How to Respond to a DoorDash Customer Asking if DoorDash Steals Tips

Recently, DoorDash got a lot of attention in the news in regards to their tipped wages pay model. If you remember, DoorDash was using customers tips to subsidize drivers base pay. While highly unethical, this was perfectly legal. As of this writing, DoorDash has not officially changed their pay model, However, Tony Xu (CEO of DoorDash) has promised this will change and 100% of the tip will go to the customer.

With all of the media attention, customers started to catch on. For some it is hard to believe and they would like to know exactly how this works/if it is indeed true. Should they tip in cash? (yes cash is always awesome.)

So, R. Kneeomy asked in a Facebook group the following question:

“THIS IS FOR THE VETERANS: (OVER A YEAR)
How do you respond or are we supposed to respond when customer says: it is true door dash steals your tips?
Do we respond? Or direct them to support? Cust standing in front with money in hand.
I wasn’t sure how to respond without throwing a dark light on the company. I am just looking for a effective response. She gave me the tip, but I felt silly saying email or call support they can better break the pay model down. She then said but what do you think? Bc she saw it post on FB?
Any suggestions on an effective response?”

So how do we respond?

I am a firm believer of “the truth will set you free.” However, I also agree that we should not bad mouth a company we are working for. When it comes down to it, if you are working for a company, you should be thankful for the job no matter how much you like it or hate it. Be thankful. At the same time, you shouldn’t lie to someone. Everyone deserves to know the truth.

So, back to the customer. This customer in particular saw it on Facebook, and likely from a legitimate news source. For sure, they believe this to be the case, as they had money in hand, ready to give as a tip from the sounds of it. It is also very likely they are testing to see if Dashers are even aware of what is going on.

So, how do you tell the truth and not bad mouth the company? State Facts. Not opinions. Somewhere along the lines of:

“DoorDash uses our tips to subsidize our base pay.”

That is all you need to say. If they ask you how you feel about it, you can then give your opinion, but try not to come off as hating the company 100%. All you need to say is:

“I do not agree with it, but it is what it is.” Say it with a smile. That helps ease tensions and shows the customer that even though you don’t like the policy, you seem to be having a wonderful day and are not royally pissed with DoorDash (as you should be.)

If as a Dasher, you come off as angry, hating life, etc. You will end upcasting a dark light on the company, one that may have the customer decide maybe they shouldn’t use DoorDash. It is a pretty common opinion that DoorDash, even with the whole tipped wages model, generally pays more than other delivery services, so we don’t really want them to go away. We just want them to be fair. Smiles are contagious, always remember to deliver with a smile.