As someone who has worked as a delivery driver for multiple companies in multiple cities, albeit in the same state, I have always hoped that someone would bring to light how delivery really works and how much drivers actually make.
There seems to be this belief that delivery drivers make a ton of money. I'm sure it varies by area to some extent but drivers really don't make that much and they have a lot of expenses because of their work. Yes a portion of your expenses can be used for a tax write-off but you have to make it to the end of the year and then some to get that money back so it can be a struggle day to day and you tend to make it up to your car when you get that write-off. When you don't tip your driver they are basically paying you to deliver your pizza.
Some places have a notification on the receipt in small letters stating that the delivery fee is not a tip but how many people do you think actually read anything but the numbers? Not many, most just worry about the hard math they need to do so they can sign your paper and not have to deal with it at tax time.
The amount I spent on car maintenance in one year of 40 hours a week delivering was insane. (2005 Malibu which was in great condition) Driving 80-100 miles a day for work takes a huge toll on a car especially since its mostly neighborhoods. I think it was around $1000 every 3 months or so on maintenance but I would have to check my receipts from around 3-4 years ago and they are in storage and not currently accessible
Lets assume a few things based on my experience:
That Minimum wage is $7.25 (it was when I drove for a living)
That the delivery fee is $2.50 (the delivery fee my company chose)
That you deliver to 20 people in an 8 hour driving shift (depending on where you work That's about normal if not low)
That every person tips you (completely untrue but w/e around 90% in my area)
That half of those people (10 people) realize that the delivery fee is not a tip. (also most likely untrue based on the number of friends, family, acquaintances, and complete strangers I have asked. Seems to be lower than that but again w/e)
The other half of the people (10 people) on a normal day think its a tip and lower the amount they tip by $2.50.
That's $25 a day in lost wages
$125 per week
$500 a month
$6000 a Year lost to ignorance and non-transparency
(even at the 90% I said for my area its still $5400 a year)
Come to think of it, think of how fast Pizza Hut could go under from this lawsuit if enough people get involved. That's a lot of lost wages over a very long time.
Now i have had people come back at me about this on countless occasions with a lot of variables so lets get those out of the way with now.
You choose to be a delivery driver
Technically yes it is a choice to be a delivery driver. However, without the people providing this service you don't get the service. People get jobs to make a living. If they don't make enough money they need to find a new job. So if we want the service we need to pay these people a wage they can live on.
Why should i tip them? Shouldn't the company just way them a better wage?
That money comes from somewhere. If a company has to pay its employees more the cost of goods and services goes up. Now the price of the Pizza is much higher and you are paying for a service without being able to judge how well your driver performed their job. Now when they are slow getting to you you can't pay them less for their lack of performance because its a price set and advertised by the company
These are the two things I hear from people most on this topic so I figured I would get them out of the way early so I can start hearing new arguments.