Slashdot is powered by your submissions, so send in your scoop

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×
The Almighty Buck

DoorDash Warns No Tipping May Result In Slower Delivery (cnn.com) 400

quonset shares a report from CNN: If you try to place an order through the DoorDash app without leaving a tip, you may get this pop-up: "Orders with no tip might take longer to get delivered -- are you sure you want to continue?" The note goes on: "Dashers can pick and choose which orders they want to do. Orders that take longer to be accepted by Dashers tend to result in a slower delivery." In other words, tip your drivers, or prepare to wait a long time for a cold meal. Customers are then given the option to add a tip, or continue without one.

The message is just a test, DoorDash spokesperson Jenn Rosenberg told CNN in an email. "This reminder screen is something that we're currently testing to help create the best possible experience for all members of our community," she said. "As with anything we pilot, we look forward to closely analyzing the results and feedback." Rosenberg noted that Dashers, the people who deliver orders, are "independent contractors" who "have full freedom to accept or reject offers based on what they view as valuable and rewarding." Tips go directly to Dashers, according to the company. So if an order comes in without a tip, they're more likely to let it linger.

This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

DoorDash Warns No Tipping May Result In Slower Delivery

Comments Filter:
  • F U DoorDash (Score:5, Insightful)

    by e065c8515d206cb0e190 ( 1785896 ) on Thursday November 02, 2023 @06:03AM (#63973350)
    *You* pay your drivers. Otherwise the economics of your business model don't work.
    • Re:F U DoorDash (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Tx ( 96709 ) on Thursday November 02, 2023 @06:40AM (#63973412) Journal

      You can actually skip the first five words of your comment. Doordash has never been profitable, and probably never will be.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by luther349 ( 645380 )
        they had like one quarter during covid of profit. otherwise correct
      • Re:F U DoorDash (Score:5, Insightful)

        by ArchieBunker ( 132337 ) on Thursday November 02, 2023 @08:42AM (#63973694)

        It's always profitable for the suits.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      *You* pay your drivers. Otherwise the economics of your business model don't work.

      It's either tips or higher fees. Where else would the money come from?
      It used to be that the only wealthy people paid other people to do their mundane shit for them. Now everybody wants it even though most can't afford what such a luxury actually costs.

      • Re:F U DoorDash (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Calydor ( 739835 ) on Thursday November 02, 2023 @07:22AM (#63973500)

        It's strange. I recall being able to get stuff delivered from the local pizzaria back in the 90s, and I was by no means wealthy.

        As to your first question, higher fees. I agree the money has to come somewhere, but as a European I do not agree at all with the American mindset of, "I'm going to tell you a price. This price is not what you're going to have to pay me."

        • Re:F U DoorDash (Score:4, Insightful)

          by SilverJets ( 131916 ) on Thursday November 02, 2023 @07:51AM (#63973552) Homepage

          It's strange. I recall being able to get stuff delivered from the local pizzaria back in the 90s, and I was by no means wealthy.

          As to your first question, higher fees. I agree the money has to come somewhere, but as a European I do not agree at all with the American mindset of, "I'm going to tell you a price. This price is not what you're going to have to pay me."

          And if you ordered from the local pizza place in the 90s in the US (or Canada) chances are you handed the driver a tip after they handed you your pizza. I know I did. But a lot of people today that are using delivery apps like DoorDash, UberEats, etc. don't tip. So if a driver can pick and choose the delivery they want to do, guess which ones aren't going to get picked?

          • Re:F U DoorDash (Score:5, Informative)

            by war4peace ( 1628283 ) on Thursday November 02, 2023 @08:20AM (#63973622)

            That's because tipping has transformed from a nice extra to an entitlement.

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]

            • Re: F U DoorDash (Score:3, Insightful)

              by Bacila ( 860302 )
              I would call it the way it is: extortion. ;)
            • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

              by DesScorp ( 410532 )

              That's because tipping has transformed from a nice extra to an entitlement.

              https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]

              Tipping was never supposed to be a "nice extra". It was supposed to be a pay for performance model.

              Waitress is attentive and keeps your glass filled and the rolls coming? Give her a good tip.

              Waitress does the bare minimum? Low tip.

              Waitress ignores you, talks on her phone in the hall, and generally acts like the customer is a burden on her existence? No tip.

