Domino’s driver, 68, gets life-changing tip after simple gesture leads to surprise fundraiser

Dan Simpson's kind gesture has turned into a tip over US$110,000. Photo / Katey_93

A 68-year-old pizza delivery driver in the United States is one step closer to retirement after a small act of kindness led to the biggest tip of his life – more than US$110,000 ($190,000) and counting.

Dan Simpson had been delivering pizzas for Domino’s in Boise, Idaho, for 14 years when a small act of kindness last week made him an overnight sensation.

A customer ordered pizza from Simpson’s Domino’s location and asked for a two-litre Diet Coke but the store had none in stock.

Simpson tried to call the customer to arrange a substitute but got no answer.

So he crossed the street to a nearby convenience store and bought the drink himself, then delivered the complete order to the customer, Brian Wilson.

Wilson’s door-step camera caught the moment Simpson handed over the order and explained what he’d done.

The grateful customer told the driver he hadn’t needed to go to that trouble, and asked whether there was a way to add to his tip, saying he deserved more than he’d already been given.

“Oh, you don’t need to. It’s a good tip,” Simpson said in a video of the doorbell footage and posted to TikTok.

Wilson decided to post the door camera footage to social media, which has now been liked more than 600,000 times.

When the video started to do well, Wilson launched a GoFundMe page for Simpson called Tip for Dan the Pizza Man’s Retirement.

The campaign has so far raised US$112,146 ($195,862).

“Last night, something simple turned into something really special, and we can’t stop thinking about it,” Wilson wrote on the GoFundMe page.

He wrote he was “blown away” when Simpson arrived at his door with the Diet Coke, despite it being a busy night of deliveries.

Dan Simpson's kind gesture has turned into a tip of more than US$110,000. Photo / Katey_93

“On the surface, it probably looked like such a small gesture,” Wilson told the Idaho Statesman.

“But to us, it felt like so much more than that. That kind of thoughtfulness and personal care just feels so rare these days.

“It was one of those moments that instantly remind you there are still genuinely good people out there who go above and beyond simply because they care.”

Simpson said he thought nothing of the interaction and returned to work the next day. When he walked in the store he found out the news.

“Man, you’re famous, dude,” said a younger colleague, the Idaho Statesman reported.