Tipping is a vital act in any restaurant business that denotes your gratitude for the waiter’s service. However, we often tend to forget about the role played by our delivery drivers when we order food online. While we are receiving our favorite dishes home delivered at any time of the day, it is our duty to send them a note of ‘thank you’ through tipping.
Online food delivery app drivers fulfill orders even in extreme weather conditions, be it rain, heat, or cold, to deliver our food on time. Back in the pandemic days when everybody was forced to stay indoors to maintain social distancing norms, these delivery messengers left no stone unturned to reach our meals to our doorstep. So, these superheroes deserve a token of appreciation for all their hard work.
5 Things to Consider While Tipping Your Delivery Driver
While some of us are experts in tipping our delivery drivers, many are struggling to learn about the right tipping amount. Here are some tips and tricks to remember to offer an appropriate gratuity to your delivery person on your next home food delivery order.
1. Maintain the Standard Tipping Rate
If you receive your order as expected and everything goes smoothly, the standard tipping rate is 7-10% of your billing amount. It is also the standard cost of tipping for your doorstep food delivery service if the weather is smooth and normal.
Also, avoid tipping anything less than ₹10, as it does not look quite respectful. The minimum recommended inducement amount is ₹10 per order. Most apps would have options for ₹20, 30, 50, and others. You can also choose a custom inducement amount depending on the service quality and your satisfaction levels.
Here are some unwritten rules about the standard tipping costs to help you get an idea. If the bill is between ₹300-1000, you can tip anywhere between 7-10% of the total billing amount. For example, if your bill amount is ₹1000, then a baksheesh of ₹70-100 would be good. And on bills more than ₹1000, then a 5-7% tip would be good.
2. Tip Extra on Bad Weather Days and Festive Days
While you are getting your favorite meals delivered to your home, and you enjoy them in the comfort of your couch, your delivery driver is overcoming many challenges while delivering your order safely. One such challenge is bad weather, such as extreme heat, cold, snowfall, or thunderstorms.
If it is snowing or storming outside, delivery drivers have a tough time fulfilling home food delivery orders. Be compassionate to tip some extra cash over the regular tipping rates to express your gratitude. Delivery messengers are like superheroes who can get your meals to your doorstep in any weather condition, even during COVID. They ensure you can enjoy your food irrespective of what’s going on outdoors.
Similarly, if you are ordering food on festive days, such as Eid, Navratri, Diwali, Christmas, etc., try to add in some extra money for your driver as a bonus. Just like it’s a festive season for you, it is also a festival for them. They have chosen to serve you instead of taking a leave. So, be generous and let them enjoy their holidays too. At least we all can put some effort into making them smile during the festive season.
3. Tip Extra for Bulk Food Orders
If you have a house party or a large office party, and you need to order food items in bulk for multiple individuals, consider pitching in some extra cash. For instance, if you need to order large-sized pizzas or meals for 20–25 people, then the delivery person would have to carry heavy loads single-handedly. It’s difficult to fit such a big load in one vehicle, especially when they are riding a bike. So, try to go beyond the standard tipping rates and add some extra money for their effort.
Likewise, if your location requires the driver to climb up a couple of stairs, it takes extra effort and time for the person to deliver your food. For example, if you live on the fifth floor and there is no elevator, pitch in some extra cash in appreciation of all the additional steps your driver has had to climb. Besides, it shows you value the driver’s time since they have several other orders to fulfill.
4. Remember, Delivery Charges are Not Tips!
Many people mistake delivery charges and other services taxes as tips for drivers. But the truth is, none of those charges go into the driver’s pockets, at least for a majority of delivery apps!
Most delivery apps have a separate tipping section where customers can pitch their desired tips. Only this tipping amount goes to the drivers. No part of the service charges and delivery fees are allotted for them. Therefore, ensure not to deduct these additional charges from the tipping amount of your driver.
Delivery agents do get some salary for the service they are providing to the home food delivery app. However, their salary is nominal and not sufficient to fulfill many of their dreams. Therefore, when they receive a decent amount of tips from every customer, it would make a significant portion of their income, which can help them accomplish their dreams or meet their daily expenses.
Moreover, you will be surprised to know how much delivery agents actually earn and save. Most drivers deliver orders using their own bikes or cars. So, a significant portion of their earnings goes into vehicle maintenance, repairs, and, most importantly, refilling engine oil.
Hence, around 12% of the delivery person’s paycheck goes into car maintenance, leaving them with nominal money. After all the expenses for daily essentials and other personal needs, there is hardly any money left for savings. Therefore, we can be compassionate and do the minimum to help them in their struggles.
5. Drivers May Avoid Picking Your Orders if You Don’t Tip!
It may sound rude or weird on the driver’s part, but it’s true at times. Some drivers may start losing interest in picking up orders for people who don’t have the habit of tipping. While missing out on one or two orders is understandable, developing a habit of not tipping at all for any orders may have a negative impression about you in the driver’s mind.
As a result, drivers may avoid taking your orders, especially when the restaurant is quite far from your home. If we think from the delivery person’s perspective, he may feel that there’s no point going that far when they are ultimately going to return empty-handed. On top of that, it would levy extra travel costs to take such orders. So, if you are not a tipper and you are not receiving orders on time, give it a thought!
To add fuel to the fire, there is a high chance that many non-tippers would leave a bad rating or may expect more from the delivery partner. While tipping is necessary, good ratings are also required to maintain good driver-customer relationships. No messenger would like to pick up orders for a non-tipper posting bad ratings. The time and effort of the delivery person are worth receiving a note of appreciation and gratitude.
Final Words
To conclude, home food delivery apps have a distinct tipping section to help customers add tips with ease. Tips are a way of saying ‘thank you’ to your delivery messenger because they deserve appreciation for their effort and hard work. Therefore, if you love the services of your driver, consider adding a good gratuity.
