h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

As my wife has difficulty getting out and about now, she's taken to buying her groceries online and having them delivered. As delivery is cheaper in the evening, I'm often home to greet the delivery guy.

My question is - should I tip the delivery man?

There's no cash involved in buying the groceries, they're all paid for online so it's not as if I can hand over £70 and add an extra bit. And it's not like the old days with a grocery boy on a bike, this is a grown man with a van.

I like to tip where I can, but for some reason I find this to be an awkward one. Does anyone else have groceries delivered and do you tip?

(UK-Centric, if that makes any difference)

Depends on who you use - most will have a policy of not allowing staff to take tips (to prevent customers being made to feel awkward) so dont offer they may loose their jobs

I never used to tip, especially in pubs
where I knew the waiter was making at least
twice my annual income - and most of his
was tax free. Of course this resulted in poor
service once my policy was known and soon
the pub would have lost my custom altogether.

Now, older and wiser, I do acknowledge good
service from waitresses in restaurants with
about a fifteen percent gratuity because I
know they are not making the same kind of
fortunes made by bar staff who prey on drunks.

As for delivery men and trades people who come
into my home it depends on the quality of service
and their attitude. But I see no reason not to offer
a token gesture of about the cost of a drive-thru
cup of coffee, which I imagine is likely a pound
coin in your area. It is not much; they may even be
insulted, but it's the thought that counts so offer
it with the very specific suggestion that you know
they don't have time to stay and enjoy a cuppa with
you but you'd like to think they might have time later
in the day to take a coffee break on you.

Obviously if they refuse, no harm done. Either way
you'll have lost that awkward feeling.


~jwf~

When we had milkmen (remember them?) the thing to do was to tip only at Christmas.

My neighbour used to tip the dustmen too, but with mince pies and beer.

I've had groceries delivered a few times, and never felt the urge or need to tip - I dont think I'd tip the cashier at a supermarket either.

Strangely enough we're trying out getting our groceries delivered, can't say as I've an urge to tip the driver though. It sort of feels the same as the postman, and I don't tip them. However, come the festive season if the deliveries are still coming bright and early before I go to work, and in such good condition, then I very probably will leave something out for them then.

There's no need to tip (although, if I've just made a cake, I offer a slice).

But do make sure your space is nice and organised so that the delivery can be completed in the minimum amount of time. The drivers like that.

Mol

Tipping ettiquete is always a funny topic (see brilliant scene at the start of Resevoir Dogs).

I'm constantly amazed at when people wont want to tip because they didn't like the food, even if the service was excellent and the waiting staff dealth with the complaint brilliantly.

FB

I've worked in pubs and restaurant, and know that the kitchen staff usually get paid full, decent wage according to their experience, but that the waiting staff rarely get the same. So I tip according to the service. If the service is good, I will tip. If it was bad, I won't. Regardless of the food.

Yeah, that would be my policy. I usually tip my hairdresser, and taxi drivers. When I had groceries delivered it never occurred to me to tip, though. No more than I'd tip the parcel delivery man.

Deb

I tip in UK restaurants if the staff give great customer service.
I do not tip at all in the US after an incident in a restaurant in Santa Monica, California when a staff member followed me out (I had left a 10% tip) and swore his head of at me (and wife) claiming that "The correct tip is 20%" . He continued, claiming that "All you *!!%?? english are all the *!!%?? same, etc, etc.
He actually followed us out onto the street, still going strong, so we just walked off. I know it is probably not fair to now tar all US restaurant staff with the same brush, but I have never tipped since.

If I may offer a little insight to those trying out groceries deliveries.

Obviously it depends upon your preferences but if you want to rely on your milk having a use by date that isn't tomorrow, your bread similarly going stale tomorrow - if they even give you the loaf you want - and other such problems with perishables then go ahead.

My advice would be to avoid perishables with grocery deliveries as they were just too unreliable for us when we tried it. They don't check the date (indeed a cynic might say they deliberately offload their old stock on the delivery round ) and they just substitute other things (without asking you) if they don't have them.

Plus every now and then, they don't deliver something small and to get a refund you have to phone an 0845 number that cost more to call than the refund is worth (I didn't play that game - email and phone calls to their warehouse landline did for me).


You can tell I was impressed huh?


Oh and they will deliver bruised fruit too.

I wouldn't have a supermarket deliver my groceries, simply for those reasons you give Orcus. However we're trying out Abel & Cole and their veg boxes. So far I'm very impressed. It doesn't look much when you open it, but it seems to be worked out well to avoid waste and it was incredibly fresh veg.

I've been told by people who work for the supermarkets that they do intentionally put the dodgy stuff on deliveries because, as Orcus said, people tend not to complain.

One of the things I like about deliveries is that you can do them for someone else: for the past few years I've ordered deliveries for my aunt over Christmas - she tends to go overboard buying presents for other people and leaving herself short - and I love the fact that from my living room in Leeds, I can make sure my aunt in Liverpool is well-fed over Christmas.

I live on my own and I've got two supermarkets within a 15 minute walk and two megastores within 30 minutes so I only do deliveries if I'm ill and can't get out the shops. Don't tip the driver.

Just to give the opposite side of the argument I ferequently do deliveries and never have any of these problems.

Perishables are always fine and have decent dates (I always check) and bread is always nice and fresh.

I personally couldn't recommend it highly enough. Plus I can do my weekly grocery shop whilst having a turnout at work. Boom!

FB

>>I've been told by people who work for the supermarkets that they do intentionally put the dodgy stuff on deliveries because, as Orcus said, people tend not to complain.<<

Yeah, we didn't complain, we just stopped doing it. That works for them then

They did ask why we stopped though and they got told straight. Maybe they've upped their game since then. I don't really trust it now though.

Don't tip. Antequated practice and it doesn't encourage employers to pay properly pretending that tips form part of a salary.

Who are you tipping in a resauant? Who gets the cash? There are places where tips are centralised and distributed amongst staff and places where it is banked by the business.

Who do you tip? Waiter in a posh restaurant? Counter staff in a Greasy Joe's? Costa's? Greggs? Tesco cafe? We compliment the chef but put cash in the hand of the person who carried your meal from the kitchen to your table. I suspect that the chef would rather have a fiver than a compliment.

So if you tip your grocery delivery person (who didn't pack it in the first place), do you tip the person who delivers the home gym that you bought from ebay? The person who delivers the free paper (that you don't want).

Do you tip the mechanic who fixes your car? The taxi driver? We seem to tip coach drivers but not bus drivers. Why?

It's a minefield. Don't step in it.

Does anybody tip YOU?

PP.

"Does anybody tip YOU?"

People used to when I ran pubs yes.

I've been working in corporate IT for over 25 years and I've never received a tip, but it's only now that I've felt aggrieved by it

I used to get irritated by people buying me drinks when I was a barperson, which people did a lot, although by people, I mainly mean men thinking back. Do women buy drinks for bar people? I never have. Anyway, I was 18 or 19 and driving home. I have never held my beer that well. Just give me the damn money, or at least, do not get offended when I suggest you get me a Snickers instead. People didn't really like it, I found, if you just took the money. *sigh*

I must say that I do look askance at the tip pot in Costas and such, although perhaps that's because I am not a regular, but I do tip the wait staff, the hairdresser and taxi drivers.