When it comes to employment, there are always options available but not everybody chooses the same option. Some people want to work a 9-to-5 job and other people, including Smithson Michael, enjoy the freedom that comes with working for Uber Eats.
Many people have turned to gig work, such as delivering food, in order to get by. There has also been a lot of concern in recent months over the amount of pay those workers are getting for what they do.
This includes what Smithson dealt with, and he decided to post something on TikTok. He had been working for over an hour to get some food delivered and then learned that he was only getting a tip of $1.19.
Smithson posted a video and it went viral. You can see him crying in the video and talking about how people should know how important it is for the drivers to get tips, as they don’t make much from the delivery company directly.
In the video, he said: “I wish people knew what it was like to deliver for Uber Eats. Postmates, DoorDash, all these companies,” before recounting a situation he was in where he was driving around for an hour to make a delivery, but only received a $1.19 tip from the customer.
“I mean, would it hurt y’all to tip us, throw us five dollars? I got a $1.19 tip and two dollars from the app… That’s not even enough to cover gas. How am I supposed to survive like that?”
He went on to talk about how he was struggling financially and said that he wished people knew what it was like. He wished they understood what it was like to drive for the services.
What many people don’t know about this type of work is that the driver can choose the deliveries they want to make. Some are under the impression that they have to take the low priced work, but that isn’t always the case.
Many people who commented on the video appreciated him and said that people should tip more. Others, however, felt that asking for a big tip was unreasonable after they paid for the food and delivery fee.
Some even went so far as to suggest that he get a real job, but he shared another video saying how people rely on delivery drivers and it was necessary for some people to have those jobs that could fit around their lives.
As the video continued to grow, he started advocating for others in the food industry say that he was the “voice of the food service industry workers”. It will be interesting to see where this one goes next.
