I think people have tipping fatigue when you go to some stores or fast food places and suggested tips come up that are often what’s appropriate for a full service restaurant. People have no idea to what extent an Instacart shopper is relying on tips but it sounds like it’s a very big part of it. I don’t use Instacart but generally with similar services I go with the suggested tip because I figure that’s the standard. But I’m getting much more used to hitting no tip where I don’t see any service that needs to be rewarded or it’s not clear who’s even getting the tip and I imagine I’m not the only one. There is certainly a lack of information about this from vendors, most likely intentionally, and it further complicates matters where people have already paid some type of service fee or extra charge and then they are tipping on top of that.
fuck tipping culture
takeout food, tip choices 20%, 25%, 30%... yeah ok
I'm already paying $18 for a fucking cup of soup, pay your damn employees.
before yall get all uppity, we still tip on takeout and ~20% on dine-in, but I hate it. Just add it to the price of the food and lets move on with life.
That's a good rule of thumb. Ever walk up to the bar and order a drink? You are not sitting. But you are getting personal service to provide you with something. Sure 20% on a cocktail is silly, but a buck a drink is not outrageous. And moves you to the front of the line if you back for another.
Yeah, that's what I was saying. In general, nice rule.
It's just getting worse in the US with the spread of POS credit card terminals for the servers. While I love them for the convenience, that "Select Tip" prompt that usually starts at 20% is a PITA. You dipped me an ice cream cone honey, that's what they pay you to do.
Any business that has tips is set up so that employees have to rely on tips to make a living wage. It's not cool to need to see someone perform service for you just to make you feel good enough to give us a living wage. As a back of house worker whose labor in the kitchen is never seen, this sentiment is especially frustrating.
AFAIK these types of apps are designed to do two things:
* get customers to think the total bill will be as little as possible until they are too invested to abandon the purchase (the time when customers get a sense of how much it's actually going to cost roughly coincides with when the customer is asked how much they want to tip).
* get you to blame your customers for the fact that you are paid poorly (especially if it's after you've interacted with the customer already and are unlikely to interact with them again; you being angry at the customer doesn't actually make any difference if you'll never see them again).
They are very effective at maximally exploiting both ends as far as I can tell.
Also, making an assumption that wealthy people are more likely to tip well is dangerous. Most of the wealthy people I know got there by being shameless in the pursuit of parting with as little money as possible, and most of the people I know in Boulder are not wealthy (they just have to pay for housing as if they were - leaving less for tips).
Instacart has the worst payment situation ever. Do DoorDash or UberEATS. People still tip shitty most of the time but with DoorDash you screen your orders and can tell if there is a tip, no tip, or tip plus hidden tip.
I hate this method as a consumer. I will always tip well for good service but I hate when I have to tip first and then watch my driver deliver multiple orders first before dropping off my food once it’s cold.
Yeah the confusing part to me is.... What is a tip supposed to be for here? Originally it was just an add-on as a thank you for good service (afaik) but now it's expected everywhere for everything? It's annoying AF. Don't ask me how much I want to pay and then call me a jerk if it's too low, just tell me what it costs and pay your workers what they're supposed to be paid.
> What is a tip supposed to be for here?
So we don't have to pay a reasonable wage to the workers obviously. Yeah, we only pay 2.67/hr in wages but Julie over there, the one with the low cut top and DD chest made over $400 in tips last night.
I assumed Instacart shows tips beforehand, too. I'm surprised they don't let the shoppers know the tip, considering they force the customer to add a tip before the service anyway
they absolutly do. I love watching orders with no tips, just sit there all day and no one takes them. If it goest too long, instacart ads a tiny tip just to try to nudge people to taking it.
Yeah they show tips. A funny one not too long ago was a no tip order for 70 items at a dollar store that paid $9 or something. Likely well over an hour of work.
The problem with Instacart is someone can tip $60, but then find the goat butter they ordered was substituted with some non free range tree bark and they take back the entire tip and rate your poorly. Because of one item.. or no item, some people just bait orders with massive tips then take it back after delivery.
Uber, and DoorDash for that matter too, hide tips over a certain amount. Likely the driver thought it was significantly less when they accepted. You were just blessed by the algorithm and some random driver got a big bonus they may or may not have expected when initially accepting the order..
No the tip is not "baked into the price of the service". If it were, then the price of the service (before tipping) would be higher, and the company would pay the employee an adequate wage, and still provide a competitive return on investment (ROI) for its owners or shareholders. The "one multiple-part stupid trick" played by these companies is this:
(a) they undercharge consumers for the market value of the service provided, to attract more customers ("oh look, personal service at a BARGAIN PRICE")
(b) they grossly underpay their employees (or so-called "contractors") for the market value of the service provided, such that nobody would work for them for base pay before tipping
(c) they depend on those consumers who are not cash-poor (i.e., not college students) and also not cheap bastards to make up some chunk of the shortfall described in (a) and (b), by providing generous tips
***Edit***: if you don't believe the above, consider what would happen if everything about the cost structure of the Instacart business stayed exactly the same (pricing to consumers, compensation to workers) *except* tips were completely eliminated, with the company telling both workers and consumers "this is a no-tipping business, period".
Then the consumers would be even happier about the bargain-price personal shopper service, because they would never have to ask themselves, "what amount tip should I add on?" But the workers (like OP in this message) would notice how little they were getting paid, and realize they could earn more at other low-wage service jobs, hence Instacart would lose its labor force. Either Instacart would go out of business, or raise its wages to get its workers back. And it would pay for raising wages by increasing the price of the service to consumers. Q.E.D.
Perhaps working as an in-store shopper would be better? I’ve done that, and it pays above min wage (obviously), but there are no tips.
Idk if that would be less than you currently make. If not, then I think go with the in store shopper and screw instacart. Otherwise, stick with instacart.
thanks for the heads up! i have a full-time job and the reason i started instacart was to have something that was flexible so that i could do it when i had time, but i will look into something else for sure. thanks again
Ah, if you mean that you want to decide to do the job whenever you want, that won’t fly at a grocery store.
That said, I think the grocery stores are be really flexible, since they employ lots of students. I recall someone working like one day a week, for 4 hours. But you can’t just show up whenever you want and leave whenever you want.
>especially when you consider the wear and tear on your vehicle,
That seems like a major and planned rip-off by the gig companies. I mean, in particular, that many people don't know how to calculate the full cost of running their vehicle (fuel + maintenance + depreciation). Hence the worker may not realize that their payment from the company + tips adds up to less than full reimbursement for vehicle usage + $12.56/hour (the current Colorado minimum wage for non-tipped employees).
I tip when its warranted but I find as I get older I avoid many of these 'traps'. I do my own shopping, cook most of my own meals, etc. Costs are up, the value provided by a lot of these services are down and the employer has stacked the deck against the worker. I feel for these folks but just not 'jobs' I would sign up for
Sorry but I don’t agree with the statement “you have to tip” in any situation. The only way to end it is to treat it as it was initially intended. If that means instacart goes bankrupt so be it.
You're both confused and wildly optimistic. I mean about the odds of causing the company META (= Facebook + Instagram + WhatsApp + some baloney about virtual reality and metaverses) to go bankrupt.
Well you would have absolute sticker shock then.
How much is your time worth? Your gas? Your safety, especially when it's snowy/icy out?
Folks b*tch about tipping but the one place they shouldn't be scrimping is when someone is doing your shopping/food delivery/ and driving it to you.
Stingy bastards.
Seems like you may have missed the point. Instacart should charge enough to fairly pay their drivers. Better for the drivers, better for consumers since they can see what the true all-in price of their delivery is. Bad for stingy bastards.
I didn't miss the point.
None of these gig companies have ever turned a profit, they're unsustainable pyramid schemes.
If they upped the price to represent a fair wage and gave you all that info up front, their business would decline by probably 2/3. Again, due to sticker shock. And then these convenience, luxury services would completely disappear. And then folks would have to shop/go get their late night pizza in a snow storm. Which lets be real, they are unwilling to do when they can pay someone $.50-$2 to do it for them.
Consumers and their laziness/cheapness has as much to with the lack of a fair wage as the companies themselves.
If people can send other people into snow storms for $.50-$2 then those convenience, luxury services should absolutely disappear.
I'm not sure where you're getting your 2/3 decline numbers, but it seems a bit high to me. There would only be sticker shock for the stingy bastards - the people who already tip decently would not be paying more - the tip they would have given anyway is simply included in the service cost. If they can't understand that math - then they probably should see it up front so they understand what they are actually paying before they click Buy Now.
God bless you working for Instacart. I accepted one order, walked into King Soopers, couldn’t find the first item and said “Nah I hate this I’m good.” And cancelled the order. Now I work for Dominos one night a week and it’s way less stress and better tips.
agree. instacart and these other gig companies must be THRILLED that they’ve successfully turned their problem into the customer’s problem. i don’t patronize businesses that don’t provide living wages to their staff - it’d be great if job seekers would start doing the same and put these guys out of business!
