SEATTLE — Several food delivery workers in Seattle told KING 5 Sunday that their weekly pay has been slashed due to fewer pick-up opportunities on the apps. This comes after a city ordinance was enacted on Jan. 13. Ironically, it was intended to help them.
"It's definitely backfiring," said Gary Lardizabal, a longtime food delivery worker in Seattle.
But delivery workers aren't the only ones hurting; the fees that can now be seen on peoples' food orders are hurting Seattle's most vulnerable populations.
Penny Melson, 70, describes herself as disabled. She said, "Walking is torture for me. It’s really painful, and I can only go so far. So trying to carry bags and walk with a cane... full of groceries, becomes a struggle.”
Melson relies on grocery delivery apps to provide the food she needs for the month.
"I've used them for years. I love Instacart... I order the things that are too heavy for me to carry: cans, foods, flour, milk, heavy things," said Melson.
She recently added $170.76 worth of one month's groceries to her cart. But to her surprise, on top of all the other taxes and fees, a $22.96 fee, entitled Regulatory Response Fee, was tacked on.
"That’s the new one," she explained.
She ended up with a $205 bill after taxes and fees.
A month ago, her receipt didn’t have that Regulatory Response Fee. She said getting by on a fixed income was a lot more manageable then.
"That $22 eats into the money that I would have to be able to get essentials, shampoo, toilet paper, paper towels, trash bags," she explained.
Meanwhile, apps like Instacart are indicating to their customers that they have no choice but to do this, calling the fee "a result of the significant increase in operating costs under this regulation."
Delivery drivers advocated for the ordinance to improve minimum pay for gig workers.
KING 5 caught up with the leader of that effort Monday, executive director Danielle Alvarado of the labor advocacy nonprofit Working Washington. She said, "There’s certainly nothing in the policy that requires apps to impose additional fees, to pass those fees on to customers.”
If people aren't happy with the fee, she says the app companies are to blame.
"As a result of decisions made by the apps, really, both workers and customers are bearing the brunt," she said.
But customers like Melson just hope decision-makers look at the bigger picture.
"There are going to be people who stop using the service because we can't afford it!" said Melson. “Let’s get together and figure out a solution that works for everybody.”
A Doordash spokesperson told KING 5 Monday, “We warned the previous city council that we would likely need to implement a new fee to help offset some of the costs.”
We contacted Seattle City Council around 3:00 p.m. Monday, but as of this publishing date, they had not responded to our request for a comment.