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Struggling Uber Eats Driver Asks Customers To Leave Tips

This past year, home delivery drivers have turned into essential key workers, keeping countries running in the face of the global pandemic. However, many customers still don’t realize how draining, depressing, and under-paying this job sometimes is, especially during the current COVID-19 crisis.

Recently, a man named Riley Elliot made a TikTok video in which he expressed the struggles of working as a delivery driver and asked customers to always leave tips for delivery people.

More info: TikTok

@livefreestudiosTIP YOUR DELIVERY FOLKS! #ubereatsdriver #notips #pandemic #homeless #helpme #fyp #deliverydriver #delivery ♬ original sound – Riley Elliot

After a frustrating day at work, Elliot went on TikTok to express his emotions and shed some light on the struggles delivery drivers go through every day. “Y’all, I wish people who order Uber Eats or DoorDash understood what it’s like to be a driver,” Elliot says in the video. “I just spent 45 minutes on a delivery, and had to pay $3 for parking to bring this person their food because there was no free parking. And they refuse to come out and meet me.”

However, a lot of people still fail to realize how big of a toll this job can take on people, especially during the pandemic

Struggling Uber Eats Driver Asks Customers To Leave Tips

Image credits: livefreestudios

Recently, TikTok user Riley Elliot posted a video in which he expressed his struggles of working as a delivery driver

Struggling Uber Eats Driver Asks Customers To Leave Tips

Image credits: livefreestudios

“They tipped me $1.50 and Uber paid me $2.50,” says the guy while you can see tears forming in his eyes. “I gotta prove 3 times the rent for income in 2 weeks, and I can’t. And it doesn’t matter that I’m working multiple jobs, it doesn’t matter that I rarely sleep and can barely afford to feed myself.”

Struggling Uber Eats Driver Asks Customers To Leave Tips

Image credits: livefreestudios

“I’m about to be homeless for the third time since May, and it’s all because people don’t tip their delivery drivers. Like, how hard is it to throw us 5 bucks?” Elliot adds.

Without Elliot expecting, his video quickly gained a lot of attention, and it currently has over 400k likes on TikTok.

In the video, Elliot encourages people to always tip their delivery drivers who are risking their lives during the pandemic

Struggling Uber Eats Driver Asks Customers To Leave Tips

Image credits: livefreestudios

Along with the comments and likes, the guy also started receiving quite a few donations to his Venmo account that was listed in his TikTok profile bio.

“I have been just totally blown away,” Elliot told when talking to TODAY. “None of it was expected. I didn’t post the video expecting people to reach out or expecting money or handouts or anything.” The amount of money Elliot’s received is around $55,000.

After making the video, Elliot started receiving donations from various people who ended up raising him around $55,000

Struggling Uber Eats Driver Asks Customers To Leave Tips

Image credits: livefreestudios

The amount of money the video helped him raise allowed Elliot to start looking for permanent housing instead of searching for an apartment to rent. In addition, the guy decided to use the rest of the money to help other people in need.

“Once we reached the point where we were like, ‘OK, now we’ll definitely be able to get into a place, we don’t need all of this,’ I started literally just giving money away,” Elliot told TODAY. “We sent money to folks in Texas whose pipes had burst, we sent money to folks who needed medication, sent money to friends who were struggling. We spent about $15,000 that first day, just helping people out with their situations.”

Struggling Uber Eats Driver Asks Customers To Leave Tips

Image credits: livefreestudios

“Right away, my initial response was, ‘Oh my god, we can help other people,'” Elliot said when talking to TODAY. “It’s honestly been kind of a dream come true. … Financially, everybody’s struggling right now.”

After the video blew up, Elliot made another one in which he took back a few things he said in the previous one by pointing out that the companies who don’t pay enough are the true problem here

@livefreestudiosDelivery apps won’t pay their drivers more until you make them #ubereatsdriver #raiseminimumwage #tipyourdriver #tiktokchangedmylife #fyp #grateful ♬ original sound – Riley Elliot

After Elliot’s video blew up and he received quite a few comments pointing that it’s not people who don’t tip, but companies that are responsible for the struggles of delivery drivers, the guy made another video to clear things up a bit. “I just wanna take back one thing I said in my video that blew up,” Elliot says in the second video. “It’s not entirely the fault of people who don’t tip. It is absolutely the fault of these companies like DoorDash and Uber Eats who don’t pay their drivers very much.”

Here’s how people reacted to the viral video

Struggling Uber Eats Driver Asks Customers To Leave Tips

24Kviews

Julija Svidraitė is an editor here at Bored Panda who has a bachelor's degree in Psychology. Before starting her journey at BP, she had worked as a social media specialist at a marketing agency. She has also tried herself in a few different fields working as an intern: from practicing graphic design at a social media marketing agency, to being an assistant at a psychiatric hospital. Besides writing, Julija is also very passionate about illustrating, drinking coffee, and watching crime documentaries. You can find her in Bored Panda Office or reach her at julija.s@boredpanda.com.

