The DoorDash app will nudge a customer to add or raise the tip left to a driver
One food delivery app in the news is DoorDash. Now you need to understand that most “gig delivery workers” are paid less than the minimum wage and count on tips to earn enough money to pay the bills. Apps like DoorDash will suggest a tip for the driver based on the distance they are driving from the restaurant to your location and the “effort required” to make the delivery. Customers can change the amount they tip based on a set percentage or a custom amount.
The DoorDash app will remind customers to leave a tip or increase the size of a tip left for a driver
Some DoorDash drivers are concerned that customers won’t be happy with DoorDash because of the nudging for tips. One such driver, Heather Taylor, who delivers for DoorDash in Corpus Christi, Texas, said, “I think it would be annoying to 80% of customers.” Nonetheless, she says this nudging could hike her income. The tip nudging reminder comes as some drivers have become aggressive when it comes to tips with some trying to shame the customer into raising the tip in the middle of a delivery. DoorDash prohibits drivers from tip shaming customers although it does happen.
“We are literally working for tips,” says a DoorDash driver
Another DoorDash driver, Sergio Avedian, who is a spokesman for The Rideshare Guy blog, delivers about 20 hours a week in Los Angeles and says his base pay ranges on DoorDash and Uber Eats from $1.50 to $3 per order. “When base pay is so low, we have to look for high-tip, low-mileage orders,” he said. “We are literally working for tips.”
When Instacart announced its tip nudging feature for its app, the company said, “We’ve rolled out tipping prompts to encourage customers to consider increasing their tip anytime they rate a shopper five stars. The prompts also encourage customers to recognize their shopper’s hard work by leaving a tip if they initially choose not to leave one.” Uber Eats told Insider it has “invested heavily into improving the tipping experience for drivers and couriers.”
