I love sleight of hand tricks.
Occasionally, a coworker of mine named Fred will stop by my office and regale me with some truly amazing acts of prestidigitation.
I’m always left in awe every time he seemingly pulls a coin out of thin air — or makes one vanish — despite the fact that I know ahead of time he’s going to pull a fast one on me. It doesn’t matter how hard I concentrate on those coins; I always succumb to Fred’s subtly masterful acts of misdirection.
Needless to say, the art of deception can be very advantageous to those who’ve mastered it.
In 2006, magician David Copperfield reportedly used his sleight-of-hand talents to deceive a mugger into thinking he had empty pockets — even though they actually held his wallet, passport and cellphone.
Today, even the pizza companies are honing their sleight of hand skills. Take delivery fees, for example.
My experience has been that most pizza joints rarely mention their delivery fees when quoting their prices over the phone. That’s pretty sneaky if you ask me. Usually, the conversation typically ends up sounding something like this:
“Okay, sir, you ordered two Pizza Planet pepperoni specials for delivery. That’ll be $26.67.”
“Hold on; those pizzas were advertised at $11 each. I know taxes are high here, but they’re not that high.”
“Well, sir, that total includes a delivery charge of $2.75.”
“Whoa! Two-seventy-five? Say, your last name wouldn’t happen to be Copperfield, would it?”
“No, sir. Why do you ask?”
“This isn’t Fred, is it? Why on earth are you moonlighting at Pizza Planet?”
“Who’s Fred, sir?”
“Oh, never mind.”
Okay, the part of the conversation where I talk about Fred is a stretch, but you get my drift.
Delivery charges are illusory in other ways. Ironically, they don’t always go directly to the driver. Instead, most — if not all — of that money is typically used to boost the bottom line by off-setting business expenses like the cost of ingredients and employee wages.
It turns out that the major pizza chains began dabbling with delivery fees in select areas about a decade ago. Back then, Pizza Hut’s delivery charges were typically 50 cents, while Papa John’s and Domino’s hovered around a buck.
However, those fees have increased dramatically since then — especially when compared to the inflation rate over the same period.
Where I live, Papa John’s currently levies a $2.75 fee for delivery. Meanwhile, my neighborhood Domino’s charges $1.85 to bring their pies to your door, and the local Pizza Hut gets $3.00.
Out of curiosity, I surveyed two other local pizzerias to see what they were charging for delivery: Round Table tacks on an additional $1.50, and an independent joint down the street from me charges $3.00.
If you ask me, the most likely reason why pizza delivery fees continue to outpace inflation is that they provide a subtle way of disguising price increases. That monetary legerdemain allows pizzerias to painlessly raise prices while continuing to advertise pies at seemingly bargain rates.
By the way, in case you’re wondering, those pizza delivery charges only became permanent and more widespread once it became apparent to the major pizza chains that they wouldn’t result in an appreciable loss of customers.
Of course, with all the hocus pocus going on, it’s uncertain exactly how many people realized that they were even being charged a delivery fee in the first place — but that really doesn’t matter now. We’ve got nobody to blame but ourselves.
Unfortunately, because we didn’t balk when we had the chance, pizza delivery charges are most likely here to stay.
In fact, they’re so firmly entrenched in the market now, I suspect even David Copperfield couldn’t make them disappear.
Photo Credit: Eli Christman
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The truth is part of the delivery charge does go to the driver. Usually a dollar. If the delivery charge is two, then we would get one. The pizza places like us to tell the customer that it does for insurance for the drivers, but we have our own insurance. We get the tip (if there is one), a dollar for taking the delievey and our hourly pay.
Thanks for the added info, Jackie. I’m glad to see drivers are now getting at least a small portion of the delivery fee. Still, even if it’s a buck, that means the rest of it is being used by pizzerias to offset other costs.
while it’s true drivers carry their own insurance, delivery fees help counter the cost of the iability insurance pizza delivery shops carry on those drivers. pizza places have two choices: raise menu price to counter the increasing costs or raise menu prices. Applying the delivery fee still leaves open the carryout option, with no fee. Insurance isn’t cheap, and the costs only continue to rise. Have you ever looked at the cost of an insurance policy for a pizza delivery shop? Maybe that will help shed some light on the subject.
This is why I pick up the pie myself.
@Jackie – interesting you get an hourly wage. I was always under the assumption it was fee+tips.
In some places I’m sure that is still true. How those delivery fees are distributed will, of course, depend on the employer.
We must live in the hinterlands because we have no delivery fees for our local pizza chain. We always tip the driver, so it comes out to about the same.
