Apr 23, 2026
It's one thing to choose to tip the person who delivers your food, but Papa John's has taken an extra step to persuade customers to open their wallets — and it's going over about as well as a cold, congealed slice of pepperoni pie.
The pizza chain is feeling the heat on social media after a TikTok user posted a video showing a box from the restaurant that read: "DELIVERY FEE IS NOT A TIP. Please reward your driver for outstanding service (1)."
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That prompted some harsh language ("Pay your f—--g employees!") from the poster, and others quickly chimed in, agreeing. More than 4,300 have left thoughts on the video, overwhelmingly shaming Papa John's for the message. The video has amassed more than 245,000 'likes' from users.
Papa John's did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the video.
Rebellion against tipping culture
Papa John's is hardly the first company to be criticized for encouraging tips. In 2023, for example, DoorDash came under fire for a message to users encouraging them to tip when placing an order, which read "Orders with no tip might take longer to get delivered — are you sure you want to continue?"
Tipping culture has been an increasing source of frustration with consumers, especially as food prices (and therefore take out and delivery costs) have increased. The number of businesses asking for tips has been increasing at the same time. A 2023 survey of 12,000 adults by the Pew Research Center showed that 72% of Americans feel they are being asked to tip in more places than they were five years ago (2).
And 41% of the people surveyed by Bankrate last year said they believed tipping had gotten "out of control" (with two-thirds having at least some negative thoughts on tipping (3)).
Covid-19, in part, is to blame. During the pandemic, tipping went up, Bankrate said — possibly as a show of mass appreciation to essential workers. But in the years since, tipping has leveled off.
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Challenging times
Papa John's could do without the negative sentiment. The company is in the midst of a turnaround effort, CBS reports. Last month, it announced plans to close 300 locations by the end of 2027 and said it would trim its corporate workforce by 7% (4).
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The company reported revenues of $2.1 billion last year, which was flat compared to the previous year.
The pizza industry, on the whole, has been in a bit of a slump for the past few years. Major chains, including Papa John's, Pizza Hut and Papa Murphy's have all seen sales decline. And other restaurants, including Pieology and Bertucci's have filed for bankruptcy.
To stem those losses, chains are mixing it up. Last year, Domino's launched a stuffed crust pizza for the first time, after turning its nose up at style when Pizza Hut launched them in 1995 (with an ad campaign that featured Donald Trump (5)).
Pizza Hut, meanwhile, debuted a drive-thru restaurant in 2024 (6), and took a big swing with Tomato Wine by Pizza Hut, a limited-edition offering that the company says "captures the essence of Pizza Hut's signature flavors in every sip (7)." Papa John's, meanwhile, began offering its first pan pizza since 2016 earlier this year (8).
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
TikTok (1); Pew Research Center (2); Bankrate (3); CBS News (4); Consumer Time Capsule on YouTube (5); Pizza Today (6); Pizza Hut (7); Papa John's (8)
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Chris Morris is a veteran journalist with more than 35 years of experience, the majority of which were spent with some of the Internet’s biggest sites, including CNNMoney.com, where he was director of content development, and Yahoo! Finance, where he was managing editor. His work has also appeared on Fortune, Fast Company, Inc., CNBC.com, AARP, Nasdaq.com, and Voice of America, as well as dozens of other national publications.
