Pizza Delivery Girl Drops Customer's Order In Puddle After He Refused To Tip Her
She was later fired, and some people believe that the customer's actions are to blame.
Luis Molinero, Fototaras / Shutterstock A man was left unnerved after an odd experience with a pizza delivery driver. After the driver’s placement of the pizza box made the pie inedible, the man called the restaurant to complain about the service he was provided and requested a new pizza.
The delivery driver was ultimately fired for her actions, although some people believe that her soiling the pizza was justified.
The delivery driver placed the pizza box in a puddle on the man’s front porch after he refused to tip her.
Sharing his story on the subreddit, r/AITA, the man started off by revealing that he was from the U.K. and tipping delivery drivers is not customary like it is in the U.S. That is why when he ordered a pizza to his house one evening, he was perplexed when the pizza delivery driver arrived, handed him his order, and continued to stand in front of him as if she was waiting for something else.
“It was a young girl (seemed like a university student as there are plenty of them working in local takeaways), she was American (her accent made it quite obvious),” the man wrote. Eventually, the girl left without the man giving her a tip.
The following day, he ordered pizza again from the same restaurant, and the same girl arrived to deliver it. “This time, she made a face when I opened the door and instead of handing me the pizza, she put it on the ground (which would be perfectly fine, contactless delivery is still a thing) but she clearly purposefully placed it in the only puddle that was near my door,” the man wrote.
Photo: Luis Molinero / Shutterstock
“On her way out, she made a comment (I don’t think I was supposed to hear that) and said, ‘That’s for not tipping.’”
The man claims that the water from the puddle soaked through the bottom of the box, completely ruining the pizza. He wound up calling the restaurant to place a new order.
The employee was later fired from the restaurant.
“I explained the situation and the owner told me that it wasn’t the first time this happened and that he’d deal with it,” the man wrote. “My neighbor told me that apparently she got fired.”
However, some people believed that terminating the employee for her reaction over not being tipped was a stretch. “I was telling this story to my friend and she told me I was an a–----e for complaining because the girl lost her job because of me,” the man shared.
He argues that it was not his fault that the employee was fired, considering she had done the same to other customers and he did not specifically ask for her to be terminated. “I didn’t demand her firing, I didn’t demand reprimand, nothing,” the man added. “I just explained the situation because, ultimately, my pizza was not delivered (inedible).”
Most people sided with the man, agreeing that the delivery driver dropping a pizza box in a puddle was unacceptable. They also believed that it was not his fault that the employee was fired.
“She got herself fired. Did you make her put your pizza in a puddle? Did you make her give poor service to other customers? Did you make her say things about not getting a tip? No? 100% not your fault,” one Redditor commented.
“I am pretty sure that her intentionally and spitefully ruining the food you paid for is what got her fired,” another user wrote. “As it turns out, employers think badly of people who destroy products just to be a brat.”
Others pointed out that even if the employee was from the U.S. where tipping delivery drivers is considered the norm, she was now living in a country where it isn' common.
“You live in a country where she is paid a living wage and not where tipping is her whole salary. She ruined your food and cost the business money and a negative community image,” one user noted. “Tipping is basically mandatory in the US. In the UK, not so much. The girl needs to understand where she lives now,” another user wrote.
Photo: New Africa / Shutterstock
Unlike the U.S., restaurant servers and take-out employees in the U.K. do not expect customers to tip because they are paid a decent living wage.
According to Talent.com, the average restaurant employee in the U.K. makes an average of $22.98 an hour in U.S. dollars. Whereas, in the U.S., the average restaurant employee earns only $14.30 an hour.
Therefore, American servers and takeout employees rely heavily on customer tips so that they can make a decent living. Tipping culture in the U.S. also makes it possible for employers to get out of paying their employees minimum wage.
"America is a country where they tip for everything, and always has been, with money being a key motivator [as tips are a key part of earnings]," etiquette coach William Hanson told BBC News. "Whereas Brits view a tip as having to be earned — something which is not a given. We would only give a tip if someone has given good service, or gone above and beyond what they would be expected to do for their salary."
While the pizza delivery driver may have been expecting a tip for her service, she also has to recognize that she is earning a higher minimum wage than she would at home.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.