Mindemoya Reynolds is new to being a Metro Vancouver delivery driver, but she’s sharing what she’s learning a month into the job.
The 41-year-old Coquitlam resident told Daily Hive that she became an Uber Eats driver because she is currently on disability.
“I have what is referred to as a dynamic disability, so it makes me unable to work a traditional job because I don’t know from one day to the next if I can basically even get out of bed,” she said.
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“So this way I’m able to control … I work when I work and for however long I can work.”
“The hope is that if I can start earning enough money doing this, that I can actually get off disability and contribute one again to my CPP,” she added.
The cost of living is also a major reason she started driving. Reynolds, a mother of one, added that her child is soon turning 18, which will reduce her benefits.
“I’ll have even less money to pay the bills. I spend $150 a month on just my medication, and then I have practitioners I have to go to every month, and that costs [a lot]… So I need Uber Eats to supplement what very little income I receive.”
The low-down on tipping
Reynolds said that so far, the job has gone “smoothly,” and everyone she has encountered has been “nice and pleasant.”
That said, it’s not like the job doesn’t come with challenges.
When it comes to tipping, Reynolds admits that she hasn’t gotten many.
“I don’t receive a lot of tips. So 10 to 15% of my deliveries actually garner tips. I’ve done about 125 delivers so far, and I’ve received 16 tips,” she said.
However, she said she understands why customers might not be tipping.
The Uber Eats app prompts for tips after the order is complete, “so sometimes the tipping option gets buried or goes away before you have the option to actually give a tip,” she said.
Reynolds also said she feels like tipping is seen as an “extra” measure for customers.
“I’m one of those people that, while I very much always tip, I also know that tips are extra and that’s a bonus, and I shouldn’t expect a bonus. When I get this bonus, it’s nice, and I treat it like the gift that it is,” she stated.
A recent poll from Narrative Research provided greater insight into Canadians’ tipping habits, specifically regarding delivery drivers.
Narrative Research
The results found that most (77%) of survey takers said they felt it would be appropriate to be asked to tip for service at a sit-down restaurant.
However, there appeared to be more of a divide on tipping third-party food delivery drivers, as only 47% said it would be appropriate to give them gratuity on an order.
Reviews matter, but so does kindness
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There is one thing Reynolds wishes customers would take the time to do more of, and that’s write reviews, which she explained are very valuable for drivers.
Uber Eats drivers earn points for points for every trip. However, the more positive reviews a driver receives, the more it helps them move to a higher tier to be considered for more deliveries, said Reynolds.
“I’ve earned enough points in order to get to the next level, which would give me more offers, but because I haven’t received enough reviews, I haven’t actually achieved that level,” she said.
“Everything costs more, and the luxury of things, like delivery services, cost way more, and the service fees are wild, and the delivery fees are wild… and I get it… It’s kind of a hard thing to say, ‘Okay, give me more money on top of that,’” noted Reynolds.
“But offering a review costs you nothing, so that is… more beneficial for us in the long run to get those reviews than the tips.”
As Reynolds continues with deliveries to help pay the bills, she also hopes that more customers realize the different circumstances their drivers may be facing.
“I think if people would consider the fact that there are some people who are disabled doing this… so it’s quite a lot of effort for them to make that delivery, but we do it with a smile because it empowers us,” she said.
“The few times when a customer greets you with a smile or … spends a few seconds to treat you like a human being, that’s really cool, and it’s really nice, and it makes you feel connected to the people around you.”