Should You Tip Your Doordash Driver?

In countries such as France, Japan, Korea and others, tipping is not expected. Here in the United States, tipping is expected, but that does not mean that anybody is twisting your arm do to so. Nobody is forcing you to do anything. Tipping is seen as a gratitude or generosity for the services that are rendered to you, and even though some people feel that they should not be pressured or expected to tip, it should never be forgotten that many service workers depend on tips to make a decent living.

 

Should you tip your Doordash Driver?

The obvious answer to this question is yes. Doordash drivers do not make a lot of money and are not even paid by the hour. They are paid for each individual delivery that they make. For some reason, many Doordash customers believe that is is okay to not tip their Doordash driver. I don't know where this kind of thinking is coming from, but when a regular customer regularly does not leave a tip for their Doordash driver, it really shows that they have no regard or appreciation for the service that is being provided to them.

I mean, really, if you are a customer that just does not have a lot of money to be tipping anybody, a small tip of $1 would show your appreciation for the service that is provided to you. It is understood that times get hard for some people, and you may not have a lot of money, but a small token of appreciation such as a dollar bill lying around the house should not be too much to ask.

It is not always money problems that causes a Doordash customer to not tip. Frankly, most of the time it isn't. In the region that I dash, one half of the region is a wealthy area, and the other half is a poor area. I will honestly say that 80 percent of the tips that I receive are from those in the poorer neighborhood. Maybe they appreciate the service more than the wealthy people. I don't know, but it is definitely true that they tip more often. I know a lot of people think that the wealthy neighborhoods would tip more, but that is just not the case. Rich greed? Who knows.

 

In my personal opinion, tipping should always be based on the type of service that is provided. Give me lousy service and a bad attitude, and you do not deserve a tip. In the case of a Doordash driver, this means being on time, being polite and friendly and making sure that my order is correct. Running late on an order is not an absolute no tip. Things happen, but when there is a delay, communication is the key.

If a dasher updates the customer about the delay and informs them why there is a delay, those are bonus points for the dasher to receive a tip. It's not always the dasher's fault when an order is late. Many times, the restaurant themselves are the cause. Sometimes, it is even Doordash that is to blame for the delay as they give the driver the order late. Every scenario is different, but again, tipping should be based on the type of service that is provided. This brings up whether a Doordash customer should even provide a tip during checkout or if it should be after their food is delivered.

Should I tip my Doordash driver with cash or on the app?

Even though 80 percent of tippers did it, before September of 2019, it was a big no-no to leave dashers a tip on the app. Why? Because 99 percent of the time the dashers did not receive the tips that customers left for them. That was when Doordash had a very controversial pay model that included pay boost.

We should all be glad to know that in September of 2019 Doordash changed their pay model to what it currently is and dashers absolutely do receive all of the tip money that customers leave for them on the app. Doordash customers should always leave a tip for their Doordash driver. This is especially true since dashers now know when a customer leaves a tip and when they don't. A small tip could be the difference between a prompt professional delivery and a not so good delivery.

 

 

If you really want to show gratitude toward your Doordash driver, leaving them a cash tip after the delivery is always best. This allows you to decide how much you want to tip the driver, or if you want to tip them anything at all. Your dasher will always appreciate a cash tip no matter what the amount is. Even if all you can leave is a $1 tip, it is much better for you and the driver. No driver would ever look down on you for leaving a $1 tip.

Even though Doordash drivers will appreciate both customer tips on the app and cash tips, some customers are using both methods. Why? Because the amount a customer tips on the app impacts what dashers see as the pay offer when they receive a call. For example, if a customer is planning on tipping good in cash when the customer delivers, and he don't tip on the app, dashers are going to be offered $2 or $3 to deliver his order. Most will pass on this, and it may be a while before a dasher takes the call. The dashers don't know that this customer plans on giving a good cash tip.

Because of this, it is probably best to leave a $3 to $5 tip on the app. This will ensure that the dashers out in the field receive a reasonable offer to take care of this order. With this tip amount, they'll be offered $5 to $7 at minimum to make the delivery. If the customer is satisfied and wants to tip more with cash when the driver arrives, they can do so.

Why do some service workers expect a tip while others don't?

When I was younger, I used to always wonder why we were expected to tip the pizza man, the barber, the waiter, the taxi driver, the valet driver, etc. but not have to tip the bus driver, the McDonald's worker, the trash-man, the mail carrier, the UPS delivery guy, the cable-man, the gardener, etc. I mean, really, who made up all the rules about who should be tipped and who should not be tipped? To this day, I still do not have an answer.

One thing that I have noticed though is that the service worker jobs that do not pay very well are generally the ones that we are expected to tip. I say generally, because the McDonald's worker that brings your food to the table does not expect a tip even though it is a low paying job. Other services, such as the ones we receive from the UPS delivery guy, the trash man that picks up your garbage once a week, the cable guy and other decent paying jobs do not expect a tip. It is probably because they are paid a decent wage and make an above standard living from their job.

The no tipper defense - If you don't like it then get another job

One thing that I have noticed about those that do not like to tip is their repetitive response of "If you don't like it, then get another job." This is usually a no-tippers reply when somebody makes the point that many service workers depend on tips to make a decent living. This is a very immature statement that sounds like something that only a little child would make, but believe it or not, there are adults that think like this. It is true that there are other jobs out there where a person would not have to depend on tips to make a decent wage, but they choose to do their tip-dependent job for their own reasons. These tip-dependent employment opportunities will always need to be filled, and there will always be people doing these jobs.

 

If you are one of these no-tipper people, please keep in mind that you reap what you sow. Don't believe in Christianity? Maybe you can relate to Karma better. Not into Hinduism or Buddhism? Maybe you are an atheist. If so, trust me when I tell you that life has its ways of evening things out and biting you in the ass. Show some courtesy and appreciation for others in life, and you will surely reap the benefits. So, should you tip your Doordash driver? Of course you should.