Watching a DoorDasher deliver 75 Little Caesar’s pizzas to hungry North Carolina customers is a “wait-for-it” moment. Is this a prank, a mistake, or a last-minute party? And with over 7 million views of her TikTok, the real suspense is: What’s that tip going to be?
The view from inside Heather Wilber’s (@heather.wilber3) car is like something out of “The Simpsons.” There are stacks and stacks of Little Caesar’s pizza boxes covering the entire backseat, and they almost reach the ceiling of the vehicle. A separate pile of boxes rides shotgun. In other words: Lots of work went into transporting these pies.
“When you’re out doing DoorDash for the day, and this is your order… 75 pizzas, 155 items. Let’s see what my tip’s going to be,” says the TikToker with a knowing look to the camera. She understands this might be a bunch of legwork for little to no reward.
Are People Still Tipping?
According to a September article in Newsweek, Americans are still tipping more than they did prior to the COVID pandemic. This is true, even amid the so-called “tip fatigue” many Americans are experiencing. Many are sick and tired of being asked to tip just about everywhere—and for everything. Consumers have reported being asked for tips at unconventional places, like fast-food drive-thrus, USPS, and water fountains.
However, the tides may be changing as tip percentage numbers are reportedly dropping. Generation Z has been especially resistant to rewarding bad or rude service. “74 percent of respondents, aged 18-27, admitted to walking out without tipping due to unsatisfactory service, the highest percentage among all age groups,” Newsweek reports.
There’s also a surprising amount of support for the “tipping is optional” position in the comments of Wilber’s video.
“I don’t believe in tipping,” one viewer said.
Another agreed, writing, “Because tips are optional, not required! Hope this helps.”
However, if there is a right time to tip, many agree it’s probably for a demanding DoorDash order, where the driver themself has to lift a heavy item or many of them—like in Wilber’s case.
One viewer argued on behalf of the driver, saying, “You realize DoorDash doesn’t pay its employees by the hour but by the order? And for every order the dasher only gets 2-4 dollars so if the customer does not tip they basically made nothing? Use ur brain.”
DoorDashers Cherry Picking?
The way that DoorDash works is that there’s a base pay, the customer-provided tip, and sometimes company incentives (Peak Pay, Challenges, and Delivery Streaks).
Also, the Dasher is free to accept or ignore an order—a phenomenon called cherry picking. “[C]herry-pickers exercise their freedom as independent contractors to choose the most profitable dashes. This way, they aim to maximize their hourly pay while reducing time spent on low-paying orders,” writes Trista Polo in a Medium article.
But this can also backfire, as those who cherry-pick might get fewer opportunities to earn. It’s a bit of a balancing act, especially if the algorithm catches on.
What’s The Right Thing To Do?
In general, the consensus seems to be to tip at least 20% on services “like restaurants and bars, hair and nail salons, and other establishments like that whose workers depend on tips.”
However, when it comes to tipping for things like a carload of Little Caesar’s, delivery drivers in New York City suggest “that a reasonable tip falls somewhere between 15% to 20% of the total bill — and that percentage should be calculated on the grand total that includes taxes and fees,” reported Business Insider.
The customer, when deciding how much to tip, should also take into consideration distance, order size, and weather.
In the end, Wilber scored a total of $96. She says she got $10 paid to her by DoorDash and an $86 tip from the happy customer.
So while technically optional, the customer clearly recognized the effort and paid accordingly. Not bad for a four-mile drive.
BroBible reached out to @heather.wilber3 via TikTok direct message and comment, to Little Caesar’s via email, and DoorDash via email. We’ll update this if they respond.