‘Blows my mind’: Woman gives DoorDash driver a 20% tip. Then says she was blasted for tipping ‘not enough’
20% isn't enough anymore...
Tipping culture in the U.S. has sparked ongoing debate, with opinions split on what’s considered appropriate. While a 20% tip has become the recommended norm in recent years, one woman was left questioning what the standard really should be after a DoorDash driver allegedly expressed their frustration with the tip amount.
“My DoorDash driver just got on to me saying I didn’t tip enough. This is— tell me if I’m in the wrong here,” Nicole (@nicolebreaksitdown) said in a video, which has since gotten more than 333,100 views on TikTok. According to Nicole, she met with the DoorDash driver outside when they pulled into the driveway and gave them a friendly greeting, only for the driver to immediately question her about the tip when they arrived.
“I go, ‘Hi,’ and she immediately looks at me and says, ‘How much did you tip?’” Nicole recalled. Nicole was caught off guard, but said she usually clicks the 20% tip button when she makes an order. However, the driver wanted the exact amount she tipped. “No, not percentage. How much did you tip?” the driver said, according to Nicole.
A $20 DoorDash tip allegedly wasn’t enough
When Nicole told the driver she wasn’t sure what the exact amount was, the driver allegedly checked their DoorDash app and saw the tip was $6. Nicole confirmed that the amount was 20% of her order’s total and asked the driver if she had a problem receiving the tip. “She said, ‘That is not enough,’” Nicole said. “I’m sorry. I thought you just click the percentage of your order and that’s what you tip. What?”
For the driver, however, the amount was seemingly inadequate based on how far they traveled to deliver Nicole’s order. “You got me driving out here, and that’s all you tip? You should tip more,” the driver allegedly said. Nicole told the driver that she wasn’t going to get her wallet, and decided to end the confrontation by telling them to “have a good day” before going back inside her home.
Recalling the entire incident, Nicole said she didn’t “know how to process” the interaction. She said she is aware of the tipping culture in the U.S. and how “out of control” it has become in recent years, but wondered if she was in the wrong for only tipping 20%. “Am I really in the wrong here? Are you supposed to be tipping more than 20% of your order for your DoorDash driver?” she asked viewers. “This whole thing just blows my mind.”
Viewers assured Nicole that 20% is usually the average when giving a tip. A viewer who claimed to be a DoorDash driver chimed in, saying, “I’ve been a DoorDash driver before and six dollars is an average tip. I don’t think you did anything wrong.” Another added, “Unless you’re ordering groceries I feel that’s fair. I’m not paying DoorDash $10 for a $10 meal plus taxes and fees.”
Drivers usually expect a 15% to 20% tip
Others felt the driver crossed a boundary. “You remove the tip. Report her for harassment and block her,” a viewer wrote. Some believe this was the driver’s own fault for taking the order, saying, “If she took the order that’s on her.” One viewer even shared how much they tip: “The max I’ve ever tipped on DoorDash etc is $3 hope this helps.”
While most of the viewers were on Nicole’s side, others gave the TikToker advice on how to calculate the amount of tip she should give in the future. “My rule of thumb when I’m getting deliveries from Walmart is $1 per mile + 20%. So if I order $100 of groceries and live 17 miles from the store I tip $37. I do this with door dash too,” a viewer said.
According to Business Insider, there are some aspects to consider when adding a tip for delivery drivers, such as the order amount and distance. Drivers expect a bigger tip when you’re ordering a large amount of food, and even more so if the distance is farther, considering the amount they need to safely transport and deliver.
The general consensus, however, is that drivers prefer to receive a tip somewhere between 15% and 20% of the total order. And if it’s above 20%? That’s even better for them. For now, we can’t tell if Nicole’s tip was reasonable, as she didn’t disclose how many she ordered or the distance the driver would need to travel to successfully deliver her order.
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