Amazon offered delivery drivers an extra $5 for every “thank you” a customer sent, but the program didn’t last very long.
WASHINGTON — Amazon has rolled out a new Alexa feature ahead of the holidays to make it even easier for customers to thank drivers delivering their orders.
When you say “Alexa, thank my driver,” the Amazon driver who delivered your most recent package will get a notification about your appreciation, according to an announcement from Amazon.
The program launched on Wednesday and to celebrate Amazon said its drivers would get an additional $5 for each thank-you received, but only for a limited time – which turned out to be just one day.
The promotion was only set to continue until the first 1 million “thank-yous” were received. Just one day after launching the program, Amazon said Thursday it had reached that milestone in the U.S. so drivers will no longer get the $5 tips.
The $5 bonus per “thank you” was also only eligible for Amazon Flex Delivery Partners, Delivery Associates employed by Amazon Delivery Service Partners and Hub DP drivers who deliver packages in the U.S. So if a UPS or U.S. Postal Service driver delivered your order, Amazon said it will pass along your appreciation to the company but that driver won’t receive any additional money.
According to Amazon, the five drivers who received the most “thank-yous” during the promo will also receive a $10,000 bonus and an additional $10,000 to be donated to the charity of their choice.
On the same day that Amazon launched the new program, the tech giant was sued by the Washington, D.C., Attorney General for allegedly stealing their delivery drivers’ tips.
Attorney General Karl A. Racine, said the company used “a deceptive, illegal scheme” to make consumers believe they were increasing drivers’ pay when Amazon was actually diverting tips to reduce its own labor costs and increase profits.
Last year, Amazon agreed to pay more than $61.7 million to settle charges that it failed to pay Amazon Flex drivers the full amount of tips they received from Amazon customers over a two-and-a-half-year period.