              You can make solid money waitressing in a restaurant with a good, regular clientele. Same goes for bartending, and several other service jobs. The tips b

              • Re:F U DoorDash (Score:5, Insightful)

                by fropenn ( 1116699 ) on Thursday November 02, 2023 @10:57AM (#63974196)

                Waitress ignores you, talks on her phone in the hall, and generally acts like the customer is a burden on her existence

                The restaurant's management should ensure good service if they want me to return and if they want to keep their restaurant open. It should not be up to me - the customer - to incentivize good business practices through tipping.

                • Re:F U DoorDash (Score:4, Insightful)

                  by Ed Tice ( 3732157 ) on Thursday November 02, 2023 @12:46PM (#63974502)
                  Exactly. If the restaurant wants me to do the job of Vice President of Human Resources and evaluate the quality of their wait staff, I'm happy to do so. I'm pretty sure a VP of Human Resources makes about $250k/year and I'm willing to work for that price. Otherwise, I'll give my 20% tip regardless (because that's, unfortunately, how it works in this country) but considering that a meal in a restaurant usually costs 3x what it would to make it at home or 4x with the tip, the food and service had better be awfully good or I just won't come back. The gross margins in the restaurant business are obscene. When I hear that they can't afford to hire good service staff and pay them well, I can only conclude that there is gross mismanagement.
          • Re:F U DoorDash (Score:5, Insightful)

            by dfghjk ( 711126 ) on Thursday November 02, 2023 @08:31AM (#63973652)

            I delivered pizza back in the 80s, about 1 in 10 orders tipped. I was compensated by the company.

            Also, the largest tip I ever received was less than considered the minimum today.

            • by Roger W Moore ( 538166 ) on Thursday November 02, 2023 @09:10AM (#63973820) Journal

              Also, the largest tip I ever received was less than considered the minimum today.

              Tipping in the US has now got completely out of control. I was in the US a couple of weeks ago and counter-service cafes where you purchase your food at a till and then have to go up to the counter to collect it when they call your number are now asking for tips.

              Worse, the tips now seem to start at 20% and up which is a really stupid response to inflation. By being a percentage tips automatically account for inflation because as the cost of the food goes up so does the tip. I don't like the US-tipping culture at the best of times but I refuse to tip when there is literally no service. If this keeps up you'll be getting pressure to tip at the supermarket checkout next.

              • by fph il quozientatore ( 971015 ) on Thursday November 02, 2023 @10:14AM (#63974072)
                This must be like public healthcare: every developed country has it figured out and working reasonably well, apart from the US. So who is at fault here?
            • Re:F U DoorDash (Score:4, Insightful)

              by aldousd666 ( 640240 ) on Thursday November 02, 2023 @09:36AM (#63973898) Journal
              The people who work for doordash are doing it because they want to make money with no commitment to an employment schedule. They get less money that way, and no benefits. If they wanted to be a pizza delivery person, they'd go work for the pizza shop, take pizza shop hours, and drive on pizza shop terms. Part of the deal with this flexibility is that you're subject to more variability and are not guaranteed to get as much. I wouldn't be an asshole and stiff them, but they know they aren't going to retire on doordash income, and if they don't, they need to look for another job. It's just a fact that not every damned job is a career, and it always has been.
          • Re:F U DoorDash (Score:5, Insightful)

            by Cpt_Kirks ( 37296 ) on Thursday November 02, 2023 @08:32AM (#63973656)

            This is stupid.

            A tip is for good service, I'm not tipping until the driver shows up with the HOT food.

            ALL OF IT, even the french fries.

          • Re:F U DoorDash (Score:5, Insightful)

            by Shakrai ( 717556 ) on Thursday November 02, 2023 @09:19AM (#63973858) Journal

            And if you ordered from the local pizza place in the 90s in the US (or Canada) chances are you handed the driver a tip after they handed you your pizza.

            My added emphasis in your quote. You tipped them after you got your pizza. Safe bet if you opened your pizza and a slice was missing you would not have tipped them. This is my problem with the tipping model on DoorDash, UberEats, and friends, I'm supposed to do it when I place the order. If it's "tip for service" I'd like to see the service first.

            I'm not one that lords tips over service people like a wanna be lord or lady of the manor. My Mother raised us on tips. I've lived in cities (New Orleans) that are service industry centric. My floor is usually 25% and I've been known to go past 50% for an exceptional experience. You have to work pretty hard to earn no tip from me. Like the UberEats driver that ate half my food. That dude would have gotten $0, except, the model made tip him BEFORE I knew that.

