Everyone enjoys ordering takeout from time to time, and this practice has exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many restaurants have been closed to in-person dining, which means there’s been a boom in food delivery, with services like UberEats and DoorDash leading the way.
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However, the drivers who make their living delivering these meals are often underpaid and underappreciated. One UberEats driver has gone viral with his story.
The landscape is changing.
Restaurants used to employ their own delivery drivers. But the model has shifted to a gig-based one, where drivers might pick up a meal order from any restaurant in order to deliver it.
It isn’t easy.
An UberEats driver who goes by @deliveryguy100 posted a heartbreaking video.
“I just spent an hour driving around for a $1.19 tip,” he explained. “Would it hurt y’all to tip us? Throw us five dollars?”
Yeah, $1.19.
He got just barely over a dollar. That’s enough to buy a soda, and not much else. It’s hard to even fathom leaving a tip this paltry.
Commenters were overwhelmingly sympathetic.
The driver went on to say that he was only paid two dollars from UberEats. That, combined with the paltry tip, is not even enough to cover gas, he explained.
It led to some interesting discussions.
It’s easy enough to say, “If you can’t afford to tip, don’t order food.”
But there does have to be a subset of people who don’t currently have the means to cook their own meals, and also can’t afford much in the way of tips.
“gEt a bEtTeR jOb.”
It’s easy to tell people that they should just work a job that pays better. But isn’t it equally easy to be frustrated about low wages?
Where does the responsibility lie?
It’s hard not to point your finger at the corporations that are making serious bank off of the labor of their drivers.
UberEats, for instance, makes about two and a half billion dollars per year.
Here’s hoping his next customers tip better.
It’s hard to watch this man, who’s just trying to earn a living, break down on camera.
Check out the video below, and let us know your thoughts in the comments.
