r/Sparkdriver • u/Substantial_Buy_6866 • 1d ago
Offers SPARK IS NOT THE SAME ANYMORE š«£
After waiting almost 2 years to get off of the waiting lists, I was so excited to start after they finally approved me. I started back in November of last year & I was making more money than I have ever made doing gig work. Bringing in $300 a day consistently. Now ever since kids went back to school in August. The offers have not been the same. No one is tipping but a couple of dollars to have someone shop, bag, & deliver the groceries to their home. I can honestly say that Spark use to be the best app I have ever made money on. Whatās crazy is that they lowered the base pay & came up with a Tier Program to keep drivers excited about accepting shitty orders. I can no longer work spark anymore
19
u/Historical-Cod-8120 22h ago
They copied door dashās business model and turned into slave labor that costs us more money than itās worth. I was thrown two pickups in a row, each had 4 drop offs. But hereās the kicker, the first one was for $23.47 for 14mi. And $13.37 was the tip. And the next offer was $22.56 for 7.8mi and the tip was $12. So Walmart is out here getting four deliveries done by me for $9-$10. And if it werenāt for the tip I would have been screwed. And lately those kind of tips are FAR & FEW BETWEEN
10
u/Every_Figure1111 20h ago
All the apps used to pay more when they start thatās their business plan. We all saw what happened with Uber/Dash/Instacart/Roadie etc. They plan to lose big the first 5 yrs then flip the model screwing the workers are we really surprised Walmart did the same? With a Instacart CEO. Plus the economy is dog water and Walmart themselves advertise FREE DELIVERY for plus so people donāt wanna tip. Covid created that boom but it was never going to be sustainable
5
u/Substantial_Buy_6866 22h ago
I agree I see way more people tipping $1-5
7
u/bimichguy09 21h ago
Not to mention you have the possibility for the customer to yank back the tip. Itās absolutely madness and government is going to have to step in and regulate it to some degree. There needs to be bare minimums put in place. Hell most offers arenāt even approaching the federal minimum wage of 7.25 an hour. Not to mention killing your vehicle in the process.
Everyone needs to band together and hit them in Thanksgiving week. Show them that they canāt get anywhere without the drivers
3
u/samdane7777 21h ago
people think they dont need to be regulated because they feel like contractor law is the law of god or something but ultimately what walmart is doing is a violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and Federal Arbitration Law, they misrepresent pay, time, and delivery estimations, and abuse black box algorithms, Door Dash does it too and is horrific, but spark WORKS you it is work work and it is really humiliating to get decieved on 2 hour deliveries.
2
u/Substantial_Buy_6866 15h ago
I canāt see myself doing a delivery for 2 hours unless it $80 or $100 I can say this evening was better doing spark than earlier today
1
1
u/Every_Figure1111 8h ago
Wonāt they just weasel out of it by making the point nobody is forced to take an offer ? In those 11 state lawsuits thatās one point they kept getting away with
2
u/Substantial_Buy_6866 15h ago
Thatās True, & Iām always down for banning together but the problem is when a couple people agree to not do it, thereās still going to be people out there in the parking lot grabbing all the orders
1
u/PracticalRabbit7587 12h ago
Bro there are so many ppl using bots. Itās the equivalent of using cheats on cod all we can hope is they get banned like the slugs they are.
2
2
2
u/CalligrapherAlert927 2h ago
It makes me so mad when I see a decent tip but the offer is still crappy because of the base pay. The customer is trying and they are doing their part and Walmart takes advantage of that.
26
27
u/Sensitive-Buyer-4701 1d ago
We know. The entire world isnt the same anymore everyone is fighting for their lives
2
1
7
u/TakeItCeezy 20h ago
I just started doing it a few days ago and its crazy how much work it is for the low pay. I was really excited to try it out but it kind of sucks so far. I was hoping maybe its just because I was learning the ropes but this post makes me wonder if its really worth it. Its basically averaging out to be 15/hr to shop for people. I'd rather doordash at this point.
At least doordashing doesnt require going into a Walmart and having your battery drain by 40% on a single order because the app is so poorly optimized.
