Man Slams Chipotle For Capping Delivery Driver Tips At 50%, Chipotle Explains Why But Their Answer Seems To Anger People Even More

Chipotle is under fire for the way that its app takes the power to make decisions from the customers. Twitter user RonBeehive was furious that he couldn’t tip his delivery driver more than 50% of the cost of the food delivery when it was snowing.

The tweet instantly went viral, got 126.8k likes, and got a lot of media outlets discussing the topic. Some people were as angry as Ron that customers couldn’t support delivery drivers as much as they wanted to.

However, things aren’t as clear-cut as all that. According to Chipotle, which responded to the hate on Twitter, these safeguards exist for two main reasons. First of all, they protect from human error, e.g. if someone accidentally writes a bigger tip than they meant to. And second of all, it helps fight fraud and money laundering.

RonBeehive, the author of the post, was kind enough to answer Bored Panda's questions about his viral tweet. He told us that he's happy about how many people it managed to reach. "I’m happy that so many people are (rightfully) bashing Chipotle, but I also wonder how many people retweeted or replied angrily at them, and then ordered Chipotle for lunch," he said.

"After this tweet went viral, I did a little research and found that this is at least the third time in the last 6-7 months that nearly identical viral situations have happened with Chipotle and tipping, yet they just had a very positive Q4 earnings report and after-hours trading is way up, which says to me that people are mad, but not mad enough to change their lunch habits if Chipotle won’t change their tip policies," he explained to us that he's not seeing much of a shift despite the widespread outrage.

Bored Panda also reached out to New York delivery driver Smithson Michael to get his opinion on things. Smithson has created a petition to protect the interests of delivery drivers and waitstaff.

The delivery driver said that Chipotle's position doesn't make sense. "If a customer wants to give a large tip, then it should be up to them, and not the company that is selling the food, or merchandise. That is completely disrespectful to the paying customer, the main reason that said companies are even in business, as well as the deliverers." In his opinion, capping tips "hurts the deliverers that are already grossly under-compensated for their time and efforts and discourages kindness." He believes that Chipotle needs to change things immediately.

Ron believes that Chipotle won't change its policy until its customers force them to. " It’s unfortunate, to say the least," he told us.

The Twitter user believes that there are ways to solve Chipotle's 'human error' issue. Adding a follow-up 'are you sure?' prompt or two would be enough to ensure that someone doesn't tip more than they meant to. "At the end of the day, it’s inexcusable, many tipped workers already make less than minimum wage, and now Chipotle is saying they can only take a certain percent of the total bill?" Ron shared his outrage.

"I’ve seen people suggest carrying cash, which is a good suggestion, but we live in a digital age where many people don’t even carry cards anymore, everything is stored in their phones. So the bottom line is that a consumer’s digital currency and their generosity to their driver shouldn’t be restricted by a company like Chipotle, or by any company for that matter."

Meanwhile, Smithson said that he personally finds it hurtful to hear about this entire situation since he has personally delivered quite a few Chipotle orders. "At the onset of the pandemic—they seemed to be the worst merchants to pick up from. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. Standing outside in the elements waiting to point at which order was yours to pick up, with dozens of upset deliverers, in areas that usually do not have nearly enough parking for them to not have to double park, which can obviously lead to hefty tickets that no one wants to be struggling to pay while watching understaffed and clearly frustrated and overwhelmed workers inside bringing typically only one or two orders out every five minutes at minimum," he shared his own experiences with Bored Panda.

"To the point where even security guards are handing out the orders to drivers that did not cancel the order—most likely because they didn’t want to be the blame for an order that should only be picked up and dropped in a far shorter time period, that is taking well past way too long to be delivered. Just about every bad thing a deliverer could imagine at a pickup location, happening there, at that. More often than not."

Smithson believes that the situation is very clear and that Chipotle needs to change its approach: "The customer is paying for the food. So they should be allowed to tip what they want. Right is right, and wrong is wrong."

Bored Panda also asked Smithson to share some advice with his fellow delivery drivers about working in adverse conditions, like when it's snowing.

"Remember to dress appropriately, as being wet or cold can obviously be a deterrent to be able to function, and ultimately continue working! Especially wear layers of clothing in frigid temperatures, and wear comfortable, insulated boots that have waterproofing if it’s at all possible. They can be expensive typically more so than other types, but they are well worth it in the long run. Also, do not forget to bring extra socks, sometimes water can still get in from around the ankles, or if there is a tear in the material," he said.

"Bring a thermos of warm liquids if you have the extra space, and remember that exertion in cold weather takes more energy out of the body, as it has to work double-time to keep warm, the colder it gets. Do not forget to wear gloves!"

Smithson said that snow can be a deliverer's worst nightmare. "If it is too bad, then looking out of the window before you head out can make you realize that you might not be able to go to work. If it is actually possible, however, that does not remove the added hazards the weather can bring. Snowy inclines can be impossible to climb with vehicles depending on their drivetrain. I’ve had to park and walk the items. Not a fun thing to do in the snow at times, especially when the customer is expecting, and the walk can take away from the estimated delivery time even more."

That's why knowing the area well helps a lot. "There are people that will order in the middle of a blizzard, hoping the items can be brought to them. It could be because they badly need the goods, and cannot or do not want to get them themselves. I know it’s difficult for the deliverers that pride themselves on getting the job done no matter what. However, sometimes you just have to know when not to accept, for you and your vehicle's sake as well as the customer's."

The delivery driver said that it's horrible to get the news that the order was canceled by the deliverer, 20 minutes after being accepted in a storm. "It’s just better to know what you can, and cannot do in those instances, that can take away the disappointment and inconvenience on both ends," he said.

Inc. suggests that having an override feature might help solve at least one of the issues: human error. Asking for confirmation if the customer really wants to leave such a large tip (expressed in terms of the percentage of the total food cost) can be a way to ensure that someone doesn’t accidentally tip $30 instead of $3 like they meant to. That means that customers could be as generous as they want to be with their own money.

However, this still doesn’t solve the potential issue of fraud.

Personally, I’m on the fence in this particular case. Customers definitely should have the ability to tip their delivery drivers more, especially when they’re facing tough weather conditions like snowstorms to get somebody their delicious meal. If I’m asking someone to bring me food in a blizzard, then I should have the freedom to reward them for going above and beyond.

However, at the same time, I also understand that it would be incredibly easy to create an environment for money launderers to thrive in if the safeguards were lifted completely. A couple of potential solutions, as I see it, could include raising the tipping cap and limiting the number of overridden tips that a particular customer could leave each month.

What do you think, dear Pandas? Do you think that tips shouldn’t be capped at all or do you think the system works fine as it is? What do you think we could all do to help support delivery drivers better? Let us know in the comments.