How Much Should You Tip Amazon Prime Now Driver?
Just how much should you tip an Amazon Prime Now Driver that delivers your Whole Foods groceries?
If you have groceries delivered from Whole Foods, you are no longer tipping the shopper. The tip you add in the app goes to the courier or delivery driver. Those drivers usually pick up multiple orders to delivery in succession. That’s the best thing about only delivering orders is that it’s pretty fast, you don’t have to deal with customers, and if you like strategizing locations you can make many deliveries add up to a better than average hourly wage. The problem is that customers who might want to tip in cash (which I usually suggest) won’t have any way to do that because if you’ve had any Whole Foods (Amazon Prime Now) deliveries, you know it’s a drop and run task. In that case, I suggest you go ahead and add your tip to the app, and yes, I suggest 10-15%.
When I’m home I add 5% in the app, and then when the driver is arriving (because Amazon usually notifies you when the driver is about to arrive) I get some cash for the balance. I usually have to catch them at the door! Cash says, “I value what you do.”.
You might argue that with several deliveries a few dollars commision adds up and the driver can make the promised $20 an hour or more that they are shooting for. Any driver that has to navigate the ridiculousness of Atlanta driving deserves that; and more.
Deserving of a Tip for Delivery of Groceries
I have found that Amazon Now delivery (of Whole Foods grocery items) is the fastest among competitors of Instacart delivering Publix/Kroger/Aldi and SHipt delivering Kroger. Within minutes of completing an order, I get a message from the store that it’s completed. I’m still amazed at the speed. ONe of the challenges I’ve noted though is that the selection of items isn’t as good as say Publix or Kroger. Still, the organic and non-GMO products are extensive and for a person who needs fresh foods (greens, veggies) each week I can’t beat it.
When it comes to delivery, and only delivery, tips are as integral to the hourly wage as much as the shopper who spends time picking out the groceries you’ve ordered. The only difference is that the shopper also gets a commision per item and the delivery person only gets a delivery commission.
The only thing that should affect your tip (and in some cases, you have a few days to change the tip) for Amazon Now delivery of Whole Foods groceries should be speed, checking to be sure that no items were damaged in transit, and that nothing is missing. While a store employee may miss an item (which should be noted), an Amazon Now delivery driver could miss an entire bag so it’s easy to recognize that (although rare). So why not tip 15%? This gig economy is changing the way work is done and in the United States, we pay less per income than many countries do comparatively.
Impact
Isn’t that wonderful? The dollars in you invest in a gig economy worker has a direct and meaningful impact. In 2016 there were 34,439 vehicular deaths and 2,177,000 injuries. A delivery driver’s exposure to that risk is intensified simply by engaging. Gig economy workers pay into Social Security and Medicare just like everyone else and without those who are willing to invest vehicle costs and risk of personal safety (exposure to a vehicular incident), you can’t enjoy the free time you now enjoy not having to shop.
A tip should be at least 15%. Interested in becoming an Amazon Prime Member? I recommend sharing your membership with your best friend or family. You can always join for a free trial and see if it’s worth it!
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I believe you should not tip people who work for large corporations because you provide an incentive and people will accept lower paying job in hopes to earn tips so at the end of the day, you tipping corporation.
Hi Alex, thank you for your comment. There is only one way to test that theory and that is for all tipping to stop. That will never happen. One way to test your theory, is to work as a gig economy contractor and refuse or give all tips to charity then see if your business income is enough to live on.
I just read that the prime now delivery drivers are not allowed to accept cash tips. What i am doing is leaving a smaller tip online when i order and upon food arriving you can change the tip based on good service for up to 24 hours.
Hi Chelsea – that is not true. You can use the Amazon Prime Now app to tip the driver or you can give the driver cash. Of course, if the Prime driver drops the items at the door and leaves then you won’t have the ability to do that so you can indicate in the delivery that you be present. You may be thinking of other Amazon deliveries. https://primenow.amazon.com/helpAndAbout?ref_=pn_gw_ftr_help
So the grocery shopper and the person who deliver it are not the same person is that correct? If that is the case how do we tip both?
That is correct; in Amazon’s case for Whole Foods grocery delivery, the person who delivers your food is an independent contractor and does not provide shopping services. As well as Walmart and Kroger delivery. Walmart and Kroger employees shop your groceries, and companies like Door Dash, Postmates, or Shipt deliver them – but that person is still an independent delivery person.
For Amazon Prime (Whole Foods), the shopper and delivery person are not the same. For Instacart the shopper and delivery person are the same, Shipt also has a shopper and delivery person, but if you order straight from Walmart or Kroger – the delivery person is not the shopper.
I tip shoppers but not drivers. Why tip the driver? Whole foods should be paying for that, not me, if delivery is indeed supposed to be included.
Why tip the driver? I was a driver and shopper for some weeks to experience gig-economy life. That’s why I tip the driver because I am acutely aware of the earnings and how hard it is to make a living. However, you don’t have to tip at all. It’s absolutely your choice. Eventually, that personal service will be replaced with mass deliveries and less human touch – but for now, I believe in tipping and understand how it helps the bottom line.