Pizza delivery charge
I've been wanting to discuss this for a while, and really hope some current or former pizza shop owners, workers and drivers can respond.
An increasing number of delivery pizza places seem to be charging a modest "delivery fee." I really don't understand this fee. The drivers (i've known a few for different companies) are using their own cars and pay for their own gas, at least at the couple of places I know of. They're not company cars or something so we do we have to subsidize them as customers?
I admit when it started, I was sorely tempted to stop tipping or tip lower, but I quickly ascertained that the driver doesn't get the fee and just began complaining to the owners of the fee. But most of these are chain places and they don't decide whether or not there is a fee, they've said they have no control over it.
I've pretty much quit getting delivery because of the fee. I don't understand levvying it and it makes me irritated to pay it, so I just pick it up now.
Can someone explain why this fee exists if it's not going to the drivers?
-
If the measly $2-3.00 charge plus a decent tip really, really bothers one, go buy a stone and a peel and make your own tomato pies!! On the other hand, you are talking about a product that is costing you less than $20.00, much less, so get over it.
›3 Replies-
re: ospreycove
grampart
Apr 3, 2013 11:28 AM
"If the measly $2-3.00 charge plus a decent tip really, really bothers one, go buy a stone and a peel and make your own tomato pies!! "
That's what I did, but it had nothing to do with a delivery charge or tip. The real motivation is making pizza that is miles better than the dreck that shows up at your door. As I've said, the extra charges just add insult to injury.
-
re: grampart
sunshine842
Apr 3, 2013 01:25 PM
usually if I'm tired/sick/apathetic enough to order the pie in the first place, I will gladly pay the delivery charge so I don't have to frigging cook.
(happily, that's not a common mood for me...but it happens)
-
re: sunshine842
grampart
Apr 3, 2013 01:47 PM
Since my dough goes through a minimum 3 day refrigerated rise, pizza in our house is something that has to be planned for. On the rare occasion an unplanned jonesin' for pizza arises, we go to our local joint and eat it there or I order it partially cooked, go pick it up, and finish it on the pre-heated stone here at home. Never, never get delivery.
-
-
-
-
Coogles
Apr 3, 2013 10:44 AM
A long, long time ago in a Ford Galaxy far, far away (sorry) I delivered for a Pizza Hut delco shop. I was paid an hourly wage (which was well above minimum wage due to a shortage of people willing to do the job) and a 3% commission on the total of all tickets I delivered that shift. If I had to deliver a single pizza out to the fringe of our delivery zone I could easily be out of the shop for 40-50 minutes, between the hourly wage and commission it could easily cost the restaurant $3-$4 for me to make that delivery and any tips were mine to keep.
Delivery is a service that costs the restaurant money to provide, and whether by delivery fee or increased menu prices you are paying for that service. At least with a delivery fee the cost (or at least a good chunk of it) is paid for by the people actually using the service and not being subsidized by those who pick up their orders at the restaurant.
-
jen kalb
Apr 2, 2013 10:54 AM
there is another factor that may apply also. A friend of mine was talking to the owner of an Indian restaurant they had patronized for many years which is very popular, increasingly for their deliveries.. the owner expressed concern about the effect of increased ordring over the computer through services like seamless and grubhub. Not only is there no longer a personal relationship between customer and restaurant but the service charges 5% off the top to the restaurant. If I were in the position of a restauranteur facing this I would be tempted to add a delivery charge to recoup
›2 Replies-
re: jen kalb
westsidegal
Apr 3, 2013 12:02 AM
if it were me, i wouldn't just "be tempted."
i would immediately institute the charge.
-
-
-
BlueMagic
Mar 16, 2013 11:54 AM
I can't remember the last time I had anything in terms of food delivered to my house. It's really been years!
I think a delivery charge of a few dollars is more than fair. A $10 pizza costs more if the restaurant has to pay someone to deliver it. So, rather than spread that cost to everyone..the restaurant owner decides to pass it on only to the people who choose not to pick it up themselves. I am okay with that. -
grampart
Mar 13, 2013 12:44 PM
In my opinion, having to pay a delivery charge and tip is adding insult to injury.
›2 Replies -
ipsedixit
Mar 11, 2013 07:37 PM
If you have a problem with this fee, go pick up the pizza yourself.
›2 Replies-
re: ipsedixit
rockandroller1
Mar 12, 2013 08:31 AM
I do, as I stated in my OP. Pretty much all the time or as often as I can. I just wanted some more info on why it exists, as did some other folks on the thread.
-
-
I happen to own a Domino's store. First, let me say that there is no one answer. Every place is different. I'll answer your question, but I do need to preface it a bit.
