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posted by Fnord666 on Sunday April 12 2020, @01:57PM   Printer-friendly
from the fishing-for-groceries dept.

People are baiting Instacart workers with huge tips then slashing them to zero:

Instacart workers are being wooed by orders with large tips only to find them dropped to zero after a delivery has been made, according to a new report by CNN. Instacart lets users set their own custom tip with each shopping request, but it also allows them to change it for up to three days after an order is completed to adjust for experience. Workers, however, claim that some users have been abusing this feature, baiting them with big tips to get their shopping requests completed sooner amid the pandemic rush — only to find the tip slashed afterward without much feedback.

One Instacart worker said their tip was dropped from $55 to $0 despite finding everything the customer needed. Another worker claimed their tip changed to $0 since they could not find toilet paper in stock, to which the customer described in the feedback report as "unethical."

[...] Instacart says shoppers who experience tip-baiting can report instances in-app, though some workers say this relies too much on their end and that the company should make a 10 percent-minimum tip mandatory for all orders during the pandemic.


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  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 12 2020, @03:57PM (14 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 12 2020, @03:57PM (#981551)

    Yes, but at the same time, it looks like this has happened more than once. In fact, it looks like this has happened enough times that it has attracted wider attention than that one jerk who stiffed the delivery people on the tip. On the street we call that a trend.

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  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday April 12 2020, @04:42PM (13 children)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Sunday April 12 2020, @04:42PM (#981573) Journal
    Here's the trend and why we're hearing about it from CNN (from the CNN link):

    Bryant Greening, an attorney and co-founder of Chicago-based law firm LegalRideshare, told CNN Business that a few dozen Instacart shoppers and drivers have reached out to his firm to voice concerns over the practice. His law firm has discussed the possibility of litigation against Instacart, or even individual customers.

    "It's truly evil to bait and switch in this type of environment," said Greening. "Their livelihood and well-being are on the line. When these shoppers and drivers see a high tip, it's an opportunity for them to put food on the table, so they're more willing to take a risk on their health to achieve that goal."

    While Instacart is benefiting from a surge in customer orders in recent weeks, workers have criticized the company for not doing enough to ensure they're adequately protected and paid during the pandemic. For more than a week, some workers have been on strike until Instacart meets their demands including hazard pay, an expansion of its coronavirus pay to include those with underlying health conditions and a default tip of 10%. One day before the planned strike, Instacart said it would change its default tip setting from 5% to the most recently used percentage a customer chose to tip.

    Jenifer G., the Instacart worker, said she feels the company should mandate a 10% tip "that sticks no matter what" on all orders until stay-at-home guidance is lifted and only allow people to tip above that should they choose.

    Lawyers are testing the waters and starting up a media campaign. Strikers are doing much the same. Both parties have strong reasons to play up any flaws in Instacart's system. And CNN has a strong incentive to give those grievances airtime due to its unholy hunger for eyeballs.

    • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Sunday April 12 2020, @04:47PM (12 children)

      by JoeMerchant (3937) on Sunday April 12 2020, @04:47PM (#981577)

      At question here is the representation of "tip" vs the fine print which entitles the "tipper" to rescind their proposed tip up to 3 days after the fact.

      In this particular instance, I say let the worker beware: they are on the front line of a "customer is always right" reimbursement scheme. The number entered into that box is not a promise to pay, it's not anything really, according to the full terms and conditions laid out.

      Maybe some worker education is in order, which this news story should largely serve to do.

      --
      🌻🌻 [google.com]
      • (Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday April 12 2020, @05:32PM (11 children)

        by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Sunday April 12 2020, @05:32PM (#981597) Journal

        At question here is the representation of "tip" vs the fine print which entitles the "tipper" to rescind their proposed tip up to 3 days after the fact.

        Which isn't much of a question. So what if a business has fine print?

        Similarly, what's newsworthy about the "tipping"? Here, the "tipper" can also increase their "tip" up to 3 days after the fact.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 12 2020, @06:39PM (5 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 12 2020, @06:39PM (#981638)

          How often do they do that though? There's no reason to give customers so much time to change their minds. It should be obvious the same day whether or not the driver has done a good job. This is just something that they allow because it's good for the company, even though it scews over the drivers. Any changes next day or later, should go through instacart and unless there's real justification, the driver should get the money.

          • (Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday April 12 2020, @07:15PM (4 children)

            by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Sunday April 12 2020, @07:15PM (#981657) Journal

            There's no reason to give customers so much time to change their minds.

            Three days isn't long at all. And the problem isn't the duration, it's people using the tip mechanic deceptively to incentivize fast delivery and then taking away the tip. They could do the same, if it were 15 minutes after delivery.

            • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 13 2020, @12:49AM (3 children)

              by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 13 2020, @12:49AM (#981769)

              Sure, it is, the tip is just for the delivery, not the underlying goods. If you're too dense to know how much the day of, then perhaps this isn't you. With 3 days to reduce the tip it makes it that much harder for drivers to fight or address the quality issue.

              Starbucks gives customers like 4 hours to add or change tips when ordering via the app. Seems reasonable.

              Then again, you're more interested in kicking people while they're down, so fuck you.

              • (Score: 1) by khallow on Monday April 13 2020, @01:34AM (2 children)

                by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Monday April 13 2020, @01:34AM (#981787) Journal

                Sure, it is, the tip is just for the delivery, not the underlying goods.

                Again, one doesn't magically know of all the problems that could result from a delivery at the time of delivery, particularly if nobody is home at the time of delivery.

                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 13 2020, @02:39PM (1 child)

                  by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 13 2020, @02:39PM (#981992)

                  Yes, you do. These are delivery drivers. Check the expiration date and that everything looks OK and that's that. If that's not good enough, get off your lazy ass and do your own shopping.

                  These people are taking on significant risk in order to allow others to stay at home. A bit of fucking appreciation and respect is asking so very little. Especially, since so many of the people getting these deliveries are the same people benefiting from a rigged economy that leads the rest of us to have to take on additional risk in order to keep you people from starving.

                  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Monday April 13 2020, @02:41PM

                    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Monday April 13 2020, @02:41PM (#981993) Journal

                    Check the expiration date and that everything looks OK and that's that.

                    And if you're not home when the delivery happens?

        • (Score: 1, Troll) by JoeMerchant on Sunday April 12 2020, @06:46PM (3 children)

          by JoeMerchant (3937) on Sunday April 12 2020, @06:46PM (#981643)

          what's newsworthy about the "tipping"?

          Lawyers trying to undermine the meaning of agreements, pandering to workers who can't be bothered to read past the first three letters of an enticement.

          --
          🌻🌻 [google.com]
          • (Score: -1, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Sunday April 12 2020, @08:55PM

            by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Sunday April 12 2020, @08:55PM (#981690) Homepage

            Jews Jewing Jews. This is why I always tip fat even when broke, because I was in their shoes and I know their job sucks, having to deal with assholes and getting stiffed. I even tipped fat a Jew Lyft driver who didn't need the money even though he spent the whole ride trying to cram establishment Democratic candidates up my ass and pretended not to know who Tulsi gabbard was.

          • (Score: 4, Touché) by stretch611 on Sunday April 12 2020, @09:20PM (1 child)

            by stretch611 (6199) on Sunday April 12 2020, @09:20PM (#981699)

            Lawyers trying to undermine the meaning of agreements, pandering to workers who can't be bothered to read past the first three letters of an enticement.

            To turn the tables on this...

            Lawyers that are helping people that are so desperate for work and income, that they sign the agreement before they know just how much more they pay in taxes for being self employed.

            I am not a fan of lawyers... but I am even less of a fan of people who sit on their asses getting rich off of the people that work their asses and off barely get by.

            --
            Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
            • (Score: 1) by khallow on Monday April 13 2020, @02:47PM

              by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Monday April 13 2020, @02:47PM (#981999) Journal

              Lawyers that are helping people that are so desperate for work and income, that they sign the agreement before they know just how much more they pay in taxes for being self employed.

              Taxes aren't Instacart's responsibility. Such court cases should be thrown out with loser pays.

              but I am even less of a fan of people who sit on their asses getting rich off of the people that work their asses and off barely get by.

              Who's sitting on their ass here? Instacart employees are working too.

        • (Score: 2) by edIII on Monday April 13 2020, @06:32PM

          by edIII (791) on Monday April 13 2020, @06:32PM (#982129)

          Sometimes the employers take the tips too. That's what one of the shitty anti-worker things Trump did, make it easier for employers to steal tips.

          In this case, I vote with my wallet and refuse to use Instacart because I hear they treat the workers crappy. Same with Uber, I've never ever ordered one.

          Always, Always, I tip in *cash*. In fact, for food delivery services, I actually leave 0% tip but write into the driver instructions that a 20% cash tip is waiting for them. If Instacart demanded a 10% tip, I would demand to know if Instacart retains *any* of that tip of themselves, or if 100% of tip goes to the employee. Since I probably wouldn't get a satisfactory answer, I can't see myself shopping with them.

          The best thing to do with the gig economy, is not to participate in it *at all*. It's just abuse and servitude, not well paying jobs that allow anyone to get ahead in life, or work towards a retirement that doesn't involve them slaving away till 75.

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