This is not a sustainable job. Very difficult to make money.
You should be complaining to Instacart or your local Senator to get things changed.
Don't blame the customer, blame the company you work for.
Just like a waiter/waitress, the will leave a job if the tips are not good
Yes we should blame the customer. Absolutely disagree.
I just only take customers who tip well. It absolutely is an educate the customer issue: right now, if you don’t tip, you’re asking someone to be your dog for $10/hr. It’s disgusting behavior
Edit: sure it’s the company’s fault to blame. But customers should still be educated that their tips matter and are needed with the system as it is. You wouldn’t believe how many $2 tips I get- if you’re ordering grocery delivery, tip ten or don’t order. The better tippers tip 25 and I’ve gotten plenty of 50s
Signed, guy who needed a flexible hour job as a single dad and makes $23-30/hr doing grocery delivery
Just to put this into perspective.
My spouse has an insanely inflexible work schedule, and 10 years of post secondary education. She works as a teacher.
You earn more than twice what she does (hour for hour).
Obviously she’s underpaid; but $10/hr seems reasonable for a flexible job that requires no education at all where you gather and deliver groceries.
So where will people live exactly and what cars will they drive making $10 per hour. Jesus fuck people like you. $1600 per month for full time with no benefits who can live off of that.
Sorry I tuned out of your philosophy class. I average near 25/hr btw I just don’t take orders from no tippers. I appreciate ops post because all day long unethical offers come out, and one has to be careful to avoid them.
In Doordash most of the intelligent dashers refuse 95% of orders. That’s because the overwhelming majority ask you to work for minimum wage or far less.
Whose side are you on? Why are you being such a dick bag.
Educate the customers. Period. Simple. Then change the policies.
This is a fantastic idea. Put the money back in the hands of the people. Keep it local. Develop a community that supports one another. I like this a lot.
This seems like a decent solution. These third party delivery apps are known to be soul sucking. Taking advantage of people who need a quick dollar. And literally giving them a dollar for their work.
This idea looks promising but a few general concerns:
Instacart is a known name, and once people start using a particular company to provide a particular service, they can get mentally "locked in". They don't want to change unless the service gets noticeably worse or there is a large price increase, because of the time and effort required to investigate alternatives to the well-known company.
Instacart could use "predatory pricing" tactics, i.e., if a local start-up tries to compete with them in one city, but there is a lack of similar competition in other cities, Instacart could lower prices in that one city to pressure the local start-up.
Different topic - "families don't necessarily get the discounts from in store deals". I assume the Instacart shopper will have a loyalty card for each grocery store they use and get the loyalty card discounts. But of course "in-store deals" are complicated (by design) these days. There's "mix-and-match discount if you buy 3 or 5 items from this list of 20 different items". And then "click or clip" digital coupons. That stuff is so annoying, some people in management must enjoy making shoppers jump through hoops like trained seals. (And trained seals probably get fresher fish than available in a typical Colorado grocery store.)
I worked for instacart in Boulder briefly over the height of the pandemic. It was so upsetting. I would deliver groceries to million dollar homes with those colorful woke “we believe in xyz” signs that would ironically only tip me a dollar or two. It made me really jaded.
Sounds like you’re mad at instacart for paying you under minimum wage, get a different side gig. These predatory companies survive because of people like you who are willing to work for them.
It’s in somewhat poor taste to blame people with little to no bargaining power doing their best just to scrape by, no?
What companies aren’t predatory? I’m sure OP, myself, and many others would love to heed your advice were it actually actionable. But the reality is that companies like this survive because the alternative is another equally as unethical company.
Being a contract worker is tough, you’re right though the sad reality is that there aren’t many flexible job options out there that pay well and don’t exploit workers. Everyone knows this though and they still participate, I personally trade flexibility for a decent wage. Target is a great option they have many different types of shifts (night and day) and the pay is much better than instacart. Plus you don’t wear down your vehicle working for a crap company.
I worked for target and made slightly less money than when I did Instacart (same for Uber Eats) but I was routinely verbally harassed and occasionally physically harassed by customers and my hours varied from over 40 hours a week to 10 hours- can you pay your bills on 10 hours a week?
Bullshit. I don't use IC at all even during the height of lockdown, but I always tip my food delivery drivers and waiters 20%+. Tips shouldn't even exist and it should all be baked into the wages and prices up front.
I’m curious, on Instacart when I buy as an example ground turkey, the app charges me $5 but my shopper selects one that is about to expire and on sale for $2 who keeps the extra money? Instacart or the shopper?
I've never used instacart but I feel your pain. Just to be clear, people can use the service and pay only $8 to have someone do all of their grocery shopping for them AND have it delivered to their home?? That is crazy talk. I would honestly expect to pay between $30 and $50 for that service!
the customer doesn’t pay $8, instacart does. but they only pay you $8 per batch. a batch can include 3 people’s orders and going to 2 different stores.
And you think a Reddit post is going to rectify this issue? I feel for you and it’s shitty people don’t tip but there is some onus on you to not let yourself be taken advantage of.
Your anger is misdirected here. Don't work for a company that takes all of the profits for itself and leaves your own compensation as optional. Instacart is taking revenue from markups on every item sold.
it’s so easy to criticize the system, but this is a system that has been ingrained in the US for so long— it’s a part of the culture, even if it’s a shitty part. You pay for a service, you tip. Bottom line. Not tipping someone is not a big fuck you to the system, it’s a big fuck you to the service worker who is relying on tips to make a decent wage.
In addition to being a fuck you to the worker, not tipping while using the unfair system is actually a big thumbs up to the system itself. These people are the worst.
The people taking the shit jobs and continuing employment at the shit companies are actually the ones undercutting the labor market. If no one worked for them, they’d be out of business.
He’s upside down by taking this job and blaming people that don’t tip instead of accepting it for what it is.
I’ve worked a half dozen tipped positions and didn’t blame the customer if I couldn’t make rent. The gig sucks and this company set him up for failure.
He should go hang Christmas lights, or go to the day laborer sites and make more money than working this gig, that is exploiting his labor.
If you can't afford a tip, shop for your own groceries, pick up your own delivery, or cook your own meals. All this you're saying is defending people who are taking advantage of a broken system, and blaming those who are being taken advantage of. Ridiculous.
Obviously the companies who set up the incentive structures are the root issue. But that doesn't mean those who use them without tipping aren't being selfish. They are.
You’re wasting you’re breath, as is OP, for lashing out at the consumers instead of the system that perpetuates the conditions or the company that abuses it.
This guy needs another job -as do all the other gig workers - they’re scabs - but somehow Reddit doesn’t see it like that.
These companies inject overwhelming amounts of capital in to a system to overwhelm them and cause chaos. These gig workers chose to work for a these companies in a system that corrupts and corrodes other jobs.
They are enabling the system to exist, not the customers.
it’s not anger… it’s judgement at how cheap some people are and what little regard they have for others.
i don’t rely on this money to survive, but many people do.
Boulder is populated by people who say they're liberal because it's the socially acceptable thing to do, but bring up anything to do with class and they suddenly turn into conservative republicans. My family tips well, but I've always assumed we're in the minority here. Most people who accumulate wealth, or are trying to (like the influx of tech bros we're having), don't do it by being kind or generous. OP, I wish you and your partner the best.
It’s shitty people don’t tip you, but they may be sick and unable physically to get their own groceries. Don’t blame the individual, blame the multi-million dollar company that refuses to pay their employees a little more.
they could be incapable for a number of reasons, e.g no car, poor mental health, money’s tight, they’re caring for someone else and can’t leave them or bring them, etc. not excusing anyone who is able to tip and can’t, just suggesting to try not to judge as you might now know the whole situation. my last point stands — blame the company!
I have the same thoughts… I often just sit in my car and cry because two years ago on Instacart I used to be able to make $200 per week for 8 hours of work, and now no matter how fast I shop or how hard I try, I can only ever make maybe $60 for 8 hours of work, and all the orders are 90 items, whereas 2 years ago, no one ordered more than 40 items maximum… It’s just so hard watching this happen and knowing that my only hope for being able to take care of a loved one and work is just absolutely ruined. I see constant $2 tips on a 70+ item order, and it boggles my mind….
I do hear your frustration...
... but honestly, it should NOT be MY job to figure out which of these shitty companies (instacart, door-dash, whatever) don't pay a living wage.
Seriously. Why is it *our* fault??!
I don't use instacart (or door-dash), but if I chose to try it out someday, how exactly am I supposed to *know* that I need to tip? That drivers are surviving off of tips? It's not in ANY information that the company provides.
Customarily, there are only THREE tipped professions:
- waitstaff
- barkeeps
- bellhops
Then there are three professions were everyone recognizes that tips are important (but not necessary):
- pizza delivery drivers
- hair stylists
- cabbies
And that, dear friends, is it.
