TIL that if you search "thank my driver" on the Amazon app, you can give your most recent Amazon driver a $5 tip at no cost to you. This is a limited time promotion.
This worked as of 21:30 Eastern time on 6 December 2024.
This is normalizing tipping drivers and pretty soon it will be expected. Resist this enshittification.
If you're this principled you should be boycotting Amazon anyway. If you're not, give the driver $5 if it costs you nothing.
Expected? They'll make it mandatory, and then lower the amount of wages they pay their drivers, pointing to the tips as justification.
100%.
It's to mentally condition you when it WILL cost.
It's not a tip. Amazon is giving them the cash not you. It's more like a bonus
For now
If the future brings about a shift where delivery corporations reduce costs by outsourcing employee pay to the working class, then we must opt out of delivery companies bringing products to your door.
There will be a return of brick and mortar retail, or an opportunity for corporations to enter the market with new drive up delivery lockers where you can pick your shit up through a drive through window - McPackage (not sexual).
If there’s one slightly good thing about capitalism, it’s the blood-thirsty competition. Some corporation wants your money, and they’re gonna do what they can to capture the market and get your money. Drive up package pickup sounds really cool for a $79 annual subscription (until it eventually enshittifies). I’d love minimising the time I need to be home, the concern of missing a delivery, a porch pirate stealing a package, something getting damaged or lost in transit, etc.
Edit: I’m aware you can pay for P.O. Boxes and parcel lockers from delivery companies, but they will become anachronistic. Expensive monthly fees, small lockers, and inconvenient because you have to find parking at your strip mall, walk in, wade through people, and get your stuff from a small area. I can see drive up package pickup (McPackage) taking off if tipping your delivery drivers becomes the norm.
If there’s one slightly good thing about capitalism, it’s the blood-thirsty competition. Some corporation wants your money, and they’re gonna do what they can to capture the market and get your money. Drive up package pickup sounds really cool for a $79 annual subscription (until it eventually enshittifies).
It's already enshittified. It's a store. What you are describing is a store.
People have already forgotten this, but in the beforetimes you used to be able to go to a store and they would actually have a selection of products. Like, in stock. You could go to Radio Shack or CompUSA or Circuit City or even Best Buy and get whatever tech gizmo, hobby component, computer part, cable, or whatever it was you needed. Right then and there. And they would have it. All of it. No waiting. No shipping. You could even pay with cash. And you didn't need a goddamned subscription.
Or you could go to Sears and get just about any fucking thing. Or K-Mart.
Nowadays retail is so damn transient because "everything is online," so even major retailers don't keep wide swathes of product in stock and expect you to just buy it from their web site. And worse, what they do have in store is always super scarce, which I'm positive they do on purpose to increase your urgency to buy whatever they do have now, because if you come back tomorrow it'll probably be gone and out of stock forever.
...that's just shipping cost? you already pay extra for that.
I would argue that shopping for a person is different than straight delivery. Depending on the shopping, I could be convinced that tipping could be appropriate.
The least you could do is type correctly so the rest of us don't have to waste time reading your last sentence three times to work out what the hell you mean
just advertisment for Amazon - now people will talk about them and share this ad on social media :/
Exactly. I never would've heard of this country if not for the stupid promotion. Now I'm going to spend their $5
Is there an option for "Request Amazon to pay drivers decently and improve working conditions?"
Nope, just a "illegally suppress unions" button.
“At no cost to you… for now”
For some time now I’ve been very successful at not buying anything from Amazon.
I've been considering this as my New Years Resolution. I'm ashamed that I might be too weak to go through with it. The convenience is just so...manipulative and infantilizing. I am perfectly capable of buying anything I need from a physical store front.
Yeah, buying from physical stores also helps your local economy. Otherwise there’s eBay and Aliexe (spelling?)
Try sorting results by 'price low to high' and then watch as it completely ignores you - no - laughs in your fucking face - as it gives you results in whatever goddamn order it so desires.
It might make it easier to give it up if you can fully realize that Amazon is now 100% in the business of fucking you over.
Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
If you need something you can still search for it using Google. Sometimes manufacturers even have lists of companies who sell their stuff. You can buy from some other retailer.
And if Amazon is a lot cheaper or the only option, then you suck it up to living in a fully-evolved capitalistic hell scape and buy it from Bezos.
Can any driver confirm they get the extra pay?
Or is this just propaganda to make the buyer feel good?
Don't think it worked for me 😞
That sucks. I wonder if 3rd party drivers can't participate or if there are regional limitations?
My guess is the funds have dried up already for this year.
The first 2 million thank-yous given will include $5 to the delivery driver at no cost to the customer. After that, customers can continue to thank their driver via the feature all year round, and drivers are able to see the number of times they are thanked within their app.
https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/transportation/alexa-thank-my-driver-feature
Looks like USPS delivered items are not eligible for the $5.00
Possibly? I think my last delivery was via USPS which might not be able to qualify since they're government employees.
Shame I refuse to use Amazon. I’ll pay more to get it somewhere else.
Aww, that's sweet, Bezos is paying these personally, right?
Right??
Cool but in all seriousness try not using amazon and using ethical alternatives if you can afford it.
Been using ebay more and I like it. Although one of my previous ebay order went through Amazon because the asshole seller just purchased it in amazon and sent it to me. They profited what? $2
Ive had some really bad problems with eBay and is actually why I went back to amazon.
One item was taking a long time to ship with no label made, I contacted the seller and told me that things were super busy in Japan. I gave him the benefit of a doubt and I checked in another month later, I asked him just to refund it, h but he kept delaying and eventually I just tried to go to eBay customer service. THERE IS NO CUSTOMER SERVICE. There are only automated menus for you to click through for different options, and since at this point it was longer than 3 months I couldn't do anything to get a refund, despite zero evidence of shipping being provided.
