Brennen said:
False Dichotomy. I expect to pay more for better pizzas, but I don't expect to pay more just to get my food delivered in a satisfactory condition, see above regarding basic expectations. In fact the idea that I might get a cold pizza just because someone else has slipped you an extra fiver would mean me taking my money to someplace else where people can fulfil my basic requirements. See above again.
When I delivered pizzas, non-tippers still got 'satisfactory' pizzas unless I messed up by trying to take too many deliveries at once, management screwed up by making me take that many at a time (we were extremely busy/not enough drivers), or I had trouble with the previous stop (customer was passed out drunk). My fault or the business' fault, so I can understand no tip and understand if they choose to go elsewhere.
What usually ended up being the difference between the service of a non-tipper and a tipper was whether or not they got their pizza in 30 minutes or 45 minutes. Either one was 'satisfactory', but one gets his pizza a bit hotter and quicker. Everyone has their own standard for what 'satisfactory' is. Some people have higher expectations of service, and they are willing to pay for it.
The boss can't follow the drivers to see how well they are doing (unless it is really bad that someone phones in a complaint). Tips allow the customer to give input to how he is doing.
Then you are placing a (hidden) premium on service I expect to be standard, and a service advertised as freeto boot. That's both dishonest and poor customer service.
The business isn't making any money from delivering it to you, so from their perspective it is free. The tip is between the customer and the driver, and the customer isn't forced to pay it if they choose not to.
I do realize that if it wasn't for tips then the business would have to pay the driver more (thus increasing the cost of the pizza).
[rant] Maybe this would be a good thing afterall, it would mean that these people who don't have the money for a tip won't be able to order EVERY SINGLE DAY. I would pick up the phone and just hear their voice saying they would like to order a pizza and I would then be able to, without asking them, write down their address, phone number, last name, and that they want a medium pizza with half of it the deluxe with black olives instead of green olives and the other half was sausage, pepporoni and mushroom (Jeezus, that was 9-10 years ago and I still remember everything except his phone #!). It's amazing some of the people who order delivery every day of the week, then wonder why they don't have rent money. [/rant]
Masquerouge said:
You're totally right. Do drivers share tips with the rest of the chain? I know they do that in some restaurants, all tips are pooled then split... Dunno if it includes the cooks.
In most places the cooks are paid far more than the drivers or servers (before tips are added). Cooks don't have to deal with customers as much (if at all), so their attitude doesn't usually matter as they don't have to try and keep a happy face even when dealing with jerk customers. If they are a bad cook, management will certainly be hearing about it, from the customers and from the servers who are getting bad tips because of the poor food.
When I worked at a small restaurant in a small town we once had a waitress that was so bad, we had a customer who opened the kitchen door and gave the cook the entire tip because the food was great, but the service was poor. I imagine that would be difficult to do at larger restaurants or how the building is layed out. Or sometimes they would give me (the cashier) the money and tell me to make sure the cook got it and not the waitress.
There isn't much a cook can do to screw up a pizza except timing it good enough so it's cooked enough without burning it. So I don't see how they could really try to give great service to earn tips. Either the pizza is burnt or it is not. Being more generous with the toppings they could do for a tip, but everyone who isn't getting those extra toppings are absorbing the cost (eventually). So that extra cost should be added to the price of that pizza (so the business gets it to pay for the ingredients) and not given to the cook as a tip.
Because ultimately, if tips are such a great idea, why are they not applied to every kind of service-oriented job? Like cashiers or clerks or...
You are bringing the merchandise to the cashier and carrying it out the door yourself, so no tip. Fast food, no, because all they do is take your order and then give it to you (no return visits to see if you need re-fills, etc.). Taxi driver yes, Bus driver no. Bus driver isn't taking you alone to a specific location, he is just driving the route he would be taking anyways if you were not even there. Tour bus, I don't know, I guess it depends. Only been on one and it was in a van in Austin, TX so it was just my family and another family of 3. He had a sign that said something like tips are appreciated, but not required. He was the owner of the tour bus, IIRC so he makes more than if it was some kid hired to do the tour, so he would be less likely to get tips because most people would feel like he doesn't need the tips as much.
bugfatty300 said:
The delivery charge is $1.50. I get $1 and they get 50 cents (for nothing).
So does the $1 go towards your gas reimbursement, or is this in addition to gas/vehicle cost pay? Either way, I would look at it as even the non-tippers are giving you $1. Some of the far deliveries aren't worth the $1, with what gas prices are at now, but if you have a couple of other stops along the way it is more worth it. I hope you aren't driving around in a newer car or a gas-hog.
Since I always worked at places that didn't have a delivery charge (except for some long distance ones, which I would get to keep the entire delivery charge) I would have thought the delivery charge went to the driver and not tipped as much. Now I'll have to remember to ask how much of it is going to the driver.
The 50 cents isn't for nothing, it is partially to pay for your wage, but I highly doubt it is fully paying your wage unless you are making over a dozen deliveries an hour (I don't think I've ever done that except at bar time if I had a bunch of deliveries to the college campus that we were right next door to, otherwise the stops are just too far away to deliver that many that quickly when you have to make return trips to pick up more orders).
Uh where are you getting your exchange rates on that menu?
In Cardiff, Wales
Large Pepperoni Plus = $21.30 USD (10.50 GBP)
In Wilkesboro, NC:
Large Pepperoni Lovers = $12.90 USD
Free delivery huh?
warpus said:
Most places here already have a 'delivery charge', so I would not expect the price of a pizza to go up by much.
I think comparing prices is a little pointless. Domino's has the cheapest prices, but they don't put crap for toppings on their pizza. I once ordered a pizza with green peppers on it and only had three little strips of green pepper on the whole pizza! I've had $20 pizzas before from a small pizza place, but they put at least 10-20X the amount of toppings on it than Domino's does. How far is the average delivery distance in other countries compared to the U.S.?
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There is no "legal" contract at all when you order pizza. You have absolutely no obligation to pay any amount when it comes to your door.
