“I Accepted A No Tip Order”: Driver Sparks Debate After Sharing How She Accidentally Accepted A “No Tip” Order
At the height of the coronavirus pandemic two years ago, when shopping for groceries was out of the question, grocery delivery apps like the startup Instacart became a new kind of “essential.”
Instacart partners with most supermarkets, local specialty shops, and even pharmacies, including membership stores like Costco and BJ’s Wholesale. What’s more, many of those shoppers started handpicking groceries for the app, earning some money in return.
But any Instacart driver knows that there are dramatic highs and lows in orders, as well as somewhat of a lottery when it comes to receiving a tip. This is because tipping is not included in service fees or Express membership costs, even when Instacart says it’s highly recommended.
Speaking of that, this story comes from a TikToker and Instacart driver, Angelica, who shared her frustration in a now-viral video clip. It turns out, Angelica accidentally accepted a whopping 70-item grocery order that was worth $267 with no tip. No wonder it sparked a whole debate on what’s fair pay and a fair tip online.
Instacart driver Angelica has recently shared her frustration of accidentally accepting a massive grocery order with no tip
Image credits: angelicaa__ca
Image credits: angelicaa__ca
Image credits: Sam Dan Truong (not the actual photo)
This is the now-viral video Angelica has shared on her TikTok channel
@angelicaa__ca How do you feel about this… 😅 #fyp #foryoupage #instacartshopper #instacartshopper #instacartdelivery #worklife ♬ original sound Angelica
Instacart states that “tips are optional but a great way to show your shoppers appreciation and recognition for their excellent service,” therefore adding a tip to your grocery delivery driver is not a requirement. Instacart adds that there is a minimum suggested tip of $2 per individual store delivery.
However, every user has their settings set on the default tip, which is 5%, or the percentage you chose for your most recent order, whichever is higher.
In April, 2022 Instacart announced that it was tweaking its tipping policy in a bid to address the effects on its workers of a practice known as “tip baiting,” where customers zero out a tip after an order is delivered.
According to Supermarket News, going forward, if a customer zeroes out the tip they gave following delivery without reporting an order issue, Instacart will cover the amount of the initial tip up to $10. The company also noted that tip zero-outs post-delivery are “exceedingly rare.”
Bored Panda reached out to Angelica to find out more about this situation and is now waiting for her response.
And this is what people had to comment about this whole situation
Tipping being a part of ones base-pay needs to be abolished. It should at most only be something extra that you give for good or better service.
your boss should pay you enough, so you wont have to rely on a tip. second of all a tip is a voluntary gift from a customer, you cant force anyone to tip you if your job cant sustain you without a tip, you should start looking for something else. in Holland people do tip but its not customary your employer should be paying you enough, the tip is what the word implies a Tip
Agree. The customer paid the standard fee already, on top of the grocery bill. The delivery person knows what the job entails, has agreed to do this line of work, and is getting paid for it by the rate she agreed to when she was hired, then gets mad the customer didn't pay even more money. We may never know the story of the customer, and it's none of our business anyways. The economy is rough right now. With everyone finding ways to cut back on spending those who are still relying on grocery delivery apps must be relying on them as an essential service and these may be stretching out their last few bucks to pay for it. Whether or not there could be other people that would help them with their groceries for less or free, some people feel these apps allow them to feel dignified and less like a charity case.
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People who work for doordash and the like sound so entitled to me. No one owes you a tip, if you're not happy with how much you are paid then find a better job. Don't get mad at the customers that your employer is not paying you enough. Making 20 bucks in an hour just shopping for someone is so easy, I don't understand why she's complaining
"Find a better job" isn't as easy as you might think. Also, if they all find better jobs, who's going to deliver your order when it's not feasible for you to pick it up (illness, too busy, whatever)? I do agree that tipping shouldn't be required in order for someone to get paid a living wage - that should be on the employer - however that's not how things are currently set up.
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I'm with Tara Brummett on this. I'm a cash tipper, so I can ensure the tip is going to the person I intend it go to and untaxed. But now knowing how choosy delivery people are, I'll continue getting my food and groceries the old fashioned way.
