An Instacart shopper recently revealed that the grocery delivery app will supposedly pay out workers who get tip-baited by customers.
Tip-baiting is when a customer lures in a driver with their tip but removes it once the order is completed. In a video posted to TikTok, user @thatgiglife claims he had a roughly $7 tip restored after a customer tried to retract it.
“I’ve talked about tip-baiting before, but here’s proof of it happening to me,” he says. @thatgiglife spoke over a background that showed the company’s payouts for a grocery order. As of publication, his video had over 17,700 views.
@thatgiglife Replying to @slimmfine #greenscreen #fooddelivery #gigworkbelike #gigwork #deliveryproblem #fueldeliveryissue #instacart #instacarts #instacartbatch #instacartbelike #instacartnotip #instacartadventures #notip #groceryshopping #instacartcomedy #instacartmeme #instacartadventures #instacartscammers #instacarttipbaiting ♬ original sound – GigLife
According to @thatgiglife, the batch pay for the order was $10.60. The customer originally tipped $6.90, but later fully took the tip away—which reportedly caused Instacart to step in.
“Instacart … gave me $6 back and the total of the order was roughly $17,” the TikToker says in the clip.
@thatgiglife claims that Instacart will step in and cover drivers whose tips are completely removed, but it comes with a catch. “That’s only up to $10,” he warns. “Any tips larger than that, you’re on your own.”
In the comments, many viewers questioned what this meant for shoppers and customers moving forward. The top comment on the post read, “Wait, if Instacart is willing to pay the tip … should we all be removing our tips?”
The user doubled-down in a follow-up comment. “Seriously, it shouldn’t be called tip-baiting,” they said. “It should be called outsmarting the system to force a corporate giant to pay their employees.”
Other users seemingly agreed.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Well now I’m going to save up to $10 off my order and the driver doesn’t lose anything,” another commenter said. “Sounds like a win, win.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to @thatgiglife via TikTok comment and Instacart via email.
