• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechDoorDash

DoorDash and Amazon Change Their Controversial Tipping Policies

By
Danielle Abril
Danielle Abril
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Danielle Abril
Danielle Abril
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 22, 2019, 5:31 PM ET

DoorDash and Amazon Flex have changed their controversial tipping policies that lumped tips into minimum payments for drivers.

Both companies said their policies now add customers’ tips to drivers’ minimum payments. Also, for the first time ever, DoorDash is allowing customers to tip after their orders have been delivered, giving them the opportunity to reward drivers for good service. 

The news comes after customers criticized both companies for absorbing tips into minimum payments. Customers argued that their tips helped the companies rather than provide bonus money to drivers for a job well done. Both DoorDash and Amazon Flex previously stood by their original policies, even amid the backlash.

“We initially resisted change even in the face of public pressure because we built our model in direct response to feedback from Dashers,” DoorDash CEO Tony Xu said in a release on Thursday. “We thought we were doing the right thing for Dashers by making them whole if a customer left no tip, but the feedback we’ve received recently made clear that some of our customers who were leaving tips felt like their tips didn’t matter.”

DoorDash announced its new policy on Thursday, saying it will gradually roll out across cities and be fully implemented by the end of September. That announcement came one day after Amazon Flex told drivers about its new policy, separating tip from minimum payments, which began Thursday. 

As part of its new policy, DoorDash will contribute $2 to $10-plus, up from $1, as the minimum driver payment per order. The contribution amount will be based on estimated duration of the delivery, distance, and desirability of the order. DoorDash will also provide additional payments during promotional periods, such as peak delivery times. Any customer tip will be added on top of those amounts, and drivers will be able to see a full breakdown of how much money they made from each of the orders. 

Under the new policy, DoorDash expects that drivers will make more money, given that the company is contributing more and customers will have the ability to reward good service post delivery. The company said it has hired a third-party economic research firm to monitor the results and provide feedback. 

DoorDash has been working on a new tipping model for about a month following Xu’s tweet admitting the company “didn’t strike the right balance” in how it paid its drivers.

Meanwhile, Amazon Flex will also start providing drivers who deliver on Prime Now, Amazon Fresh, or Whole Food services a breakdown of how much they’re earning from the company and how much they’re getting tipped. The company said as a part of its new policy, its also promising to pay $15 to $19 per scheduled hour based on location. Previously, the company told drivers they would make $18 to $25 an hour, sometimes using customers’ tips to guarantee the wage.

Amazon also expects drivers to make more money under the new policy.

More must-read stories from Fortune:

—A rare tech company where women dominate
—Walmart CEO: VR training helped save lives in the El Paso shooting
—Can Apple afford to make its streaming video service free?
—How to compete with technology in the age of automation
—Disney’s streaming service won’t be available on the most popular streaming devices
Catch up with Data Sheet, Fortune‘s daily digest on the business of tech.

About the Author
By Danielle Abril
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Big Tech
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative cut 70 jobs as the Meta CEO’s philanthropy goes all in on mission to 'cure or prevent all disease'
By Sydney LakeFebruary 1, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
U.S. Olympic gold medalist went from $200,000-a-year sponsorship at 20 years old to $12-an-hour internship by 30
By Orianna Rosa RoyleFebruary 1, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
'I just don't have a good feeling about this': Top economist Claudia Sahm says the economy quietly shifted and everyone's now looking at the wrong alarm
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 31, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Future of Work
Ford CEO has 5,000 open mechanic jobs with up to 6-figure salaries from the shortage of manually skilled workers: 'We are in trouble in our country'
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJanuary 31, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Ryan Serhant starts work at 4:30 a.m.—he says most people don’t achieve their dreams because ‘what they really want is just to be lazy’
By Preston ForeJanuary 31, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Energy
Top energy expert says probability the U.S. will attack Iran soon is 75% as risk of major disruption to oil supply is priced in — 'this one is real'
By Jason MaFebruary 1, 2026
19 hours ago

Latest in Tech

AIBots
Elon Musk warns a new social network where AI agents talk to each other is the beginning of the ‘singularity’
By Jason MaFebruary 2, 2026
1 hour ago
huang
AINvidia
Pledge to invest $100 billion in OpenAI was ‘never a commitment,’ says Nvidia’s Huang
By Debby Wu, Nick Lichtenberg and BloombergFebruary 2, 2026
1 hour ago
Dario Amodei sits in a white chair in front of a pink background and speaks animatedly.
AIAnthropic
Exclusive: Anthropic announces partnerships with Allen Institute and Howard Hughes Medical Institute as it bets AI can make science more efficient
By Sharon GoldmanFebruary 2, 2026
3 hours ago
NewslettersTerm Sheet
As Silicon Alley turns 30, New York is building its own tech mecca
By Leo SchwartzFebruary 2, 2026
5 hours ago
NewslettersFortune Tech
Start your engines: OpenAI and Anthropic race to IPO
By Alexei OreskovicFebruary 2, 2026
6 hours ago
Startups & Ventureaccounting
Goldman Sachs leads $75 million funding round for Fieldguide, an AI-native accounting and audit platform
By Leo SchwartzFebruary 2, 2026
7 hours ago