Tip baiting refers to the unethical practice of customers initially adding a large tip when placing an order, then reducing or removing the tip after the order has been delivered. This typically happens with food delivery or rideshare services where drivers rely on tips as a major part of their income.
How does tip baiting work?
Here’s how tip baiting usually works:
- A customer places an order on a food delivery app or rideshare service and adds a large tip, for example $10 or 20% of the order total.
- Seeing the large tip, a driver accepts the order and completes the delivery.
- After receiving the order, the customer then removes or drastically reduces the tip, leaving the driver with little or no tip for the work completed.
Customers are able to reduce or remove tips up to an hour after food delivery or 24 hours after a rideshare trip. This allows dishonest customers to essentially “bait” drivers with a large tip to get their order accepted, then remove the tip after the fact.
Why do customers tip bait?
There are a few motivations customers may have for tip baiting:
- Faster service – Adding a large tip may help get an order accepted and delivered more quickly during busy times.
- Disappointment with service – Some customers may add a large tip then remove it if they feel the service did not meet expectations.
- Dishonesty – Unfortunately, some customers seem to tip bait simply to get free/cheap delivery by not paying for the service at all.
While disappointment with service is understandable, removing a promised tip is still considered unethical by most drivers. A better approach is reducing the tip amount, not removing it completely.
Why is tip baiting harmful?
Tip baiting directly hurts delivery drivers in several ways:
- Lost earnings – Drivers lose out on expected income when tips are removed, sometimes losing a major portion of their total earnings.
- Wasted time/gas – It leads drivers to take orders they normally wouldn’t have based on the original tip amount.
- Gaming the system – Tip baiting gives an unfair advantage to customers who use it over ones tipping honestly.
While customers have a right to adjust tips based on service, removing tips completely damages trust between drivers and customers. Many drivers report feeling upset and betrayed when promised tips simply vanish after they complete an order in good faith.
How common is tip baiting?
It’s difficult to measure exactly how often tip baiting happens, but drivers report it being a growing issue, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic:
- An NPR survey of nearly 200 food delivery drivers found 1 in 5 had tips reduced after completing deliveries.
- Over 25% of DoorDash drivers reported experiencing tip baiting in a 2019 survey.
- Uber Eats tripled the amount of time riders have to adjust tips from 1 hour to 24 hours in 2020, leading to a rise in tip baiting complaints.
While still not a majority of customers, the practice seems to be increasing along with growth in food and rideshare deliveries.
Which apps have tip baiting issues?
Tip baiting occurs across all the major food and rideshare apps, but some services seem to have bigger issues:
| Service | Tip Baiting Problem |
|---|---|
| DoorDash | Moderate |
| Uber Eats | Significant |
| Instacart | Severe |
| Lyft | Moderate |
| Uber | Moderate |
Instacart seems to have the worst tip baiting issues according to drivers, possibly due to the higher costs and complexity of grocery orders compared to meals. Uber Eats also faces lots of complaints after extending their tip adjustment window.
Is tip baiting illegal?
Currently, tip baiting itself is not illegal in most jurisdictions, though there are some exceptions:
- Massachusetts banned tip baiting on food deliveries in 2020.
- Some regions limit how long after a transaction tips can be adjusted.
- Services can institute policies forbidding tip baiting by customers.
There is growing support for legislation at state and federal levels to prohibit or restrict this practice. Until more comprehensive laws are passed, tip baiting remains a lawful but unethical behavior in most areas.
How can tip baiting be prevented?
Some ways to help combat tip baiting include:
- Limit tip adjustment windows – Apps should reduce the timeframe tips can be lowered to discourage baiting.
- Driver ratings for customers – Letting drivers rate customers can identify serial baiters to warn other drivers.
- Require upfront tips – Ensure tips are entered and locked before drivers can accept an order.
- Enact anti tip-baiting laws – Passing laws, like in MA, prohibiting tip baiting across entire states or country.
Unfortunately, there is no foolproof way to prevent tip baiting without better laws. Drivers should still provide good service and reasonable customers should continue tipping as normal. Communicating with customers and delivering outstanding service is the best way for drivers to avoid baiting and earn fair pay.
Conclusion
Tip baiting is an unethical and harmful practice that hurts delivery drivers relying on tip income to make ends meet. While not yet illegal in most places, it is regarded as deceitful behavior by drivers and honest customers alike. Apps and local governments need to take action to protect drivers from tip baiting through legislation and platform policies. With greater awareness and constructive solutions, hopefully this troubling trend can be reversed.