Hey Folks!
I’ve been living abroad for over half my life in a country where tipping is not the norm. At most you would round up. 19€ bill? Here’s a 20, keep this change.
Going to the US soon to visit family and the whole idea of tipping makes me nervous. It seems there’s a lot of discussion about getting rid of tipping, but I don’t know how much has changed in this regard.
The system seems ridiculously unfair, and that extra expense in a country where everything is already so expensive really makes a difference.
So will AITA if I don’t tip? Is it really my personal responsibility to make sure my server is paid enough?
Doordash driver: The federal government values mileage at $0.63/mile for tax purposes. They would value the vehicle expenses of a 6-mile delivery at $3.78.
Minimum wage in my state is $10.10 per hour. A 6-mile delivery takes 20 minutes, or $3.03. Anything less than $6.81 for this delivery, and the driver is earning less than minimum wage.
DD typically pays the driver $2.
A tip less than $4.81 means you expect the driver to earn less than minimum wage.
There’s another problem: Doordash’s primary rating system for it’s drivers is “acceptance rate”. The higher your acceptance rate, the higher you are prioritized for offers. The lowest tier of drivers has to wait for everyone in the area above him to be unavailable or to reject an order before he gets to work.
When a customer makes a low-tip or no-tip order, they expect a driver to pay for the privilege of delivering the order, and they are willing to ding the acceptance rating of every single driver in the area who refuses to work at a loss.
I disagree - it means you expect them to earn a wage regardless of how much you tip. Bosses should pay their workers a living wage, period. DD drivers shouldn’t have to rely on the kindness of strangers.
I agree, but if you pay for a service knowing that worker is underpaid by the boss, you are exploiting the worker just as much as the boss is.
The system is broken, it’s unethical to exploit the broken for your own advantage as well.
Some people genuinely don’t realize the delivery person doesn’t get paid much. I didn’t even know for the longest time that the “delivery fee” apparently does not go to the driver. That’s an issue with DoorDash and similar apps’ messaging to the users. My tips have gone up since I learned that the delivery fee is apparently not for the delivery person. It’s not always malice on the customer’s part though. Sometimes it’s genuine misunderstanding.
Sounds like DD is a total no-go. I’ve read enough stories on Reddit to know what a shitty system it is, seemingly for everyone involved except the business owner.