DoorDash and UberEats Cost Drivers $550 Million In Tips, NYC Says

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Gothamist: City regulators on Tuesday accused Uber and DoorDash of deliberately altering their app interfaces to discourage customers from tipping food delivery workers, a move that has cost the employees more than $550 million over the last two years. A report (PDF) published by the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection argues that food delivery app giants retaliated against minimum wage rules for delivery drivers that took effect in December 2023 by implementing "design tricks" that obscure opportunities to offer a tip in their mobile apps. DoorDash explicitly blames the new wage rules for removing the simpler tipping option. "In response to regulations in New York City, you will now only be able to add a tip for your Dasher after they have been assigned," a message on the app's checkout page states. Other food delivery apps like GrubHub allow customers the option to add a tip before checking out. The average tip for DoorDash and Uber Eats drivers in the city fell from $2.17 to 76 cents per delivery after the companies made the changes to their apps, the report found. Both companies also issue messages to customers in the city telling them the prices for their orders were "set by an algorithm using your personal data." Further reading: Uber and DoorDash Try To Halt NYC Law That Encourages Tipping

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