Shipt Pay Update
This month, Shipt is expanding its blackbox algorithm pay structure to the entire country. After launching it's new California and Washington markets with this pay nearly two years ago, Shipt quietly launched the new pay in a select few metros nationally in January of this year. This pay structure, dubbed version 2 (v2) is a categorical pay cut, and Shipt is expanding this pay cut to impact all of Shipt’s workers. Cutting pay for essential workers during a pandemic is reprehensible.
Shipt has called their new pay model “effort based,” in attempts to gaslight workers into believing when they see their pay go down, it’s their own fault. However, many workers, like Logan, a Shipt worker based in Alabama have called it what it is, “This is a pay cut.” Logan recently fulfilled a 60 item order, mostly heavy cases of drinks, which he says is the most difficult order he has done to date. The order’s receipt total was $365. Logan was paid $10.81 for this order, which under the old commission-based pay structure would have paid over $32, an astonishing 67% pay cut. Logan feels that calling the pay “effort based” is dishonest, “They’ve cut our pay in the midst of a pandemic, and they’re trying to put the blame on us, by insinuating that if our pay was lower, it’s because we didn’t put in the effort. This shady pay algorithm isn’t based on effort, and it’s insulting for them to keep saying that. There’s a way to run a successful business without screwing over your shoppers.” The reality is that workers know that the opposite is true, the less you make, the more effort you have to put into making ends meet. This means workers invariably end up working longer, working harder, to make the same or often times less than they did prior. Logan said he finds the pay cut demotivating, and pointed out the obvious contradiction that, “Shipt is asking us to bring the magic and go above and beyond, but they won’t do the same for me.”
Another Shipt worker, Megan based in Colorado lamented that, “There’s zero transparency to this new pay model.” Black box algorithms generating pay is harmful to workers. Megan notes, “She was able to calculate the numbers every time, and they always made sense.” When pay is not calculated in any replicable or verifiable way, but instead by a proprietary algorithm like it is under Shipt’s new “effort based’' pay structure, workers have no way to account for whether they were paid properly. In short, under Shipt’s new pay model, pay is actually determined by an algorithm, not effort.
What black box algorithmically generated pay actually means is there is no longer any transparency around pay. This also means that instead of announcing a pay cut, which rightfully would receive backlash and organized actions, Shipt can quietly and gradually dial down pay any time they want without disclosure. Since workers have no way of reverse engineering offers, and Shipt offers no transparency, there is no way of ensuring that workers are compensated properly, equally, or even consistently with their own efforts.
Robert, a Shipt worker from Illinois explains, “Not getting paid the same on Tuesday at 10am as Friday afternoon is ridiculous. You’re filling the same order, spending the same amount of time and doing the same work. Why would the same order pay differently on Friday? That shows that this black box algorithm lacks transparency and fairness. It’s based on how badly they need someone to fill an order, not on effort.” This unfortunately has yet another negative impact on workers, their ability to provide the same level of customer service as they did under previous pay. Megan is worried about the new focus on quantity over quality of orders noting, “There used to be an incentive to add more items, but now it hurts me.” Since pay has shifted from an easy to understand commission-based structure to a black box algorithm, workers do not know how much, if any, additional compensation will be provided to compensate for additional work required to fulfill additional requests customers often make while shopping an order. Megan explained that previously, “The more you added, the more you made.” Now these requests for additional items actually cut into workers’ time, which cuts into their bottom line noting, “You have to fly through orders.” When workers are paid less, they invariably have to cut corners to ensure they can still make ends meet. Often that means compromising the quality of their customer service and communication with customers, which also can impact their tips, ratings, and ultimately which offers they are even presented with.
“Shipt is going to continue to go downhill because of the way they’re treating their most loyal shoppers. I have a 4.9 rating. I clearly put a lot of effort into my orders yet my pay has declined. Why should I continue to put in that same effort? On top of that, Shipt is still trying to gaslight their shoppers over the new pay. I acknowledged that the new pay is bad in the Shipt Lounge and my comment was deleted.” says Logan.
Concurrent with their announcement of a national pay cut, Shipt has made some draconian tweaks to its social media policies as well. Shoppers are no longer allowed to share any news links in Shipt’s corporate-run Facebook group, which is the primary means of communication between the over 134,000 workers plugged into the group. Shipt already has an established history of censoring criticism, but banning workers from sharing articles about their work is a new low. If Shipt truly stood behind their new pay model, they wouldn’t have to ban workers from sharing news about it with each other.
Shoppers are done with the censorship, being gaslit over a paycut, and feel they are no longer valued by Shipt. Shipt has abused the trust that workers once had in it. Now that most workers are subject to the new pay structure, they are feeling the impact and they are outraged. Workers are ready to take action, and we will be announcing our plans later this week.
- Shipt Shoppers
