Cough It Up, Cheapskate!

Before you stiff the delivery guy again, here are some facts and items to consider:

Well, it turns out that we’re less generous at work than we are at home. Reportedly, while the average tip in the evening is from $3-$4, the average amount for a lunch delivery runs around $1-$2. Yep, that’s right, even on larger meals — or group orders that swell to $40 or more — we still only give two stinking bucks. Yeah, a few dig through pockets and wallets for change and give odd amounts, like $1.35 or $1.62, the delivery guys admitted. But it never reached the larger amounts of dinner.

At night, we tend to round off to a dollar amount. Here’s something to think about the next time you charge a meal: Although it’s illegal, a number of restaurants engage in the practice of deducting the credit card processing fee from a delivery guy’s tip (generally 2 to 3 percent of the sale). So, try to make those tips in cash.

Many of the guys told me that they’re paid just $20 for a six- to seven-hour shift (below the legally mandated minimum wage requirement), and average about $45 a night in tips. (Think about that the next time you fork over your change to those college kids at Starbucks who rack it up for just doing their cashier job — as well as getting paid above the minimum wage.) When I asked if they receive better tips during bad weather, Luis, who works in an Italian restaurant in the Village frowned and said, “Some people do tip more for bad weather, but not everyone. I don’t think they understand it’s hard to deliver food in the cold and when it rains. And even worse on bicycle. Nobody likes to go out in the rain or cold. Especially for many hours and carrying bags.”

. . .

They all agree that men are generally more generous than women, and that people who live in elevator buildings tend to tip more than those who live in walk-ups. One fellow said that he walked 10 blocks in the snow, then up three flights of stairs, and will often only get a dollar. Interestingly, they all claimed that they frequently get better tips from those who live within just a few blocks of the restaurant, over those who are further away.

Perhaps we should consider some kind of fair trade designation for the restaurant industry because it’s not only the hole-in-the-wall restaurants who mistreat delivery guys:

Ji D. You, a delivery man for the popular noodle eatery Republic, works 12-hour days, six days a week, and earns roughly $2.40 an hour without receiving overtime.

Though he’s been working this way for more than two years, You, along with seven other deliverymen, decided to take legal action — just as workers at Saigon Grill, Ollie’s Noodle Shop and Grill and Our Place have done recently.

They filed a federal lawsuit yesterday against Republic, alleging wage violations.

. . .

[Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund legal director Kenneth Kimmerling] also alleged Republic kept false records of workers’ hours, underreporting them so it looked like the men were being paid minimum wage. They should earn $4.85 an hour, plus overtime before tips. “It’s not uncommon for anyone who violates minimum wage violation to keep records that are untrue,” Kimmerling added.

You complained of other substandard working conditions, such as having one restroom for roughly 70 employees, and, You said, if workers are caught in the patrons’ restroom, they’re fired.

“We often have no time to eat,” he said through a translator. “The place where we eat or wait for deliveries is in the basement storage room where the air circulation and ventilation is not good. The manager makes us hurry: Go, go, fast, fast.”

Republic declined to comment.