i noticed some pizza shops that offer catering (or not) have a print saying all orders over say 75 will have gratitudity of 15 or 20% included in bill for delivery. Can someone explain me please why some do it , others dont. is it because for the order of say 200 dollars, driver normally never gets their 15-20% as they should and thats why owners protect drivers this way? or is it because orders off that sort normally go to businesses and its better for their paperwork to have tip be included in price?
I dont think it should be expected that a delivery of say a dozen pizzas at $200 would dictate a $40 tip! Are you catering or dropping off pizzas? Big difference here! You mentioned maybe at $75… that could be 3 pies and a couple sides for some people. So now we are talking $15 tip? Restaurants add gratuity to help cover servers on large parties that can tie up one worker while they lose other tables. I think you will lose a lot of business if you are known for this. A driver is not a server and does not do the same job. I know this will excite some but that is reality. You are now implementing a 20% delivery charge!!!
This is something that has been discussed at our shop, but I am totally against it for the reasons qfcmike pointed out. It is frustrating for me & the drivers though, when we take a $250 order or a $425 order to a car dealership and only get a $10 tip. We bring in people extra early to take care of the order and can’t reward them by splitting a large tip among the crew. The way I look at it though, I would not want to sacrifice the possibility of getting that large order because we include a gratuity / tip for the driver. These businesses almost always have a set budget that they spend on the food. Only the ones that understand will make sure that there is room in that budget for the tip. Me, I would rather get the order. I always keep enough staff that everyone always wants more hours - thus it is not too hard to get help for the large orders. Plus, it gives us a head start on keeping labor low for the day.
Dan
I always deliver the large orders unless for some reason it is not possible. We always divide the tip up with the cooks. I also kick in a little. If there was a crap tip I kick in a lot. We call it the BOB (big order bonus). If you come in and help make a 100 pizza order you can expect to make at least 2 times the hourly rate you get on a normal shift for the time it took to put the order together. If I make a big score the guys that are sweating in the kitchen beside me share in the pot.
I would never make a mandatory tip. There are places I will not go because they ask if you want to add a tip when they run your card. If I want to tip (and I always will unless the server totally sucks) I am adult enough to handle it. It is rude to suggest a tip is required or expected.
Rick
I feel if you were to put a mandatory tip on the bill you would not see much repeat business from the customer.
I really do not expect a tip on large orders especially ones going to businesses. I generally deliver the order myself because of that. If there is a tip I pass all of it on to the kitchen staff since they are the ones who did most of the work. Really how hard is it to carry a bag to the car, drive to the customers location, carry the bag to their door (or what ever room they want the pizza) and collect the payment? The whole delivery process takes one person a half hour or less where the food prep and pizza making can take many people much longer.
There is virtually no difference in the service or effort provided to deliver one pizza and four pizzas or ten pizzas. I see no reason why tip would be added on or based on a percentage. A ten dollar tip on a $200 order is just fine. The driver leaves the store, drives across town, carries a bag or two or three to the door, collects the money and comes back. Done deal. In a sit down restaurant, serving four people is more work than serving 1 and serving a 10 top is more work than a four top… hence a larger tip goes with a larger ticket.
Catering is another story. If there are employees who stay on site, serve, clean up etc etc they deserve a tip based on value. This is still not “table service”. so we add 8% to the check. All people involved with the order split the tip. (no one is getting paid a “tipped wage” on these parties i.e. all “cook” wages)
by Daddio » Fri Feb 17, 2012 3:18 pm
I really do not expect a tip on large orders especially ones going to businesses. I generally deliver the order myself because of that. If there is a tip I pass all of it on to the kitchen staff since they are the ones who did most of the work. Really how hard is it to carry a bag to the car, drive to the customers location, carry the bag to their door (or what ever room they want the pizza) and collect the payment? The whole delivery process takes one person a half hour or less where the food prep and pizza making can take many people much longer.