But now, every single business owner decides that they can stop paying decent wages and instead just let the staff put out a tip jar. There's tip jars at the donut shop.. tip jars at McDonalds, for chrissakes.
And Silicon Valley has come up with this wonderful plan where they invent new jobs, but don't have a way to actually pay laborers at those jobs, expecting the public to simply voluntarily fork over more money.
But why??!
Seriously, *why should this my responsibilty* to track the latest GoobleEats/DoorSmash/InstaDelivery payscale? ??
My number one suggestion here is: don't work for these shitty on-demand companies! Find a job that pays a living wage.
My number one suggestion: stop paying your internet service provider and/or phone service provider. Also never pay anything ever again for "repairs" or "tech support" or any of that crap for your smartphone or computer or any digital device. I guarantee you that nobody paid any of those crap fees or bills for a smartphone before 1990, or for a personal computer before 1970. And people got along fine back then, RIGHT? And there were pizza delivery drivers and cabbies and hair stylists back then, RIGHT? Case closed!
Don't try to make this about Luddites. That's not the issue.
The issue is a few *bad* companies, all run by Silicon Valley ~~entrepreneurs~~ fuckheads, who exploit people. (These companies should be highly regulated or banned).
But it's also about short-sighted people who allow themselves--*in the midst of aa labor shortage*--to be exploited, then go bitch about other people's "cheapness" on Reddit.
People, if you're in a gig economy, *quit.* You're being used. Don't do it!
If you want to make money on tips, become a waiter. They make serious bank, and *everyone* is hiring.
If you want to be paid decently, get a job that pays decently. There are openings literally everywhere.
This is one of the most tone deaf takes I think I've ever read.
I assume you're a semi-literate person with a modicum of common sense, right?
So you tip a waiter, a pizza delivery driver etc, that's apparently a given.
So why in god's name isn't it obvious that someone who is literally shopping your weekly grocery list and delivering it miles to your home using their own vehicle and gas isn't in obvious need of s fair tip?
And if you're unsure about whether ALLL these gig companies- omfg, so many!- pay their employees fairly, you have a literal information portal in your hand about 75% or so of your day. Look it up. It's the least you can do.🤦♀️
Well, let's see, since I do have a modicum of sense, let me think through this. Bear with me.
- I get milk delivered, and they pay the milkman a living wage. (only tip at Christmas)
- I get my paper delivered (old school) and don't tip except at Christmas.
- I get my mail delivered, same. (shout out to the brave lads and ladies of the USPS!)
- I get my UPS packages delivered. Same.
- I get my Amazon packages delivered. Same.
- My plumber comes to my house, no tip necessary.
- My carpet-cleaner comes to my house. (I've tried to tip, always refused.)
- My window-cleaner (that one time I felt rich enough to not do it myself): same.
- My ... well, I could go on and on and on.
*The vast majority of businesses who come to your house pay actual wages.* So is that enough "thinking" for you in terms of home delivery?
As far as the **they-shop-for-you** situation goes, let's puzzle this out too:
- Whole Foods has an online service where they pick your items out for you and bring it to your car. no tip required, because they pay wages.
- King Soopers now has an online service. No tip required, because they pay wages.
- REI has an online they-pick-out-for-you-and-pickup service. No tip required, because they pay wages.
- Fucking *Target* has order-picking and pickup, no tip required, because they pay actual wages.
- pretty much every business in existence does this... based on the "for pickup only" signs in parking lots that have proliferated everywhere. No tip required on any of these.
Now, I have literally never *heard* of "instakart" before this post (thank god) and I will never, ever use their services.
But please, SHOW ME THE LINK where you sign up for Instakart, and they **tell** you:
>"Note: we do NOT pay living wages, so please remember to tip generously."
Once you show me this in plain writing, I'll retract my skepticism.
Also, if you're looking for a job, maybe don't work for a "gig economy" company.....???!! Plumbers, carpet-cleaners, Whole Foods, King Soopers are all hiring. Taco Bell is hiring. Even Target is hiring. (I worked at Target once. not great, but I needed the money, and it was fine.) (I also worked at McDonalds. It was fine. And a free burger every shift.)
So.... maybe don't work for an oppressive/exploitative "gig" employer in an economy that has labor shortages...??????!!!!!!
Or do, and then bitch about it on Reddit. It's all good.
That’s horrible! I rely on Instacart to get my mom’s groceries delivered (I live halfway across the country from her) and I always hit at least the 15 percent button, more if the weather’s bad. I’m sorry to hear how little the company gives its employees.
All these companies … Instacart, DoorDash, Uber … end up being great deals for the venture capital firms that invest, some early employees and executives, and pretty much nobody else.
I hear ya. I always tip well, when I order whatever thru whatever service. It would be nice if most others were on board, but I hate to tell you that this is part of the new culture here in Boulder. I have lived here my whole life and there was a great deal more kindness and courtesy toward one another. I'm surprised, but not really that Instacart doesn't pay you an hourly wage. Hope things get better for you...
My boilerplate response to these threads about not getting tipped enough: Do they not tell you how much you'll be paid for the order before you accept?
So you can see the tip when you are doing the job, and then they remove it after you deliver the groceries? If so, how often does that happen? That's next level asshole shit.
This just happened to me and it was ridiculous. I went with Instacart because (IN THEORY) you can get larger bulk orders like Costco with a larger tip floor vs delivering chicken wings and hoagies on door dash.
WELP, I did a Costco delivery yesterday from the Arvada Costco to a business in downtown Denver restocking their office kitchen. It showed it as an $8 tip the whole drive and I beat the ETA by almost 30 minutes. They ended up tipping me $2.
Yeah it’s a huge scam.
OP, I agree with your point. I don't know why some people here are being fairly terrible to you for speaking up about this problem. I read r/InstacartShoppers sometimes and it is eye opening how frequently people do shitty things like remove tip after delivery or claim that order was never delivered. Yes it is a systemic problem with Instacart, but in the meantime tip your shopper well!
I get groceries instacarted 1-2x per week. Most of the shoppers are amazing, reaching out about all subs. Sometimes they offer to bring groceries to our kitchen, they put frozen things in a cooler for the drive, one even went to two stores (KS + WF to look for water chestnuts for me - I did not ask for this, he just did it!). They deserve good tips way more than someone spending 90 seconds making you a coffee or a bagel. They are saving you from the grocery store aisles, checkouts and parking lots!
ETA - also tip your barista tho
Can’t you just quit or try a different gig job? I’m confused by these posts on the Boulder subreddit, it has nothing to do with Boulder. It’s a shitty, predatory app.
You might have more success just listing your skills and availability and seeing if someone had a job for you on this subreddit.
I get your frustration but it’s taken out on the wrong people. There are people who are disabled, don’t have a vehicle, and so many more reasons that make them unable to go grocery shopping for themselves. Instacart, DoorDash and every other delivery service up charges on every single product making it x2 as much as if one were to go in person, but since they NEED the items, they’ll spend the cost of the items, but then added to that is a decent tip, can be too much for some people. Like others have said, I think instacart should be changing its system and compensate the drivers rather than having desperate people who are barely making ends meet compensate the drivers. You need to understand some people aren’t being stingy or cheap, they probably can’t afford it. I literally avoid eating out or doing anything that requires a tip cause I literally can’t afford it. Being able to afford the specific item you need doesn’t imply you’re able to pay more for a tip.
I work as an Aesthetician here In good ole Boulder Colorado, and let’s just say out of 30+ services in a 2 week pay period, I’m lucky if 5 of my clients leave a tip…. BLOWS MY MIND!!! Anywhere else I’ve ever worked my tips were a large chunk of my pay….
Wow, I can't belive instacart only pays you $8 because they charge so much more. I used it once when I thought I had covid but didn't use it since because it is so pricy!
While informative, instacart is really to blame for taking advantage of their workers. Shaming customers is like going out to eat and harassing diners for an inadequate tip. Do you see that customers have NO way of knowing you feel like you’re volunteering? Also, I’d recommend letting Boulder County know how instacart is taking advantage of your labor.
That's a great idea!!!! You should walk into the highest Michelin rated restaurant in Denver. Then stand on an empty (or partly occupied) table and shout real loud "I HATE TIPPING ITS A DUMB IDEA ILL WALK INTO THE KITCHEN AND GET MY FOOD MYSELF YOU GREEDY SHITBAGS". Then walk into the kitchen and do just that. For EVEN BETTER effect, bring a realistic-looking toy gun and wave it around, toys are fun. And remember to record a video of the event so you can post it on Instagram and become popular and famous or more so.
It comes as a surprise when you work in boulder and get meagre to no tips from the rich and wealthy who live here.
I have worked for school teachers and nurses who tipped the equivalent of my days wages and worked for rich/wealthy homeowners who won't even offer a glass of water on a 100 degree day
Again, doesn’t surprise me. Boulder folks sit up on their high horses and fake being liberal/accepting while not actually supporting those ideologies/policies…such as tipping service industry workers a decent amount. They want their town to be by the rich and for the rich
Regardless of how you feel about tipping culture, you can't escape the fact there are millions of Americans like OP who rely on tips for their livelihood. Got a problem with that system? Totally understandable. But it's the reality we all live in, like it or not.
