A TikTok user says she did not know whether to send more money to a delivery driver after he texted her about his pay moments after dropping off her Insomnia Cookies order. The creator, Lê, who posts as @teeshhx3, shared screenshots of the message in a photo post that has drawn hundreds of thousands of views, as reported by BroBible.
Lê says she placed the order through the Insomnia Cookies website rather than the DoorDash app and added a 20% tip at checkout. Shortly after the box landed on her doorstep, the driver sent a text that read, “I used my car to drive 18 miles to get here and back for $6.00.” Lê says she had no idea the store was that far from her home.
The post asks viewers a direct question: “Do I tip him more because he seems to really need it or should I take offense?” Lê wrote in the caption that she was genuinely torn. She later told the outlet that most of the people who weighed in found the driver’s message inappropriate, though some drivers suggested that customers tip about $1 per mile.
Most viewers told her the driver knew how far the trip was before he took it
Commenters who said they deliver food for a living were among the first to respond, as many explained that drivers can see the payout and the mileage before they accept an order. Several argued that the driver chose the trip himself and then tried to make the customer feel guilty about it, which was the part that bothered them most.
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“Don’t tip more to people who feel entitled enough to talk to you like that,” the most-liked comment on the post reads, adding that guilt-tripping a customer is not the right way to raise a problem. Another person shared the reply they would have sent back: “why on earth would you do that??” A third viewer kept it short and wrote, “i’d remove the tip.”
Not every response sided with Lê. However, most of the pushback focused on the distance rather than the text message itself. One commenter asked why she would not tip more for an order that was clearly so far away, adding that the driver’s point “sounds fair.” Another compared the trip to a taxi ride and argued that a cab would charge at least $36 for the same round trip.
A few viewers landed somewhere in the middle. One delivery worker called the message rude but urged customers to check how far a restaurant is before ordering, as some orders pay drivers about $12 for close to an hour of work. Others pointed out that drivers are free to decline any trip that does not pay what they want.
Tipping disputes with delivery drivers come up on TikTok regularly, and they usually split viewers along the same lines. A similar exchange played out when a DoorDash driver demanded a bigger tip from a customer in her own driveway, even though that customer had also tipped 20% on her order.
Lê says she could not report the driver or adjust the tip through DoorDash, as the order went through the Insomnia Cookies app instead. The outlet reached out to DoorDash by email, though it reported no response. According to NerdWallet, DoorDash drivers earn an estimated $18 to $25 an hour, and about half of that typically comes from tips.
The math behind the driver’s complaint is part of why the post split viewers. DoorDash’s base pay per offer can range from about $2 to more than $10, which means a long trip with a modest tip can pay very little once gas is factored in. However, as the commenters kept repeating, that number is visible before a driver accepts the order.
Lê has not said whether she sent the driver any extra money, and the post could keep drawing replies as the debate over delivery tipping shows no sign of cooling down.
Attack of the Fanboy was unable to independently verify the driver’s side of the story, as this account originates solely from Lê’s TikTok post.
Published: Nov 10, 2026 08:30 am