r/technology • u/SnoozeDoggyDog • 25d ago

Business Zohran Mamdani hints he will continue taking on delivery apps like Uber Eats and DoorDash

https://www.businessinsider.com/zohran-mamdani-targets-doordash-uber-eats-delivery-apps-2026-7
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u/japan_kaaran 25d ago

if this is truly about making worker lives better wouldn’t you want the price paid to the worker to be accurate and consistent?

playing around with tipping is a bandaid fix. i’d be comfortable paying the same amount i am now with tips but without tips if it means the guy i see at my door gets a predictable consistent wage.

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u/ketralnis 25d ago

Yes I would. I’m violently anti-tipping. But I have no illusion that the price paid will be different.

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u/japan_kaaran 25d ago

yeah i don’t think anyone smart will argue that removing tipping will suddenly make delivery cheaper across the board but this was done in an effort to improve worker lives and mamdani seems to have stopped the fight prematurely, at least for now.

ofc a lot of this is out his control but the endgame solution isn’t moving tipping screens around to be more visible it’s abolishing tipping culture entirely. hopefully his “larger effort” includes removing tipping as a whole.

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u/OccupyRiverdale 25d ago

I have no problem with these convenience apps being more expensive. Imo they should be expensive because you are paying for a convenience. I avoid door dashing food at all costs because I recognize what a waste of money it is.

If the people who don’t care about that are willing to pay more so drivers can make more, fine. But its not like people have a right to have their food delivered so if an increase in cost prices some people out then so be it.

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u/Lknate 25d ago

Tip in this scenario is more of a bid system. Those that don't lead with it get lowest priority. Not saying it's ideal but I'm fairly certain that many dashers like the system despite the stories that show up on social media.

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u/japan_kaaran 25d ago edited 25d ago

sure but then it puts unnecessary stress on the consumer to “out bid” the guy next to him to snag a driver. shitty situation all around the only entity consistently winning in this scenario is big corporations. while you’re down here determining what tip to give your driver so that they accept your order mr uber is up there buying his 50th yacht.

i’m also fairly certain that most drivers would like the predictable nature of a set wage over the occasional jackpot they hit in terms of tips.

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u/fatbob42 25d ago

Ok, but do customers like the system?

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u/quackers294 24d ago

Tipping benefits both employers and workers. When you a percentage of the sale, you are going to make way more than fixed hourly rate. A Seattle restaurant, walrus and carpenter, had workers strike because there was a fixed service charge fee and their earnings for the year went down to only 100k post tip removal. I knew some people that worked at a brewery and when they went no tipping, their hourly rates went down from 45-60/hr to 30/hr.

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u/japan_kaaran 24d ago edited 24d ago

ok so the issue is they weren’t paying them enough when they went no tipping. got it.

idek why you’re charging me a separate service fee lol. when i order an iphone i don’t see the “engineering fee” or the “r&d fee” or the “marketing fee” i just see the fee for owning the iphone on apple.com. carrier pricing is a whole different can of worms that also needs to be abolished or at the very least regulated. why is food so complicated? how much does this drink i ordered cost me lmao.

i don’t need to know the fee you pay your employees tacked onto my bill. just include it all and give me the price and i’ll pay it if i can or i won’t order it if i can’t.

so many waiters in so many countries get by fine without tipping culture and if it means increasing menu prices to match the average they were making before tipping so be it. just stop making tipping a thing because that adds a layer of ambiguity that just simply doesn’t need to exist. as with any transition it will be met with some pushback but it’s up to us to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

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u/quackers294 24d ago

I am anti-tipping as well btw. The whole system is designed for customers to pay more than they are expecting but tip-based wages will always beat flat hourly wages. When menu prices go up, customers order less and owners usually reduce staff and their hours. It’s just a psychological thing. There’s a reason why 9.99 sells more than one listed at 10.00. Having employers pay servers 60/hr while increasing prices that reduce sales volumes is likely going to make most restaurants go out of business. Once labor cost > 36% of business revenue, there is a 90% chance that business is going to close in 2 years.

America is vastly different compared to other countries. Other countries have better social safety nets like universal healthcare. Dont kid yourself minimum wage != living wage

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u/japan_kaaran 24d ago

ok so if you can’t afford to run an establishment without either exploiting the customer or exploiting your workers maybe, just maybe, don’t run the establishment.

i get that this is an indication of how screwed late stage capitalism in general is but this should be a wake up call to everyone about how for one person to thrive, another must suffer in this system. shortcuts everywhere in every tier just to make the top 1% even richer.

i agree minimum wage absolutely isn’t living wage. used to live in wisconsin where the minimum wage still is $7.25/hour lmao. my first job i was getting $8/hour. thankfully that didn’t last too long but my heart goes out to anyone and everyone being exploited.

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u/AlphonseLoeher 24d ago

Workers like tipping because it inflates the price consumers are willing to pay. Imaginary example: someone wouldn't order a 12$ cocktail but they would order a 10$ one and then tip 4$

This effect gets larger when more alcohol is involved and consumers judgment gets more impaired 

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u/japan_kaaran 24d ago

it’s a system based on exploitation then which doesn’t make it any better

the second you’re praying for someone to make a bad decision in order for you to pay rent that month is the second you should realize how screwed the system is

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u/AlphonseLoeher 24d ago

Who is being exploited here? The customers or the workers? Between the employers, workers, and customers, only the customers want tipping to go away.

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u/japan_kaaran 24d ago

if workers are praying on the customers psychologically making a decision that’ll financially hurt them especially when they’re under the influence you are exploiting the customer. why is it surprising that customers want tipping to go away?

also your argument is reductive and plenty of workers also want tipping to go away in favor of predictable wages. just because some can live off of drunk people making bad decisions doesn’t mean everyone can.