What is driver tip baiting?

A delivery driver recently went viral on TikTok with a video explaining the concept of ‘tip baiting’.

Tip baiting is when a customer offers a large tip on an order, but then either removes it or reduces it once the order has been delivered. The idea is that the large tip will encourage drivers to choose their delivery above all others, and to deliver it quickly.

Most delivery apps allow a customer to change the tip amount both before and after the order has been completed.  And while the ability to change tips upon order completion is good for a customer, allowing them to call out or reward the service received, it also opens the door for customers to abuse the system.

Comments were mixed across TikTok users, with some calling it out as appalling customer behaviour whilst others suggested it was a misunderstanding of the driver’s responsibilities.

Several users called on the delivery apps to remove the option for pre-tipping. Another suggestion put forward was to give drivers the ability to rate and give feedback on customers, thereby giving other drivers a warning where a customer had previously ‘tip baited’.

Others saw tip baiting as customers incorrectly blaming drivers for issues encountered with their order - for example, a missing item or cold food. In this case the customer reduces the tip in the misconception that it is the driver who made the mistake, rather than the restaurant or delivery app.

And while the TikTok video in question went viral late last year, the practice of tip baiting first came to light in April 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when it was revealed that New Yorkers were using the promise of big tips to entice delivery drivers.  Instacart has previously advised that any customer who consistently engages in tip baiting has their account deactivated.

But perhaps most of all, tip baiting highlights large flaws in the delivery process. A recent study found that tip baiting is most likely to occur in areas with insufficient driver coverage. The increased tip is used as a lure to get a driver to choose a customer’s order above all others. And in other areas, if tips are the main enticement for a driver to provide fast and efficient service, doesn’t this highlight the need to pay drivers a fair hourly wage?

Over the past two years, most economies have relied heavily on delivery drivers when we ourselves have been unwilling or unable to venture out and purchase supplies. And while some cities like New York have passed bills to better protect driver rights, most drivers are lowly paid and rely on tips for income. But regardless, do the right thing and offer a fair tip straight up - and don’t change it unless the service warrants it.