Tipping the groceryman?
January 27, 2010 12:56 PM   Subscribe

Have you ever purchased groceries online and had them delivered to your home? Did you tip the delivery person?

Should I be tipping the guy/gal that brings the food to my house? This is ordering through safeway.com or other grocery store, not a delivery service.
posted by ShootTheMoon to Shopping (30 answers total)
 
Yes, and of course.

Double if it's raining.
posted by rokusan at 12:57 PM on January 27, 2010


I've never had it done but the service was provided at the grocery I used to live by and they had a note at the register entitled "should I tip my delivery person should I chose to have my groceries delivered?" and the answer was "YES" in like 48-pt font.
posted by kthxbi at 1:00 PM on January 27, 2010 [1 favorite]


I've used FreshDirect in NYC before.

Their web site expressly says that tips are not expected. I've gotten confused looks from a delivery guy before when I tried to tip him.

All of this surprises me.
posted by dfriedman at 1:00 PM on January 27, 2010


I've used two companies in my area. One strongly encourages tipping; the other allows no tipping whatsoever, but has a substantially higher delivery fee.
posted by miyabo at 1:05 PM on January 27, 2010


I've ordered from Acme (which is an Albertson's supermarket brand) home delivery and they made it very clear when I tried to tip them that tips were not allowed.

Bottom line, check the website where you order for more info. If there's no further guidance there, err on the side of tipping.
posted by inturnaround at 1:07 PM on January 27, 2010


Yes and yes. I've ordered from Fresh Direct, D'ags, and also had groceries purchased in-store at Fairway delivered. I usually tip $5 for my grocery order.
posted by melissasaurus at 1:07 PM on January 27, 2010


Yes and no, and it was awkward.

In Baltimore, the grocery store delivery sources say explicitly "our drivers do not accept tips." I tried to tip the first time I did it and was entirely shut down, so I stopped.

Then I moved to DC, and ordered groceries through the same service. Guess what happened?

Bottom line: unless it says explicitly not to, tip.
posted by charmcityblues at 1:10 PM on January 27, 2010


FreshDirect went from "tips not accepted" to "tips not expected" in ~ 2007. So we started tipping $3-5 for a regular delivery. A couple of times we tipped more (giant cat litter deliveries, etc.) This was in Harlem, NYC, from 2005-2009.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 1:12 PM on January 27, 2010


I've had groceries delivered 100+ times over the past 6 years by 7 or 8 different stores in two cities.

I'll tip if there's no delivery fee, if I'm paying cash or if the weather is nasty.

Otherwise, no, not really.
posted by jedrek at 1:14 PM on January 27, 2010


You are definitely supposed to tip FreshDirect.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:16 PM on January 27, 2010


Yes, I have used every internet grocery delivery service that has ever existed. No, tips were not accepted.

Peapod delivery people did not accept tips. Webvan delivery people did not accept tips. Albertsons delivery people did not accept tips. Safeway delivery people did not accept tips.
posted by majick at 1:18 PM on January 27, 2010


The only time I haven't tipped is with one particular grocer, the delivery guy told me they didn't take tips.

The attempt to tip should definitely be made.
posted by DrGirlfriend at 1:20 PM on January 27, 2010


I order from Safeway.com in San Francisco. I think you should tip grocery delivery when possible, but my delivery guys have told me that they're not allowed to accept any cash.
posted by tantivy at 1:29 PM on January 27, 2010


Yes and yes.

Peapod drivers in Evanston/Chicago accepted tips from 2000 (or whenever they started) to 2006 -- and because when I used them it was (a) winter, (b) I was always ordering at least $250 worth of groceries, and (c) I lived on the 2nd or 3rd floor, I always tipped.

At the time on their site's FAQs, this question was asked and they said tipping wasn't necessary but certainly appreciated.

I included the tip as part of the check or credit card charge and the form I signed had a place for you to add that to the total -- which was always part of the process from 2004 on.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 1:34 PM on January 27, 2010


Yes, for the last several years and yes, we tip. Mind you, we live up three flights of stairs so, YEAH, we tip.