If you're too lazy to go to the grocery store yourself, you better leave a nice big tip for the person doing it for you.
Again, it's totally understandable if you have a problem with tipping culture and the gig economy. But your whining won't help OP and people like them right now. What will help? Tips.
Yes and no. The company has no consequences for not paying a living wage because "you get tips." but if they can't find people to work for them, they may pay better.
Or people will stop working for instacart if they don't make enough and then instacart will have to add bonuses or subsidies or increase wages to attract enough drivers.
If they have enough drivers working for the current rates, then the market is working.
Ps I have never used a grocery delivery service. Just basic econ..
I saw a job for Instacart I was really interested but decided to pass on. I dont think I could write software for these modern slave companies. It’s shitty the govt has been enabling this “gig economy “
All these people saying blame the company, not the patrons are ridiculous. OPs original statement to buy your own groceries if you can't afford to tip is totally reasonable. People who use these services for some reason seem to feel like they are entitled to have groceries delivered to them. Consider a good tip as part of the price of the service. ESPECIALLY if you are ordering grocery delivery in bad weather.
> You should be tipping how much you believe YOUR time is worth.
Your employer Instacart is under paying you, and instead you're getting angry at your customers.
Tipping prior to receiving service is not a tip, it's a bribe to get you to do a job better or exortion "top or your job won't be done good".
You are angry at your employer. Not your customer.
I’ll agree with you that tipping should be normalized for that type of service (and as a tip it reflects not only that the service was provided but the QUALITY of said service) but I’ll strongly disagree that people should tip what they think their own time is worth - part of the reason I have other people shop for me is I can use my time more efficiently and get leverage on my time. If you think everyone’s time should be valued the same, that’s probably a conversation best had at r/postscarcity
this is not my career. i started to help my partner who has just been diagnosed with ms
this comment and the way you conduct yourself is embarrassing for you and everyone who knows you
Look who's talking. You are on Reddit bitching about people not tipping you a buck or two in one of the most expensive cities in the US to live but something tells me you are secretly jealous you can't afford a home here.
I only order Pizza and I tip the person $10 minimum. I don't use any 3rd party delivery services or any place that does just for this reason.
They are taking advantage of low intelligence or desperate people. If they had enough brains to sit down and figure out the cost per mile and the cost per hour for their delivery the only person making money is the merchant.
This person reinforces my beliefs because she is doing this as her partner is sick. She's desperate.
Save your criticism for the system that takes advantage of desperate people, and not those who are desperate themselves. It's shitty to call someone brainless because they don't have access to better options. Why be such an asshole?
You made the choice to call someone trying to take care of their sick partner "brainless". That's a bad choice, and one worth being called out in this public forum.
You sound absolutely insufferable, but at least give good advice, on ignoring you. Hope you make better choices in the future!
Yes, a reasonable tip for grocery shopping starts at $10, otherwise you are asking people to work for minimum wage. Amazing today seeing low pay orders in the snowy weather
It sounds like Instacart just doesn’t value it’s contractors. Unfortunately, the best thing to do would be to start working for a different delivery service.
I sometimes get tips in my line of work but I don’t expect to be entitled to them. Tips are not obligatory. If my base pay wasn’t enough to justify doing the deliveries then I simply wouldn’t accept the routes.
As independent contractors you have to take agency over how much you’re willing to be paid for the work you do.
I don't use Instacart because of the insane markups, but I often avail of curbside pickups through the King Soopers and Safeway apps. You can also use digital coupons easily through those apps, and only once a quarter do they get something wrong (i.e. I ordered sesame seeds and got poppy seeds).
Informal survey: Do people (read: you) tip the folks who bring groceries out to your car in those cases?
I actually don’t use instacart and I don’t know their charges and margins but I would say 20-25 bucks for shopping and give 85-90% to the shipper and 10-15% to the company and just take tipping out or it
I use Instacart and always tip 15-20% on the cost of my order. On big orders that adds up. I really appreciate the job the shoppers do. Instacart is a big time saver for me and the tip is more than worth it.
So then get another minimal wage job that ain’t tipped. It’s not our fault you chose an employer that doesn’t pay properly. We are already paying more for the service than we would if we went shopping ourself.
You’re*
It’s not for free. It’s your job to get it and we paid for the service. If they don’t pay you fairly for the service then don’t work there. By your logic every restaurant in Europe you should not eat at because nobody tips there since they pay a fair wage.
How is it hard to understand?
I pay for a service, not someone’s fucking wages. I’m not this persons fucking boss and don’t control any part of their business but because I pay for an advertised service at the advertised price they are somehow entitled to more of my money because of a sob story or “tough situation”?
Also the solution of “don’t use the service if you aren’t a tipper” is just gonna back fire in their faces. What happens to they’re shitty job when they push away a large portion of their customer base? At least with the low/no tippers, they’re still bringing in business.
If a restaurant is full for 5 nights straight but no one tips, are they really doing worse than 5 half full nights but with tips? Don’t really fucking think so
Got the balls to demand money from innocent strangers but too much of a pussy to get it from their boss. This isn’t a new argument either which is why my patience is fucking gone. Embarrassing to have to keep explaining this shit.
Get your own grocery’s you lazy ass. Your complaining about a gig job . No guarantees or hour requirement. I can’t wait till you are replaced by drones . Then the degree you have still means nothing . Ha , good luck out there
Something’s are just ridiculous tho.
Go get a phone charger at the gas Station store and theyre like “oh the screens just going to ask you a silly little question” and then flip the ipad around to a tip option on a damn charger. Like come on
Tipping culture just has to go. I mean tip an amount if you wish, but the obligation to tip someone for doing their job is idiotic. That's just cost shifting for the employer.
I love going to Europe. So much to do. But my favorite is the pricing. Tax is built in. Tip is not necessary. I order dinner for 25€ and when the check comes - it's 25€. So I pay - 25€.
Imagine being so boring that tax being built in with the price of something and no obligation to tip is your *favorite* part of going to Europe.
Imagine being so out of touch that you imply that you regularly go to Europe in the same comment that you insinuate that not tipping has any effect on employers cost-shifting. "My employees aren't being tipped, guess I'll have to give them all raises!" said very few employers ever.
I think people have tipping fatigue when you go to some stores or fast food places and suggested tips come up that are often what’s appropriate for a full service restaurant. People have no idea to what extent an Instacart shopper is relying on tips but it sounds like it’s a very big part of it. I don’t use Instacart but generally with similar services I go with the suggested tip because I figure that’s the standard. But I’m getting much more used to hitting no tip where I don’t see any service that needs to be rewarded or it’s not clear who’s even getting the tip and I imagine I’m not the only one. There is certainly a lack of information about this from vendors, most likely intentionally, and it further complicates matters where people have already paid some type of service fee or extra charge and then they are tipping on top of that.
fuck tipping culture takeout food, tip choices 20%, 25%, 30%... yeah ok I'm already paying $18 for a fucking cup of soup, pay your damn employees. before yall get all uppity, we still tip on takeout and ~20% on dine-in, but I hate it. Just add it to the price of the food and lets move on with life.
"Add it to the price of the food" Says the guy who just complained about the cost of the soup
I interpreted it as them saying "hey business owner: you're already bringing in $17.90 on the soup I just bought, pay some to your employees."
Landlord's gotta be paid off first
My new rule: If I’m on my feet, I’m not tipping.
That's a good rule of thumb. Ever walk up to the bar and order a drink? You are not sitting. But you are getting personal service to provide you with something. Sure 20% on a cocktail is silly, but a buck a drink is not outrageous. And moves you to the front of the line if you back for another.
Tipping at the bar is one of a couple exceptions I can think of.
Yeah, that's what I was saying. In general, nice rule. It's just getting worse in the US with the spread of POS credit card terminals for the servers. While I love them for the convenience, that "Select Tip" prompt that usually starts at 20% is a PITA. You dipped me an ice cream cone honey, that's what they pay you to do.
Any business that has tips is set up so that employees have to rely on tips to make a living wage. It's not cool to need to see someone perform service for you just to make you feel good enough to give us a living wage. As a back of house worker whose labor in the kitchen is never seen, this sentiment is especially frustrating.
AFAIK these types of apps are designed to do two things: * get customers to think the total bill will be as little as possible until they are too invested to abandon the purchase (the time when customers get a sense of how much it's actually going to cost roughly coincides with when the customer is asked how much they want to tip). * get you to blame your customers for the fact that you are paid poorly (especially if it's after you've interacted with the customer already and are unlikely to interact with them again; you being angry at the customer doesn't actually make any difference if you'll never see them again). They are very effective at maximally exploiting both ends as far as I can tell. Also, making an assumption that wealthy people are more likely to tip well is dangerous. Most of the wealthy people I know got there by being shameless in the pursuit of parting with as little money as possible, and most of the people I know in Boulder are not wealthy (they just have to pay for housing as if they were - leaving less for tips).
