I work in the gig industry; I deliver groceries to peoples houses. Today a lady asked me if the company I work for pays me. I informed her that yes they do pay me and that a 5 star rateing equals a bonus. She took this to mean that she didn’t need to tip me, which is SO not okay. The company pays me but they don’t pay me per hour they pay me per delivery. Very frequently this means that w/o good tips and ratings I don’t make minimum wage. As the situation stands if you can’t afford to include a tip in your order to use a service you cannot afford to use that service. This includes services like Uber, Lyft, GrubHub, Postmates, Instacart, etc. leave a fucking tip! If you don’t think you should be responsible for gig workers making minimum wage I agree! The way you can change this is by voting! Vote for ballot measures and politicians who are working to end the wage theft companies like Uber get around by making all their drivers “independent contractors” despite us not actually being true contractors. As for why I work there, I lost my job, I’m trying to start my own company but in the meantime I need to pay my bills and I need a flexible job. So to be clear, if you can’t afford to tip you can’t afford to use a service and if you don’t want to tip then DONT USE THE SERVICE. Gig workers DESERVE TO BE TIPPED. Oh and if we were rude but you got your food or to your destination w/o having to use your own car we at least deserve gas money so throw us a few bucks!
