A delivery driver who chronicles her various experiences on TikTok shared concerns about Walmart Spark on the platform, contending that customers getting orders through the service will be left dissatisfied.
The videos in question are from creator @troublewiththetippetts, a self-described “mama of 3, side hustling every day.” The Daily Dot previously wrote about her criticisms of DoorDash, but as she noted in one of her videos on the service, “My full opinion on it, it’s crap. If you thought DoorDash was crap, Spark is absolute garbage.”
According to Walmart’s website, “On the Spark Driver app, you can shop or deliver for customers of Walmart and other businesses. All you need to get started is a car and a smartphone.” The site cheerfully notes, “The Spark Driver app can help you earn how you want, when you want.”
And yet, the creator showed in several videos on her site this might not be the case.
In a 3-minute video breaking down a day on the app, she asserts, “I can finally do a chunk of time” to devote to driving for Spark, and notes, “I signed into Walmart Spark at 8:20” before getting to the store at 8:40.
“In the 30 minutes after that, I missed three orders by staring at my phone. At 9:15, an order came through and I accepted it because I was terrified I was gonna lose it.”
“This is what it looks like,” she says, providing a screengrab. “I have to wait till 9:45 to pick it up.” She got two orders delivered by 10:15am, got back to Walmart at 10:30am, and didn’t get another order until 11:15am, allegedly ready by 11:45am, but not actually ready until just after noon.
@troublewiththetippetts #walmartspark #deliverydriver #sidehustle #spark ♬ original sound – Tippett
She determined that for four hours of work, after figuring in her gas costs, she made $7.17 an hour.
In a shorter video, which she says she didn’t intend to be a Part 2 video but acknowledges it became just that, she notes that “I got the order around 9:30am. And I accepted it, and the first order was due at 9:10am and the second one was due at 9:20am. So I’m guessing I’m probably not going to get tips on these orders because they’re going to be over an hour late.”
@troublewiththetippetts #walmartspark #sparkdriver #sidehustle #sidegig #momsidegig ♬ original sound – Tippett
She also noted that there were 10 spots for Spark drivers at her Walmart and all of the spots were taken —she got the very last spot.
Commenters weighed in with their own opinions about Spark.
“So glad someone is finally honest about Spark,” one person said. “I do Flex,” referring to the Amazon delivery service. “Wayyyy more money to be made!!”
“I do not take any orders w/o tips,” one Spark driver advised. “Nothing under $25, nothing over eight miles. I work three Walmarts , one always better than other two.”
One, addressing the creator wondering if she needed a second phone to make Spark work better for her, said: “My wife makes about $700 a week doing Spark and she works five days running one phone. You just gotta know how to do it, I guess.”
“I loved doing Spark when I had my car,” said a commenter on her shorter video. “I was picky with my orders and still got $200 a day or almost!”
But some noted flaws with Spark and shared them. “So many glitches on the app as well that they hold against you on metrics,” one observed. “It can be tough and not even your fault.”
“I did Spark last year, and it messed my taxes up so bad,” another counseled. “Just be prepared for a big hit on taxes due to self-employment tax, [and] keep up with mileage.”
The Daily Dot reached out to the creator via TikTok comment and to Walmart via website form.
