Domino's Pizza Delivery Man's Devastation Over Getting No Tip Highlights Plight of Many Amid Pandemic

A Domino’s Pizza delivery man's devastation after standing in the rain on a delivery only to get no tip was captured on camera by a coworker. Malik Ambersley, 23, of St. Petersburg, Florida melted down after learning he wasn't given any tip on a particularly trying delivery. 

"Five minutes out there in the rain! And no tip? No tip?" he screamed, video of the moment showed. He smashed his hands into a stack of pizza boxes, sending the cardboard flying. 

"I wasn't having the best day," Ambersley told Inside Edition. "During the pandemic, things like tips and stuff like that are important for me to be able to feed my family and myself and try to keep a roof over my head.”

Ambersley was not fired, he said. "Luckily I've a really good support team there, they talked me down," he said. "There was nobody in the store or anything like that."

Delivery drivers becoming emotional over a lack of tips appears to be a growing trend during the pandemic, as many are scraping by to make ends meet.

"I had to pay $3 to bring this person their food because there's no parking, no free parking, anywhere near their building. They tipped me $1.50 and Uber paid me $2.50," Riley Elliot tearfully said as he spoke about the ordeal on camera. "And it's because people don't tip their delivery drivers."

Elliot told Inside Edition he's received an outpouring from others in what's called the gig driving industry and from individuals who tip well. 

"Make sure, if the tip is not included, that you're giving anywhere from 10 to 20% for the delivery person," etiquette expert "Mister Manners" Thomas Farley told Inside Edition. "This is going to go higher if the distance is greater or if it's inclement weather as well."

Ambersley has a GoFundMe page to raise funds for his car repairs. Elliot has set up a GoFundMe to help provide relief funds for delivery drivers.

RELATED STORIES