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“That’s not even enough for gasoline”: delivery driver bursts into tears over a tip
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Food delivery services are booming in the Corona period. However, the worst is often the poorly paid drivers. Many of them need the tip to survive.
At the wheel of his car, Michael Smithson could no longer hold back his tears. In a video on TikTok, a driver from the delivery service Uber Eats talked about his frustration and sadness. The man delivers food to customers for the US company. But the income is barely enough for him to live.
Smithson had been driving around for an hour and ended up with a tip of only $ 1.19 – that’s not even a euro. At least two dollars were added via the app. Nevertheless: The delivery driver cannot make ends meet with this. “I wish people knew what it was like to deliver food for Uber Eats and other companies,” Smithson said in the video. “Would it hurt you to tip us more?”
Uber Eats: Drivers rely on tips
Uber Eats drivers are paid according to a formula that includes travel time, distance, and amounts for picking up and delivering the order, among other things. However, they have to use their own car and pay for the fuel themselves. This is why many delivery drivers rely on tips to make a profit. Apparently that wasn’t enough with Michael Smithson.
“That’s not even enough for gas,” complains the delivery driver in his video about the small tip. “How am I supposed to survive like this?” Because Smithson’s job is not about anything else – survival. The American says he is homeless and has not been able to pay the rent for his apartment in the past few months.
Everything collapsed over him, he says: “I was no longer able to take care of myself.” Many customers don’t seem to know how dependent the drivers are on the tip that they get either directly at the door or via the app – or they don’t care. Michael Smithso’s video has already been viewed more than a million times on TikTok.
Uber Eats is also launching in Germany
Many users criticize the fact that especially companies that generate high sales in the pandemic let their employees work under such conditions – and, as in this case, shift the responsibility onto the customers. “Why do consumers always have to bear the burden and not these companies?” Someone asked on TikTok. “I don’t understand this American culture.”
In Germany, Uber Eats launched its offer a few weeks ago – initially only in Berlin. The company cooperates with 200 restaurants there. Around 500 couriers are on duty in the capital, mostly with bicycles and e-bikes. They are employed by local delivery companies that Uber works with.
swell: Michael Smithson on TikTok / Ridesharingdriver
This article originally appeared on stern.de.