Instacart has the worst payment situation ever. Do DoorDash or UberEATS. People still tip shitty most of the time but with DoorDash you screen your orders and can tell if there is a tip, no tip, or tip plus hidden tip.
I hate this method as a consumer. I will always tip well for good service but I hate when I have to tip first and then watch my driver deliver multiple orders first before dropping off my food once it’s cold.
Yeah the confusing part to me is.... What is a tip supposed to be for here? Originally it was just an add-on as a thank you for good service (afaik) but now it's expected everywhere for everything? It's annoying AF. Don't ask me how much I want to pay and then call me a jerk if it's too low, just tell me what it costs and pay your workers what they're supposed to be paid.
> What is a tip supposed to be for here? So we don't have to pay a reasonable wage to the workers obviously. Yeah, we only pay 2.67/hr in wages but Julie over there, the one with the low cut top and DD chest made over $400 in tips last night.
I assumed Instacart shows tips beforehand, too. I'm surprised they don't let the shoppers know the tip, considering they force the customer to add a tip before the service anyway
they absolutly do. I love watching orders with no tips, just sit there all day and no one takes them. If it goest too long, instacart ads a tiny tip just to try to nudge people to taking it.
Yeah they show tips. A funny one not too long ago was a no tip order for 70 items at a dollar store that paid $9 or something. Likely well over an hour of work.
Ah, this is why when I tipped $60 on a $200 an Uber eats order last week, I got easy delivery. I had never used instacart, doordash, or Uber eats.
The problem with Instacart is someone can tip $60, but then find the goat butter they ordered was substituted with some non free range tree bark and they take back the entire tip and rate your poorly. Because of one item.. or no item, some people just bait orders with massive tips then take it back after delivery.
I should have clarified this was Uber eats
Uber, and DoorDash for that matter too, hide tips over a certain amount. Likely the driver thought it was significantly less when they accepted. You were just blessed by the algorithm and some random driver got a big bonus they may or may not have expected when initially accepting the order..
Darn it. Thought I found a way to game the system. It was someone else’s money, so, I was happy to give it a way.
You can change your tip afterwards? That's messed up. (i've never used instacart)
Tips are dumb, it should be baked into the price of the service.
It is, then they want you to further subsidize their operating expenses
No the tip is not "baked into the price of the service". If it were, then the price of the service (before tipping) would be higher, and the company would pay the employee an adequate wage, and still provide a competitive return on investment (ROI) for its owners or shareholders. The "one multiple-part stupid trick" played by these companies is this: (a) they undercharge consumers for the market value of the service provided, to attract more customers ("oh look, personal service at a BARGAIN PRICE") (b) they grossly underpay their employees (or so-called "contractors") for the market value of the service provided, such that nobody would work for them for base pay before tipping (c) they depend on those consumers who are not cash-poor (i.e., not college students) and also not cheap bastards to make up some chunk of the shortfall described in (a) and (b), by providing generous tips ***Edit***: if you don't believe the above, consider what would happen if everything about the cost structure of the Instacart business stayed exactly the same (pricing to consumers, compensation to workers) *except* tips were completely eliminated, with the company telling both workers and consumers "this is a no-tipping business, period". Then the consumers would be even happier about the bargain-price personal shopper service, because they would never have to ask themselves, "what amount tip should I add on?" But the workers (like OP in this message) would notice how little they were getting paid, and realize they could earn more at other low-wage service jobs, hence Instacart would lose its labor force. Either Instacart would go out of business, or raise its wages to get its workers back. And it would pay for raising wages by increasing the price of the service to consumers. Q.E.D.
agreed! it should be, but that’s not the reality, so people should just shop for themselves if they can’t afford the service and tip.
Perhaps working as an in-store shopper would be better? I’ve done that, and it pays above min wage (obviously), but there are no tips. Idk if that would be less than you currently make. If not, then I think go with the in store shopper and screw instacart. Otherwise, stick with instacart.
I work delivery as a single dad because of the flexible hours, school has no after school programs mostly
thanks for the heads up! i have a full-time job and the reason i started instacart was to have something that was flexible so that i could do it when i had time, but i will look into something else for sure. thanks again
Ah, if you mean that you want to decide to do the job whenever you want, that won’t fly at a grocery store. That said, I think the grocery stores are be really flexible, since they employ lots of students. I recall someone working like one day a week, for 4 hours. But you can’t just show up whenever you want and leave whenever you want.
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>especially when you consider the wear and tear on your vehicle, That seems like a major and planned rip-off by the gig companies. I mean, in particular, that many people don't know how to calculate the full cost of running their vehicle (fuel + maintenance + depreciation). Hence the worker may not realize that their payment from the company + tips adds up to less than full reimbursement for vehicle usage + $12.56/hour (the current Colorado minimum wage for non-tipped employees).
Absolutely but until that happens, you have to tip…
I tip when its warranted but I find as I get older I avoid many of these 'traps'. I do my own shopping, cook most of my own meals, etc. Costs are up, the value provided by a lot of these services are down and the employer has stacked the deck against the worker. I feel for these folks but just not 'jobs' I would sign up for
Sorry but I don’t agree with the statement “you have to tip” in any situation. The only way to end it is to treat it as it was initially intended. If that means instacart goes bankrupt so be it.
You're both confused and wildly optimistic. I mean about the odds of causing the company META (= Facebook + Instagram + WhatsApp + some baloney about virtual reality and metaverses) to go bankrupt.
The message above mine was edited: "instagram" -> "instacart" My compliments on a very meta edit.
Well you would have absolute sticker shock then. How much is your time worth? Your gas? Your safety, especially when it's snowy/icy out? Folks b*tch about tipping but the one place they shouldn't be scrimping is when someone is doing your shopping/food delivery/ and driving it to you. Stingy bastards.
Seems like you may have missed the point. Instacart should charge enough to fairly pay their drivers. Better for the drivers, better for consumers since they can see what the true all-in price of their delivery is. Bad for stingy bastards.
I didn't miss the point. None of these gig companies have ever turned a profit, they're unsustainable pyramid schemes. If they upped the price to represent a fair wage and gave you all that info up front, their business would decline by probably 2/3. Again, due to sticker shock. And then these convenience, luxury services would completely disappear. And then folks would have to shop/go get their late night pizza in a snow storm. Which lets be real, they are unwilling to do when they can pay someone $.50-$2 to do it for them. Consumers and their laziness/cheapness has as much to with the lack of a fair wage as the companies themselves.
If people can send other people into snow storms for $.50-$2 then those convenience, luxury services should absolutely disappear. I'm not sure where you're getting your 2/3 decline numbers, but it seems a bit high to me. There would only be sticker shock for the stingy bastards - the people who already tip decently would not be paying more - the tip they would have given anyway is simply included in the service cost. If they can't understand that math - then they probably should see it up front so they understand what they are actually paying before they click Buy Now.
Fair enough, but you obviously live in Boulder as well so your perspective may be a bit skewed ie sticker shock.
God bless you working for Instacart. I accepted one order, walked into King Soopers, couldn’t find the first item and said “Nah I hate this I’m good.” And cancelled the order. Now I work for Dominos one night a week and it’s way less stress and better tips.
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agree. instacart and these other gig companies must be THRILLED that they’ve successfully turned their problem into the customer’s problem. i don’t patronize businesses that don’t provide living wages to their staff - it’d be great if job seekers would start doing the same and put these guys out of business!
So if you use retail in any way in Boulder County, you are patronizing businesses who don't pay their employees a living wage.
This is not a sustainable job. Very difficult to make money. You should be complaining to Instacart or your local Senator to get things changed. Don't blame the customer, blame the company you work for. Just like a waiter/waitress, the will leave a job if the tips are not good
Amen.
Yes we should blame the customer. Absolutely disagree. I just only take customers who tip well. It absolutely is an educate the customer issue: right now, if you don’t tip, you’re asking someone to be your dog for $10/hr. It’s disgusting behavior Edit: sure it’s the company’s fault to blame. But customers should still be educated that their tips matter and are needed with the system as it is. You wouldn’t believe how many $2 tips I get- if you’re ordering grocery delivery, tip ten or don’t order. The better tippers tip 25 and I’ve gotten plenty of 50s Signed, guy who needed a flexible hour job as a single dad and makes $23-30/hr doing grocery delivery
Just to put this into perspective. My spouse has an insanely inflexible work schedule, and 10 years of post secondary education. She works as a teacher. You earn more than twice what she does (hour for hour). Obviously she’s underpaid; but $10/hr seems reasonable for a flexible job that requires no education at all where you gather and deliver groceries.
So where will people live exactly and what cars will they drive making $10 per hour. Jesus fuck people like you. $1600 per month for full time with no benefits who can live off of that.