I HATE the phrase "if you can't afford a tip then don't (fill in the blank yourself)". I worked in food service for YEARS. We had elderly people come in who were beginning to get dementia and believed that $1 still bought a meal, coffee and left a tip. We never said a word and collectively paid those tickets all the while discussing how adorable that old person was. We had college kids come in who could barely afford the meal let alone a good tip. Never said a word. We understood because we have been there. We had disabled people who lived on a fixed income and found they had a few extra dollars to dine out that one time for the next month or year. Didn't say a word. Understand that people have reasons why they can't/don't tip. I am usually a 25-30% tipper by the way. I am also one of the disabled people living on a fixed income. You really have to take time to consider that some people are doing what they can with what they have.
My problem is that so many businesses around me use those iPad-type pay stations, even big business like Bibibop (counter-service restaurant), and they always prompt for a tip, even when the business is one that would normally not require a tip for regular, salaried employees. It's getting so I can't afford to buy anything, since I'm paying an extra 20% on trips that never used to require tipping. Flower shops, that pretzel stall, a card shop... I'm getting tired of having to supplement people's regular income.
I always bypass it or leave 0% at those types of places. Sounds cold but, hey, it adds up. Some customers make less than the staff at their jobs, with no chance at a tip.
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No, tips are and ways should be option. Employers should pay employees enough so they don't need to rely on this. The gov needs to fix this. However no, you do not automatically get a tip, you picked the job
It's such a weird system with placing orders and and you never know if someone will deliver it or not - worse even with meals you already paid for? In Germany you order your food or groceries and the restaurant or shop sends the drivers and pays their wages. If there is a delivery fee you can see it in advance and pay it with the bill. You don't have to guess or hope it will be enough. Sometimes they let you tip on the website, but I guess most people prefer to tip in cash as you never know how much of the money the driver gets. And it makes so much more sense to tip based on the quality and speed of the delivery.. of course, noone has to tip here, it's really just a tip, not the wage. As I have a lot of stairs and no elevator I usually do, though.
Agreed, it's the same where I'm from. I can imagine this is so bad for business, like restaurants for example, with delivery guys picking and choosing which orders to deliver.
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E Ihowa Atua… (Don’t mind me, I’m just singing our national anthem because I’m grateful to live in a country that doesn’t have this system.)
Tips are optional, tips are a bonus for exceptional service. For regular service you already pay other ways - fees, counted in meals (at restaurants etc) or tickets etc. Workers should be payed for their work by employer. I usually can't afford to tip, luckily in my country waiters etc are payed livable wages so they don't even expect tips, unless it's some high end fancy restaurant. She got payed 20$, if it's too little for the work she does, it's not on the customer but on employer
how can "bringing your food" be optional? i put an order and pay for it i expect it to be delivered. end of story. sorry but your system is weird. tip is a tip. optional. customers pay for the product and delivery. that should cover the cost
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I think Anjelica is in the wrong job, that woman ordered her necessary food list Anjelica does nor no if that woman lives on ss or disability or a stipend but very vocal on crying about mileage, time shopping, how many items sounds like it's all about ME, ME, ME.
The part that is wrong is the American idea that service should be paid for in tips. It should be paid for in the price of the job. The person doing the job knows what they will get, the customer knows what it will cost. Tips might be given for exceptional service. I can't guage from the description above weather the customer appeared wealthy or not, but there are plenty of people out there who find themselves having to use these services when they are unable to do it themselves, either with childcare commitments, lack of transport, or physical disability.
Surely it's the responsibility of the employer (in this instance instacart) to ensure their employers are paid? Why is it constantly left to the customer to makes sure the staff have been paid correctly? The whole tipping system is a mess. If a tip is required to pay the staff include in the charges so everything is clear and understood
To say I understood any of this would be a blatant lie... So she was waiting for an order that didn't come through, then she jumped to the next one that was worth 20, but the groceries were worth 267? And what is batch pay?
May be wrong, but from what I can make out it was a slow day for orders, she was waiting as there were none coming through. She then accepted the first one which did come through, without looking to see if there was a tip. The 20 is what she gets paid for picking up and delivering the groceries, which were worth 267. Batch pay is the 20, so the fee that she gets for doing the order.
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Calling it tipping is not really what it is- it’s actually more of a bid. Please take into account the shopper is using their vehicle, paying for their gas & insurance. A lot of these batches are very high mileage which does not include your trip back to your starting point. Shopping the order is only the first part of it, & if is an order with a lot of items it can take up to an hour or more. Now include your drive time, and then delivering. As most veteran shoppers do, I really appreciate my customers & want to give them a great experience.
