DoorDash are using your tips to pay workers’ wages

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

How much do people typically tip? What %? I use Skip the Dishes when I don't feel like making dinner and generally pay the recommended amount. I do know that by default it tips a minimum of $3 but you can tip whatever you want.

It depends on the order actually...small orders get the default dollar value...larger orders go by percentage.

For smaller orders I see an average of $2-3...some people still go with $0...and those people don't get their deliveries from me :P.

With larger orders it's harder to tell what percentage I've been tipped...since I don't know how much they paid for their food.

Yesterday, I did an order that I earned like $28 for...it was a bit of a drive to get there...but typically a run like that would only be around $12-15

[NM 156]

The love of money is the root of all evil. Private profit driven companies will always do anything they can to make a buck.

[Mister Cheese]

This is why I always tip in cash.

[Orlong]

Okay I have read this on my social media page for past few days and did some research that this story is not really new but seems to have gained some momentum.

DoorDash offers a guaranteed minimum for each job. For my first order, the guarantee was $6.85 and the customer, a woman in Boerum Hill who answered the door in a colorful bathrobe, tipped $3 via the app. But I still received only $6.85.

Here’s how it works: If the woman in the bathrobe had tipped zero, DoorDash would have paid me the whole $6.85. Because she tipped $3, DoorDash kicked in only $3.85. She was saving DoorDash $3, not tipping me.

So this is the basic premise that in some instances we are helping pay for the wages of the drivers and our tip is not even a benefit or added incentive, which is what most people believe when they tip.

So my first thing is I know this will probably become a back and forth about "I don't tip" or "you should tip". This story is not about "Tipping" which we have had multiple threads over the years. Actually maybe this story was covered in one of those threads, idk?

Another point is in these twitter posts I see many say "Just tip in Cash", which again seems against the use of the app and convenience of ordering something and not having to have cash on hand. I am one who does not carry much cash and a step further I generally don't carry small bills for tipping.

So I have used Door Dash less than a handful of times and while the story says its not all deliveries, I am one who really is rethinking about using this app for delivery anymore if my tip is not going to the delivery person. Oh and if we get into the "Just don't tip that person" then there is the times where you may actually be hurting that person's way of making a living.

I guess the bigger comment we can also speak on is the whole "The Gig Economy" since I believe Uber was doing this also for awhile and how it seems the apps where you are suppose to have the chance at self-employment are really not set up that way. For me as a cynic I would want to say "shocker" but seems fairly obvious.

Why would anyone want to use a service like this where you have to basically pay double or more for your food by the time you add the astronomical delivery fee, and tip, as well as having food that is probably about room temperature by the time you get it

[Low Hanging Fruit]

Good to know. I will start tipping directly with cash.

[melodramocracy]

Makes me wonder if Uber, etc practice the same sort of thing.

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

Makes me wonder if Uber, etc practice the same sort of thing.

Says in the article that they don't.

The Verge reached out to other firms in this sector to check their own policies. Postmates, Grubhub, Seamless, and Uber Eats all confirmed that customer tips are not used to subsidize workers’ pay.

[Bakis]

You shouldn't tip people for doing the job they were contracted to do.

As you write in the next post, yes the companies should pay their sallery but these people got shitty jobs with shitty pay.
I always tip 10-20% depending on service and I hope people who have those spare bucks do it as well.

Better to stay away from garbage coorporations like Amazon and Ryan Air which just leech the shit out of their employees.

[Kaleredar]

It's not the customers problem if the company doesn't pay enough.

You're the one continuing to fund that business and its ill practices. You are literally paying them to continue that practice.

[Nellise]

Well apparently DoorDash finally got sick of everybody complaining about their shady practices so they're going to come up with a new way to screw their "contractors". Yay, I guess?

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

This is the email that doordash is sending it's contractors:

Dear ,

After a lot of consideration, I announced last night that we will be changing the Dasher pay model. I want to email you directly to share why I made this decision and to ensure you know what to expect in the days ahead.

In 2017, we built a pay model to prioritize transparency and consistent earnings. We thought we were doing the right thing by boosting a Dasher’s earnings when a customer left a small tip or no tip at all.

While we continue to hear from Dashers that the model generally works for you, to serve Dashers well over the long term, we also have to serve the consumers who use our platform. I did not think that we could continue to do right by you if there were some customers who felt like their tip did not matter.

So what does this mean for you? It means we will soon announce a new pay model where any customer tip will be independent of DoorDash’s contribution for that delivery. It also means that we’ll need your input as we develop other details. Stay tuned for ways to continue to have your perspective heard.

Our goal is to get 1% better everyday and to serve our entire community, including the Dasher community, to the best of our ability. These beliefs have led us to improvements in the past and they serve as our guide for the future.

With your help, we will get there.

Onward,

Tony

To me, what it sounds like they'll do is just get rid of the "guaranteed minimum" so that when the customer tips well, the driver is paid well...but when the customer shafts the driver on the tip...he ends up with nothing but the base compensation from Doordash.

