Guide to Food Delivery Tipping

Tipping can be a divisive topic to begin with, and everyone has a different answer. Tipping on food deliveries is an even more fraught topic because no one seems to have the answer. Do you even tip on a food delivery? Yes. The answer is yes! Always tip.

Depending on how you order and where you’re ordering from will help to determine the amount you should tip. If you’re in a restaurant 20% is standard tipping. Delivery tips don’t need to be that high, but they’re not much lower. A tip of 10% is a good place to start. You shouldn’t tip any lower than that, though.  

If you order through the restaurant or company directly, you can tip when you order or tip in cash upon delivery. Check to see if there is a delivery or service fee; if there are those fees, a 10% tip is sufficient. If those fees don’t exist, then a 15% tip is a more reasonable. When you order through the restaurant directly, the tip will not affect the delivery time or your wait time in any way. 

Tipping after you’ve ordered and been served or after you’ve ordered and it’s been delivered is the customary arrangement of things. This is not the best arrangement when you are ordering through a rideshare service, like Uber Eats, Postmates, Beyond Menu, etc. When you leave a tip in advance, it can make a huge difference in your wait time. The drivers for rideshare food delivery services have the ability to turn down delivering food, and many do so when they don’t see a tip added to the bill. The more riders turning down the delivery means the longer you wait to get your food. Adding a tip to your order at the beginning ensures a driver will want to pick up that order and bring it to you because there is the added monetary incentive. When tipping your rideshare food delivery driver, larger tips are appreciated. A tip of 15% is a good place to start. They don’t make an hourly wage like drivers working directly for restaurants. The rideshare drivers depend on the tips more. 

Tipping food delivery drivers is important. They are bringing you your food just like a server would in a restaurant. Tips should range between 10% and 15%. A really good tip would be 20%. It is up to you, but they will thank you for your generosity. They may even remember you next time and make sure you get your food as quickly as possible.