Photo via @seasonedcaucasion/TikTok
October 29, 2021, 2:08 pm
A DoorDash driver and TikTok user gave the public a peek into the inner workings of the food delivery app service, explaining why people who don’t tip often find themselves waiting over an hour for food that was prepared and packed up soon after they placed their order. No-tipping customers who find themselves with cold McDonald’s fries and congealed burgers only have themselves to blame, according to the video by TikTok user “Sto Rmy.”
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“So I just went to pick up an order for DoorDash, right,” she says to the camera. “You guys don’t like to tip, it’s okay. I’m going to tell you the result of not tipping. These two bags have been made by 12:15 p.m. At 12:15, that’s when they serve this off of their screen. I used to work at McDonalds, that’s why I know.”
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She uses this story of the very late McDonald’s order to illustrate how little DoorDash pays drivers for each delivery — just $2.25 for “base pay” is the default, which is almost never worth the effort, not to mention the gas it takes to drive to the restaurant and then to the customer. DoorDash drivers can, however, reject orders that aren’t worth it to them, which very often happens when a customer hasn’t left a tip. The majority of the earnings made by drivers for apps like these come from tips, and failing to tip has consequences for the customer.
The only reason these no-tip orders get delivered at all is because, as the TikTok user explains in the comments, the base pay for an order goes up by 50 cents. By the time she got to it, the order had been rejected eight times, bringing the pay up to $6.25. When she picked up the order, it was 1:27 p.m.
“I looked at the (receipt) because I knew when to look at the time, and I was like, ’12:15? It’s 1:27 now!’ This has been ready for an hour and it’s because they ain’t tipping.”
Companies like DoorDash have repeatedly come under fire for paying their drivers very little without compensating them for gas and wear and tear on the drivers’ personal vehicles, not providing insurance, and not offering any benefits as they exploit the “independent contractor” laws in many states. Drivers end up relying almost completely on tips, which are famously unreliable. In order to survive, these “contractors” avoid no-tip deliveries whenever possible, even as it increases their risk of being fired.
Commenters on this TikTok video found themselves embroiled in debate, with some refusing to believe the TikTok user and others blaming drivers for refusing orders, while more sympathetic commenters blame non-tippers as well as DoorDash for utilizing an utterly exploitative business model that make the world worse in every way. Others say they tip drivers in cash only, but they might want to change that policy, well-intentioned as it may be.
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“So basically if they don’t tip they getting ice cold & the driver that eventually grabs it gets paid a little more,” summarized one commenter. “Seems fair to me.”
“I ALWAYS tip yet my order is always wrong or missing something,” complained another. “So tell me why I should keep tipping?”
Maybe it’s time to go pick up your own McDonald’s.
*First Published: October 29, 2021, 2:08 pm
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