Don’t Complain About Gig Workers, Complain About Their Companies | Eater
"This grocery-delivery platform ballooned during the pandemic but has become associated with frequent fulfillment errors — for example, substituting Miracle Whip for requested low-fat mayonnaise, delivering bruised apples, swapping apples for onions, sending eight bags of potatoes instead of eight individual potatoes, or bringing the wrong ice cream flavor. A viral tweet thread by Evette Dionne joking about banning male shoppers drew attention to gendered complaints about ‘incompetent’ shoppers, but the problems largely stem from the gig-economy structure: shoppers are underpaid, rely on tips, have staged strikes for better pay only to face bonus cuts, and can be penalized or suspended for matters outside their control (such as canceling an alcohol order when a customer is underage). The platform’s rating-driven batching means even a slight dip below a perfect rating can cost access to higher-paying orders — one worker reported falling from a 5.0 to 4.96 and seeing earnings drop from roughly $25/hour to below minimum wage. Customers are typically refunded for mistakes, yet shoppers still absorb rating hits; critics say many customers expect a luxury service while shoppers must accept large volumes of low-paying orders. Suggested responses range from legislative action to classify gig workers as employees to local fixes like donating unintended extras (e.g., extra potatoes) to community fridges or neighbors." - Jaya Saxena
