Like other delivery services, student-run Tiger Food is deterred by "neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow nor gloom of night" in delivering to-go orders from restaurant dining rooms to Princeton dorm rooms.
But that doesn't mean there won't be obstacles along the way.
"Any and all catastrophes will occur at some point during the year. I once blew a tire on a Sunday night with about 10 orders in the car in the pouring rain," Tiger Food Manager Ryan Reich '04 said, "I finished the route sprinting around campus."
Reich recalled another instance when his roommate was delivering on a snowy night and received numerous orders.
"Me and a couple of my friends helped out by running the orders around campus on foot," Reich said.
Founded about 15 years ago, Tiger Food operates as a student agency, delivering food from local eateries — including Sakura Express, Tiger Noodles, Kalluri Corner, George's, Olives, A Taste of Mexico, Victor's Pizzeria, Moondoggie Café, Ahjihei Too and Ivy Garden — to students' rooms.
Even restaurants with delivery services participate in Tiger Food because "it is free for them to participate so there's no incentive for them to say, 'No,'" Reich said. "In addition to being free, our school has a 'no solicitation' policy with outside vendors. Therefore, restaurants can't advertise on campus. If they participate with us, we provide full scale campus advertising."
As opposed to other delivery services, students have the option of charging the cost of Tiger Food delivery to their student account.
For student drivers, delivering for Tiger Food also offers advantages—decent pay and relief from the more "boring" jobs offered on campus.
"Tiger Food is a much more lucrative and glorious job than the dining hall job I had for the first half of freshman year," Hart Claypool '05 said.
While student drivers described working for Tiger Food as "a great job with great pay," "fun" and "sweet," they also remembered the anxiety and confusion of their first delivery.
"My first time delivering, I was really nervous that I would mess up an order or deliver something wrong or just generally mess up what I was supposed to do, so I was very diligent in doing things to a point of overkill," Nick Rowland '06 said.
"First time delivering was tough. I really didn't have a great grasp of where all the dorms were to begin with, never mind how to actually find the rooms with the various ways that rooms are numbered in the dorms here," Claypool said. "I didn't take notice of what time the orders were actually placed, so I could have conceivably delivered first an order that was placed 30 minutes earlier and delivered last an order was placed an hour earlier."
According to the Tiger Food website, students are paid an average of $15 an hour. However, managers are paid a percentage of the business's profit.
"As the manager, I make money based on the success of the business. The more profitable it is, the more I make," Reich said. "If [Tiger Food] doesn't make any money, I don't either."
Last year, former Tiger Food manager Dave Madden '03 made roughly $20,000, The Daily Princetonian reported. Madden received media attention after agreeing to donate 25 percent of his earnings to charity.
In addition to their hourly pay, student drivers often receive tips.
"I've had more students than I can count ask for advice on how much to tip. I think people are used to having their parents make these decisions for them," Reich said.
"Generally, students do tip well," Claypool said. "Sometimes you catch people who are wasted, either stoned or drunk, and they tip you more than their actual order, which is great. I'd also say that girls are generally better tippers."
"Occasionally, you have people treat you pretty badly for being slow or not bringing the full order. But you also get the opposite spectrum, as well, where they talk to you for awhile or give you an obscenely large tip and compliment you on how fast you came," Rowland said.
Rowland said he enjoys delivering because he gets to bring food to friends and meet new people.
Read More
Princeton Zoning Board of Adjustment approves renovations to Tower and Charter Clubs
Sena Chang and Isaac BernsteinOn March 27, the Municipality of Princeton’s Zoning Board of Adjustment approved construction developments for Tower Club and Charter Club. Renovations for both clubs are aimed towards improving accessibility.
On March 27, the Municipality of Princeton’s Zoning Board of Adjustment approved construction developments for Tower Club and Charter Club. Renovations for both clubs are aimed towards improving accessibility.
Students support local businesses with new platform Zage
Jack AllenAfter hearing about the struggles faced by a number of these restaurants after students left campus in mid-March, Dilbagi created Zage, an online platform that allows community members to send money to local businesses now to redeem as credits on their purchases in the future.
This fall, go beyond the 'Bubble'
Dora ZhaoEven though classes are picking up, weekends are the perfect time for students to escape the Orange Bubble. While going out to eat on Nassau is enjoyable, there is so much to see beyond Princeton. For those looking for a day trip or a chance to explore the area outside of Princeton, here is a list of ideas to do this fall.