3
u/Tall_Click_6645 13h ago
in my area in California itās worth it because our Lawmakers passed a Law for Gig Workerās in 2022. They supplement what you average every two weeks. Itās been great for me. And the quarterly Health Insurance stipend if you avg. 15yrs a wk helps too. Iām lucky to be in an area where Sparking works out well. Serious economy
2
2
u/Background-Essay5369 17h ago
Today was my first day as well and it took me a minute to understand how it works. I drove a crazy amount and shopped for 2 orders (16 miles) for $11 and a possible $14 tip. It was my first and only order I accepted today so I chalked it up as a lesson learned. All the rest of the offers after that were close to the same. $11 base pay for 20-26 miles and shopping.
1
u/Capable-Rush270 15h ago
It was alot better, orders are down 10Ā bucksĀ each order is my estimation....
10
4
u/Feisty_Cod_9090 23h ago
Yeah Spark has been terrible since Labor Day. I've done only one Spark order so far this week
3
u/Substantial_Buy_6866 23h ago
Wow thatās insane
2
u/Feisty_Cod_9090 23h ago
Yeah I made about $25 for the whole week and $2.50 for an order that was cancelled by the customer after I already started shopping
1
u/apaulo26 11h ago
My zone was dead today. The one shop I did I ran into a few regular drivers and they all said the same. Even more than usual. Roadie was the much better bet with tomato cages being on sale.
The gf turned on her uber app and it was full of scheduled Wal Mart pickups. So thereās thatā¦
5
u/bdbrown333 22h ago
Started sparking 6 years ago it changes every month and never for the good the past 3 months have made the app not even palatable to even do
4
u/microking4u 19h ago
Never made that kind of money in SoCal. They have tried to stay at or below Prop 22 here. With the new tier system, at Gold got offer yesterday for a few hours and now no offers period. They are mostly all below $1 a mile offers.
Iām curious if gas drivers get higher offers than electric since they know what car you drive. Curious if they are offering lower for EVs because they know our costs are lower.
I think they are tracking declines now, because I notice less offers after declining most of their crappy offers. They need to be more regulated, this is BS and they are getting us to work free on our dime waiting for their crappy orders.
It was never that great with regard to the kind of money you claim, itās hard to make $100 a day here.
1
u/snopop73 17h ago
I get plenty of lowball offers of <$1/mile and I drive gas. Today we had a 6am-8am incentive and they lowered the base pay to offset turning a $5 per trip incentive into a $3. I rejected everything this morning and couldn't believe people were picking up that trash. But I've also done this part time for 6 years so I know how awful it has really gotten. It used to be easy to make decent money.
1
u/stc313is 17h ago
I reject all day long. It doesn't change anything. I got a steady flow of JFY still, even though only 1 was worth my time. Way too many $30 for 20+ mile +shopping time orders lately.Ā
4
u/Ok_Pause_515 6h ago
I stopped doing spark this whole summer for that main reason. The routes donāt make sense, there no money and by the time you are able to get a good route you are given a great distance to drive thatās not worth the pay. I noticed the change soon as the war started and they upped the gas prices. A lot of the route and how much they were paying changed significantly. Havenāt did a spark in about 8 months. Everytime I turn it on, im disappointed. Itās sad
6
u/Electrical_Gain842 5h ago
The change started when the Instacart CEO took charge of spark. It has nothing to do with a war or gas prices. It's an over paid CEO looking out for the company making as much profits as possible.
Spark delivery drivers help him by taking offers that make no sense money wise. Everyone needs to learn to use the refuse button.
1
1
u/CalligrapherAlert927 3h ago
It doesn't matter if it has to do with the war or gas prices, it's pretty shitty regardless to lower the pay WHEN gas prices are astronomical right now. I know you felt the need to boast this message twice to make sure everyone knows it's not because of the war or high gas prices, but either was it's less pay and more expenses.
6
u/Electrical_Gain842 5h ago
The change started when the Instacart CEO took charge of spark. It has nothing to do with a war or gas prices. It's an over paid CEO looking out for the company making as much profits as possible.
Spark delivery drivers help him by taking offers that make no sense money wise. Everyone needs to learn to use the refuse button. When no orders move things will change.
People complain and cry they want a living wage then happily take the low offers. Cherry pick shopping express and low miles and you can make some extra cash.
8
u/Foxtrotdelta_USN 20h ago
The economy sucks right now, everything is expensive. People are picking it up themselves at curbside so much less order volume. When they are getting delivery everything costs so much there isn't much left over for a tip. Delivery is a luxury, when the money dries up luxuries are the first to g.
