Not to be pedantic, but why isn't "Instacart" being annotated as "Instacart (YC S12)" in this latest round of stories? Seems only fair.
They generally only do that on positive-spin articles, not the negative or bad PR ones.
Instacart and DoorDash’s Tip Policies Are Delivering Outrage
161–170 of 376 posts
Re: Instacart and DoorDash’s Tip Policies Are Delivering Outrage
#162Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is a good point and likely going to result in a massive class action that a few of these companies don't survive.
They'll survive it. The pendulum has swung far toward corporations and awards don't tend to be death sentences these days. What other company has been killed by a lawsuit lately, other than thorough frauds like for-profit colleges?
Well, there's Gawker, but that's also a special case.
PG&E?
Re: Instacart and DoorDash’s Tip Policies Are Delivering Outrage
#163Earlier quoted context omitted.
Are Uber and Lyft doing this too? Should we tip them in cash? I've wondered if that was better for them.
100% of tips goes to the driver for both Uber [1] and Lyft. [2] [1] https://www.uber.com/drive/partner-app/how-tips-work/ [2] https://help.lyft.com/hc/en-us/articles/115013081368-How-to-...
I would prefer this be phrased as "Uber does not take a cut of tips for drivers."
Drivers would definitely prefer, for a given dollar, that it be given in a way that does not create a taxable paper trail unless they elect to declare it.
Re: Instacart and DoorDash’s Tip Policies Are Delivering Outrage
#164I've never used Instacart, but I've used GrubHub and DoorDash and the like a couple of times -- I can never remember which one I have an account for, or which one has the restaurant I want, so it's always a hodgepodge. But one thing is clear as day. When I use DoorDash, the tip box says "100% of tip goes to Dasher". Look, I know all of these places either charge me a service fee, or if I'm not being charged a service…
This is a good point and likely going to result in a massive class action that a few of these companies don't survive.
DoorDash has a mandatory arbitration clause (that I opted out of but most people don’t) so I fear the best we can hope for is a light tap from a state AG and a flimsy promise to “review our internal procedures” with no big change. It isn’t as though large numbers of people will stop using these services that deliberately abuse their “independent contractor” workers.
Re: Instacart and DoorDash’s Tip Policies Are Delivering Outrage
#165I've never used Instacart, but I've used GrubHub and DoorDash and the like a couple of times -- I can never remember which one I have an account for, or which one has the restaurant I want, so it's always a hodgepodge. But one thing is clear as day. When I use DoorDash, the tip box says "100% of tip goes to Dasher". Look, I know all of these places either charge me a service fee, or if I'm not being charged a service…
This is a good point and likely going to result in a massive class action that a few of these companies don't survive.
At least in the case of DoorDash, they have an arbitration clause in their TOS that effectively quashes any attempts at a class action.
Hopefully one day the US justice system will wake up to the fact that allowing companies to opt-out of the main mechanism preventing them from engaging in this sort of petty-crime-at-scale is not a good idea, but until then it's what we're stuck with.
Re: Instacart and DoorDash’s Tip Policies Are Delivering Outrage
#166Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Or maybe give the driver cash? "Gross. Who carries cash anymore?" Future headline: Millenials are killing physical cash. Jokes aside (as a millennial) this is not something I usually have readily available. I try to keep all my transactions digital but I may take money out just for tipping purposes.
As another millennial, I carry cash and pay with it whenever possible, though I think I'm in the minority on the latter point (but not the former!).
My cousin does the same thing, also a millennial. She carries all her money though.
Re: Instacart and DoorDash’s Tip Policies Are Delivering Outrage
#167Why doesn't this problem exist when I order something from Amazon? Because there is no absurd idea that I should be tipping the UPS guy or anyone else involved in fulfilling my order. It makes much more sense for InstaCart to simply collect star ratings and offer bonuses for the employees who are going above and beyond. Considering how often the shopper has to call me about replacements, parking outside my building,…
Employees? What are those?
Re: Instacart and DoorDash’s Tip Policies Are Delivering Outrage
#168Earlier quoted context omitted.
An MBA would point out that in the this isn't a sustainable strategy, regardless of any concept of fairness. Backlash from customers and workers is virtually guaranteed to hurt long-term profits.
Serious question: are ethics taught in MBA programs, and if so, how? Generally speaking, how are MBA's taught to avoid making this very mistake?
https://www4.kellogg.northwestern.edu/coursecatalogschedule/...
Speaking for myself, though, that wasn't a course I felt I needed to take. But every professor certainly expects you to approach problems from an ethical perspective, just like in any other degree...
Re: Instacart and DoorDash’s Tip Policies Are Delivering Outrage
#169Why doesn't this problem exist when I order something from Amazon? Because there is no absurd idea that I should be tipping the UPS guy or anyone else involved in fulfilling my order. It makes much more sense for InstaCart to simply collect star ratings and offer bonuses for the employees who are going above and beyond. Considering how often the shopper has to call me about replacements, parking outside my building,…
In my opinion the tip comes in when you ask for a service specific to you and a person provides it. USPS is providing a general service to your, let's call it neighborhood. But a barber is providing a personal service to you. Doordash and the like are more like the latter than the former. You say what you want, a single person in that profession does the work for you, and then you pay their fee and something on top.…
A Florist provides personal service to me, and you aren't expected to tip them, as does a cake decorator, or mechanic. This reads like a reverse justification for tipping, that is innately irrational.
Re: Instacart and DoorDash’s Tip Policies Are Delivering Outrage
#170It's terrible, but really it fits what these businesses do fundamentally. They provide a service, and and push as much risk off of the copany and onto their contractors as possible. Slow sales? Contractor just doesn't get paid. Injury? Contractor's problem, he's gone, who is next? The idea that they'd dip into the pot further to ensure more money for the company isn't much different than the rest of the risk they put…
When the pendulum swings very-left (as it will, American politics follow a tick-tock partisan pattern) I believe someone (AOC?) will crack down on "contractor" companies - they're not paying payroll taxes. Not a good thing.
What counts as very-left in the US? Serious question; by the standards of everywhere else, the US is skewed very right by default, so what counts as "very-left"?