An Uber Eats driver delivered an emotional plea after he said he received a $1.19 tip after driving more than an hour for a delivery. ...
An Uber Eats driver delivered an emotional plea after he said he received a $1.19 tip after driving more than an hour for a delivery.
Smithson Michael posting on TikTok under username @deliveryguy100 said he was struggling to survive driving for the food delivery service, and asked customers to tip in a video viewed more than 1.1 million times on the video sharing network.
'I wish people knew what it was like to deliver for Uber Eats, Postmates, Doordash all these companies,' he said with tears streaming down his face.
'I just spent an hour driving around for $1.19 tip. I mean would it hurt y'all to tip us, throw us five dollars?'
In addition to the meager tip, Michael said the delivery had netted him $2 from the app company.
'What's that? That's not even enough to cover gas,' he said. 'How am I supposed to survive like that?'
Smithson Michael posting under the TikTok username @deliveryguy100 said he was struggling to survive after receiving a $1.19 tip for a delivery that took more than an hour
Michael said he was living homeless, and had already fallen four months behind on car payments
'Everything fell apart on me and I haven't been able to sustain myself, provide for myself and these are essential services,' he said. 'I just wish people knew what it was like. I wish they understood what it was like to drive for these services.'
Many of the top-rated comments to the video were sympathetic, but also placed blame on the delivery app companies, saying they charged exorbitant fees for the deliveries.
Michael said he was homeless, and called on people to tip more
Comments to the video were largely sympathetic but many placed blame on the food delivery app companies, which they said were charging exorbitant delivery fees
'People deserve living wages & don't order if you can't tip,' the top rated comment on the video said.
'I always tip well but let's be real.. Corporations are to blame,' read another.
'I sent you 10 dollars. Hope that helps a little. Hope you have a better day tomorrow God Bless you.' another wrote.
'I can barely afford my food bro,' another posted.
'It wouldn't hurt, and I always tip,' one woman wrote. 'But also these companies are exploiting you guys and they need to be regulated.'
The Daily Mail has reached out to Uber for comment.
Uber Eats is the most popular of the food delivery apps internationally.
But despite its widespread adoption, it is still struggling to turn a profit.
Even with explosive growth for its food delivery segment during the pandemic, the company posted a nearly $6.77 billion loss for 2020, with a $958 million loss in its fourth quarter, CNBC reported.
'Cumulative payments to Drivers for Delivery deliveries [sic] historically have exceeded the cumulative delivery fees paid by consumers,' the company noted in a 2020 earnings release, according to Intelligencer.
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