Delivery drivers trade tip-talk as claims swirl

delivery drivers – More customers and delivery workers are openly questioning whether tips placed through app checkouts actually reach the driver—after major settlements over gig tipping practices drew attention. Walmart has said it will pay $16 million to settle Federal Trade C

For the third time on a recent delivery run, the same question started to travel with the food.

A Virginia Spark driver placed an order earlier this month through Walmart Spark and included a $20 tip. When the order arrived, he asked the delivery worker whether the tip had gone through. The driver showed him his Spark app, which indicated the tip was about $10. “I was just like, ‘Wow, what do we do with this information?” he said.

In the past year. that kind of conversation has become more common. according to four delivery drivers—three who work for Spark and one who works for DoorDash—who told Business Insider that customers are increasingly asking whether the tip they entered at checkout actually reaches the worker delivering the order.

The pressure is hitting as the biggest platforms have already faced legal fights over how tipping works. Both Spark and DoorDash have settled claims over their tipping practices.

Walmart, through Walmart Spark, agreed this year to pay $16 million to settle claims from the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC alleged that Walmart misled its Spark workers “by falsely claiming that 100% of customer tips would actually go to drivers.” Walmart has sent adjustment payments to drivers over the last several months. with the latest tranche going out over the past week. Some drivers, according to screenshots seen by Business Insider, have received several hundred dollars at once.

A Walmart spokesperson said. “Drivers retain 100% of customer-confirmed tips in addition to the base pay for the trip.” The spokesperson added that workers who think a tip has gone missing can contact Spark for support. The spokesperson also said, “We continue to improve the platform and identify and remedy any issues found.”.

DoorDash, for its part, says its system is built to deliver tips in full. A DoorDash spokesperson said DoorDash’s delivery workers “keep 100% of tips given to them by customers in the DoorDash app. Period.” The spokesperson added that DoorDash “will immediately investigate” instances where customers or delivery workers believe there was an error.

Even with that line in place, drivers describe the reality on the ground: customers keep asking, and the answers are not always satisfying.

In Tennessee, one Spark driver said customers often ask directly about whether app-entered gratuities go to the delivery worker. “They’ll usually ask me something like, ‘Now, I tipped on the app, but does that all go to you?’” a driver said.

In New Hampshire, a DoorDash driver said he encourages customers to tip in cash when he delivers. The driver described it as a way to reduce awkward questions and as a chance to let the tip reflect how the delivery went. “No other business gets a tip first before service,” he said.

Some drivers say the cash switch is already happening.

In South Carolina, a Spark driver said some customers have tipped him in cash when he drops off their order. On one recent delivery, the driver said a customer handed him a $5 bill and told him she had read about Walmart’s settlement with the FTC.

Underneath the small talk is a bigger tension about income for gig workers. Tips are a key source of income for gig workers, with gratuities making up most of the earnings for many food delivery workers.

So as customers begin demanding proof—sometimes through the driver’s own app—platform promises and legal settlements land in real time, in real rooms, at the moment someone hands over a bag of groceries and asks where the money went.

DoorDash Spark Walmart Spark tipping gig workers Federal Trade Commission settlement gig economy delivery drivers app tips