Does ‘Alexa, thank my driver’ still send tips? Amazon ends program.

The company said Wednesday that program would apply to the first 1 million thank-yous.
On Amazon’s website, the company confirmed that more than 1 million thank yous had been received by Thursday, concluding the $5 tip promotion.

Amazon has ended a promotion that allowed customers to thank their delivery drivers with a tip paid for by Amazon, a spokesperson confirmed to USA TODAY on Saturday.

The company said Wednesday that program would apply to the first 1 million thank-yous. A day later, all of the company-backed $5 tips had been given out, the company said.

The promotion let shoppers show gratitude to the driver who delivered their most recent package by tipping them $5, at no cost to the customer. Customers with an Alexa, an Alexa-enabled device or Amazon Shopping mobile apps could initiate the tip by saying, “Alexa, thank my driver.”

In addition to the $5 tips, the five drivers with the most thank-yous would be rewarded $10,000, plus an additional $10,000 to their charity of choice, Amazon said in a Wednesday press release.

“‘Alexa, thank my driver’ exceeded our expectations. We’re glad to see customers interested in thanking their drivers and encourage them to continue doing so,” Amazon spokesperson Lauren Samaha said in a statement sent to USA TODAY Saturday morning.

“Drivers will continue to be notified of the gratitude received. The promotion period where drivers receive $5 with their thank you has now ended,” Samaha added.

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On Amazon’s website, the company confirmed that more than 1 million thank yous had been received by Thursday, concluding the $5 tip promotion.

The “Alexa, thank my driver” promotion arrived as drivers continue to face a surge in delivery demand for the holiday season. It followed previous reports of poor working conditions and following the biggest union push in Amazon’s history. In a company first, Amazon workers in Staten Island, New York voted to unionize in April – and last month, a judge ordered Amazon to cease and desist anti-union retaliation in the warehouse.

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On Wednesday, the same day the “Alexa, thank my driver” promotion was announced, Washington, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine also announced a lawsuit accusing the company of stealing tips from drivers and misleading customers. The lawsuit said that Amazon used more than $1 million from D.C. consumers’ tips between 2016 and 2019 to subsidize its own labor costs.

In a statement sent to USA TODAY earlier this week, Amazon spokesperson Maria Boschetti said that the lawsuit “involves a practice we changed three years ago and is without merit – all of the customer tips at issue were already paid to drivers as part of a settlement last year with the FTC.”

Contributing: Bailey Schulz, USA TODAY.

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