Thursday, February 11

2/10 I give you pizza, you give me money

Last night I did dishes at the new store for the first time. I miss my sprayer. I miss water that I could turn up enough to be scalding hot. I miss opaque water (this has more than a hint of sulfur in it). But Little Yellow helped me out with the dishes and we chatted, which was nice. I don't know quite how to describe him. A bit weasely, he takes pride in being able to hit his numbers, nothing you say to him is "off the record", but with those things understood, he's nice.

As far as deliveries went, I had the lowest tip average I've had at this store. We weren't terribly busy. I expected more business since the weatherMan predicted sleet (which never came). I know there's been snow other places, but I'm happy to have no precipitation whatsoever. Our lake is finally back up to normal levels, the aquifer is recharging, and I'm ready to get back to wearing flipflops.

I had two bad tippers in a row tell me to keep warm. I wanted to throw something at them. I kept their pizza warm and a couple of singles is my thanks? I could light those singles on fire for more warmth than they get me out of the electricity bill.

Pacman reported 4 tips over $7, so I guess I just got the bad luck.

Speaking of tipping higher, if your pizza isn't late yet and I call for directions, tip me better. My options when a street doesn't show up in my GPS and I didn't write down directions are:
  • Wander around hoping I'm in the right neighborhood until I spot your street. Estimated time it takes: 15 min - infinity
  • Call the store, wait for someone to be available, wait for someone to look up the street, locate me, get coherent directions from here to there. Estimated time: 20 min + travel time for how lost I am
  • Stop and call you the instant I realize you're not in my GPS and am not yet lost. Estimated time: 5 min + normal delivery travel time
I got you hot pizza; You give me money. That's how that works.

I made $33 of 8 deliveries, a tip average of $2.83 per delivery.

5 comments:

SkippyMom said...

I am curious - how much of a tip do you expect on an order? 15%? 20%?

The reason I ask is that my husband has been a pizza delivery guy and I have been a waitress - and we both agree they aren't the same thing. I read about your pay scale [being in the store as opposed to out] but are you actually taxed on 15% of your food sales? Because then that would make sense.

But honestly neither of us finds delivery the same as sit down service [especially when I was making $2.13/hr. always]

This isn't a harsh question and I am not trying to rile anyone, but I really wonder what the thought process is behind how much you think you should be tipped.

[PS - I am not talking about huge orders or orders in bad weather - I just mean a normal pizza [or 2] with some sodas and hot wings]

Unknown said...

You are correct that I am not taxed on 15% of my sales. I tend to not consistently go by the percentage rule. $3 is the minimum benchmark in my head. That's 15% on a $20 order. If you ordered less than $20 it is not my fault and I did the same amount of work as if you had. I recommend increasing that as the order gets larger, more complicated, or if your house is out of area for our store.

I agree that delivering pizza is not the same as waiting tables but I think a 15% tip is still appropriate. I still have to check the order, brave traffic and weather, and navigate often labyrinthine neighborhoods and apartment complexes. If a friend called you up and said, "I'll pay you $2 to bring me a pizza" would you? I doubt it. Just like I wouldn't call up a friend and say, "I'll pay you $5 to wait on our table for an hour" expecting them to actually do it.

While I get paid more than a waitress, I do have to take care of my car as well (which at 18 months old has 54,000 miles on it). More frequent tire changes, brake services, oil changes, etc can easily eat up a weeks worth of tips at a time.

Anonymous said...

Dear Skippy Mom,
You're right it's not the same thing. Waiters do not put 100 miles a day on their old cars. They do not have to get wet and then drive through freezing rain and stand outside waiting for you to open the door. Driving is dangerous. Waiting tables considerably less so. We are a target for robbers and loose dogs that smell pepperoni a mile away.
Let me ask you this, how much would it take for you to box up dinner and deliver it to a stranger's door? Would you do it for $2? I doubt it. People think we get reimbursed all of our gas and mileage from the store. My chain pays about 75% of my gas and 0% of my car maintenance. When I get stuck in a ditch, I pay the wrecker out of my own pocket. I think that comparing food delivery and waiting is like comparing apples and oranges.

SkippyMom said...

Thank you so much for answering this Pizzagirl. I really appreciate it.

As for comparing apples and oranges Anon - I guess you are right and I could also list all the reasons waitresses deserve bigger tips than pizza delivery.

But as I said, I don't want to rile anyone up. :D

We tend to overtip having been in the business - so glad to know my delivery person probably isn't mad.

AZWaitress said...

Having been a delivery driver myself before my current waitressing position, I see both sides. But I agree 15% shouldn't be unheard of as a base. Car maintenance isn't cheap.

Added you to my blogroll :)