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What do you think ?

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TheReader19 3 years ago

I feel really bad and I know I'm about to be really, really down voted. I'm from the UK and tipping is not our custom. If I go somewhere and the service is good then I'll give a tip to show my appreciation. I really don't believe I should pay for a meal and then pay a service charge and then make up the wages of the person serving the food. There who be a minimum wage for all. Believe me a lot of us live close to the poverty line on a day to day basis and tipping everybody for everything shouldn't be a thing. Americans should campaign for a basic minimum wage for serving staff

51points

BluEyedSeoulite 3 years ago

American here and you are 100% correct. The sad thing is that people have been fighting for a livable minimum wage for years. People need to start paying attention to who they are voting for and their values rather than the R or D by the name!

2points

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Vanja Timmers 3 years ago

Also in my country, delivery services are sort of excused from paying for parking while making a delivery as long as their vehicle is not blocking anything.

0points

Ivy Ruonakoski 3 years ago

I'd say applies to most of Europe. Tipping isn't the custom even in restaurants in my country. America is stupid.

0points

Mewton’s Third Paw 3 years ago

People in America love your shïtty perspective because they don’t care and want an excuse for their wage theft behaviors. They upvoted you to the top. If a single one of them cared they would tip. Minimum wage is lower than tipping wage.

-2points

Stille20 3 years ago

Yes people should tip, especially when they are too afraid to go out. HOWEVER, Uber Eats and services like that are taking advantage of these people. I feel like America is making it though the pandemic on the minimum wage people that congress looks down on and refuses to help.

30points

Pezor Zass 3 years ago

'twas ever thus, unfortunately. UBI, living wage legislation, properly taxing the wealthy and businesses, closing loopholes that allow companies like uber to treat their employees as contractors instead of paid labour so that drivers are competing against eachother instead of working together...there's a lot that needs to be done. I really feel for this guy and i always tip when i can, but the whole system is awful

7points

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Paul Budhram 3 years ago

Biden is planning on raising the minimum wage up to $15.00 by 2025... but that's still not enough.

1point

Car addict 3 years ago

its not just uber, lots of other companies too. even restaurants are under paying, so you cant make one company look bad when the rest of the country is doing it too

1point

Joseph Ward 3 years ago

How are they taking advantage? No one is forcing them to work there? They offer more flexibility in exchange for lower pay. Just because some workers think that they are entitled to flexible work and higher pay does not make it right

-2points

Mario Gonzalez 3 years ago

You feel like America is making it through the pandemic on the backs of minimum wage workers, but fortunately what you feel is not the way things are. I make more than minimum wage as an essential healthcare worker. We are the ones who are helping this country get through the Pandemic. Grocery store workers generally make more than minimum wage. Mechanics, Public Transportation workers, police, fire fighters, these are all the people who shouldering the load here. Stop your pandering. It isn't helping.

-3points

Robigus 3 years ago

Why do workers in the US service sector have to rely on tips to make up their wages? Just pay them a decent wage like we do in the rest of the world. A tip should be a genuine reward for doing things over and above your basic job requirements, not a subsidy so that your employer can under pay you.

25points

blatherskitenoir 2 years ago

It's a bit of a false dichotomy. People love their tipped positions and don't want them going away. Otherwise, they'd have to spend many, many more hours working. You can either get a retail job, and slave 30 hours a week to make $300....or you can go be wait staff and have the chance to earn that in a night. But, it's volatile. The same randomness that means you might get $500 one night, also means you might get $50 the next. The problem that is arising is that they want the good nights guaranteed, and to never, ever have a bad one. Which is not what anyone signed up for. It's a sales job. You cannot guarantee sales. So current and former tipped employees do stuff like apply social pressure, call people Karens, try to tip creep up from 15% by saying 20 and now even 25% is the new normal, justify why poor service still requires a sky high tip, and say how woe are we, we make nothing, in order to tip tipping more and more in their favor. But they're going to hit a wall at sometime.

0points

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Dana Dara 3 years ago

I waitressed in high school and made $150-300 per night plus my paycheck. 5 nights a week made a great living!

0points

Mario Gonzalez 3 years ago

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TheReader19 3 years ago

51points

BluEyedSeoulite 3 years ago

2points

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Vanja Timmers 3 years ago

Also in my country, delivery services are sort of excused from paying for parking while making a delivery as long as their vehicle is not blocking anything.

0points

Ivy Ruonakoski 3 years ago

I'd say applies to most of Europe. Tipping isn't the custom even in restaurants in my country. America is stupid.

0points

Mewton’s Third Paw 3 years ago

-2points

Stille20 3 years ago

30points

Pezor Zass 3 years ago

7points

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Paul Budhram 3 years ago

Biden is planning on raising the minimum wage up to $15.00 by 2025... but that's still not enough.

1point

Car addict 3 years ago

its not just uber, lots of other companies too. even restaurants are under paying, so you cant make one company look bad when the rest of the country is doing it too

1point