Here's a tip: Remember the pizza delivery driver

Pizza delivery driver lingo includes two types of stiff.

There is the "hard stiff," when someone tips absolutely nothing for a pizza. The lowlife. The laughs-too-loud creep. The all-around jerk.

There is also the "soft stiff," the act of tipping less than $1 for a delivery when the industry standard is at least $2, or maybe even $3 in some neighborhoods. The soft stiff comes from the take-it-for-granted crowd. The backhanded-compliment types. The guys who think nothing of cramming down the last slice without asking if anyone else is hungry.

It's best to avoid falling into either category these days, when the economy is smacking people like pizza drivers who rely on tips for their living.

Good tippers build reputations, their pizzas arrive earlier, their kids become smarter and their dogs receive extra "hiya buddy's." They are not the norm.

Drivers say their tips largely depend on the delivery areas and the pizza joints they work for. One driver told me he would earn a tip only 20 percent of the time at the low-end chain where he worked a few years ago. Another said he faced the cold reality of the hard stiff 10 percent of the time.

No one thinks of himself as a stingy tipper. Everyone imagines himself as Mr. Generous, doling out nickels and dollar bills with all the magnanimousness of Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas morning.

A little something extra for the hairdresser.

A few bills under the water glass for the waiter.

A pile of last night's change on the nightstand for the hotel housekeeper.

But customers are largely unimpressed by pizza delivery drivers. Their cars are too loud. They can't find your street. The popular perception is they are stoners. They aren't really working, they're just driving. They're not refilling your drink and checking to see if you want anything. They don't need a tip.

It's as antiquated as thinking that ham and pineapple can't work on pizza.

Such lazy stereotyping should stop.

Maybe now more than at any time in pizza delivery's relatively short history, tipping drivers is paramount. Many drivers are struggling to make it. Almost all of them hold their breath on car insurance that technically doesn't cover their work. They're being squeezed on both sides: lower wages and higher gas prices.

Earlier this month, the local Papa John's franchises announced they would change the way they pay drivers. Previously, drivers got at least the full minimum wage of $5.85, plus a small delivery stipend and tips. Now, Papa John's is taking advantage of federal law that says because the drivers can make tips, they can be a paid a lower hourly rate when they're on the road making deliveries and a higher rate while working in the shop. Other pizza places use comparable systems.

Drivers typically receive a $1-$2 stipend for each delivery to cover gas, maintenance and depreciation for their cars, although some receive mileage reimbursements. At Papa John's, franchise officials say the paychecks should remain the same. But drivers from pizza shops across the region say the stipend doesn't always cover the full cost of the delivery, especially considering that the federal reimbursement rate is 58.5 cents per mile.

If your pizza place charges a delivery fee, it pads the profits. It's not the same as tipping the driver.

Some are losing money on each delivery. And that's before they're stiffed.

"It's really tearing a hole through our pockets," said Steven Savage, regional coordinator for the American Union of Pizza Delivery Drivers and a driver in Chesapeake.

That makes it especially important to hand over a gratuity before stuffing six slices of sausage pizza and cheese-sticks in your pie hole.

Delivery is not a glamorous job. It comes with competing interests: keeping the pizza warm while making sure it gets there fast. It's a magnet for pranksters, or worse, robbers. In April, Robert E. Kiese-wetter, a Papa John's driver, was shot in Portsmouth. Kiesewetter had told friends he was thinking about quitting the job because it was dangerous.

Customers get their choice - of toppings, crust, sauce, drinks. Too often they forget an equally important question when the food arrives: Did they tip or stiff?

Mike Gruss, (757) 446-2277, mike.gruss@pilotonline.com