KEMPNER, Texas — What would you tip on a $22 DoorDash pizza delivery order? One homeowner in Kempner, Texas, Lacey Purciful, left a $5 tip on her order, totaling out to over 22% of the total cost, and was cursed at by the driver for the amount.
Purciful caught the heated exchange on her front door security camera, posted the video to Tik Tok and is now making national headlines, sparking a debate over tipping culture.
"It's everywhere," Purciful said. "You can't go to a Subway, Starbucks, anywhere without it being shoved in your throat."
Purciful says her family has used DoorDash for months to order food because of a car accident back in March, but she never expected something like this to happen.
"We use it quite often," Purciful said. "We were in a head-on collision back in March, and I have some severe back damage, and I have an active-duty husband and two young children. There's some days that I can't even stand."
In the video, the delivery driver handed over the pizza and says, "I just wanted to say it's a nice house for a $5 tip".
Purciful sarcastically says back, "You're welcome."
Then, the driver yelled, "F*** you," as he walked away.
Take a look below:
Warning: The video embedded below contains graphic language
The Central Texas mother kept her cool but was in complete shock as her 4-year-old stood right by her side and watched the exchange unfold.
"Initially a lot of my friends from New York, I've been gone since 2011, have commented to me and they're like, 'Who is that Lacey? The Lacey I know would not have just shut the door,'" Purciful said.
Earlier that same morning on Friday, June 30, Purciful had placed another DoorDash order and left a tip before and after the service, totaling out to over 50%.
"I am a phenomenal tipper," Purciful added. "I worked in the restaurant for 10-plus years before I joined the Army."
Purciful claimed the final tip amount might have looked different if the driver had not cursed at her, saying, "If he just stopped at 'you have a beautiful home', I would have done the same thing that I did earlier that same exact day."
After the video racked up thousands of comments, Purciful then learned Dashers depend on customer tips to make a living wage.
"This entire time I thought DoorDash employees made at least minimum wage," Purciful said. She believes the fault should not lie with the consumer but rather with the company.
Purciful still empathizes with and understands frustration from Dashers but says her last experience was unacceptable.
"Do you talk to your mother like that," Purciful asked. "If you have a daughter would you speak to her in that manner? Those are things I'm curious about."
Purciful says DoorDash reportedly removed the Dasher from the platform and additionally gave her a $75 credit after the footage was sent over.
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