I think you've got the average wage for drivers confused with waiters -- In the 90s, my then-boyfriend worked as a delivery driver, and his base pay was more than minimum wage. ($5 or $6?) He also got paid for mileage (based on the IRS per-mile calculation). Hmm ... this site puts the average base pay between $6.31 - $7.75.

Even so, yeah, it's by no means a well-paying job. And yeah, it's not fair to skimp on tip just because you're poor. It's not like they're rich. :/