[Wyrt]

They just started to offer door dash where I live. That's really fucked up if that's their normal practice. I always assumed they got paid "x dollars" and the tip was on top of that. I guess I will start tipping in cash.

Oh... oh dear.

I have some very, very bad news for you:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipped_wage

In a lot of states employees are paid well below minimum wage if tips are expected. Minnesota isn't one of them, fortunately, so this is probably your first time encountering this complete and utter bullshit of a practice.

[ghotihook]

Not trying to necro an old thread, but I just saw this on Engadget. An update to this thread.
https://www.engadget.com/2019/08/22/...get-your-tips/
It looks like they are finally being held to not scamming tips. This is how it should have been in the beginning, but I am glad they are changing. There was another company similar to this that just changed the same policy.

[Lodreh]

If I use Door Dash I tip $0.00 on my card and under driver instruction I type, 'Tip will be in cash'. Plan to continue to do this in the future as I see no reason to change it.

[Galactis]

Okay I have read this on my social media page for past few days and did some research that this story is not really new but seems to have gained some momentum.

DoorDash offers a guaranteed minimum for each job. For my first order, the guarantee was $6.85 and the customer, a woman in Boerum Hill who answered the door in a colorful bathrobe, tipped $3 via the app. But I still received only $6.85.

Here’s how it works: If the woman in the bathrobe had tipped zero, DoorDash would have paid me the whole $6.85. Because she tipped $3, DoorDash kicked in only $3.85. She was saving DoorDash $3, not tipping me.

So this is the basic premise that in some instances we are helping pay for the wages of the drivers and our tip is not even a benefit or added incentive, which is what most people believe when they tip.

So my first thing is I know this will probably become a back and forth about "I don't tip" or "you should tip". This story is not about "Tipping" which we have had multiple threads over the years. Actually maybe this story was covered in one of those threads, idk?

Another point is in these twitter posts I see many say "Just tip in Cash", which again seems against the use of the app and convenience of ordering something and not having to have cash on hand. I am one who does not carry much cash and a step further I generally don't carry small bills for tipping.

So I have used Door Dash less than a handful of times and while the story says its not all deliveries, I am one who really is rethinking about using this app for delivery anymore if my tip is not going to the delivery person. Oh and if we get into the "Just don't tip that person" then there is the times where you may actually be hurting that person's way of making a living.

I guess the bigger comment we can also speak on is the whole "The Gig Economy" since I believe Uber was doing this also for awhile and how it seems the apps where you are suppose to have the chance at self-employment are really not set up that way. For me as a cynic I would want to say "shocker" but seems fairly obvious.

If employers just paid a living wage people would not need tips at all ever. I don't tip, sorry I cannot afford it. Not much else to say, it's your job to serve food and drinks. 4$ an hour is shit for doing that. I pay you as a customer to serve me food and drinks, why should I pay you TWICE for doing the same work. It doesn't make sense.

I don't care, no tips from me.

[ghotihook]

If employers just paid a living wage people would not need tips at all ever. I don't tip, sorry I cannot afford it. Not much else to say, it's your job to serve food and drinks. 4$ an hour is shit for doing that. I pay you as a customer to serve me food and drinks, why should I pay you TWICE for doing the same work. It doesn't make sense.

I don't care, no tips from me.

If you cannot afford to tip, you should not be getting services where they tip. Going out to eat, food delivery, etc...
Your attitude is a great way to receive poor service the next time. Waiters and delivery people remember these things.

[niztheundead87]

If you cannot afford to tip, you should not be getting services where they tip. Going out to eat, food delivery, etc...
Your attitude is a great way to receive poor service the next time. Waiters and delivery people remember these things.

in the same manner if you industries cant afford wages they should close
just pay normla wages like the rest of the world

[Tech614]

If you cannot afford to tip, you should not be getting services where they tip. Going out to eat, food delivery, etc...
Your attitude is a great way to receive poor service the next time. Waiters and delivery people remember these things.

It's literally an american culture scam so the employer doesn't need to pay their employees a competitive wage.

In Japan for example it's considered an insult to tip a service worker- because it's implying they don't make enough money. But they actually do make enough money, because it's not america.

Also in before weak argument of "fOoD pRiCeS would go up" on my trips to Japan I generally spend less on food then I do at home in california lmao.

[Jotaux]

It's literally an american culture scam so the employer doesn't need to pay their employees a competitive wage.

In Japan for example it's considered an insult to tip a service worker- because it's implying they don't make enough money. But they actually do make enough money, because it's not america.

Also in before weak argument of "fOoD pRiCeS would go up" on my trips to Japan I generally spend less on food then I do at home in california lmao.

I always laugh at the food prices will go up argument when it comes to increasing costs, especially wages. Trust me those companies are already charging the maximum they can.

[Cracked]

So in the mean time you're advocating underpaying them until hopefully the company turns around from all the turnover.

Well in CA there is no more tip credit yet people still regularly tip 15-20%. Turns out it's more like the opposite. First the credit will be eliminated, then tipping will slowly start be phased out. Nobody likes paying more than they have to.