An Uber Eats delivery driver recently confronted a customer after he allegedly tried to pull a fast one on her by “tip-baiting” on a large order.
“Tip baiting” is when a customer places an order with a hefty upfront tip attached, incentivizing delivery drivers to accept it. However, after receiving their order, the customer simply reduces or outright removes the tip.
TikToker Dawn Garza @dawngarza documented her confrontation with a customer. The video received over 102,200 views. Garza says the customer slashed her tip after she completed a substantial $143 order. The order, Garza says, included “5 cases of water and lots of bulk items.”
“Uber can’t keep letting people Bait tip,” Garza writes in the video’s overlay text. She claims she was initially offered a $21 tip for the delivery, only to receive just $5.59 post-delivery.
@dawngarza DO BETTER OR YALL GONNA LOSE ALL THE DRIVERS!!!!! AND BE BACK TO PICKING UP YO OWN SHIT! Uber needs to stop letting them do this !!!!
♬ original sound – Dawn Garza
The TikTok captures a tense exchange at Dart Paratransit Services in Dallas, the location of the delivery.
“I shopped and did a $153 worth of food of snacks for you guys,” the driver explains to one employee. “And then Uber tells me, ‘Oh, by the way, they took away all this money. And you only got paid $5 for this trip.’”
When confronted, the customer who placed the order, identified as Eric, denies modifying the tip. “I haven’t even touched my app since you guys left. So I don’t even know what you’re communicating,” he states in the video.
However, @dawngarza’s video counters this claim with a screenshot of a text message, purportedly from Uber Eats. The message reads, “I have reviewed this trip and found that the customer did reduce the tip after delivery.”
Viewers think customers shouldn’t get the opportunity to tip-bait
In the comments section of the video, viewers had a lot to say.
“They shouldn’t allow people to remove tip. If u wanna remove a tip, contact Uber and give them a valid reason why!” one user wrote.
Another driver admitted, “I’m always afraid to say something but it literally happens all the time.”
“I work for Uber and when they do that, I call customer service. They don’t do anything, but I get mad,” another shared.
Tip-baiting has increasingly been reported as an issue by gig workers who feel it’s unfair and exploitative. In a Reddit post on the r/UberEATS subreddit, a delivery driver went as far as to argue that the practice constitutes fraud and is therefore illegal.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @dawngarza via TikTok comment and to Uber Eats via press email.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