I grew up paying cash for tips. I just don't order delivery anymore unless absolutely necessary. I don't like having to tip ahead of time with no guarantee that my driver is gonna do a good job. Meanwhile, the pizza hut drivers love me cause I always give them a 20 after they deliver.
I've never used Instacart but this is why I refuse to use Doordash or GrubHub anymore. Their business model is terrible. It's not my responsibility to ensure the driver is getting paid fairly. That should be between the employee and the employer. I also noticed no matter how much I tipped, my food would arrive cold anyway so I just get it myself or cook at home.
I used to tip delivery services before the delivery. Now I will not tip until after the delivery. I have had many bad experiences with either wrong products, service, or missing items. I do tip but I tip based on service which is what the tip is for. I have AMAZING delivery people that I will tip extremely well and they look for my orders. Only taking orders based on the tips attached before hand could be costing you big tips
And this is why i will never use or work for any of these services. I live in California, a restaurant job or a taxi, or a hotel (jobs you might receive a tip from) are paid minimum wage or better, a tip us a gift given for superlative (really, extra, special, good) service, above and beyond just "doing their job". It is optional. I give a tip because I felt like I was treated well, the person providing the service was polite and attentive to my needs, I cannot decide what tip to give aversion or if I am going to give a tip before I have received the service, so I will not be using any service that blackmails me into giving a tip for services not yet rendered, just to make up for their lack of pay to their employees.
I worked in a tip engindustry is well doing pizza delivery livery which included making the pizza after taking down the order. I would go above and beyond on the call on creating the pizza and on delivering the pizza with extra condiments plates napkins etc. I did this All 1st of all to do the best job that I can do but 2nd of all too hopefully get a good tip. I didn't always get a tip. But sometimes I did and it was awesome. I would average out all my tips for each evening. And I didn't hate on people that didn't tip me. Not to say that it wasn't disappointing obviously it was. But I did understand that it wasn't mandatory. I still feel the same way to this day. It's not mandatory to give a tip. Because someone does not chip does not mean they can't afford the service. Obviously people are paying for the service the tip is 110% extra on top of the service. I do my best to give a decent tip when people serve serve me to this day Especially because I worked in a field that needed ipping
I tip 25 to 30 percent. Of course, I also normally order sushi and don't care if it takes a while to arrive. I fully expect the driver is going to pick up several orders and I might be the last one they deliver to. If I want the food to be hot when it gets to my house, I go get it myself. I live down the street from a grocery store, the only time I've done grocery delivery is when I was in quarantine.
Been there, done that. Jobs like Door Dash or Uber are pure exploitation, the driver takes all the risks. People can add a tip before the order is delivered, then remove it after the food is delivered. An expensive order of "sushi" was probably drugs. It was the wrong size and weight for sushi. The order listed a big tip. After delivery the customer complained saying they never got the order. Thankfully our pictures proved otherwise. My friend drove for UBER. One group refused to wear masks and were abusive. My friend refused to drive them, per company policy. They told Uber the driver discriminated, UBER blocked my friend Friday night to investigate. Discriminated against tourists who spoke with a French accent? Lyft promised a $750 bonus they never paid. It is exhausting work that can pay little. There must be a better way.
A better way than uber and lyft? Like...taxi cabs, limo and town cars that were actually regulated? New york allowed a total of 14,000 cabs, because that was a number that actually allowed drivers to earn a living wage. Uber and lyft pushed that number up to 80,000, on top of the regulated cabs by 2012. Thousands of extra cars on the road, trolling for fares 10/12/18 hours a day to still come up with less than minimum wage because the market was disgustingly over saturated and poorly run while drivers reason out that they deserve $30/hr without understanding that the only way that could feasibly happen is for 80% of them to be unemployed.
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I keep seeing posts about employees complaining how they’re not getting tips when the real issue are their own employers.
I live in a region where I can use Kroger's delivery service (Kroger.com). They only charge a delivery fee ($9.95) and it clearly states NO TIPPING on the website. If Kroger can do it then so can those other delivery services.
