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

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

#621

Post by on_and_off »

muppetman wrote: post #127

It's funny (to me, anyway) that this sort of things affects only America (and I guess Canada?) This odd culture you have there of tipping and how it's so tightly integrated into your society. As a non-American I had to read the article a few times to understand what the problem was - I thought this was just how tipping worked in the US. I always read of service workers who only manage to "stay afloat" by the tips the…

I have moved to the US not that recently.

The tipping system still baffles me (and I never know when I am supposed to tip or not .. )

From what I gathered, it comes from the prohibition as a way to supplement hotels and restaurants personnel wages (since they were making less in that context).

Why it persisted to nowadays and has been extended to many service works baffles me to no end.

Taxes are also added at checkout when you buy e.g. groceries, so it seems pretty cultural to have a very opaque 'what you pay' system.

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

#622

Post by [deleted] »

CameronBanga wrote: post #184
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…

Agree. Though the more I think about it, this is an opportunity for disruption. TaaS. An e-commerce platform, maybe even validated and protected on the blockchain, where users can exchange digital payments in an effort to circumvent these horrible practices.

[deleted]

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

#623

Post by dbuder »

lenticular wrote: post #83
dhimes wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. They need to pay reimburse those workers with a penalty fee tacked on.

That's not necessarily true. Folks in the gig economy are often classed as "independent contractors" and thus are not subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act, including minimum wage laws. They also are not entitled to, nor almost ever receive, reimbursements for work expenses. When you are talking about using your own vehicle and paying for depreciation, mechanical work, and gas, this is considerable. It often winds…

Gig workers are employees, I do not understand how they get away with the outright lie that they are contractors. In Australia we have laws to ensure this does not occur and they were enforced until rideshare and delivery companies showed up.

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

#624

Post by dbuder »

lenticular wrote: post #274
dabockster wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There is almost certainly a binding arbitration clause. This removes the possibility of individual or class-action lawsuits. But it does not remove the ability of the court to overrule the clause itself. So someone could still sue Instacart knowing that it will be thrown out if the court decides to enforce the clause. In my life experience, these things are almost always up in the air until a judge says otherwise.…

>But it does not remove the ability of the court to overrule the clause itself. So someone could still sue Instacart knowing that it will be thrown out if the court decides to enforce the clause. Which they will. There's been a few recent cases that have made mandatory arbitration clauses more-or-less bulletproof.

Uber requires you go to arbitration in the Netherlands, illegal in many countries but they just leave it in the contract.

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

#626

Post by Tor3 »

atombender wrote: post #509
rafiki6 wrote: post #390

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think many people just haven't traveled to for e.g. many European countries where tipping culture is mostly non-existent because over there people the service industry receive appropriate wages and the prices of things are adjusted accordingly. The quality of service is good, and the people working seem much happier. They have a guaranteed income for their time.

In Europe the cultural meaning of a tip is also different than the US -- you tip for superb service, and it's generally only in restaurants.

And also (in Europe) most of the time you just add enough tip to round off the number. E.g. if it's 390 you pay 400. Locals (mostly) never tip too much. Particularly in countries where people eat outside often, e.g. Italy. You add that little extra to round up the total, never mind how many people you are in the group. Tourists usually tip way too much.

There's no tipping in Japan, and people get offended if you try to tip. If the taxi is 1963 yen, you pay 1963 yen (or get back the change to make it so). It's lovely. And the service is great.

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

#627

Post by dpwm »

I wonder what happens if a customer tips more than what Instacart would have paid?

I read through the blog post on Medium and the article, but couldn't find any case where the customer had tipped more.

Is $0.80 the minimum payment they will make, or will it decrease further – negative?

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

#628

Post by crawfordcomeaux »

TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #293
crawfordcomeaux wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

My mission statement:

I choose to collaboratively, peacefully, and fluidly coevolve with all life by mindfully embodying science and art, in love to identify ways to sustainably contribute to all life's needs.

Would you be willing to give me feedback on how I might evolve it further?

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

#629

Post by kakarot »

jlarocco wrote: post #522
thaumasiotes wrote: post #504

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I, as a tipper, feel that I have been defrauded when this happens It is standard (though not universal) practice for restaurant staff to pool and divide tips, which would appear to be the same thing from a defrauding-the-tipper perspective. I'm more upset about this line from Instacart: > We include tips in the calculation [of pay for deliveries] so that you can get a more accurate picture of what your earnings wil…

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…

At my first waiting job, we didn't report our full tips because if our income including tips surpassed $8, our salary would be reduced. With the "benefit" that if we made less than minimum wage, we would be compensated. However base pay was $2.50/hour + tips, so do the math.

Yet somehow the system only ever seems to work in one direction. I once had to pay $20 after working an 8-hour shift before leaving home under threat of termination (right-to-work state) because of the two tables I had that night, one was a giant party that didn't tip me at all and the other ran out on his $20 meal while I was taking care of other duties in the back. Somehow my responsibility, of course.

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