I am a LOCAL business. I own the shop, I live in the same town. My kids go to school here. I work 50 hours a week in the shop and quite a few more doing the "business owner" thing. My "local" competition couldn't find his own store without a GPS. All 3 competitors are owned by investors that don't live in this town. One doesn't even live in this state, owns 20 or so pizza shops.
Back 25 years ago, we had "free" delivery. My friends, the price of delivery was in the pizza. In 1988 a medium pan pizza was introduced for $8.99 with 1 topping. Today we have the new pan pizza with 2 toppings for $7.99. Using the CPI if you paid the same for a pizza today as in 1990, a large cheese would be about $16.
And while we're on the topic of expensive, take a menu from your local Domino's (Or Pizza Hut, or whatever chain). Next time you are at a restaurant that sells pizza, actually compare the prices. I have yet to find a place with a lower menu price than mine. Even the bar across the street charges more to warm up a frozen pizza than I do to hand make, bake fresh, and deliver a pizza.
In my experience most local shops charge for delivery. The difference is that Domino's (at least mine, and most that I know) tell you up front. Back before we ever had a delivery charge, people thought we did anyway.
Who gets the delivery charge? Well, again, not the simple answer you may want. In my case we charge $2 for delivery. I do not give the $2 directly to the driver. I pay the drivers by the mile. In my case, that works out to be (on average) $2.12 per run. So while the fee does not go directly to the driver, they get more than that. I know of some that pay per delivery and may pay the driver $1.50 of the $2 charge. (Oh, and Domino's Corporate gets their share of the delivery charge through royalties and advertising fees that are a percentage of everything we charge.)
Again, I charge $2. $2.12 for mileage to the driver. Average run is 25 minutes $3.05 for labor (assuming they never stand still, If you count the time drivers are waiting for your delivery you can up that to about $4-5) Insurance has not gotten cheaper. Work comp rates hare higher on drivers than cooks, 35¢. Auto insurance 15¢.
$5.67 JUST to deliver a pizza (and that is on the low side)
Something else about us "evil chains". I know many independent places that pay under the table. They pay cash. They don't pay taxes on those wages, they don't pay work comp. They don't even pay minimum wage. They hire 16 year olds to drive (which by the way is illegal). If a chain tried what they do, it wouldn't take long to be shut down. If the government doesn't the franchisor will. (Of course, there are many independents that follow the laws and are great places to work too.)
I am a chain, I am local. I am not rich, I am not gouging my Customers. I treat my employees well, and I push myself hard to give the best service to my Customers every day. I have worked hard for many years. If I told you how little I actually make you would not believe me, so there is no point.
At this point in my life, all I can do is put the facts out there. If people still chose to not order because of me charging $2 for a $5.67 service, I guess I just have to accept that. Everyone wants to be compensated fairly for their work. Pizza shop owners and delivery drivers are no different.
(One last comment, some will say that delivery fees hurt driver tips. There were studies. I even did my own. When delivery charges were introduced, driver tips increased. Yes, there is the occasional person that doesn't tip because of the delivery charge. But there are far more that tip a percentage, and also a sub-set of people that the delivery charge made them conscious of the driver's tip. Whatever the reason, the data, the facts, over thousands of orders of data in multiple locations shows tips increased.)
›14 Replies-
-
re: pizzaman123345
mucho gordo
Mar 12, 2013 11:06 AM
Apples and oranges. You can not compare your cheaper pizza to the superior quality of the more expensive restaurant pizza.
-
-
re: mucho gordo
westsidegal
Mar 12, 2013 02:42 PM
<<You can not compare your cheaper pizza to the superior quality of the more expensive restaurant pizza.>>
i saw no evidence that pizzaman123345 did anything like that.
-
re: westsidegal
mucho gordo
Mar 13, 2013 10:58 AM
<<And while we're on the topic of expensive, take a menu from your local Domino's (Or Pizza Hut, or whatever chain). Next time you are at a restaurant that sells pizza, actually compare the prices. I have yet to find a place with a lower menu price than mine. Even the bar across the street charges more to warm up a frozen pizza than I do to hand make, bake fresh, and deliver a pizza>>
He is asking us to compare restaurant prices with chain prices. Obviously, he's going to be cheaper because of the difference in quality. In essence, he is comparing the two.-
re: mucho gordo
bagelman01
Mar 13, 2013 12:20 PM
"Obviously, he's going to be cheaper bcause of the difference in quality."
Mucho, there's a lot of really bad pizza served by individually owned pizza restaurants.
