by Michael Morini

Created on: March 05, 2007   Last Updated: May 04, 2007

It is not my place to tell you how or when to tip. It is also not my place to tell you how much to tip, that I will leave up to your judgment and hope that you do what you can.

First off with a pizza delivery boy the stereotype is that a pimply faced boy will whisk your pizza to you in under thirty minuets. In most cases this is not so. I have ordered many pizzas in my time and for the most part my delivery boys had not been boys for some time. They dont get paid much and nine times out of ten they are doing this job because they are desperately trying to support their selves and in some cases their entire family. How many mouths will your $2 tip feed?

Second, you have no idea what kind of person your delivery boy is. He may be a kind hearted soul that wouldn't hurt a fly...on the other hand he could be a low life with no qua-ms about putting crushed glass in your food next time you order because you stiffed him on his tip. What is more when the delivery boys get together they talk, if you don't tip well you will at lest become low priority, at worst you will have some foul things happen to your food.

Third, there are inherent risks in delivering food to strangers. For all the delivery boy knows you could rob him or do any number of misdeeds to him when he knocks on your door. A good tip is a nice way of saying "thanks for doing what you do." Also keep in mind that he is getting your food to you as fast as possible. He is risking life and limb to drive your food to you, not to mention a speeding ticket. Chances are you have ordered food because it was nasty outside so why not give your hero a reward?

What it all boils down to is that you should just tip as much as you can. Its not a matter of how much you should give, its a matter of how much you CAN give. If a delivery boy sees that you live in a dump and have eight kids getting one slice of pizza each, he is going to be happy with the 50 cent tip he gets. On the other side of that if you are well off you should give the guy as much as you can afford to. Ross Perot once tipped a waitress $100,000 that shows his character. What do your tips say about you?

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