This worked as of 21:30 Eastern time on 6 December 2024.

  • snooggums@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    Openly promoting the fact that they underpay their drivers, for a limited time.

    • NightCreature@lemmy.worldOP
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      5 months ago

      Asking honestly, respectfully, and in good faith - is there a downside to doing this? Edit: I mean, is there a downside to rewarding the driver via this promotion.

      • snooggums@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Yes, it undermines the idea that drivers deserve a living wage and is just Amazon dipping their toes into shifting their drivers into something closer to ‘ride share’ style independent contractors who primarily get their income from tips.

        Short term benefit for long term problems.

        • ricecake@sh.itjust.works
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          5 months ago

          I mean, 100% the drivers should be being paid more and the entire system is fundamentally broken.

          In the here and now though, where I can’t do anything to fix anything even if I entirely stop using Amazon forever right this moment, giving someone a random $5 that they wouldn’t otherwise have is a good thing.

          • Zirconium@lemmy.world
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            5 months ago

            Yea if you’re going to use a bad service might as well help while you can. It’s like going to a restaurant then not tipping because it encourages owners. They don’t give a fuck cause they still get your money

            • ricecake@sh.itjust.works
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              5 months ago

              slippery slope fallacy

              Clicking a button that gives someone money at no expense to you isn’t causing the issue you’re worried about, it’s at worst symptomatic of the broken system that might lead to your concern.

              • snooggums@lemmy.world
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                5 months ago

                Not all slippery slopes are fallacies.

                Ever notice that all the counter service places are leaning into tipping because it became popular with coffee shops?

                • ricecake@sh.itjust.works
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                  5 months ago

                  Sure. And if Amazon ever asks us to tip delivery people with our own money we shouldn’t because that’s bullshit.

                  That being bullshit has no bearing on if it’s good to click the button that gives someone $5 at no expense to you out of their employers pocket.

                  If a counter service place has a button I could press to give them $5 of the stores money, I would press it every time. That’s not a tip because it’s not my money supplementing the employees wages.

          • tomi000@lemmy.world
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            5 months ago

            Technically youre right, but would you say the same if Putin started handing out band-aids to ukrainians who just lost their families?

            • ricecake@sh.itjust.works
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              5 months ago

              … What? That’s such a non-sequitor that I’m honestly not sure if you replied to the wrong thing or something.

              I can’t say that I would say the same thing in an entirely different situation with nothing to do with the other.

              • tomi000@lemmy.world
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                5 months ago

                Its a similar situation. You ‘cant do anything about anything’ and handing out band-aids is ‘better than nothing’. Would ‘giving someone a band-aid is a good thing’ be your stance in that situation or would you find it rather inappropriate?

                • ricecake@sh.itjust.works
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                  5 months ago

                  They’re not similar situations at all. For one, it’s an absurd difference in scale. Whatever your opinions of Amazon delivery driver working conditions and pay, it’s in no way comparable to “an invading army murdered their family”.

                  Second, whether or not I should push a button to give someone $5 with no obligation on their part is a different situation from getting a bandaid for a murdered family on the whim of the responsible party.

                  If you could push a button and a random person somewhere in the world gets $1 million, would you push the button?

    • Lazhward@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      “Yes, we could be paying our drivers an extra 5 dollars, we just choose not to, lol.”

        • ricecake@sh.itjust.works
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          5 months ago

          You’re not paying, you’re clicking a button to have Amazon give $5 of their money to the driver.
          They could have just given a bunch of drivers $5, but then they wouldn’t make a bunch of customers think Amazon isn’t too bad.

          So you should push the button, but also pointedly continue to think badly of Amazon.

  • Mystech@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    Is there an option for “Request Amazon to pay drivers decently and improve working conditions?”

    Nope, just a “illegally suppress unions” button.

    • Subtracty@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      I’ve been considering this as my New Years Resolution. I’m ashamed that I might be too weak to go through with it. The convenience is just so…manipulative and infantilizing. I am perfectly capable of buying anything I need from a physical store front.

      • lettruthout@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Yeah, buying from physical stores also helps your local economy. Otherwise there’s eBay and Aliexe (spelling?)

      • Supervisor194@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Try sorting results by ‘price low to high’ and then watch as it completely ignores you - no - laughs in your fucking face - as it gives you results in whatever goddamn order it so desires.

        It might make it easier to give it up if you can fully realize that Amazon is now 100% in the business of fucking you over.

  • CrackaAssCracka@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    Amazon drivers (the ones in budget or Amazon cans, not flex in personal cars) do okish. I just quit working for a third party company Amazon uses to shield them from liability and unions because it’s miserable work but the pay was $22.50 which isn’t too bad. The workload is crazy, it’s all rush rush rush, and they don’t care about you at all though so fuck them and Amazon. The drivers would appreciate the tip, they’re generally hardworking and decent people.

    • NightCreature@lemmy.worldOP
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      5 months ago

      My friend delivered for Amazon for awhile and he had a regular delivery of 50 pounds of dog food that he had to carry up several flights of stairs. I was thinking about him, and all the times in my life when an unexpected fiver would have been useful, so I’m glad you commented.

    • Peppycito@sh.itjust.works
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      5 months ago

      Your comment reads like you wrote it bouncing down a bumpy road and had to post it quick before you went off the cliff.

  • robocall@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    IIRC when Amazon Fresh was a thing, they were encouraging tips, but they were caught using the tips to cover some of the hourly wages.

    • radicalautonomy@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      Texas schools need $X funding. The Texas Lottery was meant to add $Y dollars to education. The lottery was sold to the public as meaning schools would be funded to the tune of $(X + Y) each year.

      Instead, the state funds $(X - Y). Instead of supplementing education funds, the lottery supplants it. And it’s the exact same thing with tipping culture.

      (I’d bet this is how most state lotteries which fund education operate.)

      • AquaTofana@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        This happened to my bestie just now when I screencapped that it had worked for me and told him about it.

        I wonder what the difference is? Maybe its regional?

        Edit: He figured his out. He placed the order through Amazon but it was delivered via USPS. Maybe that’s the issue?

        • TriflingToad@sh.itjust.works
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          5 months ago

          Hmm, I don’t know. The last purchase was a book my mom bought, it’s possible that’s the issue. I’ll try again next time we order something to make sure.
          Thanks!