            The whole damn gig economy is rotten, IMHO. When you compare with the pizza delivery of the 90s/00s, that person was probably an employee of the pizzeria, so you had someone to complain to if your pizza arrived cold, half eaten, etc. The gig economy just promises not to match you with them again. I couldn't even get a refund out of UberEats for my messed up delivery, they said half of it was there, so we'll refund one of your entrees. Yeah, screw you, it was thai food, the curries were gone, you expect me to pay $50+ for some steamed white rice? I did a credit card chargeback and subsequently got banned from the platform. A traditional restaurant and delivery operation would have made that right with a minimum of fuss, might even have sent another order that evening, and I'd never have had to involve my credit card company. :(

      • by dfghjk ( 711126 )

        "It's either tips or higher fees. Where else would the money come from?"

        You apparently aren't noticing the "higher fees", I regularly see $20+ delivery fees.

      • Re:F U DoorDash (Score:4, Insightful)

        by jonbryce ( 703250 ) on Thursday November 02, 2023 @08:50AM (#63973732) Homepage

        Higher fees please. Then the price quoted is actually honest and you can make meaningful comparisons with alternative food delivery options.

      • *You* pay your drivers. Otherwise the economics of your business model don't work.

        It's either tips or higher fees. Where else would the money come from?

        I'm a person who tips pretty big, at 100 percent at times. So I'm happy to spread a little money around to those that might not have as much.

        But if DoorDash sees fit to threaten me with delivery times that are tied to how much I tip, my reply is pretty simple.

        Go fuck yourself DoorDash.

    • >> Otherwise the economics of your business model don't work.
      Their model does not work either way.
      Venture capitalism at it's finest.

  • by DrXym ( 126579 ) on Thursday November 02, 2023 @06:06AM (#63973352)

    Companies should pay their workers a living wage and then incentivize them to provide good service as part of doing their job, e.g. a bonus based on their rating. It should not be on customers to supplement their income because the company is too cheap to do it.

    • I have known many Instacarters and Doordashers. Including people with decent "living wages" at their day jobs. Those people generally do not want to be employees of Doordash (or any other gig company). They want to sign in, grab a few high-dollar orders, and then sign out.

    • by DarkOx ( 621550 )

      I don't think this will play out the way you think it will. Just look at track record of places like Amazon that are stupidly successful and still wring every last bit of productivity out of workers to the point it borders on in humane, lack of bathroom breaks forced risky driving behavior etc.

      If you do this companies will just charge more, and when the times comes to start goosing quarterly profits, they will crank the requirements to get those performance incentives until they are out of reach of most wo

  • tipping culture (Score:5, Informative)

    by Fembot ( 442827 ) on Thursday November 02, 2023 @06:08AM (#63973360)

    I struggle to grasp a lot of the weirdness of American tipping culture, but as I understand it the theory is you pay well for a service that was provided well. How exactly am I meant to know if the service will be delivered well at the time I place the order?

    • by gl4ss ( 559668 ) on Thursday November 02, 2023 @06:14AM (#63973372) Homepage Journal

      American tipping culture is that you pay an indeterminate sum just because on top of what service was quoted as costing you.

      For doordash it would be very simple to just make it worth everyones time by putting it in the price.. You pay this and for driver side that you get this..

      Free delivery with expected tip is especially atrocious.

      And yeah in most of the world it works like that you pay what you were quoted or what was on the menu. Most of the world needs to know that shit to budget their plans.

      • by pjt33 ( 739471 )

        Doordash is probably taking a cut of the "tip" for "processing fees", so the more they can scare you into paying, the better for them.

      • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

        And yeah in most of the world it works like that you pay what you were quoted or what was on the menu. Most of the world needs to know that shit to budget their plans.

        Wow, really? I guess most of the world has changed a lot, since I traveled it courtesy of uncle sam. Some countries you were lucky to ever get service at all without some greased palms.

  • Pre-tipping? WTF? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Malc ( 1751 ) on Thursday November 02, 2023 @06:12AM (#63973364)

    If you've tipped in advance, you've taken the incentive out of it. You've just paid for a premium or fast track delivery service without calling it that. If it then takes longer than reasonable/expected, can you take the tip back?