The audacity of you Richard taking tips away from drivers by doing it yourself, and then questioning how hard drivers work :twisted:
by bodegahwy » Sat Feb 18, 2012 1:00 am
There is virtually no difference in the service or effort provided to deliver one pizza and four pizzas or ten pizzas. I see no reason why tip would be added on or based on a percentage. A ten dollar tip on a $200 order is just fine. The driver leaves the store, drives across town, carries a bag or two or three to the door, collects the money and comes back. Done deal. In a sit down restaurant, serving four people is more work than serving 1 and serving a 10 top is more work than a four top… hence a larger tip goes with a larger ticket.
Catering is another story. If there are employees who stay on site, serve, clean up etc etc they deserve a tip based on value. This is still not “table service”. so we add 8% to the check. All people involved with the order split the tip. (no one is getting paid a “tipped wage” on these parties i.e. all “cook” wages)
Steve. You and Richard should hang your heads in shame defying the magnificent work that drivers do. How could you possibly compare the extremeness of being a driver getting pizzas through the maze of crazy killers, remembering 100’s of streets and being the main focus to your customers against that of table servers who rush around keeping multitudes happy at once.
And then you split the tips !!!
You two are just greedy owners ripping off drivers.
SHAME, SHAME, SHAME :evil:
Dave
thank you everyone for your input. i definitely made up my mind on that issue.
I find the owner delivering a strong choice. That was always my choice. It gives face time with large customer, offers a chance for further business/relationship development and lets you see first hand what issues arose or did not arise. You get the feedback from customer immediately and first hand. PLUS you can divy the tip with the labor that put in extra time on the order as an added bonus.
We also do not require a tip - for large orders, the tip is split between all involved. I try to ride along with the driver on large orders to, as was said, get some face time with the customer - I also have a girl who calls back the next day to follow up with all orders of $100+ (she’s been with me close to 10 years, & is really better at it than I am)
Nick, wise words once again my friend. As Steve points out, it does not require much additional work to deliver 1 or 20 pizzas. Same drive, same distance, same transaction, and only a slightly larger load to deliver. I think the splitting of any tip with inside support staff is warranted on large orders. I also agree with the owner or manager running this order out unless it is really an established and repeat run. The face time could lead to additional business and although some disagree… it is the owner or manager that can answer possible additional questions on the spot and make offers that other drivers would not and in almost all cases…should not be able to offer. If memory serves me right…Steve once said that all of his employees are trained and able to “fix” any customer issue that comes up… to a point I am guessing…without additional manager or his approval. This should be there… as fast customer service that might cost a couple dollars of food expense will go a long way to keep people happy.
(New paragraph for pizza_garden! 
)
All that said... being a large and heavy delivery...I would not ask a driver to take this additional risk of attack (DAVE) because of the general observation by outsiders that he/she has just received this $1000 tip for delivering 12 pizzas! Also, other than Steve and Richard that have store owned vehicles... I must ask... would a typical driver's car be able to handle such a load? We are talking new shocks, tires, I am sure brakes will fail with such heavy weights... the need to take the long route as to bypass any low weight limit bridges and the such. Everyone does utilize the gallon of gas per pizza per mile rate....yes? I think it only prudent to deliver this order, collect the tip, and if you make it back... ask the kitchen help to chip in and compensate the driver that normally would have made this run for understanding that we understand that he/she just deserves it and our thanks for understanding that we understand that they understand why we, the owner / manager took this delivery. Does everyone understand? All are happy then....right? :wink:
(Note: The above paragraph was sarcasm. I wanted to make sure that all of us idiots of the world that do not have at least three degrees…sidenote: by idiots…I refer only to myself… that I understand what I wrote was sarcasm! :roll: I am so confused… do I need a new paragraph? :? )
Pizza_garden may I please go back TOO (LOL!) run-on sentences and never ending paragraphs? PLEASE!!! 
NY that is a great point that is probably done by few. You just had a big order go out… take 2 mins the next day and just make sure things went well and thank them for the business. Ask if there was anything that would have made the experience better? Repeat the thanks and pass along the fact that you look forward to the next order. If this was a very large order…either personal or a business… give the primary a gift cert for a free pizza or something. Speaking from both sides… I used to buy lunch or dinner for my immediate crew of 25 or so once a week during our really busy time of the year. In return my secretary would get calls from the takeout establishments over the next few days or so and offer myself and office staff of 3 a free lunch or something. It leaves a lasting impression and does lead to repeat business. :idea: