Why better tips could mean faster delivery when ordering from apps

How much you tip when ordering on food delivery apps could influence how quickly you get your order, couriers say.

That's because tips, which apps like SkipTheDishes, UberEats and DoorDash prompt customers to add before their order even arrives, make up a big part of their fare — and couriers are assessing whether your order is worth the trip.

"We make essentially nothing unless there's tips involved. The base rate from these companies is between $2 to $3 [per order]," said Ashley, a driver in Montreal who shares her experience delivering for the apps on YouTube.

The services have made ordering food from restaurants easier than ever, creating a market for delivery that goes well beyond pizza and launching an entire economy of gig-based workers. According to pre-pandemic data from Statistics Canada, approximately one in 10 working Canadians was part of the gig economy.

Food delivery drivers are paid a set fee per delivery and don't earn an hourly rate, meaning many couriers are looking for the best offer possible.

Higher-paying offers, which typically include a generous tip, get snatched up quickly, couriers said. Meanwhile, low-paying offers with a lousy tip or no tip in advance can bounce from one driver to the next.

"If I get an order for $3 and it says, 'Go seven kilometres,' I'm going to decline that. I never go more kilometres than dollars because I'm not going to make any money," Ashley told CBC Radio's Cost of Living. CBC is withholding her last name due to concerns she could be kicked off the platforms for speaking out.

Tips can make up between 40 and 70 per cent of delivery people's wages, according to Gig Workers United, an organizing group for gig-economy workers supported by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.

Half of gig workers use that work to supplement their income, while for the other half it makes up the sole source of their income, Statistics Canada reports.

Both UberEats and DoorDash say that they provide couriers information about their potential earnings for every order. SkipTheDishes did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Brennan Tilley, a regular user of food delivery apps in Calgary, said that offering up a good tip ensures that he gets his food when he wants it. He sees it as a form of "bidding" for the fastest drop-off.

"The person that puts a $2 tip on [their order], the drivers don't want their order and they take my order. So I'm quite happy with all these people that are refusing to tip because then my order moves the top of the pack with my tip," Tilley said.

"It is definitely worth $10, $12, whatever it is, for someone to go grab that for me as soon as possible."

It's a system that labour advocates say underscores the lack of minimum wage protections for couriers delivering for app-based platforms.