Just when you think leftist politicians and administrations can't surprise you anymore with the depth of their dumb ideas, they load up with a rock in their tiny fists and let fly with another idea, one so stupid that you just can't help but ask yourself, "This has to be a joke, right? Right?"
Well, this one isn't a joke. The city of New York, as of last year, has mandated - mandated, a revision to food-delivery apps like DoorDash to add a widget to pester the user to tip, even before the order is completed, and the municipal administration of the communist Mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, has promised to enforce this law vigorously.
Did I mention this was mandatory?
Last year, the New York City Council passed several laws requiring delivery apps like DoorDash and Instacart to prompt users for a tip, and to make the prompts extra visible by making them appear before the completion of the order. Under new Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) is pledging to enforce these laws aggressively.
The tipping-prompt mandates are a well-intentioned effort to help gig workers. But they build on prior misguided policies pushed by New York politicians. These latest rules will increase consumers’ tipping fatigue and likely raise food-delivery costs.
There's no "likely" to it. This will increase tipping fatigue and will raise food-delivery costs. Like so many (most) stupid leftist ideas, this will only hurt the people it purports to help. This has to be the dumbest idea since one gazillion B.C. when Grug and Oog decided to use pointed sticks to hunt cave lions.
Here's the onion:
In 2023, the city council created a minimum wage for app-based restaurant delivery drivers. Unsurprisingly, that decision raised the cost of food delivery in New York City. Many companies responded by moving tipping prompts so that they appeared after a delivery order was completed, rather than before. That change was meant to reduce the price shock customers experienced when placing an order.
The city council responded to this shift with new ordinances. These required that app-based delivery companies display a suggested tip amount of 10 percent by default and position the tipping prompt before or at the time the order is placed, rather than afterward. Both measures are meant to increase tips.
Gig companies—including DoorDash, Uber, and Instacart—filed numerous lawsuits to block enforcement of these laws. In January, two federal judges rejected their bids, and the laws went into effect on January 26.
Prediction: DoorDash, Uber, and Instacart will be pulling out of New York City.
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Look, tipping should be a personal decision, and should be a reward for good service. When I'm dining in a full-service establishment, I will happily leave a generous tip when I receive good service. But this whole thing is getting out of hand. Now, self-serve establishments have tip jars out, and if you use a card to pay, there's that prompt. Now, New York seems to have taken the next step towards Crazy-Town by mandating this on delivery apps. Is leaving no tip even an option? Can a user enter "0.00" in the tip line? Is a certain percentage entered by default, making you have to carefully examine your tab and make changes accordingly?
Also, what happens when you leave a tip in the ordering process, and your food gets to you cold, or the delivery person is surly and rude?
New York, once one of the world's great cities, seems determined to slide into dystopia - and this time, it's just the tip.
Editor’s Note: New York City is now facing the consequences of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s socialist takeover.
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