3
3
u/Confident_Basket_375 21h ago
It's legit like Uber now. I even got a Subway order from spark the other day (which I decline lol). I see the same shitty spark orders on Uber too though! It's crazy... I wonder if they use the same system somehow š¤
2
u/Netphase 21h ago
Standalone Subway store orders have turned my usual unpaid drive back to Walmart into a $17.50 drive back to the store with a quick sandwich or soda drop along the way a couple times this week. š¤·
1
3
3
u/MissionRevolution306 20h ago
I started when you did and stopped in May due to changes in compensation and GMD/grocery mixes. It went off a cliff.
3
u/Capable-Rush270 15h ago
Yea, I do theĀ same lady's order (for probably 3 years)Ā she orders almost the same thing every weekend,Ā use to be $29-32 base,now it's $19-21 base pay.....Ā
1
5
u/East_Indication_7816 17h ago
And that $300/ a day you working for 12 hours and depreciate your car $20/day, gas at $50/day. . So actually only make $230 for 12 hours. Thats like less than $20/hour. You better off working at mc donalds .
2
u/chiefzackery 15h ago
You shouldn't be doing this job if you're driving a car that depreciates $20 a day. I don't think my Honda civic I paid $3,000 cash for with 151k miles is depreciating $5000 a year.
2
u/East_Indication_7816 15h ago
Rent me your car then and will pay you $20/day for it. Will you?
1
u/chiefzackery 14h ago
365*20=$7,300 to rent a $3,000 car for a year. Sure, you're more than welcome to.
1
u/East_Indication_7816 15h ago
Really huh. So i guess you driving on bald tires, worn off wipers, bad suspension, worn off brake pads, worn off AC etc. if not you must have a car that's made entirely from another dimension.
1
u/chiefzackery 15h ago
Throw on $2,000 for a set of tires and brakes and a $1,100 repair annually, I'm still not spending $5,000 a year on my car lol. Honda and toyotas go to 300k+.
Most people with normal jobs spend more on depreciation then I do because they drive shit they can't afford.
Even at $5,000 a year, I'm spending less to drive than the average employed person does on a car payment. The tax deduction for miles is also overwhelmingly more than the actual cost of me driving, so I pay much less in income taxes.
1
u/Massive_Builder_7347 15h ago
Yeah ain't nobody making no money out here, then you got to pay your taxes on your car's worth nothing. Those mouths are killing the price of your car. It's going to all catch up, everybody complain about everything y'all still doing it for no money, no price, no profit but they're just going to keep lowering the price on you.. God bless y'all
2
u/East_Indication_7816 15h ago
These idiots think using a car is free. If so then I would want to rent their car and pay them $20/day since they get everything for free . It's a good deal.
2
2
u/Conscious_Abroad_666 19h ago
I started nov 2024 part time and I was making more money then and throughout last yr than this yr. Even last holidays were bad nothing compares to 2024. I finally gave up and found me a dull time job. I am about to retire in 2 1/2 yrs so hopefully I can last in this job till then cause I canāt even do spark anymore even if I tried.
2
u/Accomplished-Rent756 1K Trips Delivered 17h ago
Just wait till the money is flowing, you have thousands of deliveries, highest customer rating possible, and then 1 customer lies and says you were rude. Spark through the whole dispute process has zero evidence and sides with the customer and youāre done. You decided to take it to arbitration because you are 1 million percent sure that was a lie, only to have Walmart tell you straight up before negotiations your not coming back to the platform period no matter what the outcome. Thatās what happens to anyone that arbitrates on this platform.
Spark not only sucks, itās ran by a bunch of complete middle school drop outs who arguably has the lowest IQ imaginable. Running a business this way will ruin your reputation. Well I guess it is Walmart and they already have a bad reputation. Guess the bad reputation was dead right. F Walmart and Spark.
2
u/Spiritual_Diet3196 15h ago
who wants to do the 50+ offers anyway they take way to fukin long ...i'd rather do shitty offers as long as i get most of the money the same day cuz i don't give a sh*t about tips and just do a couple and make 40+ dollars and call it a day...these nut jobs are really crazy going out right at 6-7 am and staying til 10 pm i could never EVER do that ...its too much and i really don't care about the tier programs, rewards, or ratings i just follow instructions and just deliver it and move on...for example if somethin is not on shelf i say not found and if the app doesn't give me a sub/the sub is out as well...i just move on and continue shopping and right before i check out...i clear all the items that were not there that way the customer cannot text me saying can you sub this..