We did pick up 2 pizzas at a “gourmet” pizza shop in another city & were shocked to pay $49 for 2 large pizzas. Since we picked them up there was no delivery fee. When did pizza get so expensive?! The only reason we did that time was because we offered to buy pizza for someone’s birthday & that’s where they wanted the pizza from. We won’t be doing that again!
People do it, Maggie. We have a place nearby where you can easily spend $20 for a pizza. It’s good — we’ve splurged once before on them — but it’s not that good.
oh man….you’ve opened my eyes to something i probably didn’t know about. when we do order pizza its usually for a party so i’m already expecting a high bill.
guess i’m going to have to get off my lazy rear end and go pick that thing up….unless you feel like doing some math for me that justifies the delivery fee. its got to cost more than 2.00 for my SUV to get there….maybe delivery is actually a bargain…;)
It’s a convenience charge, more than anything — which is fair enough. I just think these places need to be more open about the charge when advertising their specials.
I am glad they choose to make those who actually use delivery pay for it. Why should I have to subsidize delivery costs because someone is too lazy to get their butt in the car or walk to pick it up? Once again, it costs more to be lazy.
Also, try getting pizza from a locally owned joint. Almost always better quality and lower prices. And for those lazy folk who like delivery, they usually have free delivery (at least around here).
I don’t know. I think that argument depends on the pizzeria. Domino’s whole business model is primarily based on home delivery — so why isn’t the cost of delivery, okay I’ll say it, “baked in” to the price of the pizza? I’ve never seen a Domino’s sit-down restaurant (yes, there may be a few, but they’re certainly not the norm), so I don’t think I should be subsidizing Domino’s pizzas for people who choose to pick them up or eat them on premises.
For sit down pizza joints, however, I think you make a very valid argument. I also agree about local pizzerias — especially the ones in the Northeast. There is nothing better!
If it’s worth the couple of extra bucks to be able to catch all of the game, or avoid going out in cold/rain/snow, then by all means go for it. 95% of the time I’m willing to make the ‘sacrifice’ of going out to save the couple of bucks involved, but if I would prefer to stay home, I accept full well that the cost of that convenience is going to hit my wallet. I don’t really think there’s much ‘sneaky’ about it as it’s been pretty standard practice, which you mentioned.
Since there is probably some tieback to the cost of gas, you have to figure that since gas prices have also outpaced inflation over the last ten years, the cost increases in the delivery charge might not be as crazy as they seem at first glance.
You make a good point about the gas argument. Although, call me a cynic, but I think the similarity in price increases between delivery fees and gasoline is a coincidence.
What’s sneaky about a delivery fee? If I ordered food with delivery service (I’ll bet it’s been at least 10 years since I’ve done so), I’d expect to pay a delivery fee for the service. If the quoted price didn’t add up to the advertised price, I’d ask, just as you did.
What *is* sneakier about fast food, with or without delivery service, is all the imitation garbage ingredients it’s made with. Imitation cheese that is more vegetable oil and gum binders than real cheese, soy-extended meat toppings, chemical flavor enhancers, etc. No appetite for fake füd anymore.
I’ll expound on my earlier point…
Unlike some other pizzeria’s, Papa John’s and Domino’s especially are in business to deliver pizzas. So why should I expect to pay a delivery charges? That’s kind of like me buying an airline ticket and getting charged — on top of all their other ridiculous fees — a “transportation fee” on top of the air fare. Am I wrong here?
What am I missing?
I’d much prefer they be more transparent with their pricing, drop the phony surcharge, and adjust their pizza prices accordingly.
This is why we either buy a fresh pizza from the store, or make our own pizza from scratch.
Surprisingly, it’s not that hard to do. It just takes time, but it can be a family project to make the dough, a sauce (basically just a can of tomato sauce with herbs and garlic added), prep ingredients and decorate the pie. There are lots of youtube instructions on how to make pizza.
You can shortcut the process by starting with a fresh or frozen cheese pizza and decorate at will.
My whole family loves homemade pizza too, DC. We haven’t had it in awhile at our house though; it’s probably time to put it back on the menu soon.
I use my bread maker to prepare the dough — it’s really no trouble at all when you do it that way.
That’s why we don’t eat pizza. lol Well, almost never. If we do, we go and get it ourselves. I am really stingy on tips, so if I add pizza price plus delivery charges plus tips, no pizza is worth it.
Yeah, those $11 dollar pizza deals don’t look quite so good after you’re done ringing up the delivery fee and tax — especially if you are only ordering one pizza.
At least when you buy multiple pizzas, you end up diluting the delivery charge’s effect somewhat on a price-per-pizza basis.
Does the delivery fee take the place of any tip I would give the driver? I would say that the delivery fee is a “tip” guarantee or am I wrong?
