Is it just me, or has today's tipping culture gone a tad overboard? I'm a child of the service industry, and I made my living on tips from bartending and waiting tables in college, so let me be clear that I'm all about the practice - when it's appropriate and called for. Being asked to leave a tip for a bottle of OJ and an US Weekly at an airport kiosk self-checkout - when the closest thing I had to human interaction was getting pushed out of the way by a self-important C-suite-type taking his 9 a.m. Zoom call on speaker phone - is bananas. I helped myself to what I wanted and subsequently paid for it with no assistance. Who am I tipping in this scenario?? The fatigue is real.
Interestingly, it seems that one national pizza chain is picking up on growing consumer frustration with overzealous outlets pressuring customers (or is it preying on those who don't know any better?) for extra dinero. Ever the savvy marketing machine, Domino's is rewarding customers who tip their drivers $3 or more with a sweet $3 coupon for their next order.
"These days, everywhere you go, there's a tip screen," said Kate Trumbull, Domino's senior vice president and chief brand officer, in a statement. "The pressure to tip is real, even when no extra service is provided. So, we decided to flip the script and show our appreciation by tipping customers back."
In our house, tipping delivery drivers has always been a thing, and pizza dudes (or dudettes) are the O.G.s of delivery - so it's extra interesting to me that a pizza company is stepping up to provide some relief.
This promotion might stir the pot on the hot-button issue of worker wages. Food service workers have been making headlines, especially with California's new $20 minimum wage for fast-food employees. Domino's drivers, however, don't fall neatly into that category. Their pay varies by location, with some Reddit sleuths reporting hourly wages between $3 and $15 (plus tips and mileage, which can vary greatly).
There's also a debate as to whether or not Domino's qualifies as "fast food." They lack the classic drive-thru experience, and their pizzas are made fresh (no anchovies on your Hawaiian unless you order it that way). Regardless of the fast-food label, one thing's for sure: Domino's is the reigning champ of pizza chains worldwide. Domino's new tip-and-be-tipped deal starts April 29.