Peapod Delivery Guy Wants a Tip

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP sounds like a stingy cheapskate to me.

I am. That's why I use Peapod.

It's funny how people on this board think that since I get groceries delivered I have wads of cash laying around to tip the delivery person on top of fee. I don't . And since I get Peapod I have to sacrifice other things. I think I already pay a lot for the privilege and it could actually be that the delivery guy has more disposable income than I do.

That is your CHOICE! Supply and demand dictates you've found this to be worth it. It's not a privilege, it's a service.

[Anonymous]

i make a lot less than my peapod driver and still manage to give him a $5 tip. there are no grocery stores in walking distance and i do not have a car. i order 2 weeks at a time so the delivery cost is $7. so for the delivery charge and tip adds up to around the same cost as taking the bus. anyone who has ever tried hauling groceries on a bus can tell you it sucks! peapod is not a service for just rich people. with careful planning us poor folk can also indulge.

[Anonymous]

This is. Why I don't do delivery, even with a baby. I understand a delivery fee, and I understand the driver doesn't receive that. But then I have to tip on top of the delivery fee? It feels obnoxious to me. Like a PP said, why do we have to tip for every little thing in this country? Why does everyone expect a tip for showing up to work sober? As a business, Peapod should factor delivery fees (trucks, gas, labor) into the cost of the groceries. They do for everything else - they already factor in the cost of packaging produce, fish, cutting meat, etc into grocery costs. So why not delivery? It just feels like another surcharge they can get away with, like the airlines.

[Anonymous]

Why not a cheap flask of whisky? It'll make the trip back to the warehouse merrier and maybe keep him warm on the way. Won't cost but a few dollar.

[Anonymous]

That gave me a few chuckles, so thanks.

Lots of people seem to be at sea about the notion of tipping for grocery delivery, or threads like these wouldn't exist. So perhaps a driver mentioning what is typical for future reference isn't a horrible idea- I suppose it depends on how the suggestion was delivered.

Peapod saves me time shopping, and that's worth the delivery fee to me. But the drivers are the ones dealing head-on with rain/sleet/snow/humidity, parking, slow elevators, heavy boxes of cat litter, etc. That's worth a tip to me, usually $10. And every last one has been more than worth it, in my opinion. Even before they knew they were getting a tip!

Side note: I used to call cabs just about every morning, then found a regular driver. I was glad to have someone showing up without me waiting anywhere from 15-45 minutes. Because of that, I regularly paid him $20 on an $11-12 fare, using my debit card. He began complaining about how the company took 5% to process card payments. $1 of my daily $20 payment, still leaving him with a reliable fare and a 60% tip, five days a week. I "lost" his cell phone number after a couple of weeks of that nonsense.

Moral: Some people are just jerks. If you got one of those, I'd expect you to act accordingly... but not make a blanket decision not to tip the delivery people on that basis.

[Anonymous]

Price of the food? Is it higher than buying at the store yourself?

[Anonymous]

How about tipping them with back issues of certain "sought after" men magazines?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Do you think he would take a check? What if I don't have any cash or change?

Wow. I always give at least 10 percent of my bill which is usually around $15-$20. This is hard work! You can add the tip to the statement you sign. There is a place for it, but drivers prefer cash. How can people not tip these guys? They are working their asses off!

[Anonymous]

People don't tip these guys because they've never done back-breaking service work themselves.

See the many threads in which pampered housewives compare housekeeper rates and then complain that they're being overcharged. I doubt their delicate, manicured hands have ever scrubbed someone else's sh*t off a toilet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:By the way, next time you open your mouth and say "Please put the bags on the counter."

I don't have enough counter space for him to put all the bags on the counter. It would have been nice if he would have showed me which of the bags had the eggs in it. But his job isn't really to provide this type of service, it's to take my groceries from his truck to my kitchen. What about the lowly paid workers who filled my order and lovingly put my Romaine lettuce heads in separate bags. Shouldn't he or she get a cut of this gratitude?

How is your solution -- tipping no one -- helpful to them?

It doesn't help them. My point is that I don't understand why the Peapod delivery guy who is just one person in the chain of people involved in getting me my peapod order the one who gets the tip. I understand why I tip the pizza delivery guy - he's using his own car plus the delivery is free. I tip people at the salon because they give me special, personalized service and I want them to continue giving me this service. I tip the cab driver so if he sees me hailing a cab again he might be more likely to pick me up. I tip the waitress because I know she or he survives and depends on tips. I don't see how any of this fits with the rationale of tipping the Peapod delivery guy. The rationale here seems to be that I should tip him out of pity.