That’s up to you. I agree with you to a point; if the driver is getting $1 of that delivery charge, as Jackie says, then it’s essentially a mandatory tip in my book.
(And I’ve written my opinions on the oxymoron known as the “mandatory tip” here before.)
What I would give for a pizza, whatever price would be worth it. We have some dietary restrictions in our house, no pizza for us.
Say it ain’t so, KC! Is it because of the cheese? I’ve had some tasty pizza before that was made without cheese.
What really bothers me are the places that advertise “free delivery – 10% discount for pickup”. That is not free delivery. The cost of delivery is the lack of the discount. I see this mostly at Chinese food restaurants.
(To be clear, I don’t mind the discount for pickup setup, in fact I think I prefer it to the charge for delivery setup. It is the false statement of ‘free delivery’ that bothers me.)
I’m with you, Jenny. These pizza places advertising pizza specials that get 98% of their business via delivery are being deceptive by not mentioning their delivery fees.
Think about it: That $11 Papa John’s pizza special is 25 percent higher than advertised in my hometown after adding in the previously unmentioned delivery fee.
I’ll quit squawking after they drop the delivery fee and advertise their pizza “special” at $13.75.
I owned a pizza restaurant for over 11 years. We hated when we had to add the delivery fee, but our drivers actually requested it. It happened when gas prices really started to spike. I can honestly say that 100% of the delivery fee went directly to the drivers. When our customers questioned the fee and we explained, they understood, especially after they found out that it all went to the driver. The drivers also told us that their tips didn’t change either. The other independent pizza place down the street also started to charge a delivery fee after we did, but unfortunately, none of the fee went to the drivers! We were firm believers that if you charged the delivery fee, it should go to the drivers 100%
I’m not surprised, Jennifer. Even I understand the concept of — and reason behind — the delivery fee. I totally get it.
I like Jenny’s idea: Why can’t the pizzerias that offer delivery service raise their pizza prices and offer discounts for pick-up/dine-in instead?
Now that is an honest pizza!
Yep. Just as long as they don’t advertise free delivery in the same breath as the discount for pickup.
After reading this I guess the question we have to ask is “how much am I willing to pay for convenience?” You’re left with the choice between delivery or a chance for a little aerobic walk before indulging in the fatty goodness of pizza
I’ll take the convenience and the fatty goodness.
We rarely get delivery cause the bride is too cheap to pay the fee. But since she’s the one that is too cheap,she does the pickup-so I get free delivery…(I know, nothings free.)
That actually sounds like a great deal for you, Dr. Dean!
I hope the missus lets you get at least one topping on that pizza. (Although I just love a good cheese pizza!)
Thought I would let you know something interesting on the subject. I delivery Dominos pizza and when the driver is in the store we get min wage. When we check out to deliver we get $4.80 an hour plus our tips when we get them and our $1.70 per run on milage. Here they charge I think $2.70 for delivery. Also if you take a double run or more the second or third run you only get 85 cents for them for milage. Thanks.
I can’t remember the last time we had pizza delivered. We live so lose to Little Caesars and Pizza Hut that we pick it up.
Whenever I buy ANYTHING I want the price upfront. I just signed up for a half marathon and there was a $2.75 “processing fee” (apparently because the gerbils who power the internet need to be fed).
I agreed to the fee BEFORE I pressed the button to be charged. I think it should be the same for pizza.
Do you really think you should get hot and fast delivery to your door and a lot of those doors are up 3 or more flights of stairs often times they are unshoveled or at least unsalted plus the 20 minute or more round trip drive which takes at least a couple of dollars in gas for the same price as if you come in and pick it up yourself. And then you want to not tip the poor guy. I’m a delivery man and most places i have worked for give you all or most of the delivery charge and only a dollar or 2 an hour for gas so i have been making less and less as the price of gas along with oil, tires, brakes, insurance and other costs all keep rising. I used to make 10 or 12 dollars an hour. Now i average about half that as prices of food and everything else continue to rise and delivery charges and tips do not. So by all means go clean off the car, warm it up and make the twenty minute trip to the pizza joint and pick up your food yourself and save 5 bucks or so. Do me a favour. See how that works for you.
You seem to have missed the point of the article, Jim. Then again, a lot of readers who commented on this (over at MSN, not so much here) missed it too.
I’m not railing against delivery fees per se; I’m against delivery fees being used as a way to keep pizza prices deceptively low. Based on those 260+ comments I received at MSN regarding this post so far, you getting 100% of the delivery charge is the exception — not the rule.
This is definitely a good point! I’ve always just taken delivery charges for granted because one of my first jobs was at a pizza place, but it’s not something they usually quote you over the phone. I do a lot of my delivery ordering online, and there’s always a line for the delivery fee.
