Man Helps Delivery Driver Who Got $20 Tip On $938 Order Leading Him To Speak Up About Tipping Culture

Jul 01, 2022 by apost team

For some jobs, people are expected to leave a tip for the worker. This is typically done for occupations in the service industry or artistic world, such as a hairdresser, artist, delivery driver, etc. The workers in these fields usually don’t make much money and rely on these tips to help them get by and pay for their everyday needs and all of their bills.

This system certainly has flaws as not everyone believes in tipping generously — or at all. This is what one Reddit user found to be true, and he went to the site on June 27, 2022, to share an experience he encountered.

The user explained that he is a security officer at an office in Dallas, Texas. He saw a pizza delivery driver come into the building with plenty of excitement as she had a huge order totaling $938. Given that most people tip about 15% to 20%, the woman was really looking forward to the tip she would most likely receive. She even went up to the third floor where the meeting that needed the delivery was being held and helped them set everything up.

The security man had a great talk with the delivery driver before and afterward but was disheartened to learn that she received an extremely small tip for the price of the order. She only got a $20 tip for the $938.

Frustrated with the situation and the way that some people act toward those in the service industry, the security officer went to Reddit’s r/antiwork forum to share this story and some meaningful words.

In his Reddit post, the original poster (OP) said, “A Pizza Hut delivery person came to the building delivering a HUGE order for a group on the third floor.” OP called the person of contact to come down to collect the order and had a nice conversation with the driver while they waited. “She didn’t flat out say it but was excited about the tip she should receive on such a large order,” he said. “An 18% tip would have been $168 after all.”

The delivery person talked about how proud she was of her kids and all the activities they are a part of in school, but that she quit her job as a teacher to become a delivery driver to better accommodate their schedule. Her husband is a security worker. “It helps but it’s hard out there,” she told OP.

Eventually, the contact person came down, and the delivery driver helped bring everything onto the elevator and went up to the third floor with him. When she came back down, she told OP, “I got it all up there and set it up real nice for them.”

OP explained, “And then as her voice begins to break she says, ‘They only tipped me $20. I just said thank you and left.’”

Disheartened, OP sent her $50 through an app, telling her that she “deserves more,” but it was all he had at the time. The woman was incredibly grateful and went about the rest of her day. However, this encounter didn’t leave OP’s mind, and he wanted to share some words with other Reddit users and anyone who would listen. 

apost.com

OP said:

“And I didn’t post this to say ‘look at the good thing I did.’ I posted this to say, if someone is going to whip out the company credit card, make a giant catering order and not even give the minimum 18% tip to the delivery driver who had to load it all into their vehicle, use their own gas to deliver it, unload it and then lug it up and set it up. You are a total piece of s***. It’s not your credit card! Why stiff the delivery driver like that?!”

Many Redditors chimed in the comment section to share their take on tipping culture in general. One user commented, “The wealthier the client, the cheaper the tip.”

Another person said: “I work as a Pizza Hut delivery driver and I can tell you right now people with money tip the least. I took a $350 order the other day to a luxury hotel in their own private room and got no tip, but yesterday I took a $30 order to someone and he gave me a $30 tip just because he had put the wrong address.”

A third user commented: “Yeah, the real disgrace here isn’t that the woman only received a small optional payment, it’s that we make our service workers sit around and spin the roulette wheel to find out what they’re going to be paid today.”

OP edited his post to share his agreement on the matter. He agreed that businesses should pay their workers a livable wage, but until they do so, it’s on the consumer to help out with tipping. “And that means we need to tip the people in the service industry since they have to rely on tips to live,” he added.

What are your thoughts on this situation? Have you ever worked in the service industry? Let us know, and feel free to pass this along to your family and friends.