DoorDash changes its tip-stealing policy after outcry, this week in the war on workers

Delivery app DoorDash decided to change its ways after getting some very bad publicity this week around its policy of taking tips that customers thought were going to workers. The way the policy went, “dashers” got a set rate for a given delivery, and if that rate was $6 and a customer tipped $4, well, the dasher still got $6 but DoorDash only had to pay $2. Now, tips entered in DoorDash will go to workers.

“The new model will ensure that Dashers’ earnings will increase by the exact amount a customer tips on every order. We’ll have specific details in the coming days,” the company’s chief executive tweeted. But the devil may be in those specific details, because Dashers aren’t convinced the company will do right by them.

On a forum for DoorDash workers on Reddit, some Dashers greeted the news with concern that DoorDash would simply pay them less to make up for the revenue it expected to lose after no longer being able to subsidize labor costs with tips.

“I’m worried that the orders will guarantee less now, but we get all the tips,” wrote a Reddit user named Dmillz648. “Meaning a previously guaranteed 10-dollar order might now only guarantee 5 bucks, and you get a 2 dollar tip, meaning you got 7 bucks for that order.”

If so many people who order delivery didn’t fail to tip, there’d be less of an issue (seriously, tip your delivery person!), but this is very much on the company as well.

Here are the tip policies of some other delivery apps.

 

This blog was originally published at Daily Kos on July 29, 2019. Reprinted with permission.

About the Author: Laura Clawson is labor editor at Daily Kos.
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Madeline Messa

Madeline Messa is a 3L at Syracuse University College of Law. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. With her legal research and writing for Workplace Fairness, she strives to equip people with the information they need to be their own best advocate.