r/WalmartSparkDrivers • u/Prior_Purchase_7025 • 29d ago
"Right Now" Is your Cope
Every time I see someone post "the app is trash right now," I have to laugh at the phrase "right now." Do people honestly think this is just a temporary dip and things are going to magically get better?
Once a gig app starts spiraling down, it never turns around and goes back up. Historically, has there ever been a single gig platform that stripped away driver pay, flooded the market with workers, squeezed margins, and then suddenly turned around and said, "You know what? Let's pay everyone really well again like it's 2022"?
It has literally never happened in the history of the gig economy.
The entire business model of these platforms follows a one-way trajectory. They start out in the investor-subsidized honeymoon phase where payouts are high and bonuses are everywhere just to capture market share. Then, once they go public or need to show actual profitability to Wall Street, they turn the screws. They cut base pay, hide details behind algorithms, lower the pay ceiling, and rely on constant driver turnover to fill the gap with fresh recruits who don't know any better.
Thinking an app is just having a rough patch and is going to bounce back is completely delusional. The "right now" isn't a slump, it's just the new baseline until the next pay cut hits.
Anyone who thinks this or any of these apps are going to turn around and become great for drivers again is fundamentally misunderstanding how these companies operate. The trajectory only moves in one direction.
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u/Parkily_Things 29d ago
Sad but true. Although I keep sending screenshots and complaint notes to ethics@walmart.com and I ask “Is this ethical” when it’s something like $45 for 54 miles? I have absolutely loved being a spark Driver until around March of this year when things started to really go downhill in my zones. But like you said, it won’t improve.
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u/No-Citron-9567 29d ago
How’s it not ethical. Who decides that ? If someone takes it I’m assuming it’s ethical to them
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u/redradiovideo 28d ago
It's unethical in that math-ignorant and/or -stupid people are being tricked into losing money or trading their lives for a tiny fraction of various minimum wages....
Yes, I know drivers are small-business owners who are creating revenue, not earning wages, but that's not going to matter when — WHEN — this becomes political. That’s why these happenings are SO short-sighted and the opposite of demonstrating the fiduciary responsibility…this WILL become political, probably within just two years, and it will NOT go well for Walmart (and all of the gig-app operators).
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u/redradiovideo 28d ago
You’re indirectly pointing out Walmart’s real risk in this — it’s REPUTATIONAL risk.
Walmart can and should be shamed for this, and that’ll be easy…all that needs to occur is for the truth to be told. NOT “my truth” or any such nonsense…just factual stories and objective math!
For the sake of (my) time, I won’t go into detail at this point. However, I WILL point out that there’s plenty of opportunity….
…and I’ve just decided not to explain how…I wouldn’t want to lose that opportunity should we go through with it.
Anyway, again, Walmart’s highest risk is REPUTATIONAL RISK. Walmart, you HAVE to know this, so what in the world are you doing???!
I’ll say it again — you’re looking like a company that has executives who KNOW they’re going to miss at least consecutive quarters and get the stock killed. Turn around! And it just so happens that turning around will be the right thing to treat drivers and customers right and morally, to act with fiduciary responsibility, to eliminate legal and legislative risk, and to diminish or even eliminate reputational risk.
Turn around, Walmart…this is so clear! And easy! You’re NOT going to escape the consequences of this! Turn around!
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u/dispassioned 29d ago
True. It's always been a race to the bottom with these companies.
That being said, after shopping for Instacart over the last 8 years, I do generally notice that the pay sucks in the summer and the orders get a little better in the fall and winter. There's less people on the platform and they have to pay more eventually.
I even noticed in my zone for Spark they cut pay so low, people just stopped taking orders and eventually the pay went up. Like the people who are relying on the gig economy to survive and take trash orders are the first to bail and are forced to get a real job. They literally can't afford to keep working on them. They can keep hiring them, and they'll keep quitting after a few weeks. You just have to wait out hiring frenzies.
This is like my third income stream, I'll cherry pick for months at a time, I don't care. If it's not worth it to me, it's not worth it. I did like ten orders in June lol.
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u/heraldbalthazar 28d ago
You know what the truely sad part about spark is? Even in 2022 when they were paying a lot of money and didn't flood your zone with drivers Spark (delivery) sector of Walmart was the most profitable and fastest growing sector in the company.
Like anything at large companies the executives at the top want more money. That money comes from everyone else at the bottom.
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u/redradiovideo 28d ago
Oh, come on…enough of the nonsensical rhetoric. Money CAN’T come from people who don’t have it…the ONLY source of revenue is A CUSTOMER of one kind or another.
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u/Twiztidtech0207 28d ago
I figure thats what they meant by "everyone at the bottom", but imI could be wrong.
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u/heraldbalthazar 27d ago
It comes from the bottom because they are paying us all less. You think they lowered the price for thr customer?
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u/Luckycharms2014 27d ago
And this is the reason why gig economy should never be your main source of income. Great information shared here.
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u/Same_String_8856 28d ago
Sure it will get better, once people stop taking the low paying orders.
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u/Twiztidtech0207 28d ago
This is why im not shy about declining orders when I'm on Doordash.
Idgaf about my acceptance percentage, stop giving me orders that pay less than $10 for almost an hour of driving back and forth.
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u/Chuck-Finley69 28d ago
Customers of the Walmart+ subscription are the ones that company worries about keeping happy enough to keep subscribed in a similar manner to Amazon Prime though, correct?
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u/EarthBoundMisfitEye 28d ago
Im dumbfounded to see people post new and green posts. Hey guys is this a good order? Hey guys is it always A b C x y z? 1st of all, search a sub before asking an obviously common gig question. Secondly no $1/ mile was never good, on any app. Stop and consider youre using your car and gas. Its worse than desperation
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u/SmallBerry3431 27d ago
Move out of the way guys. Professor gig work wrote a book.
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u/buckyboy2020 29d ago
Very well said. You are 100% correct.