this post was submitted on 07 Dec 2024
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Today I Learned

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[–] spankmonkey@lemmy.world 221 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Openly promoting the fact that they underpay their drivers, for a limited time.

[–] NightCreature@lemmy.world 31 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

Asking honestly, respectfully, and in good faith - is there a downside to doing this? Edit: I mean, is there a downside to rewarding the driver via this promotion.

[–] spankmonkey@lemmy.world 109 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Yes, it undermines the idea that drivers deserve a living wage and is just Amazon dipping their toes into shifting their drivers into something closer to 'ride share' style independent contractors who primarily get their income from tips.

Short term benefit for long term problems.

[–] ricecake@sh.itjust.works 17 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

I mean, 100% the drivers should be being paid more and the entire system is fundamentally broken.

In the here and now though, where I can't do anything to fix anything even if I entirely stop using Amazon forever right this moment, giving someone a random $5 that they wouldn't otherwise have is a good thing.

[–] Zirconium@lemmy.world 9 points 2 weeks ago

Yea if you're going to use a bad service might as well help while you can. It's like going to a restaurant then not tipping because it encourages owners. They don't give a fuck cause they still get your money

[–] spankmonkey@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Short term benefit for long term problems.

[–] ricecake@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

slippery slope fallacy

Clicking a button that gives someone money at no expense to you isn't causing the issue you're worried about, it's at worst symptomatic of the broken system that might lead to your concern.

[–] spankmonkey@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Not all slippery slopes are fallacies.

Ever notice that all the counter service places are leaning into tipping because it became popular with coffee shops?

[–] ricecake@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 weeks ago

Sure. And if Amazon ever asks us to tip delivery people with our own money we shouldn't because that's bullshit.

That being bullshit has no bearing on if it's good to click the button that gives someone $5 at no expense to you out of their employers pocket.

If a counter service place has a button I could press to give them $5 of the stores money, I would press it every time. That's not a tip because it's not my money supplementing the employees wages.

[–] DrSteveBrule@mander.xyz 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Then give the tip in person. Don't let amazon know they can count on their customers to carry the burden of paying their employees

[–] ricecake@sh.itjust.works 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Oh God no, then it's actually me paying the money, which makes it an actual tip.
If Amazon asks if they should pay someone more, the answer is always yes.

[–] DrSteveBrule@mander.xyz 3 points 2 weeks ago

That's fair too. I'll be honest I'm always going to be pessimistic as hell when it comes to anything amazon says and does. If it's their money, make them pay up

[–] tomi000@lemmy.world 0 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Technically youre right, but would you say the same if Putin started handing out band-aids to ukrainians who just lost their families?

[–] ricecake@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

... What? That's such a non-sequitor that I'm honestly not sure if you replied to the wrong thing or something.

I can't say that I would say the same thing in an entirely different situation with nothing to do with the other.

[–] tomi000@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Its a similar situation. You 'cant do anything about anything' and handing out band-aids is 'better than nothing'. Would 'giving someone a band-aid is a good thing' be your stance in that situation or would you find it rather inappropriate?

[–] ricecake@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 week ago

They're not similar situations at all. For one, it's an absurd difference in scale. Whatever your opinions of Amazon delivery driver working conditions and pay, it's in no way comparable to "an invading army murdered their family".

Second, whether or not I should push a button to give someone $5 with no obligation on their part is a different situation from getting a bandaid for a murdered family on the whim of the responsible party.

If you could push a button and a random person somewhere in the world gets $1 million, would you push the button?

[–] queermunist@lemmy.ml -5 points 2 weeks ago

Plenty of untipped jobs are seen as being undeserving of a living wage, though, so I don't follow your logic.

[–] Chozo@fedia.io -1 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

The downside is that it costs Amazon $5.00.

[–] RootBeerGuy@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

You don't even know if this is really giving money to anyone, let alone the driver for your delivery.

[–] ricecake@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 weeks ago

But it doesn't cost you anything. Worst case scenario is the same as not doing it.

[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 7 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

That's only a downside if you're an Amazon executive or shareholder. To a human being, it isn't.

[–] Chozo@fedia.io 14 points 2 weeks ago

I don't know if a scrappy lil startup like Amazon can handle it.

[–] WeUnite@lemm.ee 1 points 1 week ago

Amazon has lots of money and they can easily afford this PR/marketing promotion that they choose to do. Amazon drivers work hard and deserve to be paid fairly for their work. Even though this is just marketing it still results in the drivers getting more money so if you order something from Amazon you might as well do it at every opportunity you get.

[–] Lazhward@lemmy.world 10 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

"Yes, we could be paying our drivers an extra 5 dollars, we just choose not to, lol."

[–] cornshark@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Why would they do it if they can have you do it?

[–] ricecake@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 weeks ago

You're not paying, you're clicking a button to have Amazon give $5 of their money to the driver.
They could have just given a bunch of drivers $5, but then they wouldn't make a bunch of customers think Amazon isn't too bad.

So you should push the button, but also pointedly continue to think badly of Amazon.