I use DoorDash a lot--probably too much. I also live on a mountain in the middle of nowhere. I always tip the 15%. And if it's not much because my order isn't expensive (I usually buy for two or three meals) I make sure to change it to be worth their while. The dashers are saving me from having to drag myself (and my two dogs) out of the house and a minimum of 20 minutes one way to get food. DoorDash is my BFF. And my wallet's worst enemy.
The cost is going to come out somewhere and I promise it won’t be from the employers wallet. It will come as a cost to the consumer. Notice how much fast food prices went up when the minimum wage did? The fast food industries sure aren’t hurt by it. So everyone tip and stop complaining about everything. You aren’t forced to use the service. You can also order at the grocery site and pick up everything yourself. Easy peezy.
Yet somehow every other developed country manages without this ridiculous tipping system. Prices aren't that much higher and employees get paid a decent wage. A business that can't pay its' employees a decent wage shouldn't exist.
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No, it shouldn't be. Tipping, the way it is done in the US, is just a way for employers to avoid paying a decent wage. What should be mandatory is businesses paying their employees fairly. The increase in price for a service would be negligble compared to what you are currently expected to shell out in tips.
Load More Replies... Tipping being a part of ones base-pay needs to be abolished. It should at most only be something extra that you give for good or better service.
your boss should pay you enough, so you wont have to rely on a tip. second of all a tip is a voluntary gift from a customer, you cant force anyone to tip you if your job cant sustain you without a tip, you should start looking for something else. in Holland people do tip but its not customary your employer should be paying you enough, the tip is what the word implies a Tip
Agree. The customer paid the standard fee already, on top of the grocery bill. The delivery person knows what the job entails, has agreed to do this line of work, and is getting paid for it by the rate she agreed to when she was hired, then gets mad the customer didn't pay even more money. We may never know the story of the customer, and it's none of our business anyways. The economy is rough right now. With everyone finding ways to cut back on spending those who are still relying on grocery delivery apps must be relying on them as an essential service and these may be stretching out their last few bucks to pay for it. Whether or not there could be other people that would help them with their groceries for less or free, some people feel these apps allow them to feel dignified and less like a charity case.
Load More Replies... People who work for doordash and the like sound so entitled to me. No one owes you a tip, if you're not happy with how much you are paid then find a better job. Don't get mad at the customers that your employer is not paying you enough. Making 20 bucks in an hour just shopping for someone is so easy, I don't understand why she's complaining
"Find a better job" isn't as easy as you might think. Also, if they all find better jobs, who's going to deliver your order when it's not feasible for you to pick it up (illness, too busy, whatever)? I do agree that tipping shouldn't be required in order for someone to get paid a living wage - that should be on the employer - however that's not how things are currently set up.
Load More Replies... I'm with Tara Brummett on this. I'm a cash tipper, so I can ensure the tip is going to the person I intend it go to and untaxed. But now knowing how choosy delivery people are, I'll continue getting my food and groceries the old fashioned way.
I HATE the phrase "if you can't afford a tip then don't (fill in the blank yourself)". I worked in food service for YEARS. We had elderly people come in who were beginning to get dementia and believed that $1 still bought a meal, coffee and left a tip. We never said a word and collectively paid those tickets all the while discussing how adorable that old person was. We had college kids come in who could barely afford the meal let alone a good tip. Never said a word. We understood because we have been there. We had disabled people who lived on a fixed income and found they had a few extra dollars to dine out that one time for the next month or year. Didn't say a word. Understand that people have reasons why they can't/don't tip. I am usually a 25-30% tipper by the way. I am also one of the disabled people living on a fixed income. You really have to take time to consider that some people are doing what they can with what they have.
My problem is that so many businesses around me use those iPad-type pay stations, even big business like Bibibop (counter-service restaurant), and they always prompt for a tip, even when the business is one that would normally not require a tip for regular, salaried employees. It's getting so I can't afford to buy anything, since I'm paying an extra 20% on trips that never used to require tipping. Flower shops, that pretzel stall, a card shop... I'm getting tired of having to supplement people's regular income.
I always bypass it or leave 0% at those types of places. Sounds cold but, hey, it adds up. Some customers make less than the staff at their jobs, with no chance at a tip.
