The Death of Free Delivery
Tip It!We don’t order pizza all that often. But every time we’ve ordered it in the past, we’ve gotten free delivery. Well, the times they are a-changin’. Not long ago we decided to order a pizza from Papa John’s. The only problem was that they wanted tack on a delivery fee of $1-2 (I can’t recall the exact amount). Sure, gas prices have increased in recent years and yes, I do realize that we’ve always paid for delivery (albeit indirectly) as part of the price, but still… I guess I just like the illusion of getting something for free. We didn’t end up ordering a pizza that night, and we haven’t done so since. Apparently delivery fees are becoming quite common, with the major national chains as well as mom and pop establishments now routinely charging for delivery. I guess splitting out the delivery fee is one way of staying competitive in terms of price, but I still think that free delivery has a nice ring to it, even if you have to bump up the price of the pie.
Published on March 7th, 2006 - 9 Comments
Filed under: Miscellany
About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!
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March 7th, 2006 at 7:46 am
This is another sign that we are becoming more discriminating as consumers. If we look at the airlines, we are no longer getting free meals and other services. Many furniture stores no longer offer free delivery. Banks don’t pay you interest if you account is under a certain amount. What the consumer has demanded is that they don’t want to pay for services that they don’t want or need. I am sure that there are people who read your blog, who are willing to pick up their order, in order to save the delivery fee and the tip to the driver.
March 7th, 2006 at 7:58 am
We were staying at a hotel with a bunch of friends a few weeks ago, and we all decided to get some pizza delivered. The night before, two area pizzerias had left flyers outside the hotel doors. Their prices were almost exactly the same, but one had free delivery while the other charged $2. Suffice it to say that the place that charged for delivery missed out on an $80 order.
Also, I expect some people will wrongly think that the delivery fee goes to the driver and will lower the driver’s tip accordingly. So delivery fees can be bad for the business and bad for the driver. But as long as there’s a place that still offers free delivery, it’s all good to me!
March 7th, 2006 at 8:01 am
If I am eating pizza at home, I will make it from scratch. It helps to have a really good dough recipe.
There are a few really good pizza joints in town (one of which I am going to tonight to help a cancer benefit), but the best part of their pizza is the atmosphere.
It is funny that you write about pizza; I haven’t had any for a few months, and today will be the second time this week I have had it. I ran a race Sunday, had a guinness during the awards ceremony, and then absconded to one of my two favorite pizza joins for one directly after.
March 7th, 2006 at 9:29 am
Three words: Take and bake. Papa Murphy’s is better than any of the ‘biggies’ and cheaper to boot.
March 7th, 2006 at 1:22 pm
Our favorite pizza place doesn’t charge delivery, but they do have a $1 online ordering fee which I dont mind paying for the convenience of being able to order online. Most places around here (seattle) are still free delivery as long as your order is at least $10.
March 7th, 2006 at 7:08 pm
Kassy, your pizza place charges a fee to order online? The companies in my area (the other Washington) are offering incentives for people to use online (the employees can focus on the pies and not the phone.)
March 8th, 2006 at 4:11 pm
It is pretty friggin’ annoying. When you figure a $2 delivery charge and a $2-$3 tip for the driver, it costs $5 extra for delivery. My cheap side really hates spending that much for the convenience of delivery, but my wife usually doesn’t like me to head back out after I get home from work. That’s why I love the carryout-only specials, since I can use that as a justification to go get the pizza and save the $5. =)
March 16th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
I’ve also noticed they’ve been using centralized phone banks..you’re not actually calling the little pizza shop down the street, you’re calling a central location somewhere.