My Pizza Delivery Woman -Does This Make Sense?

[strngrnrth]

Normally she deals with my 18 year old son, who is very talkative and friendly. I am more quiet.She might have expected Josh.

Plus my larger dog was barking at the door-I had stepped onto the porch. My son usually meets her at the driveway so she doesn’t have to deal with hearing a large dog barking at the door.

Or maybe she likes him and wants to impress you with her honesty as a result of that.

 

[Rob_s_Wife]

Like others have said, because someone has math skills different from yours, does not make them ignorant. And like someone else said, sometimes “being put on the spot” gives them a “brain fart”. Being human, I do this on occasion, and I would indeed take exception to being called ignorant.

Kathy

**Taking exception to it doesn’t change that for whatever reason she was too ignorant to figure out basic math! **

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**Ignorance implies a lack of knowledge either because it was not provided or because it was not taken. There are many things I am ignorant of, I am completely ignorant of most things electrical for example because that info was not provided in my education and I’ve had basicly no reason to seek it on my own. **

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If a job is taking and giving money and one has been doing it for some time - then by goodness basic math should not be one of the things they are ignorant of for any reason!

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There’s nothing offensive or wrong in saying an employee who must deal with basic math with every customer should be expected to know it and use it. Maybe she just had a lapse (a brain fart! ) sure it happens to us all. But she said she couldn’t figure it out, not that her brain freezed on her.

And btw, I happen to have math problems myself. Taking offense at my ignorance wouldn’t make me more educated or able. It would just keep me ignorant in math. Instead I tend to push math very hard in my house and take great pains to learn beyond basic math. No calculators allowed in this house.

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No, she told me that she couldn’t figure out the change.

 

[ChristineML]

Dear Teakafrog or anyone else:

I’ve NEVER known what is a reasonable tip to give a pizza or Chinese food delivery person. In a restaurant my standard tip for good service is 20% of the bill, but the take-out food delivery person doesn’t explain the specials, take my order, bring it from the kitchen, come by periodically to ask me how everything is or if he can bring me anything, bring the check, clear the table, wash the dishes, etc.

So please let me know what you all think is a reasonable tip for a food delivery person and what your thinking process is:

• Should the age of the driver matter? If it’s a teenager, I figure they’re working for spending money, but if it’s an older person, maybe it’s an important part of their livelihood, so should I tip them more? Or is that unfair age discrimination?
• Should the tip be a flat fee just for coming to my door or be a percentage of the bill, higher tip for a larger order of food?
• Does the driver get paid some amount by the pizzeria? Some pizzerias charge a $1-$2 delivery fee, does that go to the driver, but I should still add something on top?
• And I already definitely tip more in bad weather.

I’m really at a loss.

Christine

 

[texaspanda]

• Does the driver get paid some amount by the pizzeria? Some pizzerias charge a $1-$2 delivery fee, does that go to the driver, but I should still add something on top?

This is my thought on the “not wanting to cheat you” part. This usually goes to the driver already.

 

[Cactus]

My take on it, as an ex pizza delivery guy, is that the “rounding up” plus a large tip seemed extraordinary and took her by surprise. I assure you, few customers are so generous. She meant well and did not want you to feel cheated.

 

[SeekerJen]

• Should the age of the driver matter? If it’s a teenager, I figure they’re working for spending money, but if it’s an older person, maybe it’s an important part of their livelihood, so should I tip them more? Or is that unfair age discrimination?

I think it is unfair. The teenager might be a young parent trying to support a child, might be working when his or her parents cannot to bring some money into the household, or might be saving up money to pay for college out of his or her own pocket. You really don’t know and I don’t think it’s fair to assume that a younger person is working for frivolous reasons.

 

[deb1]

I think it is unfair. The teenager might be a young parent trying to support a child, might be working when his or her parents cannot to bring some money into the household, or might be saving up money to pay for college out of his or her own pocket. You really don’t know and I don’t think it’s fair to assume that a younger person is working for frivolous reasons.

My older son uses his money to buy himself clothing and shoes. These are necessary items that I have trouble affording for him. When he attends college, part of his money from part time work will be to buy food for himself to eat. So, it is really not right to judge the age of the driver to decide the tip.

 

[deb1]

Or maybe she likes him and wants to impress you with her honesty as a result of that.

My son is pretty friendly to everyone but this lady is probably in her early to mid thirties. A bit to old for my 18 year old boy. Of course, my estimation of her age might be widely off. I am very poor at gauging other people’s age.

 

[Teakafrog]

I’d say at least 10% or so. If it’s a $20 pizza, a couple bucks and rounding up the change is good. Many places don’t directly give the driver any extra compensation for delivery, they get minimum wage, or thereabouts, and supposedly a ‘gas stipend’, which with the price of gas the way it is, never ever covers the actual cost of the gas they use during a shift, not to mention the wear and tear on the car (needs more frequent oil changes, etc). And if you’re getting it delivered because you don’t want to go out in the cold/rain/ snow/whatever, then a little extra is always nice.

 

[StratusRose]

I worked and managed a pizza joint for 4 years during high school and college. On occasion, I had to make a delivery or two if we were slammed. When you get to someone’s door and they put you on the spot to make change FAST it gets your brain all scrambled because you want to please the customer and not show them that you are some idiot who just delivers pizza. I got many nasty looks and huffiness when I didn’t give the customers what they wanted fast enough. I would leave feeling disrespected and angry. I think the general consensus is that if you work in a non-skilled job then you have sub-par intelligence. This is just not true.

I had a similar situation happen to me yesterday when DH and I were at breakfast. I went to pay the bill it was $16 and some change. I added $6 for a tip (good waitress) and I had a major brain freeze at the register adding the tip to the bill. The cashier and the people behind me were staring at me. Finally she rudely told me what to write in. I felt like such a moron.

