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Instacart and DoorDash’s Tip Policies Are Delivering Outrage

nytimes.com

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Re: Instacart and DoorDash’s Tip Policies Are Delivering Outrage

#301

Post by sjjshzvuiajhz »

pkaye wrote: post #298
sjjshzvuiajhz wrote: post #288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Complain though whatever feedback mechanism the app gives you. Same thing you’d do if the food didn’t show up at all. On the other hand, what does the driver do if they go above and beyond to give you great service, but then you don’t tip?

With prepayment of tip, we have no idea how the service will be. It would make sense to just roll it into the base cost.

The server doesn’t know whether you will follow through with a tip when they decide how well to serve you. The information asymmetry goes one way or the other.

Re: Instacart and DoorDash’s Tip Policies Are Delivering Outrage

#302

Post by ag_dart »

Worked as a PM in one of these Gig companies. Almost all companies do this (Not saying that it's right or wrong). They way they frame it to 'contractors' is "We will make sure you get enough orders to earn $10 in 1 hour. Where that $10 comes from is not something that we care about. If the customers tip you, well there's your $10 dollars, if they don't we will cough up the requisite amount to match the guarantee". There is no such thing as Base Pay as we understand it in this business model.

Re: Instacart and DoorDash’s Tip Policies Are Delivering Outrage

#303

Post by TAForObvReasons »

meroes wrote: post #295
rosser wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They quit tipping through the service, and, if I'm reading correctly, instead zero the tip at checkout, and tip in cash on arrival.

I think he means he can't be that outraged if he's still using them.

He's outraged by this specific issue and found a workaround. You can be upset by a specific company policy yet still find it better than the alternatives

Re: Instacart and DoorDash’s Tip Policies Are Delivering Outrage

#304

Post by treis »

chrischen wrote: post #273
snowwrestler wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Has anyone tried treating these transactions as actually fraudulent, and asking their credit card company to investigate and reverse the charges? I've heard the card companies will sometimes be pretty aggressive on the cardholders' behalf. That said, this would probably get your account banned from whatever service you try it on.

From my experience they aren't necessarily always on your side, but for a small enough transaction they may not care. They don't investigate aggressively, rather they put the burden on doordash to prove all these small charges. That being said, technically it's not allowed as you authorized the charges and maybe didn't get 100% of what you were advertised, but I'm not sure you can get a refund for that.

>didn't get 100% of what you were advertised, but I'm not sure you can get a refund for that.

You can definitely get a refund for that. Realistically, DD will just refund the charges and then ban your account. Cheaper than fighting over a $15 tip, especially when disputes cost them whether they win or lose.

Re: Instacart and DoorDash’s Tip Policies Are Delivering Outrage

#305

Post by lightedman »

paulgb wrote: post #165
cannonedhamster wrote: post #114

Earlier 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.

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.

"At least in the case of DoorDash, they have an arbitration clause in their TOS that effectively quashes any attempts at a class action."

That is easily nullified in a court when it is proven to be used to hide criminal activity, specifically fraud, in this case.

Re: Instacart and DoorDash’s Tip Policies Are Delivering Outrage

#306

Post by lightedman »

When is YC going to be held accountable for the frauds they are bringing upon the population? Instacart is a YC-backed company, and I think it's time the people at the very top got held responsible for these frauds being perpetuated upon us.

I really think Paul Graham should be getting sued, and sued hard. Time to bring real ethics back into the world of technology.

Re: Instacart and DoorDash’s Tip Policies Are Delivering Outrage

#307

Post by coffee »

sjjshzvuiajhz wrote: post #255
coffee wrote: post #243

> ...couriers have braved the elements, gotten by on meager wages and dealt with annoying customers, growling dogs and fifth-floor walk-ups, all for the chance of a big tip from a happy customer. This is not how I experience it working, in my area, with sites like GrubHub and the others. They ask for a tip UPFRONT, before delivery. I usually like to tip cash (for obvious reasons). There is an option for this, and the…

I wonder if you added a note stating that you planned to tip in cash, whether the drivers could see that and give you better service.

That's what they see, that I'm going to "tip cash"

Re: Instacart and DoorDash’s Tip Policies Are Delivering Outrage

#308

Post by SkyMarshal »

Does anyone know if these delivery companies can survive in a higher interest rate environment? They were tried during the dotcom boom too and all of them went bust.

I've assumed the goal in trying them again was 1) cheap money again, 2) better logistics tech so maybe they can make better margins this time, and 3) sell to another established company that can use them as a loss leader, or IPO and expand into other businesses, before rates inevitably rise again.

Or do they think they have a viable business model even in a higher rate environment? They seem to be operating on slim margins, hence moves like this tip stealing stuff, or Instantcart's attempts to get customers to sign up for a subscription.

Re: Instacart and DoorDash’s Tip Policies Are Delivering Outrage

#309

Post by diminoten »

xster wrote: post #214
nerdponx wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't this typically the job of an Attorney General?

Who is a bit busy at the moment making sure the prison population doesn't affect the prison labour supply and running for president ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I know she's not in office now. It's a joke.

Saying inflammatory shit and then couching it in "just a joke" doesn't suddenly give you the comedian's context.

Re: Instacart and DoorDash’s Tip Policies Are Delivering Outrage

#310

Post by sitkack »

throwaway5752 wrote: post #280
davidcuddeback wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That's a model curriculum and has no mechanism for enforcment. The mechanism for enforcement is ABET accreditation. When I was at Cal Poly SLO, our CS program was up for re-accreditation, and yes, we were required to take an ethics course, mostly due to remarks from prior accreditation reviews. Edit: > I am not able to find more than a handful of CS degree programs with ethics prerequisites ABET accreditation allow…

This has digressed a bit. Let's recap: someone asked if ethics were an MBA requirement. I responded by asking if it was CS/CE requirement. Then someone brought up the ABET model curriculum, and now here we are. The general point is that it started with a altogether too common dig at MBAs. I think those are usually unwarranted without any further examination. But I also found some studies that indicate leadership in a…

So you knew you were throwing off the conversation and then went at far to call the conversation as off topic?!

MBA's should have a stronger ethics focus, they are in places of influence in power that many don't attain.

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