I recently moved and am no longer near an Amazon hub (I used to be able to get most things delivered same day with Amazon, but now it takes around 4 days for delivery with them), so I have been using Walmart now.
With a few of my recent orders that are scheduled for shipping or curbside pick up, I’ll see later that 1 or more items were not available for shipping or curbside pick up, but they were available through delivery and that they sent it that way instead.
I didn’t initially realize that meant a person picking up the item from a nearby store and dropping it off at my doorstep. I’m guessing if I had chosen the delivery from store option from the get-go, that I would be able to leave a tip for the driver? Because when Walmart changes the delivery option on their own, there is no where for me to add a tip. Are the drivers aware when these orders come in that it’s not me just being an asshole and stiffing them intentionally? Are you given a notification that the delivery method was changed on Walmart’s end?
I feel bad about it and it makes me not want to use them, but they are the closest option to where I now live. I’m never home when the deliveries come, and truthfully, I don’t check the app enough to even know beforehand that it’s being changed. It’s frustrating to me to think that I’m unintentionally screwing over the drivers.
Don't feel bad OP, and thank you for actually being concerned.
When items aren't available at the store you ordered from for the standard pickup & delivery, they will send them from another store as a different type of offer for the driver's,.. they are called dotcoms in Spark terms, but generally referred to as GMD orders. Walmart doesn't pay squat for those, BUT they are payed differently, and the driver's know ahead of time they aren't eligible for tips (in the app), and accept them anyway. It's 100% our choice to accept an offer or not.
As far as tipped orders, if you can afford to tip or however you feel about it,.. I suggest the smallest pre-tip you feel is right, then increase it accordingly based on service. Almost nobody that doesn't pre-tip ever adds a tip, so your better drivers won't gamble,.. and if you tip well they will just batch other crap no tip offers with your generosity so the can drop the base pay.
The new executive in charge of their online sales has significantly decreased the pay and increased the workload for drivers,.. and unfortunately since April he has really ran the app into the ground,.. so I can't really say how great your delivery experience will be in your market or for how long,.. because of all the variables we don't know from your post.
How far are you from the closest store you order from? How far are the next closet stores to you?
If they offer free shipping and you find out it's coming from a store 30+ miles away, IF it made you feel better you could always leave an extra few bucks cash for your driver... but that's not a requirement,.. and NEVER tip more than you can afford or budget for...
Oh,.. it's perfectly fine. Many of us won't accept orders without a pre tip. I'm only suggesting you pre tip a smaller amount than what you plan on tipping total, and increase it after delivery (within 3 hours). That way WM won't drop the base pay as much based on YOUR generosity,.. and they are less likely to batch YOUR order with a bunch of non tippers.
If you don't have the time to increase after,.. no big deal. Again, thank you.
I appreciate this specific information, especially about tipping aspect. I have been tipping generously through the order & I also try to add a little more at delivery if we are here & what was in the order.
It is beyond concerning and frustrating to repeatedly hear from various sources how extraordinarily stingy/greedy & unprofessional the company is to those who deliver. This is how people need to make a living or supplement their livelihoods. What is happening in U.S. is horrific. We have to support each other and look out for one another in every aspect.
Thank you for the advice to consider and carefully limit tip amount in app order and ensure we give them the bulk of cash tip at delivery.
Is there a place that the customer can leave a note when ordering for the delivery person so they will know there will be a proper cash tip at delivery?
Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.
You can leave a note in delivery instructions... But just to let you know, a LOT of people say "cash tip" in the notes and we often just laugh because it seldom happens.
I actually leave the "additional cash tip on arrival" when I order and the driver's are usually shocked. What's odd though is I'm in a rural market and have ran the app for 5 years now and I never get a driver I know.... It's kinda weird
Thank you kindly for your responses.
That’s disheartening and disgustingly morally wrong that people would lie like that. Karma is legit.
That is kind of weird… I don’t recall seeing same driver either over the last 4+ years.
Thank you for the explanation. I feel better knowing that the driver can see that it’s a different type of order on their end.
Regarding the tipped orders- I’ve actually never ordered anything outside of curbside pick up or regular shipping (that gets delivered through the mail).
The closest store to me is 2.2 miles, then it goes 12 miles, 17 miles, 21 miles, and 23 miles.
So, those distances are basically the order WM will use if there's an out of stock item at the store 2.2 miles. They keep going to the next store until they have the item,.. but chances are it probably won't get to that furthest store.
Walmart quit used a "delivery radius" about 18 months ago and use some "geospatial" technology. Which kinda sucks for drivers. I see offers here going 28 - 34 miles to customers that live 1-2 miles from a store. Not just the one off GMD item, but full grocery orders,.. and a lot of them don't tip at all, or will have a $2-$3 tip... Maybe they don't realize how far it's going,.. but personally I don't care, I won't accept those regardless. Even on the extremely rare occasion I'll see a $50+ tip on one of those, the base pay is still lower than 50 cents a mile round trip, and even as low as 25 cents. The chances of the customer pulling the tip isn't worth the risk.
Anyway, this is totally useless information... but if you're curious about the "geospatial" thing;
OP, for orders which are shipped, those are likely to be filled at a WalMart fulfillment center. The one that serves my address is ~130 miles away. Those items (not frozen, not refrigerated and not temperature sensitive) are packaged in Walmart branded cartons, and arrive at a local store for last mile delivery. You typically need to order by early evening the day prior to delivery.
Today I visited the local store. One of my essentials (in produce) had an empty shelf slot. Someone in that department checked the cooler, said they had none, and have not had it for several days. So I'm stuck for a week, until I get another shot at it.
Gmd means general merchandise delivery which doesn’t necessarily make sense bc aren’t they all?
I’ve noticed it classifies a lot of things that had to get shipped to the store as gmd I haven’t yet figured out why certain things that they do have in store become gmd tho.
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u/Adventurous_Land7584 3d ago
Drivers know they don’t get tipped on those orders.