How much do I tip a Chinese food delivery guy?

Sometimes nothing sounds better than a night on the couch, watching the latest TV shows and eating hassle-free delivered Chinese food. Such an evening might be completely stress-free if it weren’t for the worry about how much to tip your delivery person. You might find your evening haunted by concern that you under-tipped, or you might find yourself regretting giving a large tip to a delivery person who was less than pleasant.

Decide on a base tip amount that you will offer even if it is a relatively high percentage of the bill. Tipping delivery people is slightly more complicated than tipping wait staff at a restaurant because using a fixed percentage rule is not quite as effective. If you only ordered egg rolls and rice for a total $5 of food to be delivered, a 15 percent tip would be a mere $0.75—which might make the driver regret the long trip to your place and back. As a rule of thumb, consider tipping $1.00 to $2.00 as a base amount which may vary based on other factors.

Raise the amount of the tip to be at least 10 percent of the total bill, if that is more than the base amount you chose. For example, if your bill was $40 and your base tip is $2, add another $2 for a $4 tip. Also raise the amount of the tip if there are added complications for the delivery person, such as a large number of bags or boxes to carry or several flights of stairs up to your apartment. Also consider providing a higher tip if your home is far from the restaurant.

Lower the tip amount if the delivery driver provided inadequate service. This might include being rude or surly at your door or calling you from the car to come pick up your food outside. Remember that delays are often the responsibility of the restaurant rather than the delivery driver, and tip accordingly.

Consider giving the driver a higher tip if you intend to order from that particular Chinese restaurant regularly. Consistently tipping well and building a rapport with the driver can persuade him to move you closer to the top of his delivery list, meaning your food will arrive sooner and hotter.

About the Author

Morgan O'Connor has been writing professionally since 2005. Her experience includes articles on various aspects of the health-insurance industry for health-care newsletters distributed to hospitals as well as articles on both international and domestic travel.

We all know how much you should tip a server in a restaurant—18 to 20 percent. But there's less clarity on how much to tip for food delivery. In a restaurant, waiters bring you your food, often offer witty banter, and can tell you which blend of white will go best with your swordfish. But what about for the people who are responsible for getting food to your door when you order in? Like a Grubhub or Seamless driver?

As a result of the pandemic, our reliance on food delivery drivers has skyrocketed. When DoorDash filed for an IPO last month, the company reported almost 2 billion dollars in revenue over the course of nine months. Unsurprisingly when much of the country was on lockdown, coping (while also supporting local restaurants that were facing closure) came in the form of takeout. 

While they might not refill your water glass throughout your meal, they’re still always there to bring you a bagel in a snowstorm or a cocktail for your quarantine party of one.

So do the restaurant rules still apply when your food is brought to your door, not the table? Absolutely. Glamour spoke with Grubhub drivers across the country for their recommendations. Read on for their best delivery-service tipping advice. 

How Much Grubhub Delivery Drivers Actually Earn

Unlike waiters, most of these delivery workers aren’t paid by the restaurants outright. They’re paid by Grubhub—and it’s not based on the size or price of the order. “Grubhub has a $3.50 base [depending on location], plus mileage, any bonuses they’re offering, and tip,” says Curtis, who delivers for Grubhub in Denver. While actual fees can vary based on the city or state you drive in, an anonymous driver in Rochester, New York, shared that he gets paid 50 cents a mile. But it’s important to note, he says, that “we don’t get paid from where we are to the restaurant. We only get paid from where we are to the diner, so we can drive up to 20 minutes sometimes to pick up the food that we’re not getting paid for.”

But how do tips factor in? Because Grubhub actually accounts for tips in their payment algorithm, they matter a lot. For John William, a driver in Pennsylvania, “about 50 percent of my weekly earnings is from my tips.” So when you go to tip your delivery driver, remember that it’s a huge portion of their overall pay.

They Have Fees You’d Never Think Of

Grubhub drivers don’t simply walk away with the full fee they’re earning. Much like those working for ride-share companies, the majority of a Grubhub driver's work is done in their own car. So a portion of their paycheck goes back to gas and overall maintenance on their vehicle. Curtis in Denver estimates that he puts 12 percent of his paycheck back into his truck on things like “new tires, oil changes—which can cost up to $25—or needing to have my brakes redone.” And that's without gas, which can cost upwards of $50 a week, depending the car.

Why It Pays to Tip

Something you might not know about Grubhub is that drivers can actually see just how much you’re tipping—before they accept your delivery request. “If you’re only tipping something like 10 or 40 cents, there are drivers who will open that order, see it, and reject it,” Curtis says. “It will get bounced over to another driver until somebody is willing to deliver it. Some drivers will even purposely hold the order before they reassign it.” The Rochester driver has heard similar stories. “I’ve gotten orders that are already an hour late because they’ve gone through so many drivers who don’t want to pick it up because it wasn’t worth it. Or the order will just get canceled,” he explains. So if you want your food before it turns cold, tip generously. 

What You Should Be Tipping

For the majority of orders, when it comes to how much to tip for food delivery, you should be adding at least 20 percent onto the total tab. Curtis advises, “If it’s a large order, and I’m going to a place like Outback Steakhouse and picking up $100 worth of food, 20 percent would be nice.” But a lot of the orders he delivers are from fast-food places, with a much smaller price tag. "Twenty percent on a Taco Bell delivery would be less than $2, so for smaller orders, around a $3 tip or so would be what I’d expect." Also, if you live in a major city, not all delivery people drive—many bike or walk. So if the weather is atrocious or your order is a far distance to deliver, you should really consider giving more than the standard 20 percent, especially during a pandemic. 

It's worth noting that many apps have 15 percent set as the default tipping amount, so always go above. The more of a convenience it is for you should mean more of a tip for them.

Another thing to keep in mind is that if you're going to tip in cash—which is totally acceptable—make sure to write it in the notes. "[Grubhub users] think they can give a cash tip, but if we're not told and just see we're not getting the tip, we won't do the order," the Rochester driver says.

Just because they're not waiting on you for the duration of the meal doesn't mean they're not doing a similar service, so tip them as you would any other waiter—they deserve it.

This story is part of Glamour's guide to tipping. Tips are approximate and based on varying factors. Learn more about how much to give in this seven-part series.

Photos: Stocksy

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