I’m physically disabled and have issue shopping due to bone tumors all over my bones (poly ostotic fibrous dysplasia with mccune albright syndrome). It hurts to live, walk, lift, exist, etc.

I’m also on what is essentially a keto diet to help keep my diabetes in the “pre-diabetes” state.

I use Instacart to help me survive and eat. It helps me not burden others and helps my independence.

Groceries are becoming more and more expensive. This is particularly true if you’re on a special diet like me.

Delivering five or so bags of groceries or a few larger (but essential) items can be like $150-200 on Instacart per trip. Then, when I check out, Instacart recommends tipping $40+?

That seems insane to me. Like $20 for that amount seems about right? Maybe throw in an extra $10 if I have some heavy things or items that are large in volume.

Should I be tipping $40+ dollars?

  • folkrav
    1·
    10 months ago

    IMHO, the problem with this idealized scenario isn’t specific to the US:

    • You have to implicitly agree that a living wage is not something that any full time job deserves
    • You need to put a lot of faith in the mystical Invisible Hand that the market will indeed magically correct itself. Wages have been, as a whole, going down, for decades, so while individuals might come out on top, we’re already collectively losing, in the short to medium term.
    • It completely obliviates the human element. Changing career paths after gathering experience in another is not that easy. You’re most likely asking those people to take an additional financial hit regardless, be it cause they’re starting at the bottom of the ladder again, or going back to school, etc. It’s always going to fascinate me how we can talk about jobs without talking about the people under those jobs…
    • There are jobs that will always need to be done, highly paid or not. For example, we can’t just wait for PA nurses to be well paid for people to join the program.

    As for servers’ salary… Looking at official numbers, plus having family members that used to work in the field, some considered well paid servers… “Making bank” in the overwhelms majority of cases still means rather average, or less.