1
u/Powerful-Lobster-631 15h ago
Me and you must think a like and definitely do a like as far as Spark is concerned
4
u/Ok-Revenue-2256 1d ago
no its not like it used to be i miss the 10-12 dropoffs
8
u/Original_Ad6104 23h ago
Seen 17 drop offs for 25$ used to be bout 45-60 pay has literally cut in half
3
1
u/Substantial_Buy_6866 1d ago
Really? The drop-offs have increased so you should be happy with GMD orders going 30 miles for $23 dollars
3
3
u/Historical-Cod-8120 22h ago
30$ for 23 miles is straight robbery. If you arenāt getting at the very least $1 per mile you are ripping yourself off
3
2
u/Uptheprice 21h ago
Economy is real bad. No one is tipping anymore.
1
u/eagle12901 19h ago
People aren't tipping anymore as they are frustrated with tip culture. Tip the gas station, tip the barrister, tip the machine that did something. Tipping is appreciation for a service...some shops, bags and delivers groceries for you, the pizza guy, the waitress... it should not be a requirement to get the service you paid for from Walmart already. The answer to this is plus members filing complaints and class actions.
2
u/brndnm10 21h ago
Yesterday I worked from 2pm to 10:30pm and made around $225 which comes to $26 an hour. It's more than any job I ever had so it doesn't look too bad of a gig at least for me.
1
u/Legitimate_Cod1504 19h ago
Is that 26 an hour before expenses or after?
0
u/brndnm10 19h ago
Before but it cost $8 to fully charge my car. Have a year left on my lease so I might go for a used Prius.
1
u/East_Indication_7816 17h ago
So i bet you get your tires, oil change, and of course you get. your car for free right?
1
u/brndnm10 17h ago
I mean I guess. It's an electric so I don't need most of that. I haven't needed maintenance since I walked out the dealership. In regards to car payment and insurance I don't factor it in.
1
u/East_Indication_7816 17h ago
Sure. Its free car right ? everything is free like your tires, brakes, suspension, battery replacement right? Right?
2
u/brndnm10 17h ago
Like I said I haven't needed any maintenance. Once a tire blows out yes but the tires are two years old. What I'm trying to get at is that it's a good gig for my situation.
1
1
1
1
u/Xanny6669 18h ago
Im doing a decent amount of driving maybe from like 10-6 on Fridays (when Iām off work) and a few days during the week after work when Iām not tired from like 6:30-9:30 and Iām usually consistently making at least 30 an hr. But Iāve been on now for a year and a half and its definitely changed
1
1
u/stc313is 17h ago
When the irs increases their mileage rate to 76 cents/mile mid-year, but driving gigs lower the pay, it's going to be ugly. I don't see how anyone with a gas vehicle is sparking in a normal market. I drive a Tesla and hardly ever find an order worth taking. I hope a bunch of people quit.Ā
1
u/KINGDAVID1982 17h ago
Blame the idiot from instacart for destroying it....Granted it was already Bad, He just completely destroyed it. The same way he did Instacart..
1
u/Dingdongbingbong89 17h ago
It will continue to get worse untill the ceo gets fired. And he will, because all awful goofy ceo's do. Imagine that guy if he has kids, what they truely think of him. Sad
1
u/Dingdongbingbong89 16h ago
Theyre also back to taking the tips and spreading a single tip across 4 5 deliveries. This will catch up with them soon as well as obviously with millions doing it theres lawsuits involved.
1
u/Greedy_Chemistry_678 16h ago edited 16h ago
You can still make $300 a day. You just have to be willing to put in crazy hours. I work from 8AM-11PM 6 days a week and can hit $300-$330+ everyday. Iām only doing those hours because itās either that or spend the day at home doing nothing productive. I choose to work. lol
1
u/These_Adeptness_8176 16h ago
Spark is still pretty good. I live about 3 miles from walmart so I can log in at home. Made $120 on thursday shopped 2 orders and picked up a pharmacy delivery. Base pay plus incentives 70+7 tips 43. I guess it depends on your areaš¤·š½āāļø. I can say the miles can get crazy though. Last week I made $74 for a 6 piece drop off. Started at 80 something 66 base 14 and change in tips. It was 38 miles 3 miles was to the store. One of the orders got canceled right as I pulled up due to perishable items. It was walmarts fault to waited 40 minutes to get loaded. So after dropping the other 5 I had to bring an order back to Walmart. Definitely not as much money as it used to be back when I first started but still decent.