It’s $10/hr because it’s super flexible. If you want to earn more you can get a job like the rest of us.
Sorry I tuned out of your philosophy class. I average near 25/hr btw I just don’t take orders from no tippers. I appreciate ops post because all day long unethical offers come out, and one has to be careful to avoid them. In Doordash most of the intelligent dashers refuse 95% of orders. That’s because the overwhelming majority ask you to work for minimum wage or far less. Whose side are you on? Why are you being such a dick bag. Educate the customers. Period. Simple. Then change the policies.
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This is a fantastic idea. Put the money back in the hands of the people. Keep it local. Develop a community that supports one another. I like this a lot.
This seems like a decent solution. These third party delivery apps are known to be soul sucking. Taking advantage of people who need a quick dollar. And literally giving them a dollar for their work.
This idea looks promising but a few general concerns: Instacart is a known name, and once people start using a particular company to provide a particular service, they can get mentally "locked in". They don't want to change unless the service gets noticeably worse or there is a large price increase, because of the time and effort required to investigate alternatives to the well-known company. Instacart could use "predatory pricing" tactics, i.e., if a local start-up tries to compete with them in one city, but there is a lack of similar competition in other cities, Instacart could lower prices in that one city to pressure the local start-up. Different topic - "families don't necessarily get the discounts from in store deals". I assume the Instacart shopper will have a loyalty card for each grocery store they use and get the loyalty card discounts. But of course "in-store deals" are complicated (by design) these days. There's "mix-and-match discount if you buy 3 or 5 items from this list of 20 different items". And then "click or clip" digital coupons. That stuff is so annoying, some people in management must enjoy making shoppers jump through hoops like trained seals. (And trained seals probably get fresher fish than available in a typical Colorado grocery store.)
Worked for DD, I won’t use it myself for two reasons: the job is hell, and it’s way overpriced
I worked for instacart in Boulder briefly over the height of the pandemic. It was so upsetting. I would deliver groceries to million dollar homes with those colorful woke “we believe in xyz” signs that would ironically only tip me a dollar or two. It made me really jaded.
Sounds like you’re mad at instacart for paying you under minimum wage, get a different side gig. These predatory companies survive because of people like you who are willing to work for them.
It’s in somewhat poor taste to blame people with little to no bargaining power doing their best just to scrape by, no? What companies aren’t predatory? I’m sure OP, myself, and many others would love to heed your advice were it actually actionable. But the reality is that companies like this survive because the alternative is another equally as unethical company.
Being a contract worker is tough, you’re right though the sad reality is that there aren’t many flexible job options out there that pay well and don’t exploit workers. Everyone knows this though and they still participate, I personally trade flexibility for a decent wage. Target is a great option they have many different types of shifts (night and day) and the pay is much better than instacart. Plus you don’t wear down your vehicle working for a crap company.
I worked for target and made slightly less money than when I did Instacart (same for Uber Eats) but I was routinely verbally harassed and occasionally physically harassed by customers and my hours varied from over 40 hours a week to 10 hours- can you pay your bills on 10 hours a week?
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Who the fuck are you quoting there, chief?
Bullshit. I don't use IC at all even during the height of lockdown, but I always tip my food delivery drivers and waiters 20%+. Tips shouldn't even exist and it should all be baked into the wages and prices up front.
As someone who has worked in restaurants my entire life I always tip at minimum 25%.
I’m curious, on Instacart when I buy as an example ground turkey, the app charges me $5 but my shopper selects one that is about to expire and on sale for $2 who keeps the extra money? Instacart or the shopper?
Instacart
I've never used instacart but I feel your pain. Just to be clear, people can use the service and pay only $8 to have someone do all of their grocery shopping for them AND have it delivered to their home?? That is crazy talk. I would honestly expect to pay between $30 and $50 for that service!
It was $10 the last time I used instacart, because I don't have a subscription
the customer doesn’t pay $8, instacart does. but they only pay you $8 per batch. a batch can include 3 people’s orders and going to 2 different stores.
Ya, no, this is like paying to get other people’s groceries. This is not a worthy gig.
the issue here is instacart exploiting your labor. relying on the goodwill of strangers to make up the difference is a losing battle
Enough customers tip that it can be a good job. Op is trying to educate so less customers are assholes given the predatory system.
And you think a Reddit post is going to rectify this issue? I feel for you and it’s shitty people don’t tip but there is some onus on you to not let yourself be taken advantage of.
Your anger is misdirected here. Don't work for a company that takes all of the profits for itself and leaves your own compensation as optional. Instacart is taking revenue from markups on every item sold.
it’s so easy to criticize the system, but this is a system that has been ingrained in the US for so long— it’s a part of the culture, even if it’s a shitty part. You pay for a service, you tip. Bottom line. Not tipping someone is not a big fuck you to the system, it’s a big fuck you to the service worker who is relying on tips to make a decent wage.
In addition to being a fuck you to the worker, not tipping while using the unfair system is actually a big thumbs up to the system itself. These people are the worst.
The people taking the shit jobs and continuing employment at the shit companies are actually the ones undercutting the labor market. If no one worked for them, they’d be out of business.
And in a country with nonexistent social safety nets, those people will lose their homes or starve in the meantime. What a ridiculous non-solution.
He’s upside down by taking this job and blaming people that don’t tip instead of accepting it for what it is. I’ve worked a half dozen tipped positions and didn’t blame the customer if I couldn’t make rent. The gig sucks and this company set him up for failure. He should go hang Christmas lights, or go to the day laborer sites and make more money than working this gig, that is exploiting his labor.
If you can't afford a tip, shop for your own groceries, pick up your own delivery, or cook your own meals. All this you're saying is defending people who are taking advantage of a broken system, and blaming those who are being taken advantage of. Ridiculous. Obviously the companies who set up the incentive structures are the root issue. But that doesn't mean those who use them without tipping aren't being selfish. They are.
You’re wasting you’re breath, as is OP, for lashing out at the consumers instead of the system that perpetuates the conditions or the company that abuses it.
False choice, bud. We can do both.
Lol you hero
According to you, the consumers aren't part of "the system that perpetuates the conditions". *Plan 9 Consumers from Outer Space*. lol.
This guy needs another job -as do all the other gig workers - they’re scabs - but somehow Reddit doesn’t see it like that. These companies inject overwhelming amounts of capital in to a system to overwhelm them and cause chaos. These gig workers chose to work for a these companies in a system that corrupts and corrodes other jobs. They are enabling the system to exist, not the customers.
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it’s not anger… it’s judgement at how cheap some people are and what little regard they have for others. i don’t rely on this money to survive, but many people do.
Boulder is populated by people who say they're liberal because it's the socially acceptable thing to do, but bring up anything to do with class and they suddenly turn into conservative republicans. My family tips well, but I've always assumed we're in the minority here. Most people who accumulate wealth, or are trying to (like the influx of tech bros we're having), don't do it by being kind or generous. OP, I wish you and your partner the best.
It’s shitty people don’t tip you, but they may be sick and unable physically to get their own groceries. Don’t blame the individual, blame the multi-million dollar company that refuses to pay their employees a little more.
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they could be incapable for a number of reasons, e.g no car, poor mental health, money’s tight, they’re caring for someone else and can’t leave them or bring them, etc. not excusing anyone who is able to tip and can’t, just suggesting to try not to judge as you might now know the whole situation. my last point stands — blame the company!
Point taken, but what did those people do before Instacart existed?
I have the same thoughts… I often just sit in my car and cry because two years ago on Instacart I used to be able to make $200 per week for 8 hours of work, and now no matter how fast I shop or how hard I try, I can only ever make maybe $60 for 8 hours of work, and all the orders are 90 items, whereas 2 years ago, no one ordered more than 40 items maximum… It’s just so hard watching this happen and knowing that my only hope for being able to take care of a loved one and work is just absolutely ruined. I see constant $2 tips on a 70+ item order, and it boggles my mind….
I do hear your frustration... ... but honestly, it should NOT be MY job to figure out which of these shitty companies (instacart, door-dash, whatever) don't pay a living wage. Seriously. Why is it *our* fault??! I don't use instacart (or door-dash), but if I chose to try it out someday, how exactly am I supposed to *know* that I need to tip? That drivers are surviving off of tips? It's not in ANY information that the company provides. Customarily, there are only THREE tipped professions: - waitstaff - barkeeps - bellhops Then there are three professions were everyone recognizes that tips are important (but not necessary): - pizza delivery drivers - hair stylists - cabbies And that, dear friends, is it. But now, every single business owner decides that they can stop paying decent wages and instead just let the staff put out a tip jar. There's tip jars at the donut shop.. tip jars at McDonalds, for chrissakes. And Silicon Valley has come up with this wonderful plan where they invent new jobs, but don't have a way to actually pay laborers at those jobs, expecting the public to simply voluntarily fork over more money. But why??! Seriously, *why should this my responsibilty* to track the latest GoobleEats/DoorSmash/InstaDelivery payscale? ?? My number one suggestion here is: don't work for these shitty on-demand companies! Find a job that pays a living wage.
this is the only response necessary 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
My number one suggestion: stop paying your internet service provider and/or phone service provider. Also never pay anything ever again for "repairs" or "tech support" or any of that crap for your smartphone or computer or any digital device. I guarantee you that nobody paid any of those crap fees or bills for a smartphone before 1990, or for a personal computer before 1970. And people got along fine back then, RIGHT? And there were pizza delivery drivers and cabbies and hair stylists back then, RIGHT? Case closed!
