DoorDash Tests Warning About Not Tipping

As in, are you sure you don't want to?
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 2, 2023 2:00 AM CDT
Updated Nov 5, 2023 2:55 PM CST
DoorDash Tests Warning About Not Tipping
FILE - The DoorDash app is shown on a smartphone on Feb. 27, 2020, in New York. DoorDash reports earnings on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023.   (AP Photo, File)

Try to place a DoorDash order without adding a tip, and you might just receive a warning. The food delivery company is testing a new message that may pop up when you try to order sans tip on its app, CNN reports. It asks, "Orders with no tip might take longer to get delivered—are you sure you want to continue?" and then further explains, "Dashers can pick and choose which orders they want to do. Orders that take longer to be accepted by Dashers tend to result in a slower delivery." A spokesperson explains that the test message will be analyzed and customer feedback will be considered, and notes that as independent contractors, DoorDash drivers "have full freedom to accept or reject offers based on what they view as valuable and rewarding." The Verge notes that the pop-up message did not appear in all locations where staffers tested it.

"While the vast majority of customers do leave a tip, offers that don't include a tip can be seen as less desirable," the DoorDash rep continues. "This impacts our entire community, leading to longer wait times for customers, orders sitting longer at merchants, and less value for Dashers." As the Verge points out, this is a relatively uncommon situation in which customers are asked to tip before receiving the service they're paying for, and it's likely a result of DoorDash in 2019 dropping its controversial "tipped wage" payment method and moving to a system in which drivers are paid a base rate and receive 100% of tips on their orders. That means that while a customer may be planning to tip the driver in cash (or on the app post-delivery), orders that are "pre-tipped" are more appealing. (It's a somewhat "convoluted" method that the Verge explains further.)

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