Instacart Says It Will Protect Grocery Delivery Workers From Tip-Baiting

Sophie Webster, Tech Times 07 April 2022, 01:04 am

Instacart announced that it is changing its tipping policy in a bid to address the effects on its workers of a practice that is known as tip baiting.

Tip baiting is where customers would zero out a tip after an order has been delivered.

Instacart Changes Tipping Policy

The company said on Apr. 5 that it will cover the cost of a shopper's tip, up to $10, should a customer suddenly remove the tip after delivery without reporting an issue with their order.

The update is just the latest measures that Instacart has announced in the past few years to address tip baiting, while maintaining that it is an extremely rare event for it shoppers, according to TechCrunch.

In 2020, CNN Business reported that some Instacart customers were bait-and-switching workers by offering up a massive tip, sometimes $50 or more, and then withdrawing it after the delivery was dropped off.

Also Read: COVID-19 Safety Kit: Instacart to Give Free Face Mask

As demand for Instacart increased in the early months of the pandemic, customers struggled to get good time slots. Some resorted to tip baiting to entice shoppers, who are treated as independent contractors, to pick up their orders first but then removed the tip after delivery, leaving the shoppers without any choice.

A spokesperson for Instacart told CNN Business at the time that the vast majority of people were adjusting their tip upward or did not adjust their tip after delivery.

Instacart also claimed that customers usually leave feedback if and when a tip is withdrawn.

In mid-2020, Instacart announced several changes to its tipping policy, including requiring feedback from customers who remove a tip right after delivery, and shortening the window of time customers are able to change a tip to 24 hours, down from the past three-day window.

While customers are still required to give feedback when removing tips, unless they also report an issue with the order that they've made, a shopper's tip, which is up to $10, will now be protected.

The tip protection is one of the many updates that the company announced on Apr. 4 aimed at support its shopper workforce, which more than doubled to 600,00 people during the pandemic.

Other updates include prompting customers to add a tip if they have not left one yet, or to increase a tip if they rate a shopper five stars.

CNN reported in February that the pandemic demand has begun to stabilize and some shoppers are now feeling the effects of that.

In March, Instacart announced a renewed commitment to its shopper community, stating that it would unveil new product features in the next few months.

The company also announced several new services for its customers, including an offering to help retailers get in on the 15-minute delivery craze.

Alongside the announcements, the company revised its valuation to $24 billion, down from its peak of $39 billion fueled by the pandemic boon to tis business.

Instacart's Anti-Fraud Measures

According to The Verge, Instacart's spokesperson stated that the company has several anti-fraud measures in place to make sure that customers may not falsely report order issues, request refunds, or remove tips without any valid reason.

If the customers are found to be engaging in any type of fraudulent activity, they will be immediately removed from the platform.

In 2020, TechTimes reported that 28,000 Instacart accounts were being sold in the dark web.