Delivery Guys: What the fuck do they WANT?
Benjamin | Thursday, February 5, 2009 at 6:53AM 
Back in the 1980's, my mom used to give Upper West Side delivery guys a dollar and they would shit themselves with happiness.
I learned the hard way about delivery guy inflation when I came home from college in 1993: I gave a guy from Empire Szechwan a dollar and had him curse me in Cantonese.
At that point even my mom told me, oh no no, you have to give 3 dollars these days.
Well, what about in 2009? I usually give FOUR dollars, even though it seems outlandish to me. The guys usually act really happy with that. The other night, I only had 3 bucks - and the guy was pissed. I guess 4 is the magic number?
I once saw some blog rant where a guy was saying IT'S THE SAME as being a waitress - you should be tipping 20%! Get the fuck outta here with that shit - does anyone actually do that?
Just tell me what to do so I don't fuck it up and create an even worse name for the NCAA-finalist Park Slope Jews.
ongoing beefs 
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Reader Comments (13)
Many (most?) restaurants either pay their delivery people a measly hourly sum, way below minimum wage, or don't pay them at all (believe me, I've worked at several NYC restaurants,) their main source of income is the tips they get. And, yes, 15-20% is a customary tip, just like for servers in restaurants. Of course, if the food arrives an hour later, soggy and cold, you shouldn't feel the need to tip at all.....
I base the tip on how far they have to travel to deliver my food.
At my midtown office I order form the deli donwstairs and two doors over. It's about a three mintue walk from door to door. I give the guy two bucks.
At home, I range from three to four (very rarely four) based on the longer bike/drive.
Like Mr. Pink said "what I won't do is play ball. And as for this non-college bullshit I got two words for that: learn to fuckin' type, cause if you're expecting me to help out with the rent you're in for a big fuckin surprise."
I've never given four in my life. I give two, or three if it's far or raining out.
Four dollars for delivery is ridiculous. This is classic rich park slope speak. You've got to value the money from the delivery guy's perspective, not from the perspective of some 30 something hipster with a six figure job and boxes of granola in their pantry.
Come on.
Yeah, BK Lounge?
Well, Anonymous 10:46 up there wants me payin' 20% - That'd often be 6$ for me.
What the fuck are you gonna tell HIM?
I usually tip $3, and if significant effort is involved by the delivery person (aka more than 4 entrees of food or more than 3 boxes of pizza), escalate to $4.
Treat your delivery guy with respect, tip them well and they will remember you for it. Especially if it’s a place you frequently order from. Anything less than 4 bucks on a total of $20 or more and you’re just a cheap bastard. It’s not “rich park slope speak,” it’s simply the right thing to do. Pretending that $2 is a lot of money from the delivery guys’ point of view just makes you sound like Archie Bunker - a mean, miserly old racist. These are hard-working people who schlepp crappy and unsafe bikes through rain and snow so we don’t have to leave our apartments. Many of them are probably supporting extended families back where they came from. Try and be the bigger person and leave this world slightly better than you found it.
Yeah but anonymous, be fair- if the delivery guys ARE supporting families in their home countries, then 2$ is plenty- you can literally live like a king for ten bucks in some of those south american countries.
Like the first guy said, I think your perspective is all out of whack.
Dear anonymous commenter 1: 20% is not your server's tip in a restaurant. It's the front-of-house tip and is shared with everyone in FOH including bussers, host/hostess, etc. The 20% you're paying the delivery person isn't shared with anyone in that way. The 20% in a restaurant presumably scales with the level of customer contact/customer service you receive (obviously it's not always that way). Likewise, you tip more to the guy who carries a refrigerator on his back up to your fourth floor walkup than someone who drops off a pizza. Right?
So 15-20% is not a "customary tip." Customary means most people do it. Most people I know tip based on level of effort and distance, like most of the comments I've seen.
I can never do the math in my head as I'm giving the guy my $, so if it's cold/raining, 20%(ish). But most of the time, I do 10% and maybe round up to the next dollar.
5 deliveries an hour at avg of $3 a delivery = $15 an hour -> which is more then most people in PS pay to take care of their kids.
20% is beyond ridiculous and I am willing to bet no one is giving that much - b/c if I give the guy $5 he generally is so happy he looks ready to blow me.
i'm cheap...so i just pickup
When was the last time someone on a bicycle delivered food to you? 9 of 10 restaurants deliver in cars.
Listen, all you need to give them is 50¢. That's a huge sum for these people. Back in their country, that's like $50. They can buy a truckload of rice and beans for that amount. Once a while you can be generous and tip them 75¢ or maybe even a dollar and they will grovel at your feet and name their first born chihuahua after you. If you feel guilty because they came in the pouring rain – don't! Give them a bar of soap - preferably LAVA since it takes a lot of scrubbing to get dirt off. Don't tip $4...that just ruins it for the rest of us.