They knock on your door around meal times bearing pizza, sandwiches and ethnic food. They are not the typical solicitors or maintenance men. They are fast food delivery drivers.

With the economy affecting menu prices and delivery charges, delivery drivers are feeling the effects too.

Some restaurants, like The Great Wall, 901 Lucinda Ave., and Pizza Pro’s, 1205 W. Lincoln Highway, do not charge delivery fees, but numerous fast food restaurants do. At Shelley’s Restaurant, 901 Lucinda Ave., they charge $2.17 for delivery, and Lukulo’s Restaurant, 1101 W. Lincoln Highway, charges about $2 for delivery.

Some restaurants give the drivers part of the delivery charge, others do not.

“At Lukulo’s, the delivery charge is around $2,” said Justin Mecher, delivery driver for Lukulo’s Restaurant. “I actually get about $1.75 of that, plus tips.”

Depending on the restaurant, some delivery drivers use their own cars and spend their own money on gas when working, so drivers depend on tips to make up for the gas they use when delivering. Other drivers, like Sean Curl, delivery driver for Shelley’s Restaurant, said he uses his own car and gas, but is reimbursed by Shelley’s.

“At Shelley’s, I pay for the gas, but I get money back for the miles I use,” Curl said. “They take the start and end mile on my car during my shift, and then reimburse me in my paycheck for those miles.”

But driving the miles does not necessarily make the tips.

Paul Kucera, delivery driver at The Great Wall, said his tips depend on where he delivers.

“People living in apartments usually tip well,” Kucera said. “But students in the dorms don’t.”

Mecher agreed.

“Everyone I deliver to in apartments are nice and give bigger tips, but kids in the dorms don’t usually tip well,” Mecher said. “People that live in houses ordering meals for their family tip a lot better than students living in apartments or dorms.”

When it comes to the typical tip, the average is around $2 to $3, but can vary from that, Kucera said.

Curl averages the same amount of tips as well. However, Curl does not get mad at students for tipping less, because he realizes they do not have very much money.

“My average tips are around $2, but at the end of the semester they’re usually about $1 to $1.50,” Curl said. “I just know to expect that at the end of semesters. It’s nothing personal. Students are just running low on their Huskie Bucks by then.”