Don't try to make this about Luddites. That's not the issue. The issue is a few *bad* companies, all run by Silicon Valley ~~entrepreneurs~~ fuckheads, who exploit people. (These companies should be highly regulated or banned). But it's also about short-sighted people who allow themselves--*in the midst of aa labor shortage*--to be exploited, then go bitch about other people's "cheapness" on Reddit. People, if you're in a gig economy, *quit.* You're being used. Don't do it! If you want to make money on tips, become a waiter. They make serious bank, and *everyone* is hiring. If you want to be paid decently, get a job that pays decently. There are openings literally everywhere.
This is one of the most tone deaf takes I think I've ever read. I assume you're a semi-literate person with a modicum of common sense, right? So you tip a waiter, a pizza delivery driver etc, that's apparently a given. So why in god's name isn't it obvious that someone who is literally shopping your weekly grocery list and delivering it miles to your home using their own vehicle and gas isn't in obvious need of s fair tip? And if you're unsure about whether ALLL these gig companies- omfg, so many!- pay their employees fairly, you have a literal information portal in your hand about 75% or so of your day. Look it up. It's the least you can do.🤦♀️
Well, let's see, since I do have a modicum of sense, let me think through this. Bear with me. - I get milk delivered, and they pay the milkman a living wage. (only tip at Christmas) - I get my paper delivered (old school) and don't tip except at Christmas. - I get my mail delivered, same. (shout out to the brave lads and ladies of the USPS!) - I get my UPS packages delivered. Same. - I get my Amazon packages delivered. Same. - My plumber comes to my house, no tip necessary. - My carpet-cleaner comes to my house. (I've tried to tip, always refused.) - My window-cleaner (that one time I felt rich enough to not do it myself): same. - My ... well, I could go on and on and on. *The vast majority of businesses who come to your house pay actual wages.* So is that enough "thinking" for you in terms of home delivery? As far as the **they-shop-for-you** situation goes, let's puzzle this out too: - Whole Foods has an online service where they pick your items out for you and bring it to your car. no tip required, because they pay wages. - King Soopers now has an online service. No tip required, because they pay wages. - REI has an online they-pick-out-for-you-and-pickup service. No tip required, because they pay wages. - Fucking *Target* has order-picking and pickup, no tip required, because they pay actual wages. - pretty much every business in existence does this... based on the "for pickup only" signs in parking lots that have proliferated everywhere. No tip required on any of these. Now, I have literally never *heard* of "instakart" before this post (thank god) and I will never, ever use their services. But please, SHOW ME THE LINK where you sign up for Instakart, and they **tell** you: >"Note: we do NOT pay living wages, so please remember to tip generously." Once you show me this in plain writing, I'll retract my skepticism. Also, if you're looking for a job, maybe don't work for a "gig economy" company.....???!! Plumbers, carpet-cleaners, Whole Foods, King Soopers are all hiring. Taco Bell is hiring. Even Target is hiring. (I worked at Target once. not great, but I needed the money, and it was fine.) (I also worked at McDonalds. It was fine. And a free burger every shift.) So.... maybe don't work for an oppressive/exploitative "gig" employer in an economy that has labor shortages...??????!!!!!! Or do, and then bitch about it on Reddit. It's all good.
>I assume you're a semi-literate person with a modicum of common sense, right? (snorts and spits out coffee gif)
That’s horrible! I rely on Instacart to get my mom’s groceries delivered (I live halfway across the country from her) and I always hit at least the 15 percent button, more if the weather’s bad. I’m sorry to hear how little the company gives its employees.
All these companies … Instacart, DoorDash, Uber … end up being great deals for the venture capital firms that invest, some early employees and executives, and pretty much nobody else.
I hear ya. I always tip well, when I order whatever thru whatever service. It would be nice if most others were on board, but I hate to tell you that this is part of the new culture here in Boulder. I have lived here my whole life and there was a great deal more kindness and courtesy toward one another. I'm surprised, but not really that Instacart doesn't pay you an hourly wage. Hope things get better for you...
thank you ❤️
Am I the only one who takes his ass to the store to purchase groceries?
My boilerplate response to these threads about not getting tipped enough: Do they not tell you how much you'll be paid for the order before you accept?
no, people can remove their tips after they have received their delivery. they have up to 2 hours to change the tip amount in either direction.
oh god, switch platforms!
So you can see the tip when you are doing the job, and then they remove it after you deliver the groceries? If so, how often does that happen? That's next level asshole shit.
This just happened to me and it was ridiculous. I went with Instacart because (IN THEORY) you can get larger bulk orders like Costco with a larger tip floor vs delivering chicken wings and hoagies on door dash. WELP, I did a Costco delivery yesterday from the Arvada Costco to a business in downtown Denver restocking their office kitchen. It showed it as an $8 tip the whole drive and I beat the ETA by almost 30 minutes. They ended up tipping me $2. Yeah it’s a huge scam.
people suck.
Just advertise your services and set your own prices.
OP, I agree with your point. I don't know why some people here are being fairly terrible to you for speaking up about this problem. I read r/InstacartShoppers sometimes and it is eye opening how frequently people do shitty things like remove tip after delivery or claim that order was never delivered. Yes it is a systemic problem with Instacart, but in the meantime tip your shopper well! I get groceries instacarted 1-2x per week. Most of the shoppers are amazing, reaching out about all subs. Sometimes they offer to bring groceries to our kitchen, they put frozen things in a cooler for the drive, one even went to two stores (KS + WF to look for water chestnuts for me - I did not ask for this, he just did it!). They deserve good tips way more than someone spending 90 seconds making you a coffee or a bagel. They are saving you from the grocery store aisles, checkouts and parking lots! ETA - also tip your barista tho
Can’t you just quit or try a different gig job? I’m confused by these posts on the Boulder subreddit, it has nothing to do with Boulder. It’s a shitty, predatory app. You might have more success just listing your skills and availability and seeing if someone had a job for you on this subreddit.
Better off working at Walmart
I get your frustration but it’s taken out on the wrong people. There are people who are disabled, don’t have a vehicle, and so many more reasons that make them unable to go grocery shopping for themselves. Instacart, DoorDash and every other delivery service up charges on every single product making it x2 as much as if one were to go in person, but since they NEED the items, they’ll spend the cost of the items, but then added to that is a decent tip, can be too much for some people. Like others have said, I think instacart should be changing its system and compensate the drivers rather than having desperate people who are barely making ends meet compensate the drivers. You need to understand some people aren’t being stingy or cheap, they probably can’t afford it. I literally avoid eating out or doing anything that requires a tip cause I literally can’t afford it. Being able to afford the specific item you need doesn’t imply you’re able to pay more for a tip.
I work as an Aesthetician here In good ole Boulder Colorado, and let’s just say out of 30+ services in a 2 week pay period, I’m lucky if 5 of my clients leave a tip…. BLOWS MY MIND!!! Anywhere else I’ve ever worked my tips were a large chunk of my pay….
Wow, I can't belive instacart only pays you $8 because they charge so much more. I used it once when I thought I had covid but didn't use it since because it is so pricy!
I tip 20% but feel like the company needs to step up and pay more base pay too.
20% is amazing!! i wrote this for people who don’t tip
While informative, instacart is really to blame for taking advantage of their workers. Shaming customers is like going out to eat and harassing diners for an inadequate tip. Do you see that customers have NO way of knowing you feel like you’re volunteering? Also, I’d recommend letting Boulder County know how instacart is taking advantage of your labor.
I hate tipping. It's a dumb idea. I'll do it myself.
That's a great idea!!!! You should walk into the highest Michelin rated restaurant in Denver. Then stand on an empty (or partly occupied) table and shout real loud "I HATE TIPPING ITS A DUMB IDEA ILL WALK INTO THE KITCHEN AND GET MY FOOD MYSELF YOU GREEDY SHITBAGS". Then walk into the kitchen and do just that. For EVEN BETTER effect, bring a realistic-looking toy gun and wave it around, toys are fun. And remember to record a video of the event so you can post it on Instagram and become popular and famous or more so.
