6 ms·

One of the reasons I hesitate to use Amazon Now is that big "suggested tip" field. I don't tip the UPS delivery person, why should I tip my Amazon Now delivery

One of the reasons I hesitate to use Amazon Now is that big "suggested tip" field. I don't tip the UPS delivery person, why should I tip my Amazon Now delivery person? What's been the norm for you all?

jonesetc 11y ago
Disclaimer: I have never used Amazon now, and don't see myself using it even though it is available to me. I also have no idea how the whole operation works before it leaves the warehouse. Does your UPS package get delivered in an hour? Do you tip a pizza delivery driver? Personally I think it depends on how much work the person doing the delivery did before the delivery to help get it done fast. So for food delivery, usually the drivers will not cook the food, but will put together the bag, double check everything, and add in any extras like sauces, utensils, rice, etc. So if the person for Amazon Now is the one putting the order together and double checking it before loading it into their car, I would think that they are more in line with food delivery than UPS drivers. Also something that takes away from how much I would give is that restaurants usually share some of the tips with in store workers who made the food. With that in mind I'd definitely tip less.
- dragonwriter 11y ago
  > Does your UPS package get delivered in an hour? If what you are paying for with Amazon Now is rapid delivery service, then why would you tip for the service you are paying for. UPS delivers in a time set by the level of service that is paid for. Presumably, Amazon Now does the same thing. > Do you tip a pizza delivery driver? I did before pizza parlors started adding an additional separate charge for delivery service, which signals that it is now service compris.
  - robwilliams 11y ago
    You don't tip your food delivery drivers? Are you in the US?
  - djur 11y ago
    The pizza delivery driver doesn't get any of that delivery charge. Not tipping the driver because of the delivery charge is essentially punishing the driver for the owner's desire to take their tips.
    - blhack 11y ago
      >The pizza delivery driver doesn't get any of that delivery charge. Yes they do, in the form of being paid for mileage (at least I did when I was a delivery driver).
    - caskance 11y ago
      The owner taking their tips is punishing the driver. It's not my responsibility to insulate the driver from that. I am paying a surcharge for delivery. That's reasonable. If the driver doesn't get the cut of that he feels he deserves, he can work somewhere else.
      - bweitzman 11y ago
        This is the problem with tipping culture. It's misleading to advertise a delivery charge and then still expect to customers to tip, and when the driver and the customer are in disagreement or even just unaware of the other's position, it leads to people looking (and maybe feeling) like assholes on both sides.
      - duderific 11y ago
        ...said someone who has obviously never worked for tips.
        mpeg 11y ago
        No one is holding a gun to their heads though. I don't like tipping, I do it when I'm in the US because it is a norm but overall it feels like a scam; as I don't get any better service or quality than anywhere else in the world where the wait staff gets a decent wage. I get the feeling lots of tip workers hide behind the argument that they "don't get paid enough" because they simply make more money that way. Meanwhile, kitchen staff generally work harder and longer hours and don't often get their share.
  - lotso 11y ago
    The separate charge doesn't actually go to the driver. You should really tip your delivery driver.
    - Lawtonfogle 11y ago
      Then they should really not charge me. In these cases, I just stop going to that business because not tipping will increase the chance of bad service. Personally I would like to see an end with all tipping, especially since there is an implicit threat associated with it (such as not tipping can get you spit in your food, which I consider a form of assault and battery).
- ghaff 11y ago
  It mostly depends on whether the person doing the delivery is basically working for tips or whether they're being paid a reasonable wage. My understanding with pizza and other fast food delivery is that the drivers are basically working for tips--therefore you pay them. In general, outside of that, I wouldn't normally pay for delivery that already has a delivery charge built in. But then, I'm sure some people are more inclined to tip a dollar or three for random personal services than I am even when the services are utterly routine (i.e. the driver didn't do something special for you).
- knodi123 11y ago
  > Personally I think it depends on how much work the person doing the delivery did before the delivery to help get it done fast In this case, the driver is just driving from a facility to my door. But the twist here is, I do not expect nor even WANT the driver to put in "extra" effort to drive that route faster. Just follow the speed limit, and pick a reasonable route. That's all. I want you to drive exactly like a robotic car would. Those are my streets you're driving on, I don't need any maniacs striving for the best tip.
  - grayclhn 11y ago
    Then tip more if you think the driver drove especially safely. :)
morgante 11y ago
Agreed. I honestly don't understand why Amazon made that choice. It makes the delivery much more awkward and transactional. Probably one of the most brilliant things Uber did was eliminating tips.
ndhc3 11y ago
There's a tip field? Is there a "shipping cost"? If there's both, that is a full stop for me. This will push Amazon's pricing above local pricing for me. Amazon wants me to willingly add 10-15% to my purchase price? Come on.
- TazDingo 11y ago
  Tip is optional and you can change your tip amount within 48 hours of delivery. I'm not sure if drivers can see what the customer tipped during the delivery but in case you feel that they might do a shitty job because of no tip you can just add a tip and then change it to 0. With that being said I'm also not feeling the whole tip thing because the wages should cover all that.
gangstead 11y ago
The tip field was pre-populated, I changed it to 0. It's up to them to pay their drivers. (Sample size: 1 delivery)
ilaksh 11y ago
Amazon Flex (Prime Now delivery drivers) pays $18-25 per hour. Considering how small margins are, the driver pay quite possibly comes enitrely out of the tip.