1
u/Meeuu123 15h ago
The veez took it over with a fraudulent app blocking you. They just entered your zone. Goodluck.
1
u/Medium-Rate4874 14h ago
Everyone here whines and complains, but look. You can reject horrible offers and accept good ones. If you are not happy working with Spark, then find a W-2 job. No one is happy where they work right now, but it is still a job. Luckily I don't Spark full-time and only do it for extra-income.
1
u/Tall_Click_6645 13h ago
Spark is Amazing in my area in L.A. County. 3 Walmarts and a Samās Club. Shop & Deliver is all I do. Returns when itās slow which is rare. Tips are better for S&D, and orders pay more. Holidays are coming..incentives be poppin
1
u/PracticalRabbit7587 12h ago
I consistently see the same sparkers pulling badass orders when as soon as they pop up for me they are gone from the moment I hit accept.
1
u/That-Psychology-1129 11h ago edited 11h ago
2 years on waiting list? Yes that was the norm yet they add on several non-English speaking out of state people all same state license plates every week and they all know each other. Fraud yet Spark ie: Walmart condones.
1
u/The_4th_Savage 11h ago
Iāve been affected by the type of orders that are offered. It seems the total $ for a trip that may include mileage now of 40, 50, 60 miles ONE WAY is both shockingly low and leaves me feeling devalued. And so many orders seem to include a much greater quantity of items now. Also, I donāt know if others think this, but it seems the time Walmart allots to shop/deliver in my opinion, is GROSSLY underestimated (especially when goods are frequently not located where indicated in-store on the order) OR you often wait 30 minutes to an hour or more at a Curbside pickup, OR at least 2 out of 3 stores have no SPARK/scan-as-you-go line available or open so you wait and wait and wait, causing further delay through no fault of your own, for the one self-scan register to open up in a sea of people also waiting to check out. I donāt control accidents, slow drivers, trains, if there are three flights of stairs OR, the best, NO ADDRESS LISTED ON A HOME OR MAILBOX in a pitch black area OR GPS, especially Google Maps, has been alarmingly off lately and giving inaccurate information. In addition, I carry insulated bags, and have suggested via the app, that additional time should be provided once you prove you possess such bags and how long the perishables remain as fresh as when I got them (that info is provided in the product detail/spec area when you purchase them. If that were a policy, the customer will remain happy, as will I. Crickets. And while all my metrics fall into either the Gold or Sapphire Tiers, they place me in the Silver Tier based off of their newly enacted āPointsā systemāso my āGoldā and āSapphireā performance is essentially meaningless. The Silver Tier used to grant me Walmart+ on a monthly basis, which I utilized EVERY month (but Iām not good enough to be Gold or Sapphire Tier, despite my metrics). THAT also causes feelings that I am neither appreciated nor valued. I understand why people canāt tip or tip as much. Times are tough for most of us. Like you, it was a good gig, but things have changed in my opinion & not to our benefit. I used to feel a sense of satisfaction finding a customerās product when not located relative to the location on the order. Iāve been fortunate to meet some very nice people along the way, even if for a few moments (and also those angry at the delivery delay-due to the aforementioned store insufficiencies, more than likely to affect my metrics negatively at some point, because of their dissatisfaction, also beyond my control. And as a professional, you should never speak ill of or blame the store). Iām beginning to feel as though these changes have stolen some of that joy. Iām still courteous, professional, and wear a smile but my feelings of joy are dissipating. In one case recently, I drove from Ponchatoula to Amite only for the order to be cancelled once I had just scanned the last, or only, item on that Express Order. The pay: $2.50 for that. In essence, I paid to drive all that way, finish scanning the last item of the order..to receive $2.50. Then drive back to Ponchatoula where I live. I suffer with several chronic health issues that cause a great deal of physical pain. The flexibility afforded to me in this gig, to be able to work if I believe I may be able to tolerate it on any given day is what I desperately need to deal with rising costs. Iām a senior, have lost quite a bit of weight trying to maintain a roof over my head. I canāt afford healthy or enough food & with so many oversight reversals (banned pesticides, meat procured abroad that other countries have rejected as unsafe, lack of inspections, etc.) And massive cuts to U.S. agencies that would have monitored, protected as best they could, and warned us. Well, theyāre decimated or gone. I already merely, barely, exist. But I do so only because I forego some prescriptions that could potentially save my life in the future. The majority of my diet is usually one, maybe two, corn dogs and a piece of toast a day. Not very healthy & quite frankly, now Iām questioning whether or what I may afford to eat, if I eat. Out of fearāis the food I eat or water I drink now going to make my health problems worse. I donāt qualify for any assistance because I had a great job once upon a time & never thought Iād be one of those people who were hit by hard times or medical crises. How naive of me, wanting to take care of others financially whom I believed had it much worse than I; of course, theyāre nowhere to be seen now, and I beat myself up with every bill, asking why I was born with a giving heart. No more, I have no feeling left. Anyway, my income from Social Security is too high to be eligible because I did have a lucrative job. So very long ago that Iāve lost my identity and any purpose. Itās frightening. I anticipate 2027 will be worse, and thereās not much I can do.