 

[jrabs]

• Should the age of the driver matter? If it’s a teenager, I figure they’re working for spending money, but if it’s an older person, maybe it’s an important part of their livelihood, so should I tip them more? Or is that unfair age discrimination?

Do you know the age of the driver for sure? There are many people in their 20’s that look like teens.

There are also many teens supporting babies. There may be early 20’s somethings married and supporting families. Perhaps the parents are dead? Who’s to say?

To tip less just because the person appears young is not appropriate since you have no idea what situation they are in. It’s an honest way to earn money and should be treated as such in my opinion.

Besides, what’s a few extra bucks when you are getting your food personally served to you at your home doorstep?

 

[montanaman]

Lol. Some people have a mental block when it comes to math or finances. Also, some people feel like they’re imposing by expecting extra payment for goods or services. That’s me–I run a very small moving business on the side, and I’m constantly running into customers who think I don’t charge enough–they argue with me to pay me more! After a few times of that I finally wised up and don’t argue anymore.

 

[Sina]

I used to suck at math when I was a kid. It was mostly because I hated it and didn’t do the homework.

I worked as a cashier at a drugstore for a year or so and learned how to count change and figure out $$ real quickly. I am so thankful I had that job because now when I pay for things, I am great at avoiding getting pennies and nickles back.

Anyways, this Pizza delivery woman will likely figure things out quickly with more practice.

Funny how this topic got so big! I guess we all run across weird math change $$ situations everyday that we can relate to.

 

[Sina]

BTW,
I heard that in some states, waiters/servers don’t even get an hourly wage? They live solely on tips? ( ie. Florida?). Is that true??

Also, I have talked to a few pizza delivery guys ( never met a pizza delivery woman yet? ) and they are usually from Poland or India or Pakistan… and they all have very high levels of education such as Electrical Engineering, but they don’t have the right credentials for Canadian designation.

 

[SeekerJen]

BTW,
I heard that in some states, waiters/servers don’t even get an hourly wage? They live solely on tips? ( ie. Florida?). Is that true??

Also, I have talked to a few pizza delivery guys ( never met a pizza delivery woman yet? ) and they are usually from Poland or India or Pakistan… and they all have very high levels of education such as Electrical Engineering, but they don’t have the right credentials for Canadian designation.

I don’t know whether some don’t get an hourly wage at all, but when I was in college I waited tables here in Michigan. The hourly wage was $2.65. The restaurants didn’t have to pay minimum wage because it was expected that we would make up the difference in tips. It was rough when we got slammed with a cheapskate or two: they always seemed to be the ones running us back to the kitchen every 5 minutes for two hours, then left $1 on a $50 bill.

 

[deb1]

BTW,
I heard that in some states, waiters/servers don’t even get an hourly wage? They live solely on tips? ( ie. Florida?). Is that true??

Also, I have talked to a few pizza delivery guys ( never met a pizza delivery woman yet? ) and they are usually from Poland or India or Pakistan… and they all have very high levels of education such as Electrical Engineering, but they don’t have the right credentials for Canadian designation.

I think that waitress get below minimum wage and are supposed to make it up with their tips. At least, I think that is true.

My son is a bagger at the commisary and he makes no salary at all. He just works for tips. Luckily, he doesn’t support himself but some of the older folks there are using the money to help cover bills.

 

[catholic79]

I don’t think you did anything wrong, but it depends on how you said it. When I read the OP I thought maybe it might have come across as rude, But after reading some of your follow up posts I am guessing you were very nice to her.

I have a minor in math and I am fortunate to be very quick on my feet with numbers, it is hard for me no to help clerk, a delivery people figure out the change. My DH tells me that I should wait and let them figure it out, but I don’t like watching people stand there and struggle when I could help them. I wait a few minutes depending on the situation and then help them. I have even told people that I have a math minor and that I like numbers hoping that they wont feel bad that they couldn’t figure it out. If DH is with me he will tell them that he was still trying to figure it out too, he is not so good with numbers.

I understand brain farts though as I am dyslexic and I hate writing checks because I forget how things are spelled when I am stressed. I try to always help people with numbers the way I would want them to help me with spelling.

 

[KCtheMommy]

This reminds me of a time I went to a coffee shop and ordered coffee and a bagel. THREE teenagers were scrambling to get a calculator when the registered blinked out on them, I mean nearly in a panic…until I said:

“WAIT A MINUTE – you guys need a calculator to figure out $1.25 plus $2.50??”

All three of them just busted up laughing. One girl blushed right down to the top of her shoes. I am laughing along with them…and the blusher says “That’ll be $3.75 ma’am.” I smiled, and paid her, teasing her about the change: “now we won’t need the calculator for $5.00 minus $3.75 will we?”

The thing is all of us get so used to having everything done for us, especially by technology that we lose faith in our own abilities. Sometimes it takes someone to say “hey you can do this! You KNOW this.” Yet I take my own money-math savvy for granted, I really do. I worked for years in a punk-rock clothing/shoe store that didn’t have cash registers. Everything was done by hand, a calculator only used on a huge order to double check our math or when tax was to be figured on really high amounts. I got to where I could figure out 0.0825% on just about any amount. While I still can add things really quickly in my head, or count back change, I can’t do the tax-trick like I used to. Point is, I have to remember not everyone has had years of adding figures all day long, 40+ hours a week… and kids today CAN use calculators in school.

Times are a changin’ and with it, so is the ability to manually count back change in a pinch! That’s life!

 

[Goth_Catholic]

Gah, Intro to Calc this afternoon. Try remembering derivatives on the spot, talk about brain freeze