jonesetc 11y ago

Disclaimer: I have never used Amazon now, and don't see myself using it even though it is available to me. I also have no idea how the whole operation works before it leaves the warehouse. Does your UPS package get delivered in an hour? Do you tip a pizza delivery driver? Personally I think it depends on how much work the person doing the delivery did before the delivery to help get it done fast. So for food delivery, usually the drivers will not cook the food, but will put together the bag, double check everything, and add in any extras like sauces, utensils, rice, etc. So if the person for Amazon Now is the one putting the order together and double checking it before loading it into their car, I would think that they are more in line with food delivery than UPS drivers. Also something that takes away from how much I would give is that restaurants usually share some of the tips with in store workers who made the food. With that in mind I'd definitely tip less.

dragonwriter 11y ago
> Does your UPS package get delivered in an hour? If what you are paying for with Amazon Now is rapid delivery service, then why would you tip for the service you are paying for. UPS delivers in a time set by the level of service that is paid for. Presumably, Amazon Now does the same thing. > Do you tip a pizza delivery driver? I did before pizza parlors started adding an additional separate charge for delivery service, which signals that it is now service compris.
- robwilliams 11y ago
  You don't tip your food delivery drivers? Are you in the US?
- djur 11y ago
  The pizza delivery driver doesn't get any of that delivery charge. Not tipping the driver because of the delivery charge is essentially punishing the driver for the owner's desire to take their tips.
  - blhack 11y ago
    >The pizza delivery driver doesn't get any of that delivery charge. Yes they do, in the form of being paid for mileage (at least I did when I was a delivery driver).
  - caskance 11y ago
    The owner taking their tips is punishing the driver. It's not my responsibility to insulate the driver from that. I am paying a surcharge for delivery. That's reasonable. If the driver doesn't get the cut of that he feels he deserves, he can work somewhere else.
    - bweitzman 11y ago
      This is the problem with tipping culture. It's misleading to advertise a delivery charge and then still expect to customers to tip, and when the driver and the customer are in disagreement or even just unaware of the other's position, it leads to people looking (and maybe feeling) like assholes on both sides.
    - duderific 11y ago
      ...said someone who has obviously never worked for tips.
      - mpeg 11y ago
        No one is holding a gun to their heads though. I don't like tipping, I do it when I'm in the US because it is a norm but overall it feels like a scam; as I don't get any better service or quality than anywhere else in the world where the wait staff gets a decent wage. I get the feeling lots of tip workers hide behind the argument that they "don't get paid enough" because they simply make more money that way. Meanwhile, kitchen staff generally work harder and longer hours and don't often get their share.
- lotso 11y ago
  The separate charge doesn't actually go to the driver. You should really tip your delivery driver.
  - Lawtonfogle 11y ago
    Then they should really not charge me. In these cases, I just stop going to that business because not tipping will increase the chance of bad service. Personally I would like to see an end with all tipping, especially since there is an implicit threat associated with it (such as not tipping can get you spit in your food, which I consider a form of assault and battery).
ghaff 11y ago
It mostly depends on whether the person doing the delivery is basically working for tips or whether they're being paid a reasonable wage. My understanding with pizza and other fast food delivery is that the drivers are basically working for tips--therefore you pay them. In general, outside of that, I wouldn't normally pay for delivery that already has a delivery charge built in. But then, I'm sure some people are more inclined to tip a dollar or three for random personal services than I am even when the services are utterly routine (i.e. the driver didn't do something special for you).
knodi123 11y ago
> Personally I think it depends on how much work the person doing the delivery did before the delivery to help get it done fast In this case, the driver is just driving from a facility to my door. But the twist here is, I do not expect nor even WANT the driver to put in "extra" effort to drive that route faster. Just follow the speed limit, and pick a reasonable route. That's all. I want you to drive exactly like a robotic car would. Those are my streets you're driving on, I don't need any maniacs striving for the best tip.
- grayclhn 11y ago
  Then tip more if you think the driver drove especially safely. :)

morgante 11y ago

Agreed. I honestly don't understand why Amazon made that choice. It makes the delivery much more awkward and transactional. Probably one of the most brilliant things Uber did was eliminating tips.

ndhc3 11y ago

There's a tip field? Is there a "shipping cost"? If there's both, that is a full stop for me. This will push Amazon's pricing above local pricing for me. Amazon wants me to willingly add 10-15% to my purchase price? Come on.

TazDingo 11y ago
Tip is optional and you can change your tip amount within 48 hours of delivery. I'm not sure if drivers can see what the customer tipped during the delivery but in case you feel that they might do a shitty job because of no tip you can just add a tip and then change it to 0. With that being said I'm also not feeling the whole tip thing because the wages should cover all that.

gangstead 11y ago

The tip field was pre-populated, I changed it to 0. It's up to them to pay their drivers. (Sample size: 1 delivery)

ilaksh 11y ago

Amazon Flex (Prime Now delivery drivers) pays $18-25 per hour. Considering how small margins are, the driver pay quite possibly comes enitrely out of the tip.