Tip him more? Or less?
August 8, 2008 5:02 PM   Subscribe

Pizza place messed up our order. I had to refuse it. Delivery dude finally agreed to take it back to the store. Assuming our actual order shows up, do we give him a bigger tip for taking care of the situation or a lesser tip because he was jerkish?
posted by moof to Food & Drink (17 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Tip him more if it's not his fault. Though if his behavior is out of line that would be a strike.
posted by tinkertown at 5:07 PM on August 8, 2008


Give him the same tip you would otherwise have given him for delivering it the first time.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 5:08 PM on August 8, 2008


Response by poster: Ordered two pizzas, only one was there -- so clearly not his fault. But then he tried to get me to keep the pizza and I explained this was for a large family dinner and waiting for the second pizza wouldn't work for us. He also said, he'd just throw the current pizza under a heat lamp rather than asking for it to be remade.

If he's going to be out-of-pocket, I'd like to make it up to him -- but really, he wasn't very nice about this all.

Normally I tip 20%, which I know is a bit high for pizza.
posted by moof at 5:12 PM on August 8, 2008


Depends on whether you tip for work/effort or for demeanor/value added. I skew a little more toward the latter.

Personally, I think you were unreasonable in refusing to take the first pizza as a downpayment, but maybe I don't understand the situation.
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 5:20 PM on August 8, 2008


Did he seem annoyed? I make it a point to never fuck with the people in charge of my food. Make sure you only get the "toppings" you ordered.
posted by muscat at 5:22 PM on August 8, 2008 [2 favorites]


Same tip, that's why he doesn't like it: two trips.

Clyde: He has to bring it back to prove that he didn't just give it away. It's an exchange.

- former pizza driver
posted by rhizome at 5:23 PM on August 8, 2008


rhizome: I bow to your expertise, but I read the OP to be saying that "keep the first pizza" was the driver's proposal, and that he was going to bring a second one in the fullness of time.
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 5:28 PM on August 8, 2008


Best answer: Make the world a better place by giving him a bigger tip. Someone someday will punish him for his bad attitude, but it doesn't have to be you.
posted by PercussivePaul at 5:44 PM on August 8, 2008


Put yourself in his position, then tip accordingly.
posted by 2oh1 at 5:46 PM on August 8, 2008


Dude, he's gonna spit in your pizza. Not justifying it, it's disgusting, but that's what he's gonna do. At best.
posted by orthogonality at 5:48 PM on August 8, 2008 [1 favorite]


If you get pizza there all the time, give him a bigger tip.
posted by oneirodynia at 6:04 PM on August 8, 2008


As a long-time pizza guy from days gone by, obviously I'd lean toward tipping more but he sounds like he was a jerk about it. Also, a missing pie could very well have been his fault depending on how the kitchen was run (ie unless the pies are bagged and waiting for them, it's up to the driver to check his orders).

One other point I'd like to make - if there's a mixup on the order it's easier for everyone if you deal with it over the phone with the store/manager rather than the bagman. Then you can handle details like pushing for 2 fresh pizzas rather than 1 rubbery old one and a fresh one. A reasonable manager should definitely have given you 2 fresh pizzas, or had the driver leave the one so you could start eating and have him hurry back with the second.

Pizza's a tough gig, especially with gas prices the way they are and delivery reimbursement not keeping up. In general I'd always say tip big but in this case once is enough, unless you live way out in the boonies.
posted by Drew_Blood at 6:23 PM on August 8, 2008


seconding percussive paul. it costs you very little to be very kind in this situation. show appreciation effusively, tip generously and wish him a good night. so what if he's a schmuck? you reward him for appropriate behavior, and he's more likely to do it the next time.
posted by thinkingwoman at 8:26 PM on August 8, 2008


Did he say "I'm just gonna throw it under the lamp" or did he say "I think the cook will probably just keep this one warm, and not make two new pies"?
If he said the first thing he's being a dick. He's got a cell phone or a radio. He could call the shop, they start two new pies and they're ready to go as soon as he parks. Don't tip him anything and call the shop.
If he said the second then the cooks are dicks or there's some shitty company policy and he should get a great tip for being honest and for making the extra trip. Ask if the tips are his own or if the shop splits them and maybe add a couple of dollars.
I delivered pizzas for a few years. I would have asked you to keep that pie and promised to bring two more. If I was having a bad day and gave you the first line I would not be expecting a tip.

And just for delivery tipping in general: if the driver is not in a company car, tip a little better... gas sucks.
posted by gally99 at 2:21 AM on August 9, 2008


so what if he's a schmuck? you reward him for appropriate behavior, and he's more likely to do it the next time.

You don't they're just as likely to think you're a sucker?
posted by Beardman at 12:42 PM on August 9, 2008


Response by poster: Gally 99: He said the first thing.

And I went with PercussivePaul's advice.
posted by moof at 2:37 PM on August 9, 2008


As a long-time pizza guy from days gone by, obviously I'd lean toward tipping more but he sounds like he was a jerk about it. Also, a missing pie could very well have been his fault depending on how the kitchen was run (ie unless the pies are bagged and waiting for them, it's up to the driver to check his orders).

Yep. Places I've worked at, if something was missing from the order when I brought it to your door, it was my fault for not reading the order ticket. I can't imagine there's a pizza place that exists that doesn't put *some* responsibility for quality assurance on the drivers -- at least to the extent that they check what they're taking out before they leave the store.

The guy should have called the shop as soon as his error was apparent -- at the very least, *you* should have called the shop and said that your guy only brought one pizza, so at least they'd know that he was coming back with a dissatisfied customer.

The guy sounds like he was being kind of dick and somehow making it your fault that he only brought one pizza. I'd just tip him the standard amount, and I'd expect to receive one of the pizzas for free after calling the management. If I was your delivery guy, I would have given you the first one and just eaten the cost.
posted by LionIndex at 9:40 PM on August 9, 2008


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