In my area (south central CT) a bastion of great Apizza (New Haven Style) pizza (NY Style) and Greek style pizza (thick crust baked in an oiled pan). You can pay $15-18 for a large mozzarella, or $6.99 for a large mozzarella, all from stand alone pizza places.
That $6.99 special, or commonly 2/$15 is no more expensive than Domino's or Pizza Hut, and probably cheaper.
And it may be no better in taste and quality OR it may be a gem.Fact is you have to try different places and decide what you like.
There's a local mini chain (3 shops) whose pizza I detest (I think Domino's is actually better than this chain), but BIL uses them to supply 20 large pies for each of his kids' birthday parties because they do it for $6.50 per large pie and only a $3 delivery charge no matter how many pies are ordered. BIL is cheap, and for some people Pizza is a commodity item.
-
re: bagelman01
mucho gordo
Mar 14, 2013 12:34 PM
You're probably right, BM. I've never needed to try that many different places. Back there, I was lucky enough to get a great pie at Raccio's right across the street from my house.
Greek?? I've never heard it called that. I've allways known it as Chicago style.
Your BIL is right; I would do the same if it was for the kids.-
re: mucho gordo
bagelman01
Mar 14, 2013 02:33 PM
In the late 1960s to early 1970s Greek immigrants ion southern CT branched out from the diner business to pizza restaurants.
The Greek style is NOT the same as Chicago. The pan is only about 1 1/4" deep. The pan is oiled, the dough spread in the oan and then kept in the walk in fridge for up to 36 hours until needed, then sauce and heavy cheese and optional toppings.
Unlike what you grew up with, a Greek Style pizza is so heavy on cheese, that the cheese covers the entire surface, no exposed sauce spots. When I worked for one in the mid 70s, they would grind in 1 lb cheddar to 20 lbs mozzarella so that the cheese wouldn't burn in the oven
-
-
-
re: mucho gordo
westsidegal
Mar 13, 2013 08:32 PM
it seemed to me that he was primarily comparing prices.
the only point at which he also mentioned quality was when he brought up the frozen pizza that was served at the bar across the street.to my eyes, the post, taken as a whole, did NOT assert that the pizza he sold was as high a quality as the " more expensive restaurant pizza"
it seemed to me that he was only trying to point out the nature of his margins given the quality of his product, nothing more.
-
re: mucho gordo
westsidegal
Mar 15, 2013 02:42 PM
to my eyes, he is comparing PRICES.
these sorts of price-related discussions occur frequently on the LA board so they are certainly not rare.
even if there is a passing reference to quality , it is still, to my eyes, not primarily a discussion focused on price/quality ratios.
-
-
-
-
re: pizzaman123345
iluvcookies
Mar 12, 2013 02:53 PM
Thank you for this explanation... always good to hear another side of the story from someone with experience.
-
re: pizzaman123345
You don't have to like it. You don't have to pay it. Go and buy pizza anywhere you wish. If the other guy is better than me, then you SHOULD go there.
All I ask is a fair shake. I am not "evil". I do not "gouge" my Customers.
Just do me one favor. If you are going to punish me for having a delivery fee, just make sure you are not rewarding my competition for doing the same.
-
-
The fee exists because people will pay it. Stop ordering from them in masses and it'll go away.
I avoid chain pizza shops anyway. Local pie shop owners rarely charge a delivery fee as they realize a great chunk of their business is repeat, local customers who aren't to be nickel-&-dimed.
Make a good pie and charge $1-2 more for it, and I'm ok. That's what the market will bear. However, I don't think the market will tolerate everyone going to a delivery fee because local shops live and die by $1-2 margins.
›1 Reply-
re: Rigmaster
westsidegal
Mar 8, 2013 03:23 PM
if a restaurant makes a good pie and will arrange to get it to my house while it is still warm, i'll gladly pay an up charge or a higher price.
i don't care what they call the charge, if they give me quality food AND convenience at anything near a reasonable total price, i am on board.
also, if the delivery person is pleasant AND gets the pie to me while it's warm, they get tipped generously in addition to the higher price/up charge every time.
-
-
bagelman01
Mar 6, 2013 01:31 PM
I did pizza delivery more than 40 years ago when I was in college. Back then I got straight hourly wage plus tips. All the expenses associated with the vehicle were mine to bear.
Things have changed over the years.
I am an attorney and have a number of pizza places as clients. The drivers are employees and there are costs associated with them. The workmen's comp insurance cost for a driver is higher than a server or kitchen worker in our area.
While the driver has to provide insurance on the car (or it wouldn't be legal to drive whether working or not), the driver's insurance covers the liability of the driver and maybe the owner of the car, NOT the restaurant. The business owners' policy provides liability coverage for the restaurant. If the driver hits and harms someone during a delivery, the restaurant WILL be sued. They probably have deeper pockets and better insurance coverage than the 18-25 year old driving that 8 year old delivery car. The car may only have the state minimum insurance and that doesn't go very far in covering loss.