  • My response ... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Freischutz ( 4776131 ) on Thursday November 02, 2023 @06:21AM (#63973376)

    Orders with no tip might take longer to get delivered -- are you sure you want to continue?

    My response: Click [Cancel Order]

  • Between this and tipping a fucking electronic ordering machine, is it maybe time to legalise violence against people who promote this practice. PAY YOUR FUCKING STAFF PROPERLY.

  • by iAmWaySmarterThanYou ( 10095012 ) on Thursday November 02, 2023 @07:12AM (#63973478)

    A tip is supposed to come _after_ service has been rendered to create incentive to provide good service. I'd like to believe that most people in restaurants provide at least standard tip for functional service and more for better service.

    But this "pre-tip or get cold food" is the opposite side of that coin. DD is saying that to get basic service (bring my food hot and don't fuck with my meal) requires a bribe or you'll get terrible service. That's really shitty.

    • by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

      But this "pre-tip or get cold food" is the opposite side of that coin. DD is saying that to get basic service (bring my food hot and don't fuck with my meal) requires a bribe or you'll get terrible service. That's really shitty.

      Then again, it's really the whole "independent contractor" thing that makes DoorDash less like Uber and such. Because the drivers can look over the orders and decide independently what orders they want to take.

      And naturally, they will take the more profitable orders over the less pro

      • To clarify, I don't blame the drivers in any way. They are behaving in a rational way by taking the higher fee deliveries.

        My issue is with DD and how they treat both drivers and buyers. They're not dealing in an ethical way on either side of the equation.

      • by DarkOx ( 621550 )

        Right this isn't really new - its an expedite fee essentially. However they should call it what it is.

        DD wants to call it a TIP because people feel TIP-ing is an obligation. They are probably taking a cut somehow. On the other side of the coin though nobody feels guilty about skipping the 'expedite fee' that is just a decision about how important it is to have the pizza at 7:00 and not 7:15.

  • So it's a bribe (Score:2, Insightful)

    by kkoo ( 4352157 )
    This is illegal in the UK. Having to pay an unspecified amount upfront to get favourable service at the expense of those who didn't pay the bribe.
    • This is illegal in the UK. Having to pay an unspecified amount upfront to get favourable service at the expense of those who didn't pay the bribe.

      Then delivery apps need to start charging the customer more for the delivery. Either way, tip or a larger fee the customer has to pay because £3 to drive to the restaurant, wait for your order to be ready, and then drive 20 minutes to deliver it to you isn't enough.

      • Depends. In dense urban areas (even suburbs) and delivering mostly orders from a popular takeout, 3$ an order is going make for a good wage. In a perfectly transparent market, delivery prices should be differentiated by restaurants and locale. The traditional takeouts such as pizza places and Chinese food can sustain higher volumes of pickups and deliveries in a given time, so should have lower delivery costs.

        In the old situation of takeouts with their own drivers, there was built in competition to make thi

      • No, the pps can just NOT TELL THE DRIVER beforehand who is tipping. That's how tipping is supposed to work. You do a good job, you get a tip.

        Now, it's just extortion: pay the tip up front, or you get bad service every time. They're doing it this way so they can pay the driver less, yet force customers to pay what they won't.

        Every other delivery service I'm aware of does not tell drivers what they will be tipped beforehand bacause THAT'S NOT A TIP.

  • I was in Australia and when you go to a restaurant, you just pay the bill and the there's no option to tip. We asked the waiter. She was a Canadian ex-pat and said it worked fine and the restaurant actually pays you enough to live. Shocking, I know.
    • by redback ( 15527 )

      minimum wage in australia is $23.23

      she was probably getting more than that.

      • Also, she had health insurance....which somehow is possible outside the boundary of American Exceptionalism
  • The way minimum wage laws work, tipped employees are allowed to be paid less than the state minimum wage, as long as the difference is made up in tips. Otherwise, their employer has to pay the difference.

    In other words, a state may make the minimum wage $10/hr, and $5/hr for tipped employees. If a tipped employee then earns less than $5 in tips in a particular hour, the employer must make up the difference, so the tipped employee ends up with at least $10/hr.

    Imagine a situation where you order a $25 pizza (

    • by dfghjk ( 711126 )

      "If you give the driver a five dollar bill, you just spent $30, the driver gets $15."

