"Where your delivery app tips really go, explained", 24 July 2019

In the gig economy world, not all food delivery tips are delivered equally.

Virtually all these companies...give customers the option to tip. But two of them — DoorDash and reportedly Amazon — are sometimes using that tip money to cover what they would have had to pay drivers anyway…

...As the debate goes on, delivery apps’ controversial and inconsistent tipping policies continue to have a significant impact on the gig economy workers who make their livelihoods delivering for these apps...

...In response to concerns about DoorDash’s tipping policy, a spokesperson emailed..."Dashers tell us they value knowing the minimum they’ll earn upfront...our model is designed to make the guaranteed minimum fair for every delivery..."

...When asked about...[Amazon's] tipping policies, a spokesperson sent...: “Delivery partners still earn $18-25 per hour, including 100% of tips — and on average drivers earn more than $20 per hour”...A spokesperson...declined to answer whether Amazon puts tip money toward base pay...

...DoorDash announced it is changing its tipping policy to stop subsidizing its workers’ base pay with customer tips. The company’s CEO, Tony Xu, announced the changes in a series of tweets...