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Instacart paying 80 cents an hour because worker received a large tip

workingwa.org

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Re: Instacart paying 80 cents an hour because worker received a large tip

#581

Post by tareqak »

ravenstine wrote: post #453
Someone1234 wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I want the worker to receive 100% of the tip as much as anyone. But does anyone else find it obnoxious that all these digital services exist, often starting out with no tip straight pricing, then tipping re-appears, and then you suddenly need physical cash to morally use the service at all? Obviously workers should get fairly compensated. The problem is tipping culture itself, just set a price that customers are will…

> Plus the whole tipping thing is extremely inconsistent. Floral delivery? No tip. Pizza delivery? Tip. Let's face it. People tip the Dominoes guy so they don't get spit in their pizza the next time.

An honest question: why can't you call up Dominoes and report it then?

Re: Instacart paying 80 cents an hour because worker received a large tip

#582

Post by 8bitsrule »

kevin_b_er wrote: post #90
_t2kx wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> From my perspective Instacart is stealing from its customers and workers by doing this. This is 100% wage theft.

It will not matter. Washington state law does not apply. The sovereign state of Washington laws are superseded and invalidated by mandatory binding arbitration. The rights set out in the State of Washington's constitution do not apply, for they are superceded and ignored by mandatory binding arbitration. Any dispute will go to a monkey court instead.

This 'sovereign state' is the same state that uses a (regressive) sales tax to generate revenue, rather than an income tax. Maybe it'll grow up and be an adult state one day.

Re: Instacart paying 80 cents an hour because worker received a large tip

#583

Post by tareqak »

silencio wrote: post #251
kojeovo wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The restaurants, like the grocery stores in Instacart's case, determine the cost of food in their respective apps.

this is not always true. my restaurant was listed on doordash without my permission or request, with a butchered menu and completely incorrect prices. multiple requests asking them to at least fix this info or take me off the platform altogether (because customers were starting to wonder why my prices were so low on doordash - they're not, the couriers paid the current amount in-store...) and they ignored me. it wasn…

Did you contact a lawyer about this incident at all? It seems like a wilful misrepresentation (advertising that your establishment is available on this service when you've explicitly said no) that switches into a kind of extortion (the threat of de-listing).

Re: Instacart paying 80 cents an hour because worker received a large tip

#584

Post by alasdair_ »

loeg wrote: post #530
jlarocco wrote: post #522

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tip pooling/sharing is different in a few significant ways, though. First, restaurant staff always know ahead of time if they have to share tips. And their hourly compensation, as ridiculously low as it may be, is never adjusted to compensate for higher than normal tips. And, finally, in most restaurants the tip pool is also split up with bussers, bartenders, and hosts who don't always make tips of their own, but sti…

> And their hourly compensation, as ridiculously low as it may be, is never adjusted to compensate for higher than normal tips. This varies by state. Google "server wage" and your blood will boil. It's illegal in WA, though — servers make standard minimum wage and employers can't take servers' tips.

It’s somewhat bullshit that the people who did all the work making the tasty meal get nothing, while the person handing it to you gets 20 percent. Especially when Seattle minimum wage is $15/hour and tips cannot count as part of that.

Re: Instacart paying 80 cents an hour because worker received a large tip

#585

Post by lightedman »

sharemywin wrote: post #555
swozey wrote: post #40

I was a huge user of Instacart 2 years ago when my nearest grocery store turned into one of the busiest Whole Foods in my city that I didn't enjoy dealing with. The way they keep working to create opaqueness around their tipping to the point that last year Drivers were handing out pamphlets explaining how to remove the "Service Fee" (which nobody but Instacart gets) to tip the drivers was a huge red flag. Removing th…

Drivers also have wear, tear and usage of their car, which a shopper does not. Also, the shopper is much less likely to get in a deadly accident than a driver. Not saying shoppers don't deserve tips too. Just kinda laying out all the costs and risks of driving.

"Drivers also have wear, tear and usage of their car, which a shopper does not"

I am most certainly putting wear and tear on my vehicle any time I start it up, including for going to the grocery store to shop.

Re: Instacart paying 80 cents an hour because worker received a large tip

#586

Post by panda888888 »

mesozoic wrote: post #188
pjc50 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course it's illegal to steal tips, but actually enforcing that is another matter. Companies will blatantly build illegal business models. And of course some developer coded this automated tip stealing.

Can you cite any statute that says this is illegal?

Yes. Washington State law is explicit about this.

RCW 49.46.020 section 3:

"Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage."

Source: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=49.46.020

Re: Instacart paying 80 cents an hour because worker received a large tip

#587

Post by manigandham »

glangdale wrote: post #541
manigandham wrote: post #516

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good for you, but arbitrary moral judgements against everyone else never goes well. Walking miles to gather food and water is the reality for billions of people. Using Instacart is a luxury in the first place, but having everyone close their account only hurts the very people you seem to be for. In case you missed it in the article, there is a workaround so that your tips are correctly considered, or you can always p…

If Instacart closes down because of this kind of shitty behavior, people may learn a thing or two, and the next company in this space might decide that wage theft is not going to be part of their competitive advantage.

Sure, and meanwhile these workers don't get paid anything. There are ways to fix things without shutting it all down.

Re: Instacart paying 80 cents an hour because worker received a large tip

#588

Post by panda888888 »

siphor wrote: post #315
mesozoic wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you cite any statute that says this is illegal?

Might fit under fraud. I hope it does. When I first learned of this tactic, I felt tricked. I assumed with a tip, that I was boosting someone’s salary for a job well done. I’m sure it’s debatable, and that my assumption was wrong? But I imagine most people feel this what a tip is. Fraud n. the intentional use of deceit, a trick or some dishonest means to deprive another of his/her/its money, property or a legal right…

It's explicitly illegal under Washington State law:

RCW 49.46.020 section 3:

"Tips and service charges paid to an employee are in addition to, and may not count towards, the employee's hourly minimum wage."

Re: Instacart paying 80 cents an hour because worker received a large tip

#590

Post by askafriend »

wilkskyes wrote: post #455
roddds wrote: post #329

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your question was clearly a rhetorical question that contained the statement "the poor are never faulted for anything", which is basically the same as the next paragraph in your original comment. That's how everyone read it and that's what people are responding to. Your "I asked a question" is disingenuous at best and dishonest at worst, because it's basically saying "I was just asking questions! I didn't state anyth…

It wasn't rhetorical and I really would have been interested in the OP's answer. Had they answered truthfully, it would have helped expanded my understanding of how some people think. Instead I've been assaulted and my eyes blackened all for what, because I asked a question that if answered may weaken the credibility of the op's original post?

I think you need to take a step back and truly reflect to take in some of the feedback people have given you here. Egos tend to expand to protect themselves, only to a person's detriment.

Your question was not well asked. At all. It carried a ton of baggage with it, made several assumptions, and generalized a whole class of people in society and you seem to be extremely oblivious to it.

This isn't meant as an insult. I'm being harsh because this is a moment for you to learn. To get better. To take in the feedback instead of playing the victim card to protect your ego.

I hate extreme examples, but I'll use one here to make a simple point. How well do you think walking into a bar and asking the following would go over: "Hey fellas, how bad are Nazis really? And are Jewish people really that great anyway?"

And then when people give you their passionate thoughts, you just respond with "Woah woah woah, I'm just asking simple questions to expand my understanding".

That's similar to what's going on here.

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