      No, the driver gets the same, unless he commits fraud. The difference is that you are enabling fraud, because you're someone who would willingly commit it, then call those who wouldn't "dipshits".

      "It's still better for a DoorDash driver if you tip in cash, because - not to put it too bluntly - that's literally money in their pocket, as opposed to money that Uncle Sam knows is in their pocket."

      So tax fraud.

  • ... tend to result in a slower delivery.

    Translation: It's your fault my employee provides inferior service.

    Why does DoorDash care which customers tip, it's not their money, right? So they can profit from it: They can't demand the employees share tips with the boss, that's been tried. I guess, that leaves freezing wages and demanding customers pay a bigger tip instead.

    ... an order comes in without a tip ...

    What about tipping in cash? That's the f'ing point of the USA, right: The little guy is rewarded for bowing and scraping?

  • by Fly Swatter ( 30498 ) on Thursday November 02, 2023 @08:27AM (#63973644) Homepage
    Is called a BRIBE. These self-inserted middlemen can't go bankrupt fast enough.
  • by GlennC ( 96879 ) on Thursday November 02, 2023 @08:33AM (#63973664)

    We've found that the prices for restaurants we like are higher in the DoorDash application even before the "optional" tip. I figured out a solution that works well for us.

    I call it DadDash.

    In other words we put our order together and I go to the restaurant myself. I realize that this may not be feasible for everyone, but it works well for us.

  • Extortion (Score:5, Insightful)

    by christoban ( 3028573 ) on Thursday November 02, 2023 @08:36AM (#63973668)

    I'ts just extortion. They don't need to show the tips beforehand to the drivers. They've made it so that you must tip, or get extremely poor service.

  • BID is the word you are all trying to understand. Not TIP. Door Dash works exactly as designed. They are a pass through and do not accept responsibility of "employees" rather they want Drivers arguing with Clients when its Door Dash exploiting 1099 contractor loop holes to provide their "service"
  • Whenever I go abroad, I am amazed that the folks at the fast food joint, or the minimum wage folks, all seem to have health insurance. Here, the slavery algos that Uber, Dash, etc etc are always testing...so if maybe a percentage of people will pay more tip, that is more that the owners of the slave algo can keep for themselves. In NYC this has led to deliver drivers having to use powered cycles, often without license, to make delivery, with predictable road safety consequences, as a bicycle is no longer
    • by GlennC ( 96879 )

      That's because those people abroad are Socialists, who are BAD and SCARY people here in 'Murrica.

  • Did I read this right? I have to put in a tip before I get my order? Then it's not a tip but rather a bribe. A tip is a reflection on service/product rendered. How can this be evaluated before delivery?
  • No, I am not to contribute to your bottom line by giving money to your employees so they make a decent salary rather than the exploitation wages you give them. Stick you threats up there where the sun never shines.
  • ... I would absolutely be ok with having a higher set price. If I know I'm getting 10% of the value of the food as my pay every time, I'd be thrilled. Sure, I'd give up the occasional big tipper who paid me $20 on a $50 order, but that would be made up for by the number of times I've delivered a Big Mac and Fries for zero tip.

    We do get a base delivery fee (usually between $1-$3 based on distance between restaurant and customer) but depending on your car type, that basically barely covers the gas. DoorDas

  • by Tyr07 ( 8900565 ) on Thursday November 02, 2023 @12:16PM (#63974422)

    Hiding the poor pay by trying to convince consumers to willingly give up extra money to people arbitrarily leads to the crazy out of control tipping that we have and unstable income for people. Some people slacking and doing a poor job are getting more money due to the way people are tipping in their area than people busting their ass off working hard.

    Tipping needs to die and return to something where someone went out of their way, beyond what's expected for their job and you're thanking them.
    Not some thing where people give you shit service and expect the same time that someone who did well receives, and that it's expected because it's their wages.

    No, your wages are what your EMPLOYER pays you. Not what you try to get us to give to them extra. Let the real price hit the floor, the real cost, and see if it's a viable business model. (Hint: Information says its not). Otberwise you're trying to cash in on the hope of people trying to do these low skill low effort jobs for below minimum pay with the thoughts of 'Well I got a bigger tip last time, if I can keep that, then I'll actually make good money" but they don't.

Make sure your code does nothing gracefully.

Working...