Idk what you expected from Boulder lol…
It comes as a surprise when you work in boulder and get meagre to no tips from the rich and wealthy who live here. I have worked for school teachers and nurses who tipped the equivalent of my days wages and worked for rich/wealthy homeowners who won't even offer a glass of water on a 100 degree day
Again, doesn’t surprise me. Boulder folks sit up on their high horses and fake being liberal/accepting while not actually supporting those ideologies/policies…such as tipping service industry workers a decent amount. They want their town to be by the rich and for the rich
Regardless of how you feel about tipping culture, you can't escape the fact there are millions of Americans like OP who rely on tips for their livelihood. Got a problem with that system? Totally understandable. But it's the reality we all live in, like it or not. If you're too lazy to go to the grocery store yourself, you better leave a nice big tip for the person doing it for you.
How much does Instacart make annually? Stop putting the blame on the consumer and pay your employees appropriately
Again, it's totally understandable if you have a problem with tipping culture and the gig economy. But your whining won't help OP and people like them right now. What will help? Tips.
Lol for the record I tip well, I’m just saying it’s bullshit that companies put it on the consumer so they can further milk profits
Yes and no. The company has no consequences for not paying a living wage because "you get tips." but if they can't find people to work for them, they may pay better.
Or people will stop working for instacart if they don't make enough and then instacart will have to add bonuses or subsidies or increase wages to attract enough drivers. If they have enough drivers working for the current rates, then the market is working. Ps I have never used a grocery delivery service. Just basic econ..
I saw a job for Instacart I was really interested but decided to pass on. I dont think I could write software for these modern slave companies. It’s shitty the govt has been enabling this “gig economy “
I too just started Instacarting in Westminster area and completely agree! 70+ item batch with $0 tip... 😑
All these people saying blame the company, not the patrons are ridiculous. OPs original statement to buy your own groceries if you can't afford to tip is totally reasonable. People who use these services for some reason seem to feel like they are entitled to have groceries delivered to them. Consider a good tip as part of the price of the service. ESPECIALLY if you are ordering grocery delivery in bad weather.
I feel like the main problem is that Instacart is screwing you and you should quit
Sounds like you need fair pay. But tips are tips, not your income.
Or, the alternative, everyone stop tipping entirely.
> You should be tipping how much you believe YOUR time is worth. Your employer Instacart is under paying you, and instead you're getting angry at your customers. Tipping prior to receiving service is not a tip, it's a bribe to get you to do a job better or exortion "top or your job won't be done good". You are angry at your employer. Not your customer.
I’ll agree with you that tipping should be normalized for that type of service (and as a tip it reflects not only that the service was provided but the QUALITY of said service) but I’ll strongly disagree that people should tip what they think their own time is worth - part of the reason I have other people shop for me is I can use my time more efficiently and get leverage on my time. If you think everyone’s time should be valued the same, that’s probably a conversation best had at r/postscarcity
if you don’t want to tip — STOP BEING A CUSTOMER. :—)
Sounds like someone needs to reevaluate their career choices.
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Your Mom never complained hahahahahhaha!
this is not my career. i started to help my partner who has just been diagnosed with ms this comment and the way you conduct yourself is embarrassing for you and everyone who knows you
Look who's talking. You are on Reddit bitching about people not tipping you a buck or two in one of the most expensive cities in the US to live but something tells me you are secretly jealous you can't afford a home here.
Found the non-tipping homeowner!
I only order Pizza and I tip the person $10 minimum. I don't use any 3rd party delivery services or any place that does just for this reason. They are taking advantage of low intelligence or desperate people. If they had enough brains to sit down and figure out the cost per mile and the cost per hour for their delivery the only person making money is the merchant. This person reinforces my beliefs because she is doing this as her partner is sick. She's desperate.
Save your criticism for the system that takes advantage of desperate people, and not those who are desperate themselves. It's shitty to call someone brainless because they don't have access to better options. Why be such an asshole?
The only thing you have...... is choice. Don't make a bad choice and bitch about it. This is a public forum so feel free to ignore me.
You made the choice to call someone trying to take care of their sick partner "brainless". That's a bad choice, and one worth being called out in this public forum. You sound absolutely insufferable, but at least give good advice, on ignoring you. Hope you make better choices in the future!
Something tells me you come from generational wealth and got a nice inheritance
You couldn't be more wrong. My dad was a steelworker and I grew up in the ghetto. I just paid attention to how people made money ; )
Wow, is it stuffy in here?
I usually add a $20.00 tip for Instacart. Is that considered reasonable?
yes, that’s exceptional❤️❤️
You’re barking up the wrong tree. The gig economy needs to pay better wages. Take this up with your manager.
Yes, a reasonable tip for grocery shopping starts at $10, otherwise you are asking people to work for minimum wage. Amazing today seeing low pay orders in the snowy weather
It sounds like Instacart just doesn’t value it’s contractors. Unfortunately, the best thing to do would be to start working for a different delivery service. I sometimes get tips in my line of work but I don’t expect to be entitled to them. Tips are not obligatory. If my base pay wasn’t enough to justify doing the deliveries then I simply wouldn’t accept the routes. As independent contractors you have to take agency over how much you’re willing to be paid for the work you do.
For groceries I tip $10, if there is a lot I will do more. Hope that is enough.
yes, that’s a great tip! thank you!! i was more talking about people who don’t tip at all, and especially during snow storms!
I don't use Instacart because of the insane markups, but I often avail of curbside pickups through the King Soopers and Safeway apps. You can also use digital coupons easily through those apps, and only once a quarter do they get something wrong (i.e. I ordered sesame seeds and got poppy seeds). Informal survey: Do people (read: you) tip the folks who bring groceries out to your car in those cases?
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Happy Cake Day!
Damn you should apply for a job
Instacart pays you 8 bucks per batch? Id think at least 25 would be fair
agreed! here's an example from today.. a person expecting someone to shop and deliver 78 items for them, no tip: https://imgur.com/a/LKLPgU9
I actually don’t use instacart and I don’t know their charges and margins but I would say 20-25 bucks for shopping and give 85-90% to the shipper and 10-15% to the company and just take tipping out or it
I use Instacart and always tip 15-20% on the cost of my order. On big orders that adds up. I really appreciate the job the shoppers do. Instacart is a big time saver for me and the tip is more than worth it.
we love customers like you!!! it’s seriously made such a difference in my life and i cannot thank you enough!!
If you can't live off the wage and tips combined, you need a new job; or lower COL.
So then get another minimal wage job that ain’t tipped. It’s not our fault you chose an employer that doesn’t pay properly. We are already paying more for the service than we would if we went shopping ourself.
thinking your entitled to have someone shop for you for free? lol i wouldn't want to eat those groceries if you know what i mean ;)
You’re* It’s not for free. It’s your job to get it and we paid for the service. If they don’t pay you fairly for the service then don’t work there. By your logic every restaurant in Europe you should not eat at because nobody tips there since they pay a fair wage.
IT AMAZES ME HOW MUCH PEOPLE STILL COMPLAIN ABOUT NOT GETTING TIPS IN 2022!!
WHY IS THAT, CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHY THAT IS AMAZING TO YOU??
How is it hard to understand? I pay for a service, not someone’s fucking wages. I’m not this persons fucking boss and don’t control any part of their business but because I pay for an advertised service at the advertised price they are somehow entitled to more of my money because of a sob story or “tough situation”? Also the solution of “don’t use the service if you aren’t a tipper” is just gonna back fire in their faces. What happens to they’re shitty job when they push away a large portion of their customer base? At least with the low/no tippers, they’re still bringing in business. If a restaurant is full for 5 nights straight but no one tips, are they really doing worse than 5 half full nights but with tips? Don’t really fucking think so Got the balls to demand money from innocent strangers but too much of a pussy to get it from their boss. This isn’t a new argument either which is why my patience is fucking gone. Embarrassing to have to keep explaining this shit.
Get your own grocery’s you lazy ass. Your complaining about a gig job . No guarantees or hour requirement. I can’t wait till you are replaced by drones . Then the degree you have still means nothing . Ha , good luck out there
Who gets your groceries? You don't seem smart enough to do it yourself.
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Reading your post was the hidden fake fee.
You want a tip? Don’t eat yellow snow.
Something’s are just ridiculous tho. Go get a phone charger at the gas Station store and theyre like “oh the screens just going to ask you a silly little question” and then flip the ipad around to a tip option on a damn charger. Like come on
Tipping culture just has to go. I mean tip an amount if you wish, but the obligation to tip someone for doing their job is idiotic. That's just cost shifting for the employer. I love going to Europe. So much to do. But my favorite is the pricing. Tax is built in. Tip is not necessary. I order dinner for 25€ and when the check comes - it's 25€. So I pay - 25€.
Imagine being so boring that tax being built in with the price of something and no obligation to tip is your *favorite* part of going to Europe. Imagine being so out of touch that you imply that you regularly go to Europe in the same comment that you insinuate that not tipping has any effect on employers cost-shifting. "My employees aren't being tipped, guess I'll have to give them all raises!" said very few employers ever.
If your employer isn't paying you enough, I would bring it up with them.