They have the power to find another job with the remuneration they’re happier with. Being forced to tip them (which isn’t the case in Taiwan, fortunately) just perpetuates it.
That is pathetic. Mostly. it’s the only option available.
Do you guys also tip the mailman and package delivery guy? Bus driver? MRT station attendant? 711 clerk?
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Well, hopefully you’re tipping all the other underpaid workers in Taiwan as well. The convenience store clerks, office workers, etc. must love you.
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I don’t see the issue with tipping as a reward for good service. If my food delivery person drops my food off at the door, takes a photo, and sends a quick message, then I think they deserve a bonus. If I have to have a rambling phonecall (“Number 7…yes, the house with ‘7’ outside…yes, I am here…”), or negotiate a meeting place that’s different from the one initially agreed upon, or they feel the need to hammer on my door as if escaping a zombie horde…then, no, they won’t get a bonus.
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How insulting is that to the taxi driver. You’re basically saying, “I can’t be bothered with 5 NT, but you can have it”. Classless behavior, me thinks.
In other words, “properly doing their job”.
That’s what bad reviews are for. Or, if they mess it up really bad, like leaving your order in another building/place, reporting it to Uber for a refund.
And by rewarding that good service, the delivery drivers who properly do their jobs have an incentive to deliver my order next time. I increase my odds of not dealing with an idiot.
Why not both? Use the carrot approach (tipping) to reward good service, and the stick approach (the feedback system) to discourage bad service.
I guess people ‘hong bao’ their front door security guy once a year.
‘Wu said he worked almost every day in September, delivering about 50 orders daily for an average of 10 hours.’
He must be driving incredibly fast.
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In the US that would be insulting because taxi drivers expect a tip. In Taiwan it just saves us both time. How the heck is it classless to basically say “here’s 100. I’ll get out of your car now so you can go on to get your next fare. No need to waste time digging out a paltry single coin, that is essentially worthless to both of us. I’ll get of out of your way now!”
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Then I guess the same goes for NT 10 & 50 coins…Or are they not “paltry” enough coins? Where do you draw the line on how much NT is considered “worthless”?
If the driver gets 20 drivers tossing him/her NT 5 at the end of each fare, that’s NT 100. Hardly worthless to anyone, no?
I actually had the opposite happen to me: Fare came to $205 - driver just wanted $200.
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That’s the thing. The people making big bucks or at least reasonable bucks from deliveries have to work an insane amount of hours which leads to dangerous conditions.
The nature of the gig economy is that the “employer” is not taken as such and hence avoids a lot of responsibilities, such as minimum salary, which is already insufficient. Taiwan has tightened the reins on this a bit but still the Big Boss rules. The delivery people have complained and marched and little has improved. And just expecting them to find jobs in an economy affected by the plague is not reasonable. Remember this gig took off just as thousands were laid off “temporarily”. They call it here “vacations without salary”.
That said, tipping is a choice. If you can and you feel satisfied with the service, then you may feel inclined to tip.
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I tip if bad weather.
Before, they occasionally got confused. Now they seem to understand.
Also tip in bad weather, if I remember. Because I notice sometimes they run out of drivers when it’s raining, so I’m trying to incentivize them to keep delivering.
If it rains for days in a row tho, they don’t run out, cause the drivers know they have to work.
In fact, after days of rain, they tend to run out of drivers during the first good-weather day.