Can DoorDash See What You Tip Before Delivery?

Tipping isn’t mandatory, but it’s a part of the western culture. It’s a way to show appreciation and that you’re happy with the service, and most people include it in their budget when eating out. A 15-20% tip is standard, depending on where you eat.

Ordering food via apps is becoming more and more popular, but if you’re eating at home, it doesn’t mean your delivery guy doesn’t deserve a tip. The amount of money you leave them may affect your future deliveries – that is, if your Dasher can see how generous you were.

Will a Dasher Know How Much You Tipped?

DoorDash gives you two options when it comes to tipping the driver. One way to do it is to give them cash upon delivery, which is also a safer way. You’re sure that 100% of the tip is going to the driver, and DoorDash won’t know how much you gave them. Also, most drivers appreciate cash tips more than those that go through the app. By tipping in cash, you make sure that no Dasher will ever refuse to deliver your order.

The other way is to place a tip through the app, either at checkout or after the delivery. Not so long ago, DoorDash drivers couldn’t see how big was the tip you left them if you chose to do it through the app. However, Doordash’s tipping policy changed and became more transparent. The Dasher can now see your tip before they accept the order. That is, of course, if you’ve chosen to place a tip at the checkout. A bigger tip will make them more likely to accept to deliver to you.

How DoorDash Tips Worked Before

There has been some controversy in the past regarding tipping through the app. You could add your tip at the checkout or after the driver delivers your order. However, drivers claimed DoorDash was “stealing” their tips. How did this happen?

Each driver could earn up to $10 per delivery. DoorDash gave them the base pay of $1 for each delivery. In case the customer didn’t leave any tips, DoorDash would cover the remaining $9 to reach the guaranteed minimum for the driver.

However, when the customer tipped, DoorDash added the tip to the base pay and covered the rest. For example, if a driver got a $4 tip, DoorDash would add this to the $1 base pay and then add the remaining $5. That practically meant customers were helping DoorDash cover for less, and not tipping the drivers.

That’s why some customers didn’t feel comfortable tipping via the app, especially if their Dasher was particularly nice or the delivery was super fast.

How to Add a Tip on DoorDash

Say you don’t have any cash or simply prefer to place a tip within the app. You can choose to add the tip before tapping the Place Order button, or after your food has been delivered.

Note that your choice can affect how fast your order will be delivered. If you add a large tip, you won’t need to wait for too long until a Dasher accepts your order, and they’ll probably make sure to deliver it as soon as possible.

The standard tip is 15% of the total amount, but you can modify the amount as you deem appropriate. Don’t feel obligated to add a tip if you weren’t happy with the service.

If you’d like to add a tip after the delivery, you can complete a form on the official DoorDash website.

What Other Fees Do I Pay?

Other than the menu items you want to order, and the driver’s tip, what else is a part of the total cost of your food delivery? You don’t need to worry about hidden fees because DoorDash keeps things pretty transparent. You can see the full price before you finalize the order.

The total amount of money you’re going to pay includes the food you’re ordering, the tip you’re able to modify according to your liking, the tax, and the delivery and service fee. These two fees depend on the restaurant you order from. Note that some restaurants set a minimum order value, so if your order is below that minimum, you might have to pay an additional fee.

The Tip Is a Matter of Culture

Waiters and delivery typically have a low base salary, and many of them rely on tips to earn a decent living. You’re not obligated to add a tip, especially if your experience was poor. However, it’s a nice thing to do and an excellent way to show you’re happy with the service.

Whether you’ll leave a tip or not is entirely up to you, but don’t forget that your Dasher can see if you’ve added one or not. In the future, they may refuse to deliver to you if they know that you don’t tip.

Do you use the DoorDash app? Do you regularly leave tips? Let us know in the comments section below.