Walmart Keeps The Change
You thought your tips were going to drivers who dutifully delivered your order. Guess again.
This Week In Blunders – Feb. 22-28
“No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
The main reason tipping exists is because companies underpay their employees. They want you to make up the difference with a big, fat gratuity.
It used to be a gratuity, anyway. Now big companies make it seem like a moral imperative. Smartphone apps nudge you toward 20%, 22%, 25% tips. They do this even when you’re ordering at the counter or the drive-through window.
You’re not just buying a sandwich. You’re subsidizing payroll.
What none of us really know is whether those tips are going to the people who served us, or disappearing into a corporate accounting system.
On Thursday, Walmart agreed to a $100 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission for allegedly deceiving its customers and delivery drivers in several sneaky ways.
Among the FTC’s allegations:
“Walmart tells its Customers that 100% of the tips will go to Drivers. However, in numerous instances, Walmart charges Customers for tips that Drivers do not receive.”
Eleven states joined the FTC in filing the complaint: Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin.
