This is a public service announcement to all customers who use gig services such as Instacart, DoorDash, Uber, GrubHub, Lyft, and the rest.
If you use a gig service at all, you're probably not new to the great tip debate from both sides. The internet and social media is full of both gig workers and customers opinions on tips and what tips actually are. In the past I mentioned my opinion that tips, when referring to the gig services, are more of a bid for services then actual gratuity.
This tip debate started primarily due to base pay across all the gigs plummeting. When they first launched, it was an easy way for gig workers to provide full-time income for themselves, and many have. However, the high base pay was a combination of investor capital and an onboarding scheme to get as many gig workers signed up as possible. After all, logic had it that the more gig workers online the more reliable their service would be to customers. But with each company going public, investor capital running low, and other factors, base pay has been on the decline across the board.
Speaking of just my market, though these numbers are just as abysmal nation wide with some markets even lower:
- the base pay for Instacart is now only $4.50 per shop
- the base pay for Uber/UberEats averages only $2.13 per trip
- the base pay for DoorDash is now only $2 per offer; and offers may include multiple orders
More and more, gig workers are relying on tips for their earnings. If you have had an order sit for what felt like forever before someone took it, this is why. Gig workers have been losing base pay over the years and tips have increasingly become more of a bid for service then gratuity. Now it is at an all time low across the entire gig economy. You may feel that gig workers can just get a full-time job, but if you rely on these services you won't get any service. You may feel gig work was never meant as a full-time gig, but in the beginning it was (at least by Uber) marketed as such. After all, these services existed long before the current gig apps as luxury services to those who could afford it and find the providers. It's only thanks to the gig apps that such services became mainstream and accessible to the average person.
Despite these services charging markups on items, charging merchants fees to use their service, charging customers a slew of fees (service fees, delivery fees, other miscellaneous fees), their workers are paid garbage and are ever more reliant on tips, more properly called bids, for their pay. To those customers who believe it's a "job" and they're already paid regardless how low, you need understand that gig workers are independent contractors not employees. Each individual order is a separate contract a gig worker can decide to accept or reject.
To those customers who feel "tip baiting" is an option, that will only work for so long. Gig workers do have lists of customers to avoid for various reasons, including tip baiting, and do share these lists with other gig workers. Tip baiting, amongst other practices, may also get you banned from the various services.
Yes, some do this strictly for fun and will still deliver orders regardless of base pay and no tip. But many simply won't because they're doing gig work to help with bills and other things or even full-time due to necessity of a disability or the flexibility of the schedule and if the order being shown barely covers their gas for the order let alone profit, they won't take it.
This all is being stated for a couple reasons:
- I feel it's the customers right to know how things are working in this industry and why their orders may take a while to be completed and delivered regardless of the company they go through for services
- Let customers and gig workers alike know there is an alternative option available where "tips" (or bids) aren't required for decent pay to be received by the worker
At Red's Delivery & Concierge Services, tips are just that, tips (or gratuity), not a bid for service. The service itself is covered by the fee charged per service and workers are paid a percentage of that fee. Due to our structure, there is markedly less wait time to get your order completed and delivered, wait time that will only continue to lessen as we continue to grow and hire more Personal Concierges to handle your orders.
It's understandable why many would choose to use a gig app. Like other big brands in other industries, they're household names. But sometimes it just makes better sense to use the smaller, less known brand, or in this case, the local based service provider, then it is to use the larger nation wide counterpart. Bigger doesn't always mean better, quicker service, or lower price. In many cases, it's better product, better and quicker service, and lower cost to you, to utilize the local small business. Likewise, bigger doesn't always mean better pay for workers. In many cases, it's the smaller lesser known companies that offer their workers better pay.
In conclusion, this is just a heads up that if you use the gig services to expect longer wait times before you get your order if you don't provide a sizeable tip (bid for service) for a gig worker to accept the offer. More and more will be either cherry picking only profitable orders or quitting altogether. Many gig workers have already been reporting their leaving gig work for full-time employment. This will only continue as base pay continues to drop lower and lower.
To guarantee quick, professional, service on every order it would be wise to utilize a local service provider. If you reside in Putnam County, Florida you may consider switching to using our services. We're working on expanding outward to neighboring counties as well. Other areas and states, you may want to search out a local provider in your area. We're in a network of more then 3,500 local services nation wide, so if you need assistance locating a service in your area send an email to Info@RedConrad.com and we'll submit your location and any contact information you provide to our network so services in your area can contact you.
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