What DoorDash pays, after expenses, and what’s happening with tips

Yeah, it’s basically Snow Crash.

I think there is a big difference tho. In the United States, a 15% tip is considered the bare minimum from a cultural standpoint. I was raised to always give 20% — 15% is what you give for subpar or bad service. I think I’ve only given less than that once in my life (intentionally anyway).

This is to say nothing of the variation in check size. You have a whole range in full-service dining from small checks all the way to fine dining, where alcohol can add hundreds of dollars to a meal, that can make for really good tips. For the right personally type, this can be really lucrative. (Bar fending is even more lucrative. My older sister was making six figures as a bar tender at a chain restaurant in suburban Atlanta 15 years ago and I don’t even think she worked 30 hours a week.)

Food delivery has always been different. Historically, most drivers/bikers for a restaurant got an hourly wage and tips, but tips aren’t usually based on the price of the order. Sure, there are exceptions (really large orders), but if I order a $45 steak from delivery or a $15 pizza, the tip is often going to be $5 or so either way. That’s just how it works. And even then, tips are often withheld more for issues such as timing, whether food arrives hot or cold, etc.

With food delivery apps, tips aren’t guaranteed the same way they often are for non-apps, in part because the apps charge their own service fees that are often confusingly displayed to the customer (who might not understand the difference) and because the relationship between restaurant and driver/delivery service are often separate. When I call my local pizza place and order delivery, they send their own person. If the order is wrong or late or has an issue, I can call the restaurant and figure out what is going on, demand a refund or get something re-delivered. With apps, I have to deal with the delivery service, which is often a PITA — and in most cases (Seamless/Grubhub being the exception), the delivery driver doesn’t have any connection to the restaurant anyway. (I’ll say that the 7 years I lived in NYC gave me great respect for Seamless (Grubhub) because they always took care of me, but as that service has had to compete with Uber etc., it hasn’t been as good. That could also be a Seattle thing.)

For me, when I use Uber Eats or Door Dash and I’m charged a $5 order fee, taxes, whatever inflated rates the restaurant is charging over menu price, and the delivery driver is often de-incentivized to even come to my door (or in the case of Uber Eats, will not), I have to be honest and say that my inclination to tip more than a few dollars is often lowered. More to the point, if I give a large tip and the driver can’t even be bothered to come to my door (and I get it, go down the elevator and wait outside - but part of the reason I order out is to avoid putting on shoes), I’m now pissed off I’ve given someone $10 to deliver lukewarm food that came with lots of fees. And no matter how unfair it is, that is going to impact how much I’m willing to tip with those apps the next time.

> Why would the customer need to know this information?

If a line item says "tip," it's paid on the assumption it's going to the staff. If it said "management keeps this," I wouldn't tip as much (or at all).

Oh, restaurants totally change prices based on eating in or delivery. Often, places will have different prices in different apps too — depending on what the costs are for them. I’ve literally played arbitrage between Seamless, DoorDash, Postmates, and a restaurant’s own website before to find the lowest price because the price was different everywhere. There are also places that won’t list in an app but will have delivery on their own website that is then sourced to DoorDash.

> they're to boost your server's pay up somewhat closer to a living wage.

and by doing this, you're just perpetuating the problem. If the base pay is too low, the worker _needs_ to quit, but if you force yourself to tip just enough to string them along, you're only kicking the can down the road.

Edit: to clarify, the tip isn't included in the sticker price of the meal/service. Therefore, a business is indirectly mis-advertising the true price of their product/service, and thus, gain unfair advantage in the market. The business then surreptitiously charging you more by adding the tip, and therefore, the true price is hidden until after you're already completed the meal, and too late to refuse the tip.