Amazon
Now, Amazon customers who have packages delivered can ask their Alexa devices to tip drivers by saying, "Alexa, thank my driver." As part of the program, Amazon will cover the $5 tip for the first million drivers thanked by customers. The drivers will also receive a thank you note.
Although this is a kind gesture from Amazon (since Amazon will be tipping the drivers), there is still a high amount of controversy surrounding this added feature. Shortly after the feature was introduced, Washington, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine announced that a lawsuit was being filed against Amazon for allegedly stealing tips from its drivers.
"Workers in the District of Columbia and throughout our country are too often taken advantage of and not paid their hard-earned wages," Racine said in a statement. "What's more, consumers need to know where their tips are going. This suit is about providing workers the tips they are owed and telling consumers the truth. Amazon, one of the world's wealthiest companies, certainly does not need to take tips that belong to workers. Amazon can and should do better."
Amazon, however, insists that it has done nothing wrong or unethical. "Nothing is more important to us than customer trust," Amazon spokesperson Maria Boschetti told Bloomberg. "This lawsuit involves a practice we changed three years ago and is without merit. All of the customer tips at issue were already paid to drivers as part of a settlement last year with the FTC."
This new feature that has been introduced by Amazon is part of a promotion to celebrate its achievement of 15 billion delivered packages. Whomever receives the most thank you notes will receive a $10,000 bonus and an additional $10,000 given to a charity that they pick.
"For drivers, it's more than just the packages that they deliver - they form relationships with customers, provide support to the community in tough moments, and sometimes play the role of the unexpected hero," Beryl Tomay, vice president of Last Mile Delivery at Amazon, wrote in a statement.
- https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/transportation/alexa-thank-my-driver-feature
- https://techcrunch.com/2022/12/07/amazon-will-give-your-overworked-delivery-driver-5-if-you-ask-alexa-to-say-thank-you/
- https://www.freightwaves.com/news/amazon-facing-suit-over-use-of-driver-tips-launches-driver-tipping-feature
- https://www.cnet.com/tech/alexa-thank-my-driver-make-amazon-pay-your-delivery-driver-an-extra-5-dollar-tip/
- https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/08/how-to-thank-your-amazon-delivery-driver.html