Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge
It sounded like a really nice holiday extra: you could tip your hard-working Amazon delivery driver by simply using your Alexa device (or the app on your phone) to thank your driver, and they would get a $5 tip from the company.
The program started on December 7th and was probably meant to publicize Amazon’s new feature that allowed users to thank their drivers through their Alexa apps. Available to all US delivery drivers delivering on behalf of Amazon, it didn’t last long. Amazon only offered the virtual tips in response to the first one million thank you’s — and that $5 million was apparently used up within a couple of days.
When you thank your driver, you will get an acknowledgment.
According to Lauren Samaha,…
