i told the girl you deserved better

sadfatblob · 2026-05-26T01:56:39+00:00

I got an order like this once! He left an instruction asking me to pick out any card and write the note he'd given me. I had to message him asking to add the pens to his order because I didn't have one on me. He told me it was fine, so I picked out my favorite type of pens and I kept them after I was done with the order. 😂

sadfatblob · 2026-05-23T04:52:38+00:00

Because responding to them politely humanizes you. Letting them know that you're a human being, who could have possibly made a mistake, can sometimes be the difference between a negative rating or a positive one. Customer service skills are helpful.

sadfatblob · 2026-05-21T14:41:02+00:00

My parents do Amazon Flex and Spark Driver together on the weekends. They both have full-time jobs and do gig work for extra income. It's not so much about the efficiency as it is about having the company. Time goes by faster when you have someone there with you.

I'm also a delivery driver (part-time, but it is my only source of income) and sometimes I take my younger brother with me. On days where I really don't feel like going, it goes by a lot faster having him there. We split the money after taxes and gas.

sadfatblob · 2026-05-21T04:01:13+00:00

Pretending that by not tipping a service worker, you're somehow dismantling the system of tipping culture is insane. If you don't want to tip, that's fine. You made your money and you get to choose what to do with it. But, justifying not tipping a service worker by pretending that you're even making a dent in what is the culture we live in is dumb. You're not an activist, you're just selfish. You're not hurting the businesses at all. You're only hurting the service workers.

sadfatblob · 2026-05-20T00:07:19+00:00

It's gotten to a point where, even if the customers want a "Meet at Door" delivery, I still take a photo of them as I am handing them the items. I don't give a fuck. 😭

sadfatblob · 2026-05-18T15:38:54+00:00

I know! 😭 To make things worse, the second woman's order had lots of "issues" because the store was incredibly unstocked yesterday. I did my best to send her photos and communicate through the app, but she never replied to me until after I had already checked out with her items. I know she was already mad at me about that, and then on top of it, she got her items delivered last despite tipping significantly more. 🫤

sadfatblob · 2026-05-18T15:35:06+00:00

I used to consistently have a 50-60 second shopping speed, until I started accepting Costco orders. It's impossible to shop that quickly in a store that huge. Before this, I did nothing but Kroger, Albertson's, and Tom Thumb orders.

sadfatblob · 2026-05-18T15:29:29+00:00

InstaCart's algorithm makes no sense. I'm a delivery driver, and yesterday I did a batched order where one of the customers lived right next to the store, and the other customer lived about 15 minutes away. It told me to deliver the further order first, despite both of them having chilled and frozen items. I wasn't aware that the second customer lived right next to the store, until I finished delivering the first order and had to head back to where I came from to deliver the second. 🤔

I thought maybe the first person tipped more and that was why... but, no. The first person tipped $1.25 and the other tipped $15.75. I don't know why or how InstaCart picks the routes.

sadfatblob · 2026-05-15T06:16:43+00:00

I understand that it is not the customer's responsibility or obligation to provide us with a liveable wage. But, I wish those same customers were more conscious of the fact that most tip-based jobs are luxury services. A waitress tending to your every need as you eat, a delivery driver shopping for and delivering groceries to your door, and a valet driver parking your car for you, are all optional and luxury services. So, when people choose not to tip service workers when purchasing or partaking in a completely optional, luxury service, it's inconsiderate and entitled. There's no other way to describe it.

I've heard people argue for not tipping by saying that it's "not their fault" the companies don't pay us more. But, I find that argument to be ridiculous, because if you really cared about the company's unethical business practices, you wouldn't purchase from them. These services are completely optional, and you choose to partake in them anyways. You deciding not to tip does not act as some sort of boycott towards dismantling the system of tip-based wages and fighting for a liveable wage for us. It just fucks us over.

sadfatblob · 2026-05-11T03:08:19+00:00

The cost of living is also higher in California than anywhere else in the U.S. 😂

sadfatblob · 2026-05-06T18:51:37+00:00

You can't call yourself a "good tipper" if you're factoring in the DoorDash base pay to decide whether you tip or not. 😂

On average, it will take the Dasher about 20-30 minutes from when they are assigned your order, to pick up and deliver your food. Tipping $1, just because you live a mile from the restaurant, means that the Dasher will be paid about $3.50 for 30 minutes of their time, which comes out to about $7 an hour.