Load More Replies... No, tips are and ways should be option. Employers should pay employees enough so they don't need to rely on this. The gov needs to fix this. However no, you do not automatically get a tip, you picked the job
It's such a weird system with placing orders and and you never know if someone will deliver it or not - worse even with meals you already paid for? In Germany you order your food or groceries and the restaurant or shop sends the drivers and pays their wages. If there is a delivery fee you can see it in advance and pay it with the bill. You don't have to guess or hope it will be enough. Sometimes they let you tip on the website, but I guess most people prefer to tip in cash as you never know how much of the money the driver gets. And it makes so much more sense to tip based on the quality and speed of the delivery.. of course, noone has to tip here, it's really just a tip, not the wage. As I have a lot of stairs and no elevator I usually do, though.
Agreed, it's the same where I'm from. I can imagine this is so bad for business, like restaurants for example, with delivery guys picking and choosing which orders to deliver.
Load More Replies... E Ihowa Atua… (Don’t mind me, I’m just singing our national anthem because I’m grateful to live in a country that doesn’t have this system.)
Tips are optional, tips are a bonus for exceptional service. For regular service you already pay other ways - fees, counted in meals (at restaurants etc) or tickets etc. Workers should be payed for their work by employer. I usually can't afford to tip, luckily in my country waiters etc are payed livable wages so they don't even expect tips, unless it's some high end fancy restaurant. She got payed 20$, if it's too little for the work she does, it's not on the customer but on employer
how can "bringing your food" be optional? i put an order and pay for it i expect it to be delivered. end of story. sorry but your system is weird. tip is a tip. optional. customers pay for the product and delivery. that should cover the cost
Load More Replies... I think Anjelica is in the wrong job, that woman ordered her necessary food list Anjelica does nor no if that woman lives on ss or disability or a stipend but very vocal on crying about mileage, time shopping, how many items sounds like it's all about ME, ME, ME.
The part that is wrong is the American idea that service should be paid for in tips. It should be paid for in the price of the job. The person doing the job knows what they will get, the customer knows what it will cost. Tips might be given for exceptional service. I can't guage from the description above weather the customer appeared wealthy or not, but there are plenty of people out there who find themselves having to use these services when they are unable to do it themselves, either with childcare commitments, lack of transport, or physical disability.
Surely it's the responsibility of the employer (in this instance instacart) to ensure their employers are paid? Why is it constantly left to the customer to makes sure the staff have been paid correctly? The whole tipping system is a mess. If a tip is required to pay the staff include in the charges so everything is clear and understood
To say I understood any of this would be a blatant lie... So she was waiting for an order that didn't come through, then she jumped to the next one that was worth 20, but the groceries were worth 267? And what is batch pay?
May be wrong, but from what I can make out it was a slow day for orders, she was waiting as there were none coming through. She then accepted the first one which did come through, without looking to see if there was a tip. The 20 is what she gets paid for picking up and delivering the groceries, which were worth 267. Batch pay is the 20, so the fee that she gets for doing the order.
Load More Replies... Calling it tipping is not really what it is- it’s actually more of a bid. Please take into account the shopper is using their vehicle, paying for their gas & insurance. A lot of these batches are very high mileage which does not include your trip back to your starting point. Shopping the order is only the first part of it, & if is an order with a lot of items it can take up to an hour or more. Now include your drive time, and then delivering. As most veteran shoppers do, I really appreciate my customers & want to give them a great experience.
I grew up paying cash for tips. I just don't order delivery anymore unless absolutely necessary. I don't like having to tip ahead of time with no guarantee that my driver is gonna do a good job. Meanwhile, the pizza hut drivers love me cause I always give them a 20 after they deliver.
I've never used Instacart but this is why I refuse to use Doordash or GrubHub anymore. Their business model is terrible. It's not my responsibility to ensure the driver is getting paid fairly. That should be between the employee and the employer. I also noticed no matter how much I tipped, my food would arrive cold anyway so I just get it myself or cook at home.
