It is quite a common scenario in my area to ask for extra tip beforehand through the phone by a delivery boy. Yes, I know it sounds strange but thats how they work. Suppose you have ordered an online item and the delivery man calls you to confirm your address, he will add that please give me $$ extra. Out of courtesy, I feel bound to give out a tip. How do you deal with this?
Well I do not live in a country that has that practice, but since I rarely order online now, then I will just feel compelled to give him a tip. It doesn't really have to be a big tip, but if he complains then the problem is with him already, not with me and he should learn to appreciate what people give him and not to demand things.
I also must go through a similar situation as most delivery men here earn most of their money from tips. They don't ask directly by phone but they do stand at our door until we eventually give them their tip. Even the the guys who come pick up the trash ask for tips even though they already get their pay. Since work is so low now most people ask for tip almost anywhere. That's how most survive here and I can relate.
It depends entirely on what is correct for local practice. If the delivery personal us properly salaried tips are probably not only not needed, but not allowed. For a conventional courier service or salaried service (e.g. Lowes) accepting a tip is a firing offense. For a independent store (e.g. furniture store with in house delivery service), company delivery (e.g. restaurant or pizza), moving company, or delivery person on a very low salary (e.g. Peapod) tipping is appropriate. Basically it is a matter of whether their salaried pay is nil or too low to be a reasonable wage. Sometimes it is hard to work out so I google it or ask the head office. If they say tipping is "permitted" that generally means their workers require tips to get a decent wage.
If it's true that you gave the tip beforehand online, then you should mention it to the delivery person because if there is one type these people hate are poor or non-existent tippers. Of course, I'm sure the pizza person would probably not spit on a poor tippers food but you cannot always be sure. There has been reports on the net about employees doing nasty things to the food of people they don't like.
Strange! Private businesses are always up to making their services better for the customers. Taking that into account, this is something unexpected. In this way, they might lose a valued customer. No delivery boy, coming from private businesses, has ever asked for a penny from us so far. However, people who deliver from government agencies do ask (demand) for tips. The postmen or the govt. courier delivery people fall under this category. If you deny to pay, they even threaten not to deliver your stuffs, the next time.
I haven't gotten calls from delivery boys asking for a tip before they finally bring my order. It's out of place for those boys to demand or ask for tips before actually doing the delivery. They shouldn't make a tip looks a mandatory thing. Again to what extent can I trust these boys with my order if they can be so bold to ask for a tip even before bringing my actual items.
