“Alexa, thank my driver”: How to give your Amazon driver a free $5 tip this holiday season

Amazon has rolled out its new feature that lets customers thank their delivery drivers by giving them a $5 tip through their Amazon Alexa device or app this holiday season.

Beginning on December 07, 2022, the feature will allow users to say, "Alexa, thank my driver," through their Amazon Alexa device or Alexa app, and the driver of the most recent package delivered will be notified of their appreciation. Furthermore, the first million drivers to receive "thanks" will receive a $5 tip at no cost to the customer.

To sweeten the deal, the company will pay an additional $10,000 to five drivers who get the most "thank yous" and $10,000 would be donated to a charity of their choice.

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Amazon's "Alexa, thank my driver": Feature, locations, and more

The e-commerce company, founded in 1994, recently completed its 15 billionth delivery within the United States. The feature aims to commemorate the occasion and show the company's gratitude to all the drivers:

"Form relationships with customers, provide support to the community in tough moments, and sometimes play the role of the unexpected hero."

The company announced that the feature is only available to customers within the U.S., who have Alexa-enabled devices like Echo, Echo Dot, or Echo Show. Additionally, having the Alexa or Amazon Shopping mobile application also works. Upon saying "Alexa, thank my driver," the driver will be notified of the "thank you."

Furthermore, not all deliveries are eligible to receive the tip. Only Flex delivery partners, delivery associates employed by Amazon delivery service partners, and “Hub DP” drivers are eligible. Rest all will still receive the thanks but no tips. If the thank you command for Alexa works, it will respond with:

"Glad you enjoyed your most recent delivery. Since you shared your appreciation with your driver, as a special thanks this holiday season, your driver will receive an extra $5 at no cost to you. This promotion is for a limited time only."

The e-commerce company announced in October that it would be hiring 150,000 U.S. employees to help manage the holiday rush and would be "relying on more than 275,000 drivers," which include the contractual Flex drivers. They are contracted workers who use their vehicles to deliver packages worldwide.

After a million tips are paid out, the company will continue to share the gratitude with the driver without any monetary compensation.

The move comes after the company came under scrutiny for allegedly stealing tips from their drivers. The case details show that the lawsuit cites a Federal Trade Commission complaint issued in 2021 which alleged that the drivers earned less than 100% of their tips after a change in their policies.

The suit claimed that a portion of the tips went to "subsidize the labor costs" between 2016 and 2019. The company paid a whopping $61.7 million fine to settle the claim.

It also came under fire after workers pushed to unionize due to stressful working conditions like long working hours, safety, lack of washrooms, and more.