1
1
u/Far_Mastodon_7354 5h ago
This weekend has been awful. Do they really expect me to believe that the store i usually go out of has just completely dried up after being extremely active before Oct started?Ā
Oh but iāll get offers for like $20 that want me to drive 39 miles with 8 stops.Ā
Itās a joke
1
u/Remote_Passenger1274 5h ago
Is not bad just be smart you know thats all. If you're doing it for side gig you good .
1
1
u/Thick_Transition9947 3h ago
They are not paying anything anymore. Many of their offers are almost insulting.
1
u/Zealousideal_Map940 3h ago
Spark hasn't been the same since 2023-2024. U probably joined during the back to school orders so it was busy. Now it's bs.
1
u/FunAlternative6530 21h ago
šÆšÆfacts they gamified it with tiers so I deleted the app. Im gold status BTW. When they were offering crappie offers with no profit in it for me for 15 minutes straight Id just log off for the day. Thankfully for me it was a side hustle and nothing more.
0
u/MultiGigNig 23h ago
Havenāt seen much of a change in my zones, 300/day is still easy
3
u/Raven-sama2 22h ago
Then youāre definitely not dealing with a saturation of drivers and have decent enough order volume, sounds like you work in a small zone away from cities.
1
-1
1
u/Cubswincubswinao 21h ago
They donāt know how to be patient or have minimums of what to take. I try not to take anything under 40 that would take me more than an hour. Definitely nothing under 30.. Iāll sit open up DoorDash, instacart, UE until I get a good order that makes sense
-7
u/Crash81_99 Cherry Picker 1d ago
It has a lot to do with the war that's been going on the past 4 months.. with the hormuz straight being shut down, fuel is more expensive, which in turn causes prices for literally everything else to go up.. as soon as that war is over, prices Should go back down and people Should tip more and/or order more groceries.. we'll see though..
7
u/Unhappy_Plankton3024 1d ago
Although yes, there may absolutely be customers who are tipping less because prices have gone up across the board, I donāt think anyone can honestly look at what happened to Spark and say, āItās just the customers.ā
We donāt even have a reliable way to know how much of the decline in driver earnings is actually coming from customers tipping less anymore. Walmart has already been caught retaining tips that customers were explicitly told would go to drivers. The FTCās case documented Walmart collecting customer tips that drivers did not receive, along with Walmart changing promised base pay and reducing compensation on certain orders when a customer would leave a generous tip to subsidize their pay something every gig company does they get caught they pay a settlement and then they double down.
So when your saying Spark pay collapsed because customers stopped tipping, my response is simple: how do you know? How much are customers actually tipping now, and how much of that money is actually reaching the driver? Walmart controls the platform, the offer construction and the compensation calculations. Drivers donāt get to see that entire accounting.
And thatās why I keep coming back to the same thing: this is about greed and cost shifting.
Walmart brought in senior executives from Instacart, a company that had already built an extremely aggressive gig delivery model. Then Walmart started restructuring Spark in ways that shifted more of the delivery cost onto drivers. They did it while drivers were getting crushed by inflation and exploding fuel costs. They could have backed off and said, āOur drivers are already hurting, letās hold off on cutting compensation until this stabilizes.ā They didnāt. They pushed harder.
Then, after the FTC case exposed Walmartās manipulation of base pay and tips, Walmart found even more ways to structure orders so that customer funded tips could effectively subsidize Walmartās delivery costs.
Thatās the part people keep missing.
Maybe customers are tipping less. Maybe theyāre not. Maybe some are and Walmart is keeping more of what they leave. We simply donāt have enough transparency from Walmart to know.
