‘I mean would it hurt y’all to tip us, throw us five dollars?’
An Uber Eats driver has made an emotional plea to people to tip more after receiving just $1.19 (84p) in tips from an hour’s driving.
In the heartbreaking video shared on TikTok, Smithson Michael explains his experience of working for food delivery companies, saying that he is almost homeless because of the poor pay and lack of tips.
Sitting in his car and clearly very emotional, Michael wipes away a tear as he says: “I wish people knew what it was like to deliver Uber Eats, Postmates, DoorDash, all these companies.
“I just spent an hour driving around for $1.19 tip. I mean would it hurt y’all to tip us, throw us five dollars?
“I got a $1.19 tip and $2 from the app. What’s that? That’s not even enough to cover gas.
“How am I supposed to live like that?
“Homeless? I’m there. This and I’m sitting here and it’s gone, four months behind. There’s no way I could pay for that.”
He continues: “Everything fell apart on me and I haven’t been able to sustain myself, provide for myself and these are essential services.
“I just wish people knew what it was like. I wish they understood what it was like to drive for these services.”
@itssmithsonmichael #helpme #ubereatsdriver #traction #positiveforce ♬ original sound – Smithson Michael
The clip has racked up more than one million times, with 209,000 likes and 12,000 comments.
Many people sympathised, with one replying: “I scream at people who order food through DoorDash and such DAILY but do not tip!! It is super weird and insulting.”
Another wrote: “I always tip if I can and if I can’t then I don’t order.”
“OMG I’m so sorry,” said someone else.
A fourth posted: “I’m so sorry love. It’s the system though… it’s not the customers’ fault.”
Others encouraged him to find a better paying job and blame the corporations instead of the customers.
The delivery driver later added that either way he thought the whole situation was “wrong” but hoped his video would help “raise awareness”.
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