Many people use DoorDash, GrubHub, Uber Eats, and the like to deliver food straight to their homes. During the pandemic, these services became even more necessary as people were stuck in quarantine. As with many services, the question arises: How much to tip? One delivery driver posted a video on TikTok addressing a customer who didn’t leave any tip. In it, he asked the people why they expected someone to bring them their food for free.
Delivery Driver Leaves a Note For a “Habitual No Tipper”
The delivery driver, with the TikTok handle @frenchfrythug, posted a video that got over 335,000 views before he set his account to private. In the clip, the DoorDash worker explained that when he delivered food to a non-tipper, he included a note that read: “If you can’t afford to tip then you should go pick it up yourself. Who do you think you are to order food and have someone come and bring it to your door for FREE? FOR FREE?”
In an email exchange with Insider, he explained he had worked for DoorDash since December 2020. He added that the customer he mentioned in his video was a “habitual no tipper” and he made the video to “make a statement.” In the video, he concluded that the customer could “right your wrongs below,” including his Venmo handle for the person to finally send a tip.
However, DoorDash was not pleased with his handiwork. In a statement, a spokesperson said, “This behavior is clearly inappropriate and has no place on the DoorDash platform. We are looking into this incident and will take appropriate action.”
The video created a debate online. While many agreed people should tip when they order food, many defended the no-tipping.
As one person said, “It technically wasn’t free. DoorDash paid you.”
“I never tip. I pay the service fees to DoorDash or UberEats, that’s enough. If you don’t make enough money then get a new job,” said another person.
The delivery driver explained that he didn’t normally take deliveries that don’t tip. He just accepted that one for a “learning lesson for everyone.” After the video was posted, he added how surprised he was by the comments. “I didn’t realize these many people support not tipping drivers,” he said.
The Importance of Tips
For many delivery people, tips are the majority of their payments. “I hope that people see the other side of things,” he said, “and see what it looks like to drive 10 miles and wait in an understaffed restaurant to deliver an order for $2 and no tip.” [1]
However, later that week, the delivery driver said that his video was a stunt in a now private video. Although the customer was a real non-tipper, he didn’t leave the note at home. “I am a troll. I was joking, the internet took it very seriously and that’s okay,” he said in the private video. [2]
The tipping vs no-tipping debate still stands. However, this video exposed something more sinister about the independent delivery workers. The base pay for a DoorDash delivery ranges from $2 to $10. But according to DoorDasher Mike Hayes, that it’s usually closer to $3. As in, the tips make a huge difference in making the trip worthwhile. To make matters worse, DoorDash was slammed in July 2019 for pocketing its workers’ tips.
