When Ordering Food Online
In case you’re interested in another discussion about tipping (and clearly, we are all interested in discussions about tipping), Marginal Revolution has a discussion about how people tip when they order food online using websites like Seamless. The tipping question here is: Do you pre-tip online with your credit card? Or do you wait for the delivery to come and tip in cash? (Cash seems like to be the more common answer.)
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Previously on The Billfold
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I was thinking about this earlier today when I was ordering on Seamless. I pre-tip online because I assume that the tip is built in and there is no option to express that you will tip in cash when the delivery guy gets there. I don’t want them to think I’m not tipping them or something. I do factor in that I am tipping on credit card and throw in a little more.
Also, I am often ordering for just myself and have discovered that tip is often a good way to get around order minimums, since Seamless allows you to submit an order once the total amount (including tax and tip) has crossed the minimum threshold. Especially when I am within a dollar, I’d rather overtip than buy food I don’t need or an overpriced can of soda.
I never have cash so pretip (though I also never order food anymore, cuz I am in a food delivery deadzone).
I pay cash when I have it, because I read this New York Times story one time about how restaurant management steals tips from delivery people. But I usually don’t have cash, so I tip on my credit card. (I have guilt about this, but apparently not enough guilt to get me to go to an ATM once in awhile.)
I only ever use Seamless when I’m at the office, so I tip on Seamless so I can add the tip to the expense report I’m going to file.
Ordering at home, I tend to just call directly – which is a better deal for the restaurant, since they don’t have to pay Seamless a fee, and thus at least near me the minimums tend to be lower (e.g., my favorite Indian place has a $10 minimum if you call, and a $15 minimum through Seamless).
I pretip for my pizza, which I order online, because then, despite the high staff turnover there, the person delivering definitely knows I am a good tipper and generally delivers the food faster (in my anecdotal experience, anyway).
@ThatJenn yeah i always feel like i get better service when i pre-tip, since i am also always an overtipper.
I’m usually using Seamless b/c I don’t have cash on me…that’s why I’m using an online, credit card-based ordering service. If I have to go to the ATM, and then break $20 into smaller bills, and then run back home, then the fun of being lazy and getting delivery evaporates.
That said, I did have one delivery guy from a local Indian place literally scream at me when I signed the receipt and handed it back to him. “NO TIP?!?” I politely pointed to the line on the printout indicating that I’d left a pretty generous tip. The guy got really gruff and spat out “We don’t get those! You tip cash!” I actually called Seamless to report this, b/c I was pretty pissed to think my tips were being stolen by some greedy manager and my generosity wasted. Seamless apologized, said they’d contact the restaurant, and offered me a discount code for 20% off my next order. Kind of a weird solution, but appreciated that they at least made noises about addressing it and compensated me for the hassle.
I’m just as guilty of this as anyone, but the idea of pre-tipping is kind of weird. You’re paying a set gratuity no matter what kind of service you get. Takes out the reward for exceptional service and the measly tip for bad service.