get a delivery charge" or "Only tip them 10%" if they deign to say your pizza guy should be tipped [even though they do everything a server does, PLUS put wear and tear on their car, PLUS are doing a job proven to be more dangerous than being a police officer to do it...and they don't even get the full delivery charge, as Berthelots said].

By that same token,

Delivery drivers: 15% of the order OR the price of one gallon of gas in your area (which is reasonable compensation for the "wear and tear on your car" factor, especially since they drive 3 miles or less per delivery on average), whichever number is higher...EVEN if you're tipping them over 100% to get to the price of a gallon of gas in your area (that line may be unreasonable, but keep in mind: Most restaurants that offer delivery have a minimum fee of around $7.50 to get delivery, so if your driver is delivering you something that's less than that $2-3 a gallon of gas is in your area they ABSOLUTELY are going above and beyond for you there), then round that number UP to the nearest dollar (with reason: delivery drivers, by and large, only carry bills on them. Demanding exact change from your delivery driver means they have to drive all the way back to the restaurant, then all the way back to you, just to give you your exact change- which puts more wear and tear on their car and keeps them from making another delivery.).

[Mutant Couch]

At least 20% or $5 whichever is greater. I don't like the idea of tipping someone significantly less for the same service just because the menu prices are vastly different.

[Feyrhausen]

Jan 17, 2015 14:27:44 GMT -5 CATCH_US IS the Conversation said:

I tip whenever I can, but I really can't stand the mindset that a tip is an obligation rather than a bonus.

It's a bonus if you are being paid minimum wage or more. If you are not, then it is your rent check and money for bills and food.

[MGH]

I have no idea about exact %s, but I always over tip. I was a waiter for years. I know how much it means to them.

[Unaffiliated]

Jan 17, 2015 15:45:43 GMT -5 A Platypus Rave said:

delivery usually like 15 percent unless it's really shitty out or something.

dine in places it depends on how well the service was but unless there is some massive egregious problem (and it'd have to be pretty damn big) I will always leave something usually between 15-20%

Jan 17, 2015 13:26:21 GMT -5 Unaffiliated said:

Somewhere between 10% and 15%. I admit to tipping only because of it being a social norm, not out of appreciation or anything. Not that I'm not appreciative, but like mentioned above, I don't understand the inconsistency when it comes to tipping.

Most servers and delivery guys rely on the tips to live because they make less than minimum wage.

Then that, I believe, needs to change. As a customer, I don't want to be responsible for the livelihood of the person serving me. And if I were a server/deliverer, I wouldn't want my income to be affected by the uncertainty of tipping.

Now I feel like I should probably go for at least 15%.

[CM Dazz]

$3 plus the change on a pizza delivery. I tip pretty well in restaurants if it's deserved. Left a 25% tip last week when the wife & I went out to dinner. I've both waited tables, & delivered pizzas in the past so I know how it go's.

Jan 17, 2015 13:15:17 GMT -5 @personman01 said:

If there's a "delivery fee" then less than if delivery was free. But generally 20%, same as I'd tip a server.

From experience, most of the time the driver does not get that delivery fee.

[Citizen Snips]

20% as a rule, more than that for good service, "overtip" for truly great service.

[Deleted]

I always try to tip at least 20%. Waiters; delivery drivers; I don't care what the exact occupation is. I know that a lot of them (delivery drivers in particular) have it pretty bad so I try to make it a little easier for them.

[hossfan]

For waitstaff usually 20&, but depending on circumstances it can be higher. If I tip on a card, for example, I add an extra buck or two because they're going to have to declare it for tax purposes. If I'm eating alone I'll tip 25-30% because I feel like I'm taking a spot that could have gone for a bigger party.

[Magnus the Magnificent]

, but I live where pizza delivery folks actually makes a living you can, well, live on.


Wait, reading some responses, you have to use your own car, and pay for gas in the US of A?
Mind-boggling concept.

[edgestar]

I usually overtip.

[Milkman Norm]

15%-20% depending on service. No less than 15%. Occasionally 25-30%

[Red Impact]

Pizza places dont' deliver to where I live due to, technically, being across a county line (even though it's closer than some places they do deliver). If I'm crashing somewhere and do get delivery, it's usually a couple of bucks, but my orders are never much.