I used to tip delivery services before the delivery. Now I will not tip until after the delivery. I have had many bad experiences with either wrong products, service, or missing items. I do tip but I tip based on service which is what the tip is for. I have AMAZING delivery people that I will tip extremely well and they look for my orders. Only taking orders based on the tips attached before hand could be costing you big tips
And this is why i will never use or work for any of these services. I live in California, a restaurant job or a taxi, or a hotel (jobs you might receive a tip from) are paid minimum wage or better, a tip us a gift given for superlative (really, extra, special, good) service, above and beyond just "doing their job". It is optional. I give a tip because I felt like I was treated well, the person providing the service was polite and attentive to my needs, I cannot decide what tip to give aversion or if I am going to give a tip before I have received the service, so I will not be using any service that blackmails me into giving a tip for services not yet rendered, just to make up for their lack of pay to their employees.
I worked in a tip engindustry is well doing pizza delivery livery which included making the pizza after taking down the order. I would go above and beyond on the call on creating the pizza and on delivering the pizza with extra condiments plates napkins etc. I did this All 1st of all to do the best job that I can do but 2nd of all too hopefully get a good tip. I didn't always get a tip. But sometimes I did and it was awesome. I would average out all my tips for each evening. And I didn't hate on people that didn't tip me. Not to say that it wasn't disappointing obviously it was. But I did understand that it wasn't mandatory. I still feel the same way to this day. It's not mandatory to give a tip. Because someone does not chip does not mean they can't afford the service. Obviously people are paying for the service the tip is 110% extra on top of the service. I do my best to give a decent tip when people serve serve me to this day Especially because I worked in a field that needed ipping
I tip 25 to 30 percent. Of course, I also normally order sushi and don't care if it takes a while to arrive. I fully expect the driver is going to pick up several orders and I might be the last one they deliver to. If I want the food to be hot when it gets to my house, I go get it myself. I live down the street from a grocery store, the only time I've done grocery delivery is when I was in quarantine.
Been there, done that. Jobs like Door Dash or Uber are pure exploitation, the driver takes all the risks. People can add a tip before the order is delivered, then remove it after the food is delivered. An expensive order of "sushi" was probably drugs. It was the wrong size and weight for sushi. The order listed a big tip. After delivery the customer complained saying they never got the order. Thankfully our pictures proved otherwise. My friend drove for UBER. One group refused to wear masks and were abusive. My friend refused to drive them, per company policy. They told Uber the driver discriminated, UBER blocked my friend Friday night to investigate. Discriminated against tourists who spoke with a French accent? Lyft promised a $750 bonus they never paid. It is exhausting work that can pay little. There must be a better way.
A better way than uber and lyft? Like...taxi cabs, limo and town cars that were actually regulated? New york allowed a total of 14,000 cabs, because that was a number that actually allowed drivers to earn a living wage. Uber and lyft pushed that number up to 80,000, on top of the regulated cabs by 2012. Thousands of extra cars on the road, trolling for fares 10/12/18 hours a day to still come up with less than minimum wage because the market was disgustingly over saturated and poorly run while drivers reason out that they deserve $30/hr without understanding that the only way that could feasibly happen is for 80% of them to be unemployed.
Load More Replies... I keep seeing posts about employees complaining how they’re not getting tips when the real issue are their own employers.
I live in a region where I can use Kroger's delivery service (Kroger.com). They only charge a delivery fee ($9.95) and it clearly states NO TIPPING on the website. If Kroger can do it then so can those other delivery services.
I use DoorDash a lot--probably too much. I also live on a mountain in the middle of nowhere. I always tip the 15%. And if it's not much because my order isn't expensive (I usually buy for two or three meals) I make sure to change it to be worth their while. The dashers are saving me from having to drag myself (and my two dogs) out of the house and a minimum of 20 minutes one way to get food. DoorDash is my BFF. And my wallet's worst enemy.
The cost is going to come out somewhere and I promise it won’t be from the employers wallet. It will come as a cost to the consumer. Notice how much fast food prices went up when the minimum wage did? The fast food industries sure aren’t hurt by it. So everyone tip and stop complaining about everything. You aren’t forced to use the service. You can also order at the grocery site and pick up everything yourself. Easy peezy.
Yet somehow every other developed country manages without this ridiculous tipping system. Prices aren't that much higher and employees get paid a decent wage. A business that can't pay its' employees a decent wage shouldn't exist.
Load More Replies... No, it shouldn't be. Tipping, the way it is done in the US, is just a way for employers to avoid paying a decent wage. What should be mandatory is businesses paying their employees fairly. The increase in price for a service would be negligble compared to what you are currently expected to shell out in tips.
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