In urban areas, pizza drivers are often held up. This creates another type of liability for the restaurant and it has associated costs.
>>>>>
and as for the posters who say that there isn't a takeout charge for boxes, etc. when you pick up a pizza to go, the restaurant doesn't have to make an investment in those thermal delivery bags, or coolers to keep salads and soda cold in the delivery vehicle.In our area, the independents typically charge a $2-3 delivery fee (we don't have chains). Customers do not think this is a tip for the driver, but a convenience fee, and still tip $2-3 average for a pizza delivery, more in bad weather.
›17 Replies-
re: bagelman01
Fair enough and a good reply but it isn't always valid. I mean, this isn't pizza, but my local Chinese place has a $3 delivery charge. It's wholly family run and the delivery bag and whatnot is exactly the same as if I was to pickup.
Now, one can say that you're paying for the inconvenience of taking them away from their primary duties, but eh. I don't know. It's a convenience fee, really, I suppose. It would be better if they called it something else so the drivers didn't get stiffed!
-
re: bagelman01
-
re: bagelman01
westsidegal
Mar 8, 2013 03:08 PM
<< Customers do not think this is a tip for the driver, but a convenience fee, and still tip $2-3 average for a pizza delivery, more in bad weather.>>
good people.
sounds like they are appreciative of the service they receive,
and appreciative of the people that provide the service.
menschen. -
re: bagelman01
mucho gordo
Mar 12, 2013 11:01 AM
Well said, BM. Is it possible that the drivers ins. co, can deny coverage because the policy wasn't written to cover business use or will they pay and subrogate?
-
re: mucho gordo
bagelman01
Mar 13, 2013 05:24 AM
as you know laws vary by state.............
That said, the business use of a vehicle covered by the insurance conmpany for personal use only could cause the company to refuse to honor claims.
'
That said: if the car is used less than 10% of its driving mileage for business use (a college kid delivering pizza 2-3 nights er week) then it would be argued (most likely sucessfully) that the business use is incidental and the insurance company would pay.That said, the drivers using there own vehicles should never allow the pizza place to put theirs signs on the personal vehicle, as it would show intent on the part of the driver that this be a business vehicle and could cause the insurance company to deny all liability.
As to subrogation, I don't know who'd the insurance company would go after, the delivery kid, whose only asset is the car that was just wrecked? I don't belive the insurance company would have much sucess going after the pizza parlor's owner when the proximate cause of the accident is usually the driver of a vehicle
-
re: bagelman01
mucho gordo
Mar 13, 2013 10:55 AM
IIRC, in CA, the kid's ins co could go after the pizza place if it can be shown that the accident happened while he was making a delivery on behalf of the pizza place.
-
re: bagelman01
westsidegal
Mar 13, 2013 08:26 PM
wasn't there a case in florida that had some bearing on this?
(Parker v. Domino Pizza (Fla 1993)
iirc it was decided that Domino Pizza was liable for something because the franchise owner controlled the activities of the delivery person and therefore a master/servant relationship existed.
also, vaguely remember from my business law class (taken during the pleistocene era) that the delivery function being within the scope of the delivery boy's employment had something to do with the existence of a master/servant relationship.
(can't remember what, exactly, they ended up being liable for)-
re: westsidegal
bagelman01
Mar 14, 2013 05:24 AM
Just because a court can find liability for the pizza place doesn't mean that the insurance company for the car/driver is off the hook. A good plaintiff's attorney will sue the driver, the owner of the car and the pizza place. It is possible that a judge could find them all joint and severally liable, and the plaintiff will collect where he/she may.
Also, the rulings in one jurisdiction are not necessarilly binding in another jurisdiction. Florida state court ruling only binding on a lower level Florida state court. US Court of Appeals ruling only binding on US District courts in its own circuit, etc. The laws of the land are far from uniform.
-
re: bagelman01
westsidegal
Mar 15, 2013 02:34 PM
<<Just because a court can find liability for the pizza place doesn't mean that the insurance company for the car/driver is off the hook>>
of course not, i agree with you on that
<<. A good plaintiff's attorney will sue the driver, the owner of the car and the pizza place>>
a good case can be made for malpractice against the plaintiff's lawyer if s/he DIDN'T do exactly that.
in complete agreement with you on all your points.