I have three children who are three and under, so I often don’t feel like leaving the house. But if my husband is home or on his way home and can pick something up, I always avoid the fee. I’m cheap that way. I won’t tip less than $5 (well, unless the delivery is super late or something- I used to deliver pizzas, so I tip well), so I have to figure that into the cost. It gets expensive fast. One way around delivery fees with Domino’s is having a membership to Shoprunner. It’s something ridiculous, like $79 a year. I would never ever actually save that much with shipping or delivery charges, but Domino’s offered a free membership from their facebook page, and I was lucky enough to see it right away. So, free delivery for me this year! Well, except for the tip, of course.
Jeez have you never run a business! The COST for an extra employee to deliver your food is expensive. If it takes 20 minutes to do a round trip, then the driver can only make 3 deliveries per hour. If you are paying $9 per hour and collecting $9 in delivery fees, the business is still making a SMALLER profit. With matching SS costs and unemployment insurance, plus if you pay the driver some sort of gas allowance, this cuts into any gross profit. It is really simple! The restaurants that deliver would rather you picked up your food!!!! And if you can’t or don’t want to, shut up and pay the delivery fee!
I know I am beginning to sound like a broken record here, but I’ll add you to the alarming list of folks who completely missed the point of the article.
If the cost is so high, Gene, then why not just include the added expense in the price of the pizza? Is that too much to ask? Why do the pizzerias have to be so deceptive?
Because then people who pick up are subsidizing your pizza. Why should people who rather pick up pay more because you want delivery? It makes sense to charge the people that are causing them higher costs more. Don’t like it? Then drive over and pick it up yourself. They would prefer that and that is what this fee is doing, trying to get people to stop doing something that is costing them more money and get them to pick up the food themselves. Seems like the free market at work to me…
Len, it’s the way the article is written that is getting you so much flack.
Do you know an English major who can edit for you?
Yes, it is clearly a poorly written article. I get that a lot. LOL
Len- I can remember back in college when you could get a delicious 16 inch pizza for $4.99, no fees! Then we would walk up and down the halls of our dorm & scrape together everyone’s loose change to buy huge breadsticks at 10cents a pop! Granted it was in southwest Virginia with a low cost of living (and 1993), but still!
So what do you think about Burger King starting fast food delivery. Think that’s got legs?
I think the Burger King delivery will be a BIG success, Geoff. You heard it here first!
But you forget that you are only charged that once per delivery no matter how many piazzas so it would be impractical to have it built I.to the cost of the pizza
While I understand where you’re coming from, that doesn’t make it impractical, cs.
It will be just another cost of doing business that helps determine the ultimate price of the pizza. And it’s unique impact on the price of the pizza will be irrelevant to consumers.
While I understand where you’re coming from, that doesn’t make it impractical, cs.
It will be just another cost of doing business that helps determine the ultimate price of the pizza. And it’s unique impact on the price of the pizza will be irrelevant to consumers.
We we order delivery pizza we pay a $2 delivery fee and I give the driver a $2 tip. They always take care of us and I don’t mind tipping for good service.
Get sneaky back, ‘shop runner’ occasionally offers a years membership for $1 or even free. With this membership, dominos delivery is free!
Hi Len,
For my family ordering pizza is a 24.00 affair including tip and worth every penny. Here’s why.
My husband, sister and myself have cerebral palsy and cannot drive. Our Local pizzeria is an independent outfit and offers a large New York Style pie that we adore. It is also the best pizza we have ever had.
The staff is courteous to us whenever we call, the delivery driver will come into our home to set the pie on the table (a real gift when your hands are taken up holding a walker). And it’s a bargain when you consider not having to add the price of cab fare to the restaurant. (20.00 more round trip) Long Live Garden Deli and Pizzeria, Manteo, NC.
[...] favorite red sauce and cheese pie comes with high fee strings attached. Len Penzo dissects the rapidly rising pizza delivery charge. It’s not delivery, it’s a wallet shake [...]
[...] Sneaky Pizza Delivery Fees Are Here to Stay (and It’s Your Fault). “I love sleight of hand tricks. Occasionally, a coworker of mine named Fred will stop by my office and regale me with some truly amazing acts of prestidigitation. I’m always left in awe every time he seemingly pulls a coin out of thin air — or makes one vanish — despite the fact that I know ahead of time he’s going to pull a fast one on me. It doesn’t matter how hard I concentrate on those coins; I always succumb to Fred’s subtly masterful acts of misdirection.” Len Penzo dot Com [...]
[...] Len Penzo has a semi-rant about pizza delivery fees and pricing transparency at the eponymously named blog. [...]