I think this is out of control and I just go get my own food
A gratuity is a gratuity. One of the issues with paying for a gratuity ahead of time is that the customer is going to be angry if there are some other extenuating circumstances where a larger tip would be nice. No one is owed a gratuity.
We drive over and pick ours up for free.
My wife bought online. She went to checkout and at the end of the checkout process, she was asked if she wanted to add a tip. She didn’t of course.
I tip in restaurants, usually 20% for good service. If I have a pickup food order, and the food is hot and ready when I get there, I usually leave a buck or two in the tip jar. Online tipping? Give me a break.
I’ll tell you what I think; letting unknown (and frequently ghetto/third world) people deliver prepared food to you is downright stupid. Especially seeing them get upset over tips. There’s no telling what they’re doing to your food before you get it. No thanks.
I cannot believe people ask for strangers to go get their fast food orders. Unlicensed, possibly diseases riddled, dirty, mangy, strangers to handle their food and extort from them more money than the food itself is worth.
We don’t do DoorDash but we do order from a local pizzeria. There’s no extra delivery fee, but we still tip well. A few weeks ago we did our usual order with our usual tip. The skies suddenly opened up and lightning was crazy. I think he may have had an adventurous 2-mile drive. When the guy came to the door soaking wet, I gave him an extra five dollars. He was absolutely taken aback and thankful and even tried to give it back saying “are you sure?” That’s good service.