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Struggling UberEats Worker Tearfully Pleads For People To Tip Delivery Drivers In Heart-Wrenching Viral Video
It's no secret people who work in the service industry, such as waitresses and food delivery drivers, are underpaid.
But it's easy for those of us who don't work in that industry to be oblivious to just how bad the pay can be.
TikTokker Riley Elliot, @livefreestudios, recently posted about his financial dilemma, right after delivering food to a customer.
Elliot was sitting in his car, crying while he voiced his concerns.
Elliot shared:
"Y'all I wish that people who order UberEats or Doordash understood what it's like to be a driver."
"I just spent 45 minutes on a delivery, and I had to pay $3.00 to bring this person their food, because there was no free parking anywhere near the building, and he wouldn't come out and meet me."
"They tipped me $1.50, and Uber paid me $2.50."
"I gotta prove three times rent for income in two weeks and I can't."
"It doesn't matter that I'm working multiple jobs, that I barely sleep, that I 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 five bucks?"
Elliot shared the video with his modest 9 followers, which has since exploded to more than 17,000 followers, as well as thousands of likes, comments, and shares on the original video.
After being shared on Twitter, it received more than 3.7 million views.
People did their best to show their support and donated to Elliot, who is now in a stable enough position to stay in his home at least for a while longer.
The conversation turned in an important direction, however.
People questioned whether customers should be blamed for the size of their tips or if the corporate giants who aren't paying their drivers a living wage are the actual problem.
It's great to see Elliot is stable, at least for now, but the conversation surrounding a living wage and how all of us, from the customer to the corporate level, can help people work, support themselves and support their families.