-
re: westsidegal
bagelman01
Mar 15, 2013 02:39 PM
Glad to know that 2 1/2 years of law school a JD and passing the bar was not wasted <VBG>
-
re: bagelman01
westsidegal
Mar 17, 2013 10:39 PM
you laugh,
but i know a woman who did all that and then married an accountant, and lived among the country club set for the rest of her life never once using all that education, licensure, and test-passing.it happens. . . . .
not only are you a knowledgable practicing lawyer, but from your comments, you also sound like a mensch. -
-
re: Motosport
bagelman01
Mar 18, 2013 03:04 PM
I have a young (40 years old) associate in the office. He was a licensed plumber. He put his wife through school and she became an MD. Now she was embarrased in social situations to introduce her husband the plumber. SO, Henry went to law school and became a lawyer. The wife is happy, Henry hates working at a desk, and he told me he makes about 25% of what he made as a plumber.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
nokitchen
Mar 6, 2013 01:19 PM
If you live in an area where such a thing is available I'd advise choosing local businesses over large chains or their franchises. Absent that, I'd complain directly to the large chain which is allegedly imposing the fee. Companies are constantly looking to increase profit, reasonably enough, and one way to do that is if you can succeed in raising prices without creating consumer pushback. Push back.
›1 Reply-
re: nokitchen
rockandroller1
Mar 6, 2013 01:21 PM
Oh, have totally done that, several times. I am a squeaky wheel. These are not national chains, they are local chains and the only edible pizza in my neighborhood. Really good pizza here requires a 30 minute drive each way, so it doesn't happen that often.
-
-
-
I'd say it was to cover the cost of the boxes and napkins and whatnot, BUT of course there's no such thing as a "take-out" fee so that's out the window.
›7 Replies-
re: Violatp
-
-
re: RichardBreadcrumb
Huh. Where I live, many places charge less for delivery items than takeout. The best example is Chinese spots. They normally charge $0.50 - $1.00 less per item on pickup. It makes sense to me, as if I do not eat in they do not have to pay for anyone to clean up after me, or pay for a dining room.
-
-
I delivered pizzas as a side job for a summer a few years ago. My sister managed the restaurant (just a small local pizza and sub shop, not part of a chain). If I wasn't trying to help her out, I'd have quit after a week or two. The delivery fee didnt go to me and people were incredibly cheap. They may have assumed the delivery fee went to me. The other problem was that parents would give their kids cash to order dinner and they'd get as much as they could and wouldn't think to save a few bucks for a tip. Sheesh. I worked solely for tips.
›3 Replies-
re: Hobbert
rockandroller1
Mar 6, 2013 01:12 PM
I mean, one would assume DELIVERY fee goes to the DELIVERY person. It's a logical assumption. But it's not going to them, which I think is ridic, so why are we paying it?
-
-
re: rockandroller1
westsidegal
Mar 18, 2013 10:25 PM
i see no logical reason to assume that the delivery fee goes to the delivery person.
on the other hand, i would assume that the TIP would go to the delivery person.
-
-
-
Motosport
Mar 6, 2013 01:05 PM
It does not sound fair to me.
Then again, the drivers are getting some kind of salary. The store is responsible for them (insurance). There are other overhead costs outside of gas and auto.›10 Replies-
re: Motosport
rockandroller1
Mar 6, 2013 01:06 PM
I dunno. IS the store really responsible for them? I imagine most people are just required to have insurance on their own vehicles themselves, I really doubt the pizza shop is paying for it.
-
re: rockandroller1
Motosport
Mar 6, 2013 01:56 PM
Yes, the store shares responsibility. In a case where the delivery person causes great harm to a person a smart attorney will sue the driver, store, parent company and anyone remotely involved in the process of bringing the pizza from the store to the buyer.
-
re: Motosport
sunshine842
Mar 8, 2013 10:06 AM
that would be why Domino's doesn't have a 30-minute guarantee...too much expense on lawsuits caused by drivers zooming around to make the time limit.
-
-
-
-
re: Motosport
carolinadawg
Mar 6, 2013 01:12 PM
My son delivers sub sandwiches for a large chain and his employer does NOT provide any sort of vehicle insurance.
I think this "delivery fee" is annoying as well. Its simply a way for the company to raise their prices without actually doing so.
-
-
-
re: Dax
Motosport
Mar 18, 2013 02:01 PM
Yes, liability is the issue and it's a BIG issue. When the driver hits a teenager on a bicycle and they never walk again the cost will run into the millions.
Hopefully the pizza shop owner (and parent company if it's a franchise) have adequate insurance to cover this claim.-
re: Motosport
westsidegal
Apr 3, 2013 12:04 AM
wonder if such a horrible accident occurred and the delivery person was horribly injured.
would s/he be covered by workers comp?
-
-
-
-
-
-