Bonus anecdote: my grocery store very recently stopped delivery to my part of town. I found out when I happened to be in the real store last week, at the cash register with a very full cart. Our regular delivery guy happened to walk by and overrode the cashier, saying "Oh yeah, we deliver to HER, she's a regular!" Being a good tipper can come in handy...
posted by Billegible at 1:44 PM on January 27, 2010


Bonus bonus: the delivery guy didn't know my name, but when he saw me he called out "Hey! Thirty-four steps!"
posted by Billegible at 1:48 PM on January 27, 2010 [5 favorites]


Another yes. Freshdirect, Manhattan, usually $5.
posted by pete_22 at 1:52 PM on January 27, 2010


I've used Safeway several times in the Sacramento area. When I tried to tip the delivery guy, he told me he wasn't allowed to take tips.
posted by greensalsa at 1:52 PM on January 27, 2010


Yes, and yes ($5). Even when I lived on the first floor. (Maybe partially because I always ordered way more canned food than I'd ever want to carry home ... )
posted by shownomercy at 2:09 PM on January 27, 2010


Another yes here. Also FreshDirect in Manhattan. I give around $5, especially when I've ordered something like 5 gallons of juice along with my regular order.
posted by kimdog at 2:32 PM on January 27, 2010


Mrs. Director uses Amazon Fresh. She doesn't even see the guy as the bins are deposited on the porch. So no tipping.
posted by trinity8-director at 3:01 PM on January 27, 2010


I use AmazonFresh which has this policy:
Our policy is not to accept tips. After all, our job is to make your life easier; delivering a high-quality service should be your expectation.
posted by grouse at 3:58 PM on January 27, 2010 [1 favorite]


I use Fresh Direct in Brooklyn, and I usually tip the cost of the delivery fee -- $5 -- unless I've ordered a particularly heavy assortment of groceries, in which case I'll go as high as $10.

It's not expected, but I live on the third floor and it seems the decent thing to do.
posted by Narrative Priorities at 4:36 PM on January 27, 2010


I've used Fresh Direct since maybe 2005, and I tip them $20 every time. I, too, live on the 3rd floor, and $20 is a bargain compared to me trying to lug weeks worth of groceries up my narrow, poorly lit, rickety stairs.
posted by elizardbits at 5:00 PM on January 27, 2010


From the Safeway.com delivery FAQ:

Do your drivers accept tips?

Tipping is not necessary, and our drivers do not accept tips. Our goal is to give you high-quality service at the lowest possible price.


I use Vons.com delivery and its parent company is Safeway and the same rules apply.
posted by cecic at 5:28 PM on January 27, 2010


I also use Fresh Direct and tip them very generously. I'm on the sixth floor and buy all of my staples (canned goods, cat food, cat littler, etc.) from them about once a month, which means a lot of seriously heavy boxes coming up 5 flights of stairs. I am eternally grateful to them for this.
posted by idest at 6:01 PM on January 27, 2010


Yes and no, but this is in the UK.
posted by djgh at 6:25 PM on January 27, 2010


When the old HomeGrocer.com (not the same as the folks who have the name now, though they have the old logo!) delivered to us, the driver told me with a big grin, "No tips please, we have stock options!" Ah, the dot-com bubble days... Anyway, it seems like a lot of the newer delivery set-ups also explicitly reject tips. But it probably does depend on the company, and on where you live.
posted by litlnemo at 3:43 AM on January 28, 2010


With Peapod in Chicago, there's a space on the receipt for tips, but it's underscored on the FAQ and by the drivers that it is not expected and is optional.
posted by MikeHarris at 5:57 PM on January 28, 2010


chiming in late for posterity as I was searching on this today before my Peapod delivery (NYC). There's a spot in the online order form if you "want" to tip. Given that I had about 30 2 liter bottles of soda delivered to a 2F walk up I happily gave him a tip and he seemed genuinely grateful. I've had the same tip for the same apt. looked at with a hairy eyeball from Fresh Direct
posted by TravellingCari at 8:05 PM on January 2, 2011


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