All right then. If you want to be utilitarian about this, then think of your delivery guy the same way as you think of the salon worker or the taxi driver. Tip your delivery guy so that he won't rub his privates on your vegetables next time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is. Why I don't do delivery, even with a baby. I understand a delivery fee, and I understand the driver doesn't receive that. But then I have to tip on top of the delivery fee? It feels obnoxious to me. Like a PP said, why do we have to tip for every little thing in this country? Why does everyone expect a tip for showing up to work sober? As a business, Peapod should factor delivery fees (trucks, gas, labor) into the cost of the groceries. They do for everything else - they already factor in the cost of packaging produce, fish, cutting meat, etc into grocery costs. So why not delivery? It just feels like another surcharge they can get away with, like the airlines.

Well said!

[Anonymous]

Just a comment regarding tips for peapod drivers.......my husband is a peapod delivery driver as his second job. He works all day then goes to peapod from 3pm to whenever he finishes usually 10:30-11AM or later if bad weather or homeowners not home & he has to wait. He carries hundreds of lbs of bags each night at approx $200-$500 orders thru all kinds of weather. It's backbreaking work for those of you who don't know what it entails. The job pays approx minimum wage. He drives for hours, delivers approx $200- $500 worth of groceries which consist of 12-20 bags and cases of drinks/pet food, etc. Sometimes no one is home at the slotted time and he has to make numerous phone calls to find and wait for owner, or he has to haul 12-20 bags up several floors not once but six times, or make several trips up a mile long driveway. He delivers with a smile and greeting, never complains, but some people don't tip. Why would anyone order $500 groceries, have it delivered into their home and not thank someone for their hard work with a few dollars is beyond me, but anybody complaining on here about a few dollars for a tip after spending $100's for food is just plain inconsiderate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just a comment regarding tips for peapod drivers.......my husband is a peapod delivery driver as his second job. He works all day then goes to peapod from 3pm to whenever he finishes usually 10:30-11PM or later if bad weather or homeowners not home & he has to wait. He carries hundreds of lbs of bags each night at approx $200-$500 orders thru all kinds of weather. It's backbreaking work for those of you who don't know what it entails. The job pays approx minimum wage. He drives for hours, delivers approx $200- $500 worth of groceries which consist of 12-20 bags and cases of drinks/pet food, etc. Sometimes no one is home at the slotted time and he has to make numerous phone calls to find and wait for owner, or he has to haul 12-20 bags up several floors not once but six times, or make several trips up a mile long driveway. He delivers with a smile and greeting, never complains, but some people don't tip. Why would anyone order $500 groceries, have it delivered into their home and not thank someone for their hard work with a few dollars is beyond me, but anybody complaining on here about a few dollars for a tip after spending $100's for food is just plain inconsiderate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just a comment regarding tips for peapod drivers.......my husband is a peapod delivery driver as his second job. He works all day then goes to peapod from 3pm to whenever he finishes usually 10:30-11AM or later if bad weather or homeowners not home & he has to wait. He carries hundreds of lbs of bags each night at approx $200-$500 orders thru all kinds of weather. It's backbreaking work for those of you who don't know what it entails. The job pays approx minimum wage. He drives for hours, delivers approx $200- $500 worth of groceries which consist of 12-20 bags and cases of drinks/pet food, etc. Sometimes no one is home at the slotted time and he has to make numerous phone calls to find and wait for owner, or he has to haul 12-20 bags up several floors not once but six times, or make several trips up a mile long driveway. He delivers with a smile and greeting, never complains, but some people don't tip. Why would anyone order $500 groceries, have it delivered into their home and not thank someone for their hard work with a few dollars is beyond me, but anybody complaining on here about a few dollars for a tip after spending $100's for food is just plain inconsiderate.

I'm sorry but I think you are exaggerating. If you are not home when Peapod arrives during your delivery window, you get charged a fee, and you don't get your groceries. The driver doesn't wait around for you or try to find you. And why would he have to walk up a mile long driveway? Wouldn't he just drive the truck up to where the house is?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we first started using Peapod, I went to tip on the form and he said he would prefer it in cash, I just stared at him. Obviously this was an end run around taxes - or Peapod divvies up the tips (doubtful) and gives it to them (minus taxes) at the end of the month. That's why he wanted unreported cash. But I didn't like being told HOW to tip and called the company. They said Peapod delivery men should not be asking for tips at all. It's already taken care of in the price of the food and the service charge.

Not always. In some cases, tips that come in on the credit card get distributed to all of the drivers or sometimes to a wider pool. So, if you tip $5 cash, he gets $5. If you tip $5 on the credit slip, he may only get a dollar or two out of that. Don't always assume the worst. Some of you are such negative people. Why is it so hard to just be nice and hand the guy a couple of dollars. Stop being so condescending to the lower class people that serve you.

NP. Honestly this is all so confusing, I wish the credit card tip distribution was more transparent. It's easier to just add on the slip than fish around for a few bucks.

My salon now has an option to add tips to the credit card receipt, whereas they previously only accepted cash. Which again, is easier, but I always tipped both my washer and stylist- not sure if the tip on the receipt would just go to the stylist?