Endpoint of delivery charges vary at area eateries

Sarah Hadley, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa

By Sarah Hadley, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

June 01--WATERLOO -- Food delivery drivers are losing out when it comes to set company fees for delivery.

Area restaurant managers and delivery people say tips are sometimes being overlooked as customers misunderstand delivery fees -- the majority of which do not go to drivers.

"Some people won't tip based on the fact that they're already paying a delivery fee," Scott Wheeler, shift lead at Marco's Pizza, said. "They feel that's a tip already."

But Michael Harrison, Cedar Valley area manager for Jimmy John's sandwiches, said very little of the fee goes to his drivers. Instead, the extra 60 cents per sandwich helps pay for delivery bags and car toppers.

Tony's Pizzaria in Cedar Falls gives none of its two dollar fee to drivers.

General Manager Jocelyn Williams said the extra charge is used to offset gas, insurance and maintenance costs of company delivery vehicles.

Williams said most customers tip on top of this anyway. "Most of our guests know that that does not go to the driver," she said.

But not every driver is so lucky.

Over the last three years, Mitch Bruegge has used his own car to deliver Jimmy John's sandwiches to residents in Coralville, North Liberty and now Waterloo.

"Some people assume that I get that [fee] plus tip," he said Tuesday just after he returned to the restaurant from a round of deliveries.

In reality, he relies on tips to pay for gas.

By 2 p.m. Tuesday, Bruegge, a photography student at Hawkeye Community College, was able to say everyone had tipped him so far that day.

Days like that are rare.

An employee at Pizza Hut on Laporte Road in Waterloo, said when he used to deliver pizzas for the company, he would only get a tip about 50 percent of the time. The man refused to give his name for fear of putting his job in jeopardy. Pizza Hut's fee of $2.49 goes to things like hot pouches and GPS software.

Bruegge said missing out on tips is frustrating.

"But I always act nice because 90 percent of the time you return to the same customers," he said.

Customers are more likely to ask about the fee on bigger orders, according to Bruegge. In that case, he said, "I let them know that I really get nothing out of that."

Mama Nick's in Waterloo has been delivering pizzas to area doorsteps since the pizzeria opened in 1962.

"We try to keep it hot and keep them happy; that's the only way you can do it," longtime owner George Nicholas said.

That hot and happy service costs customers $3.50 per order. Unlike other eateries, though, most of it does go to drivers -- all but 50 cents. Mama Nick's drivers also get tips from customers, but the drivers say the gratuities haven't been very good lately.

East China's one and only delivery man gets all of its fee. The Chinese restaurant, located on Logan Ave. in Waterloo, charges based on delivery distance. Manager Jennie You said she thinks it's normal to pay him the fee to cover gas on his own vehicle.

"I give it to him every night," You said. "We total how many he delivered."

Like most places, You has always charged a delivery fee. But she has been forced to double it over the 10 years or so that she has owned East China, due to higher gas prices.

When Williams isn't running Tony's, she said, she doesn't mind paying for a delivery fee. "You know it doesn't bother me when I see it because it's saving me the time of getting in my car," she said.

Most eateries with an online order option will show its delivery charge, but almost none show where that money goes.

In small print at the bottom of Domino's webpage, visitors will find a message that reads: "Any Delivery Charge is not a tip paid to your driver. Please reward your driver for awesomeness."

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Visit Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (Waterloo, Iowa) at www.wcfcourier.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services

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