Pooling tips is quite common place in the restaurant industry, this isn't exactly a new way to f* over workers. While this move will reduce the pay for some shoppers, it will help many shoppers that earn less in tips for structural reasons. Ie. servicing low-income neighborhoods, racism & sexism from the tipper, etc
Instacart is playing games with its workers’ pay
81–90 of 371 posts
Re: Instacart is playing games with its workers’ pay
#82Earlier quoted context omitted.
>I break even by paying someone else that $10, if I value my leisure time as equivalent to my wage. I value my leisure time at the arbitrary amount of $1000/hr. Have I broken even if I pay $1000 to someone so they'll do my grocery shopping?
Yes, that is exactly why people part with money in exchange for things they could do equally well on their own.
I disagree. In the example, I think, they've been robbed.
Re: Instacart is playing games with its workers’ pay
#83Wait a minute... wait. Those service fees I've been opting to pay haven't been going to the shoppers/drivers who are processing my order? On my last order I asked the shopper to specifically go out of her way to check on an out of stock item. I did this with the assumption that my 7 dollar service fee was going directly to her, and that she would therefore be happy to go out of her way. When the delivery person (I th…
I've learned this once talking to one of the shoppers. I never tipped again after that / I tip in cash for the good ones once they deliver at my door.
Re: Instacart is playing games with its workers’ pay
#84Wow, that seems gratuitously dishonest -- especially misleading customers about what's a "tip" vs. a surcharge. Having an $x delivery fee (paid to the company) and then a tip as a separate item ($ or %) would be fine. Making the "delivery fee" into a "service charge" is itself dishonest; making it adjustable when it doesn't go to the user is pretty bad, too. I can't tell if this loses them more goodwill with customer…
How is it dishonest? It's a fee for the service that one receives. You pay one amount for groceries and another for the service of those groceries being delivered. That's exactly what a service fee should be. Consumers should understand that services have a cost. Companies should charge consumers an amount that is commensurate with the cost that it takes to deliver that service (unless they operate in a non-competiti…
I don't disagree that tipping has a lot of problems. However, instacart is intentionally using "dark patterns" in UX (names, positioning) to mislead end users into thinking paying a higher service fee goes to the driver.
There was a far easier way to do this (a fixed order charge which is clearly an instacart fee, and then a separate tip clearly marked as per driver) -- the right solution would probably be to do like Amazon and reduce the fixed order charge or eliminate it when customers buy certain high margin items, make large orders, or sign up for a subscription.
Re: Instacart is playing games with its workers’ pay
#85I'm unclear why I would tip my Instacart delivery person. I order A, B, and C; my expectation is that A, B, and C show up, because that is what I paid for. How can a particular delivery person do that "better" enough to deserve a tip?
Re: Instacart is playing games with its workers’ pay
#86Wait a minute... wait. Those service fees I've been opting to pay haven't been going to the shoppers/drivers who are processing my order? On my last order I asked the shopper to specifically go out of her way to check on an out of stock item. I did this with the assumption that my 7 dollar service fee was going directly to her, and that she would therefore be happy to go out of her way. When the delivery person (I th…
The shoppers are not the same as the delivery people. I know this because I have worked as a shopper. While I was working for Instacart, the model of how the drivers/shoppers were tipped or paid was in flux, so I'm not sure what the current model is.
Re: Instacart is playing games with its workers’ pay
#87Wait a minute... wait. Those service fees I've been opting to pay haven't been going to the shoppers/drivers who are processing my order? On my last order I asked the shopper to specifically go out of her way to check on an out of stock item. I did this with the assumption that my 7 dollar service fee was going directly to her, and that she would therefore be happy to go out of her way. When the delivery person (I th…
I think DoorDash does similar thing. You pay Tip, Service Fee, and Tax. It would still be ok if the food was being delivered from far off, but most of the time it is within a 2-5 mile radius. A $20 order easily becomes a $40 order.
Re: Instacart is playing games with its workers’ pay
#88As a previous shopper who was intensely driven by high tips, I can guarantee this will have a big effect on the levels of motivation the shoppers will have.
However, it's important to note that the tips while I worked varied immensely - and tended to be MUCH higher when completing order at Whole Foods, as opposed to HEB.
Re: Instacart is playing games with its workers’ pay
#89Earlier quoted context omitted.
>I break even by paying someone else that $10, if I value my leisure time as equivalent to my wage. I value my leisure time at the arbitrary amount of $1000/hr. Have I broken even if I pay $1000 to someone so they'll do my grocery shopping?
Yes, that is exactly why people part with money in exchange for things they could do equally well on their own.
Even if you consider the situation robbery, they still broke broke even with a 1k gain and 1k loss.
Re: Instacart is playing games with its workers’ pay
#90I'm unclear why I would tip my Instacart delivery person. I order A, B, and C; my expectation is that A, B, and C show up, because that is what I paid for. How can a particular delivery person do that "better" enough to deserve a tip?
Pick out better produce?