I have had to refund some stuff from amazon from time to time and a couple other issues, but those are always sorted promptly, especially after speaking to customer service. The complete lack of any human to speak to on ebay gives me zero confidence buying from there.
I think you can use Amazon as a distributor if you are keeping your inventory at their warehouses. They handle all the logistics. It‘s called „fulfilment by amazon“.
Worked for me
I thought this was a shitpost but I tried it and it worked. What a weird way to hide a tip.
Amazon drivers (the ones in budget or Amazon cans, not flex in personal cars) do okish. I just quit working for a third party company Amazon uses to shield them from liability and unions because it's miserable work but the pay was $22.50 which isn't too bad. The workload is crazy, it's all rush rush rush, and they don't care about you at all though so fuck them and Amazon. The drivers would appreciate the tip, they're generally hardworking and decent people.
My friend delivered for Amazon for awhile and he had a regular delivery of 50 pounds of dog food that he had to carry up several flights of stairs. I was thinking about him, and all the times in my life when an unexpected fiver would have been useful, so I'm glad you commented.
Your comment reads like you wrote it bouncing down a bumpy road and had to post it quick before you went off the cliff.
Ha, sounds like you might have delivered in rural areas like I did.
IIRC when Amazon Fresh was a thing, they were encouraging tips, but they were caught using the tips to cover some of the hourly wages.
Texas schools need $X funding. The Texas Lottery was meant to add $Y dollars to education. The lottery was sold to the public as meaning schools would be funded to the tune of $(X + Y) each year.
Instead, the state funds $(X - Y). Instead of supplementing education funds, the lottery supplants it. And it's the exact same thing with tipping culture.
(I'd bet this is how most state lotteries which fund education operate.)
Chiming in to say it's the same in VA. I'm reasonably confident it's the same everywhere.
If you have an Echo device, you can also ask Alexa to "thank my driver" and it will apply it to the most recent order on your account. Just did it for an order that came in on Monday and Alexa gave me the $5 spiel.
Hmmm US only? Doesn't work here.
In the US, didn't work. Just says, "Thank you for your appreciation! We'll share your thanks with your driver."
Edit: Ups delivered it. It probably has to be their personal fleet or one of their flex vehicles.
Mine just showed me products. Also I guess my last one was not delivered by Amazon either. Good catch.
Done. Two seconds. 2/3 hrs pay to them. Do it you assholes.
Didn't say anything about giving $5 :/
It could limit it to a certain number per driver or something? Who knows. It's not transparent (on purpose) so we probably can't know what's going on.
This happened to my bestie just now when I screencapped that it had worked for me and told him about it.
I wonder what the difference is? Maybe its regional?
Edit: He figured his out. He placed the order through Amazon but it was delivered via USPS. Maybe that's the issue?
Nah, most recent one didn't follow delivery instructions. Too bad you can't pick, all the others have deserved it.
Edit: woo, good news, my last delivery before my prime "trial" expired and I stop using Amazon again, the driver managed to push the large face-height Amazon brand doorbell (didn't install it) and earned their $5 reward.
Amusingly I got more downvoters for giving the money than not, lol
Lmao I feel you but you never know what the other person's day is like. We order from them while coming on here and cheering for their fair wages. We gotta have empathy that their lives suck in the micro, if we can see the socioeconomic component in the macro.
(Also, do it after your next order if you really want to withhold)
I've angrily thought "I want my ten dollar fucking tip back from this piece of shit" than shutup, ate my cold or incorrect meal, thought over it without being hangry and realized the evening is still worse for them.
Just tried it and it worked. 9:30 PST.
That's nice and all, and deserved, but that would mean me using the amazon app which has far too many negatives for me to consider
it works in the browser too, just did it
Yup! I also was able to do it using the browser!
Don't seem to have that option in the app in Canada
What drivers qualify?
Only U.S. delivery drivers delivering Amazon packages (inclusive of Delivery Service Partner (DSP) Delivery Associates (DAs), Amazon Flex delivery partners, and Hub Delivery Associates) are eligible for a thank-you through this program.
https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/transportation/alexa-thank-my-driver-feature
Does Canada have $5?
Haven't had a delivery in 14-days, didn't work. Bummer. I like my guy.
So you have ordered a book named "Never pay the first bill"??
Worked for me
Any Amazon drivers here that can give some insight into this?
Yes
Didn't work for me either :\
Well hell, wish I'd known this when they dropped off a bunch of flat pack desks. I'm not tipping the guy that just dropped off a kitchen spoon.
Works in Japan, too. Gives ¥500 extra.
not here in austria
Not working for me. It brought up a special screen but it just says that my thanks will be passed on to the driver.
The last thing I had delivered was an expensive drone, and it was delivered a block from my house. I had to use google street view to match the house with the delivery photo from Amazon. No tip for this driver!
Openly promoting the fact that they underpay their drivers, for a limited time.
Asking honestly, respectfully, and in good faith - is there a downside to doing this? Edit: I mean, is there a downside to rewarding the driver via this promotion.
Yes, it undermines the idea that drivers deserve a living wage and is just Amazon dipping their toes into shifting their drivers into something closer to 'ride share' style independent contractors who primarily get their income from tips.
Short term benefit for long term problems.
The downside is that it costs Amazon $5.00.
"Yes, we could be paying our drivers an extra 5 dollars, we just choose not to, lol."
Why would they do it if they can have you do it?