Uber Eats Driver Explains Why Customers Should Always Give Tips To Delivery Workers

• Delivery driver Riley Elliot went viral on TikTok after sharing his frustrations in a short video.
• He reminded customers that a little tip can go a long way for poor delivery workers who are risking their lives everyday during the pandemic.
• His post later reached media outlets and some netizens even helped raise money for him.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, delivery drivers are now considered as essential workers in many countries. They risk their lives everyday to get foods and goods delivered right at their customers’ doorsteps. However, the sad reality is this: many of these drivers remain largely underpaid.

In a TikTok video, driver Riley Elliot shared about the hardships that come with being a delivery driver. It’s never easy, he said, especially when customers aren’t generous enough to give tips.

With tears in his eyes, Riley said in the video:

“Y’all, I wish people who order Uber Eats or DoorDash understood what it’s like to be a driver. I just spent 45 minutes on a delivery, and had to pay $3 for parking to bring this person their food because there was no free parking. And they refuse to come out and meet me.”

He also added:

“I gotta prove 3 times the rent for income in 2 weeks, and I can’t. And it doesn’t matter that I’m working multiple jobs, it doesn’t matter that I rarely sleep and can barely afford to feed myself.

“I’m about to be homeless for the third time since May, and it’s all because people don’t tip their delivery drivers. Like, how hard is it to throw us 5 bucks?”

You can watch the video here:

Much to Riley’s surprise, his video went viral on the video-sharing platform and attracted a lot of reaction from netizens.

He later made a follow-up video where he clarified:

“I just wanna take back one thing I said in my video that blew up.

“It’s not entirely the fault of people who don’t tip. It is absolutely the fault of these companies like DoorDash and Uber Eats who don’t pay their drivers very much.”

Various media sources also picked up the story. Plus donations started pouring in and he received around $55,000 from concerned individuals who raised some cash for him.

Riley eventually said in an interview:

“I have been just totally blown away. None of it was expected. I didn’t post the video expecting people to reach out or expecting money or handouts or anything.”

As a result of the overwhelming response, Riley likewise took it upon himself to help others in need.

“I started literally just giving money away,” he declared. “We sent money to folks in Texas whose pipes had burst, we sent money to folks who needed medication, sent money to friends who were struggling. We spent about $15,000 that first day, just helping people out with their situations.”