No Instacart for me. This is not OK at all.
Others have said why. I will spend some time to make others aware.
I really hate this sort of thing. Viscerally.
Instacart paying 80 cents an hour because worker received a large tip
291–300 of 718 posts
Re: Instacart paying 80 cents an hour because worker received a large tip
#292Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's not true. > DoorDash, which launched in 2014, services 15 metro areas in the U.S.; like many other delivery apps, it employs couriers to pick up food from restaurants and deliver it to customers. But beyond the usual delivery fees, taxes, and tips customers will shell out for, DoorDash also inflates the cost of each menu item — often unbeknownst to customers. For example, a sandwich that costs $10.99 directly…
That's a 3 yr old article
It's a better source than you provided.
Re: Instacart paying 80 cents an hour because worker received a large tip
#293Earlier quoted context omitted.
>Collective action is essentially impossible among consumers though. It's not possible with an attitude like that. There is no government action that is forcing you to buy from Instacart. >Boycotts essentially never work. Tell that to Birmingham, Alabama. >Not only that, but who are you going to use instead of instacart: Amazon Fresh? Uber? Or will you drive yourself to the store and buy it from minimum wage employee…
I'm grateful for your response. I especially appreciate the "We can be concerned about more than one thing at a time." That's useful language I can use in the future. I'm wondering what could be possible if a group of people (say, some in prison?) started saying "We peacefully revoke consent to be governed this way and request immediate transformative justice in the form of a justice system that allows us to craft ou…
Ok, I’ll be that guy... here we go:
The world is like a ride in an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it you think it's real because that's how powerful our minds are. The ride goes up and down, around and around, it has thrills and chills, and it's very brightly colored, and it's very loud, and it's fun for a while. Many people have been on the ride a long time, and they begin to wonder, "Hey, is this real, or is this just a ride?" And other people have remembered, and they come back to us and say, "Hey, don't worry; don't be afraid, ever, because this is just a ride." And we … kill those people. "Shut him up! I've got a lot invested in this ride, shut him up! Look at my furrows of worry, look at my big bank account, and my family. This has to be real." It's just a ride. But we always kill the good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that? And let the demons run amok … But it doesn't matter, because it's just a ride. And we can change it any time we want. It's only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings of money. Just a simple choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your doors, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love instead see all of us as one. Here's what we can do to change the world, right now, to a better ride. Take all that money we spend on weapons and defenses each year and instead spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would pay for many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace.
Re: Instacart paying 80 cents an hour because worker received a large tip
#294I am 100% in favor of tipping, and all of you people calling to ban it don't understand service jobs. Those doing so should be ashamed, as they are effectively victim-blaming in this context (in what really seems close to wage theft, at least in spirit, by Instacart) to push this cause. This is really much more a story of ethics in software development. Someone had to know they were doing the wrong thing when they wr…
You realize that you can still tip, without all of us living under this broken system, right?
Re: Instacart paying 80 cents an hour because worker received a large tip
#295> That's right: the customer's tip doesn't get added to the worker's check — it just gets deducted from what Instacart pays. In other words, up-front tips go to Instacart, not to the worker. My understanding is that the Fair Labor Standards Act does not allow for employers to whithold tips.[0] Gratuity/tip is a legally recognized concept. You can't just throw the word in your app and do what you want with the money i…
Yup, and Washington state specifically does not allow tip credits. Tips in WA are always on-top or hourly wage. (Which is why even a terrible bartender in Seattle can do pretty well.)
But as soon as someone 1099's you, you're out of luck. Found this out the hard way when I got 1099'd by a startup I was working for in 2017. The IRS has a mechanism on the Federal level to fix things enough to avoid the higher tax burden, but WA state explicitly requires a W2 from an employer for even the most basic of unemployment benefits (the determination letter from the IRS apparently doesn't count).
Re: Instacart paying 80 cents an hour because worker received a large tip
#296> We include tips in the calculation so that you can get a more accurate picture of what your earnings will be after completing the batch.
> Tips have always been included in our calculation of earnings and it helps provide a reminder to customers that you are providing a valuable service.
Being fed garbage like that is pretty insulting, though it's interesting to see how far they're willing to stretch logic to try to put a positive spin on it. I mean, "we reduce your earnings so you can feel useful"? Man, logic broke right there.
Re: Instacart paying 80 cents an hour because worker received a large tip
#297Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, this is common in the restaurant industry. But a few differences: (1) Tips are expected in the restaurant industry (2) Waitstaff knows what they're signing up for (3) The restaurant does not adjust wages after tips have been received
> (3) The restaurant does not adjust wages after tips have been received In many cases they do. If you receive zero tips for a shift, they are obligated to pay out minimum wage. If you receive $200 in tips for a shift, they pay out a lower figure, usually around $2.
A tipped employee must receive at least the tipped minimum wage before considering tips, and the normal minimum wage after considering tips. The only adjustment an employer is allowed to make is to increase an employee's base wage if the base wage + tips is less than the normal minimum wage. In no case can the base wage be less than the tipped minimum wage.
The people delivering here are "contractors", not employees, so this doesn't actually apply to them; what Instacart is doing here is merely reprehensible, as opposed to illegal.
Re: Instacart paying 80 cents an hour because worker received a large tip
#298Re: Instacart paying 80 cents an hour because worker received a large tip
#299This is an outrage. I used instacart for awhile and eventually stopped - it just became too expensive. I would always waive the service fee when possible and tip the driver in cash. Glad I did - now knowing they use it to deny living wages.
Re: Instacart paying 80 cents an hour because worker received a large tip
#300This makes me wonder why people bother working for Instacart when there are so many alternatives. I googled for "service economy gig" and got this huge list: https://www.wonolo.com/blog/best-gig-economy-apps/ I guess this Wonolo service is for choosing the right services to work for. Now I'm wondering how many Wonolo clones there are. :-)
Many people are willing to work for minimum wage, so I'm not sure I understand your question.
He didn't actually get 80 cents an hour, but he also didn't get the wage+tip he expected. Instead, Instacart got tipped, and he effectively got the regular wage. I hope!