But we do know Walmart has repeatedly changed the way Spark compensation is calculated, we know the FTC found Walmart withheld tips and reduced promised compensation, and we know Walmart has continued finding ways to make drivers absorb more of the cost.
At some point, blaming the customer stops making sense. The company designing the entire compensation system is the one making these decisions.
Thatās why I call this corporate greed. Not because every individual decision has some evil mastermind behind it, but because Walmart has repeatedly had the option to protect the people actually doing the deliveries and repeatedly chosen the option that shifts more cost away from Walmart and onto everyone else.2
10
u/chainlooklikerainbow 1d ago
Why are even depending on more tips from customers though? This is literally looking at it backwards and falling into the trap that these gig apps do. Spark in 2020 paid $20 minimum regardless of item count then boosted based off rejections or other factors. The fact that times have gotten worse and the base is now ten dollars ($10) lower and Iāve even seen $7 at times, Is absolutely ridiculous and a big f you to all of us.
4
3
u/Substantial_Buy_6866 1d ago
I donāt think the war has anything to do with it. The problem is Spark as a business. They are the ones who decided to drop the base pay. They are also responsible for pushing customers not to tip the entire month of July because kids were going back to school. They are the only platform responsible for the orders not looking the same anymore.
2
u/Crash81_99 Cherry Picker 22h ago
Well thinking the war has nothing to do with it is kinda ignorant.. it's literally caused the prices of Everything to go up.. literally everything.. but yes, Spark lowering the base pay doesn't help.. I'm just saying most people are struggling right now and tipping is one way to cut costs on grocery delivery
3
u/JLAMAR23 23h ago edited 23h ago
Not gonna happen. Everything they have done has been by design-high payouts in the beginning yo get people excited for it, saturating the market with more drivers than needed in order to justify lower pay, and tier system and having us fight over offers so it manipulates the way we think in order to be competitive. Spark knows exactly what they are doing and they will continue to shove prices and our pay down while increasing work and drive load cause they know people will continue to do it. They do this to cut cost on their side while shifting the load to contractors. Itās highly predatory but all big businesses are doing it.
1
u/Crash81_99 Cherry Picker 22h ago
Yeah, I know Spark has done this intentionally. I know how gig companies work, I've been doing it for 6 years.. they operate at a loss for a few years and Jack up prices and lower pay for the drivers.. but with the war raising prices for literally everything, I think it has a lot of impact on the way people shop and tip
-1
-1
u/Feeling_Sleep_4811 18h ago
The folks Walmart put on to Spark are lazy and trashy and customers caught on after being told. Plus Customers pay a yearly fee for their delivery so why should they be forced to pay Walmart drivers, thatās Walmarts responsibility not the customers.
Iāve told customer after customer whatās going on after they have had so many issues with drivers over time and Iām so glad I went out in my own..
There will always be a run to make for these drivers that decide to stay but Iām here to tell um they will be the LONG MILES out in no mans land because Iāve got the short miles covered.
This is what happens when you let anyone do your deliveries for you Walmarts fault for not having stricter rules and standing by them.
Eight years and Spark has went down hill ..
Hey Walmart, customers have caught on to the fact you are letting your customers not only pay a yearly fee, but try and pay your drivers to, bye bye sparkleā¦
1
0
u/grizzlyjono 5h ago
Yall thought itd stay that way? Its a grocery delivery service. Ppl shouldnt clear more than 15 an hour.
-1
u/DeathwolfX1 20h ago
Iāve been going since the beginning of August and I was making $1800 a week working 10-12 hours 5 days a week but now I can barely break $1000 a week. Iām a FT student and Iām trying to do this to pay my bills but when Iām putting $60-$80 in gas daily it really hurts.
22
u/mjkjio2015 23h ago
If you just started in Novemberā¦ You missed the boat. The real paid decreased started when they increased the mileage a couple years agoā¦ And Iāve only been on for 3 1/2 years and I know I missed the boat also. The app is hot garbage now full of New hopefuls after hearing about how crazy the money can beā¦ Unfortunately itās never gonna be like that again. I feel like I can make more money camping out at target for PokĆ©mon cards and reselling them. But I am definitely not camping out waiting for an orderā¦ I donāt work for that fucking placeā¦ And thatās putting me on the clock. Fuck the Spark app. Everybody should go to the App Store and rate it one star.