Pizza Today -December 2022 - 32

packaging and heat/cold retention.
Given
that the costs of delivery
exceed the costs of your other types
of customers, it stands to reason
that you are forced to either charge
a delivery fee or have a delivery
menu that is priced higher. It is
much more transparent (read: better
for the customer) to have the
same menu prices and charge a
delivery fee.
DO: Have consistent menu
prices
There is one alternative to
explore, however. If you increase
your menu prices across the board,
and offer discounts for take-out
or dine-in, you can duplicate what
Tom Monaghan did last century. If
you take this route, take advantage
of what Monaghan did and market
the heck out of FREE delivery.
DON'T: Offer FREE delivery
unless you include the cost of
delivery in your menu prices
Forgoing the FREE delivery
alternative, how much should you
charge as a delivery fee? Your POS
system should allow you to select
fees (and driver reimbursement)
based on different areas. This allows
you to charge more for deliveries
that are farther away from the store.
You should charge the customer a
delivery fee that is more than you
pay your driver in reimbursement.
The extra amount collected will
contribute to your other delivery
expenses. For example, if you reimburse
a driver $3.00 for a delivery,
you may charge $5.00 as a delivery
fee to that customer. Your delivery
fee will change as your costs
associated with that delivery go up
or down.
DO: Have a separate, clearly
identified charge for delivery
One of the costs to identify relating
to DIY delivery is how much to
reimburse your driver, referred to as
'mileage'. Mileage must be enough
to cover your driver's actual expenses,
or you may have legal problems
with the Labor Board. Every year,
the IRS posts the required compensation
for persons using their own
vehicles for work. Although they
rarely change it mid-year, 2022 is
the obvious exception due to gas
prices. The mileage rate for the second
half of 2022 is 62.5 cents per
mile. If your driver averages four
miles round-trip on deliveries, you
must reimburse them a minimum
of $2.50 per delivery. If you pay less,
the Labor Board says that means
you used part of their hourly wages
to reimburse, which may put the
employee below minimum wage,
subjecting you to a class-action lawsuit.
This would require you to pay
every driver back-wages as well as
penalties and interest. The only way
to accurately calculate the mileage
you pay your drivers is to take a
month and document their actual
miles driven and divide into the
number of deliveries.
DON'T: Underpay mileage
reimbursement
All prices are subject to market
competition and delivery fees are
no exception. Research the delivery
fees charged by 3rd Party Delivery
Companies in your area and the
delivery fees charged by your competitors
who DYI.
DO: make sure your delivery
charge is competitive
Or, if you are too busy to read
this, skip the entire article, and
charge $4.99 per delivery.
DAN COLLIER is the founder of Pizza
Man Dan's in California and a speaker at
International Pizza Expo.
http://GalbaniPro.com/Premio http://GalbaniPro.com/Premio
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