tip baiting

English

Alternative forms

• tip-baiting

Etymology

From tip +‎ baiting. Popularised during the 2020s with the rise of food delivery services because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but attested slightly earlier (see quotations below).

Noun

tip baiting (uncountable)

1. (chiefly Internet slang) In fast food delivery, the practice of promising a large tip (usually on a delivery app) so that the deliverer feels incentivised to swiftly reach their destination, only to deliberately decrease or cancel the tip once the delivery is completed.
   • 2019 November 28, MatthewTelles, Twitter‎^[1]:

     Happy Holidays, from tip baiting Instacart [grocery delivery service] customers.

   • 2022 January 5, Scott Stump, “What is 'tip baiting'? Delivery driver explains deceptive practice in viral video”, in Today‎^[2]:

     Lindstrom said he has heard from drivers who have been burned by tip baiting frequently, while he has only experienced it once.

   • 2022 November 15, Cecilia Lenzen, “'I am so disgusted': Uber Eats driver calls out customer who tip-baited her—making only $2 on an originally $15 order”, in The Daily Dot‎^[3]:

     The topic of "tip baiting" has gone viral on TikTok once again after one driver, who works for both Uber Eats and DoorDash, recently discovered firsthand what the term means.

Related terms

• tip bait
• tip baited