Do you tip Doordash drivers?
DoorDash is a current food delivery system with a goal to bring great food to customer’s hand as quickly as possible. In the future, DoorDash hopes to expand to delivering items from local stores to people’s houses but for now their mission is getting food from the restaurant to consumers as fast and safely as they can.
DoorDash works by selecting the most popular restaurants in a region and offering take-out from those restaurants directly to customers through the use of their applications. DoorDash delivery drivers, or ‘Dashers’ as DoorDash calls them, pick up the food from the restaurant and bring them right to the customer’s door.
When it comes time to pay, DoorDash’s prices involve three things. First is the price of their food from the restaurant, second is the local taxes on the food, and third is the delivery fee. A fourth optional payment is a service fee. The service fee is a method DoorDash uses to break down existing fees that had previously been built in in to menus so they can provide customers more information on how their orders are priced. Now, in addition to the above payment information, there is still something very important to consider. This is the tip for Dashers.
While most people automatically tip their server at a restaurant, many people often forget to tip their delivery drivers. Delivery drivers, just like servers, make it their mission to deliver your food on time. They hit the streets, battling traffic, avoiding pedestrians, and racing the clock to get to you safely with your food still warm. That’s why, for delivery drivers working for food delivery apps, it is so essential to show your appreciation and help supplement their pay, that is often lower than most food service jobs.
The average and appropriate tipping amount is considered to be 20% provided that your meal it brought to you in a timely manner and the weather outside is good. If there is inclement weather outside, even the best, most prompt delivery driver may have difficulty getting to you on time so factor that into your evaluation of their performance. However, while 20% is the standard, it is a general rule of thumb is that you never tip less than five dollars. While 20% is the average, take into account the level of difficulty your driver may have had to go through to get you your food. If you order thirty pizzas for your office Christmas party, or live at the top of a tenth-floor apartment with a broken elevator, considerer adding additional money on top of the 20% for the extra effort your Dasher had to put in to get you your meal. Even if they are in a car, cramming the excess food in, and then carrying it to your doorstep, is a lot of work for only one person and as such, the tip should ideally reflect that extra effort.
While we’re on the topic of extra effort, always, always remember the weather adds to the effort. If you are ordering in because it’s raining buckets and you don’t want to get soaked, or the roads are so covered in ice you don’t want to risk the dangers of the road, remember that you are making the delivery driver do that in your place. So, it is generally expected that, and greatly appreciated if, you tip an additional $3-5 on top of the usual 20% for braving the elements.
So, remember, whether its cash or card, tip 20% and a little extra depending on how much effort it took for your food to get you. Now that you know the tipping protocol, order up, tip your driver, and enjoy a great meal!