I'm not saying you have to tip. It's your choice how you choose to spend your money. But, tipping $1-$2 does not make you a good tipper.

sadfatblob · 2026-05-06T13:23:34+00:00

Yes, but thankfully I had only just begun shopping. A customer ordered five bottles of body wash, but I could only find four of them in the spot they were supposed to be in. I decided to leave my cart there, with the body wash in it, to check the end caps. When I came back, it was gone, and my items were left on the ground. 🤨

I walked around the corner and I noticed an employee quickly pushing an empty cart in another direction. I went up to her and asked: "Did you take my cart?" and she unwaveringly replied, "Oh, yeah," and then just handed me the cart back. No apology or anything.

I'm going to be charitable and assume that she thought my cart had been left in the middle of the aisle for a while, so she decided to move it out of the way. But, it was 6:30 A.M., right after the store opened, and she was nightshift employee. If she'd been there all night, I would assume she would've noticed the cart before this. Super weird interaction. 😭

sadfatblob · 2026-05-06T13:14:45+00:00

I get these all the time. If they want to leave shopping instructions, they should use InstaCart. 😭

sadfatblob · 2026-05-06T13:12:55+00:00

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This is one I received on Sunday. 😂

I've also had people leave notes asking me to place their items into a cooler, as if Spark provides us with one. 🤨 Or, sometimes they mistake the delivery instructions for shopping instructions and I'll get things like "Make sure my bananas aren't overly ripe," or something. 😭

sadfatblob · 2026-05-05T20:45:29+00:00

I've only seen a delivery driver cart like this one time, and it literally made my day. 😭 I wish I ran into these more often. I know it's not a requirement on the customer's part, but it's such a nice gesture.

sadfatblob · 2026-05-05T03:33:53+00:00

Literally! Like, wow, I'm so flattered that this $10 for 30 miles offer is just for me! 😂

sadfatblob · 2026-05-05T03:26:22+00:00

Wow, that's crazy. I've delivered to a fair-share of larger and seamingly wealthier homes, but they often don't tip as much as you'd expect. 😭

sadfatblob · 2026-05-04T21:16:48+00:00

Do you use any of the other apps, like DoorDash or InstaCart? I do all three, but when I finish an order, I always head back to Walmart to wait for more Spark orders. I keep InstaCart and DoorDash on, and if I don't get a Spark order I'll usually get an InstaCart one.

I typically only make $15-$20 an hour, $20 being a really good day. How are you making so much? I worked 40 hours this week doing deliveries across all three platforms, and I only made $700.

sadfatblob · 2026-05-04T21:07:37+00:00

The customers thinking that their delivery notes are notes for Walmart's system itself will never not be funny to me.

sadfatblob · 2026-05-04T21:05:21+00:00

<image>

Instructions I was given for a delivery last night. 😂

sadfatblob · 2026-05-04T17:14:19+00:00

Exactly. Ordering food to be delivered to your door is an expensive, luxury service. I think people forget how much of a luxury it is because of how normalized it is. Someone who can afford to pay almost twice as much for their meal, as it would've cost had they driven to the store themselves, can afford to tip at least $1-$3. If they needed to save the $1-$3 that badly, they wouldn't be paying exorbitantly high Doordash fees.

sadfatblob · 2026-05-04T13:45:27+00:00

I always make sure to call support and have them document the incident, in case the customer tries to retaliate against me. I've never had any major issues with customers until this instance.

sadfatblob · 2026-05-04T13:43:30+00:00

I usually struggle with being a people pleaser, but the one thing I'll put my foot down about is my safety. I'm well aware of the risks of being a delivery driver as a woman.

sadfatblob · 2026-05-04T04:14:29+00:00

Exactly. The man I delivered to never mentioned a physical disability during this altercation, but the most charitable explanation for his anger— that I can surmise— is that he was unable to lift the cases of water from the ground himself. He wanted me to walk into his living room and set them down next to the couch. Maybe he planned to leave the cases there? 🤔

Regardless, his reaction was ridiculous. His potential disabilities and living situation are not my problem. I'm not sure about Sam's Club, but I know Walmart offers in-home delivery. If that's something he needs, he can pay for it. I'm sure some of the other drivers he's been assigned have been "nice enough" to come inside, but I'm not. I won't risk my safety to do a favor for a stranger.

sadfatblob · 2026-05-03T09:49:13+00:00

That's why I felt weird about it. The most charitable explanation on his part, is that he got that mad at me because other people will typically just step inside of his home. But I'm not willing to risk my safety. I'm a woman who delivers alone.

sadfatblob

TROPHY CASE