DoorDash warns customers who don’t tip that they may face a longer wait for their food orders

DoorDash is informing users of its delivery app that customers who don’t tip may have to wait longer for their food orders. 

Users who enter zero as the tip amount in the DoorDash app now receive a a pop-up warning explaining that it’s up to drivers, dubbed Dashers by the company, what orders they want to deliver. Drivers have discretion on what orders to accept and are more likely to prioritize customers who offer a tip ahead of delivery, DoorDash said. 

“Orders with no tip might take longer to get delivered — are you sure you want to continue? Orders that take longer to be accepted by Dashers tend to result in slower delivery.” the app tells users, according to The Verge.

A DoorDash spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch on Wednesday that “this reminder screen is something that we’re currently testing to help create the best possible experience for all members of our community,” adding that the company plans to analyze customer feedback. 

DoorDash also noted that it has seen a meaningful reduction in $0 tip orders since piloting the reminder screen. Delivery drivers are independent contractors who can “accept or reject offers based on what they view as valuable and rewarding,” the spokesperson said. “While the vast majority of customers do leave a tip, offers that don’t include a tip can be seen as less desirable — this impacts our entire community, leading to longer wait times for customers, orders sitting longer at merchants, and less value for Dashers.” 

The company four years ago faced an flurry of negative feedback over its since abandoned policy of not passing along customer tips to its delivery workers, instead offering Dashers a guaranteed base figure to make a delivery. Most of the time, tips paid through the DoorDash app would help supplement the company’s contributions toward the set amounts, rather that boosting workers’ pay.

“We thought we were doing the right thing by making Dashers whole when a customer left no tip,” Tony Xu, the company’s CEO, wrote on social media at the time. “What we missed was that some customers who did tip would feel like their tip didn’t matter.”