I tend to tip well in restaurants, but I will say that I'd be more than happy to pay a few extra bucks to never have to tip.

[Father Dougal McGuire]

Around 5 bucks. I notice that I get better service after a tip. Especially at bars, I have noticed that if I tip the bartender, they usually have a longer pour count.

[Deleted]

Around $2, if I am able to.

[Raskovnik]

I always tip regardless, but living in California I feel like it's kind of gratuitous. Waitresses make minimum wage here at the least so it makes me wonder why I'm not tipping everyone else who makes minimum wage. It's like the waitresses are BLESSING me with their service and I should be honored enough to pay extra on top of my bill even if usually they aren't the greatest because they don't really need to go the extra mile like they do in other states where they're making only $2 an hour and are still expected to make ends meet. I'm put in this situation where I'm tipping the waitress but not the dude who stocks the shelves at a department store or the cashier who rings me up, even though they're making minimum wage too, because I'm just EXPECTED to, even though those people work just as hard and put up with plenty of shit of their own. I'll look like an asshole if I don't do it, even though to me it makes sense not to, because I either tip EVERYONE, which I can't afford, or no one, because I'm not running a charity. What makes one more "worthy" than the other? Is the waitress worth more than the cashier, even though both are working hard for the same amount of money, and both get tons of shit on a daily basis? It's really stupid when you think about it.

It basically boils down to how don't like this forced helplessness we have here in America, and how it creates this obligation to tip because thank you, almighty server, for filling up my water, since I'm not allowed to do it on my own, and for taking my plate away, because I can't do that either. In Japan they let me pour my own damn water and put up my own dirty dishes, because I'm an adult. It's much easier that way and it doesn't put unneeded stress on my wallet by creating this atmosphere where I have to be ready to pay 20% or whatever extra when I just want some food, dude. They bring it to me, and then I take care of myself because I'm a big boy.

Now, people who deliver absolutely deserve it. I have no qualms about tossing the pizza guy a fiver for bringing me something.

[Hurbster]

None, because that's their job.

[Spider2024]

$3 for delivery, unless its a bigger order or crappy weather, then I'll throw in a couple bucks more.

[ayumidah]

It depends on how much money I have on me, to be honest. I usually try to go a little over 10% though.

[Professor Chaos]

Jan 17, 2015 19:06:08 GMT -5 Raskovnik said:

I always tip regardless, but living in California I feel like it's kind of gratuitous. Waitresses make minimum wage here at the least so it makes me wonder why I'm not tipping everyone else who makes minimum wage. It's like the waitresses are BLESSING me with their service and I should be honored enough to pay extra on top of my bill even if usually they aren't the greatest because they don't really need to go the extra mile like they do in other states where they're making only $2 an hour and are still expected to make ends meet. I'm put in this situation where I'm tipping the waitress but not the dude who stocks the shelves at a department store or the cashier who rings me up, even though they're making minimum wage too, because I'm just EXPECTED to, even though those people work just as hard and put up with plenty of shit of their own. I'll look like an asshole if I don't do it, even though to me it makes sense not to, because I either tip EVERYONE, which I can't afford, or no one, because I'm not running a charity. What makes one more "worthy" than the other? Is the waitress worth more than the cashier, even though both are working hard for the same amount of money, and both get tons of shit on a daily basis? It's really stupid when you think about it.

It basically boils down to how don't like this forced helplessness we have here in America, and how it creates this obligation to tip because thank you, almighty server, for filling up my water, since I'm not allowed to do it on my own, and for taking my plate away, because I can't do that either. In Japan they let me pour my own damn water and put up my own dirty dishes, because I'm an adult. It's much easier that way and it doesn't put unneeded stress on my wallet by creating this atmosphere where I have to be ready to pay 20% or whatever extra when I just want some food, dude. They bring it to me, and then I take care of myself because I'm a big boy.

Now, people who deliver absolutely deserve it. I have no qualms about tossing the pizza guy a fiver for bringing me something.

Never new waitresses in Cali made minimum wage which is $9 soon to be $10 here.. I usually tip 20 to 25 percent because I was led to believe they made like 2 bucks an hour and lived off tips. I suddenly feel ripped off.