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Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

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Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#201

Post by calc_exe »

fletchowns wrote: post #189
mikepurvis wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't mind tipping in principle, but I really hate the payment terminals that are preconfigured with outrageous options, so it prompts you to pick 20%, 25%, 30%, "other", so you feel like a total sleaze giving a normal 10-15% tip. It's the worst when I'm picking up takeout from a restaurant that also has tables. Like, am I supposed to tip in this scenario? Do I have to go into "other" to tip less than 20% for being…

I still tip the normal amount when I get takeout from a restaurant that has tables.

Is this normal? I never tip for takeout..

Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#202

Post by SilasX »

blhack wrote: post #165
SilasX wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't forget that you're implicitly paying a premium to compensate for the unpredictability/lumpiness/[1] of the tips! [1] as well as "the presence of people who deliberately flout the expectations" and whose non-payment must be made up, in expectation, by more honest customers.

So essentially subsidizing the profit of the employer and subsidizing the cost of the goods that people who aren't adhering to the implied price structure are paying (non-tippers)! I wonder how this came about? Like was this something a clever businessperson invented at some point? It sounds like the US is the only place with a tipping culture like ours.

I don't think "subsidizing profit" is an effect of the tipping system; what the restaurant gains in lower wages, it loses in higher effective food prices.

In fact, I think, ignoring the tax evasion effect, the tipping system reduces profitability, because it scares away business by that "compensate-for-unpredictability" tax, which takes from what could be restaurant revenue.

Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#203

Post by [deleted] »

walru wrote: post #96
ryandvm wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know. Maybe Uber should just pay you more and we can not encourage the antiquated custom of tipping.

Is good service and hospitably an antiquated notion? I'll happily give a bartender, server or a driver an extra buck or two when they make the experience pleasant/informative/friendly because, far too many people treat their jobs not as a privileged but a chore. Without tipping far too many would take your money for granted and the quality of service would decline across the board because there is zero incentive to p…

[deleted]

Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#204

Post by dnautics »

prostoalex wrote: post #186
dnautics wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're tipping the drivers off-app, then uber sees 0% of it as a cut, versus 30% or whatever crazy percentage it's become. So it's exactly anti-welfare for Uber. Are you complaining that other passengers are changing the expectation of what the drivers should be paid (and doing so out of their own wallet?)

Lyft is the only major ridesharing app allowing in-app tipping, so they get to set the industry standard here, and in-app tipping is cut-free according to Lyft https://help.lyft.com/hc/en-us/articles/213815618-Lyft-Commi... "Lyft takes no commission from tips, which passengers can add easily through the app. That's right — drivers always keep 100% of tips, whether it's a buck or a Benjamin."

yeah they had a bit of a problem with this when lyft's original surge pricing was billed as a 'mandatory tip'. But they corrected it by eliminating the word 'tip' from primetime when the started taking a cut from it. There was about a two week period when they were not in compliance with the laws on the matter despite that I emailed them in advance of change warning them this was going to be a problem.

Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#205

Post by orangecat »

bobbles wrote: post #79
bogomipz wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is indeed weird if not uncomfortable. There's been an interesting move by Danny Meyer and Tom Colochio two well-known and very successful restaurateurs in New York City to abolish tips in favor of a flat service charge to be shared amongst everyone in the restaurant. Danny Meyer talks about the history of tipping in the US in which he claims is rooted in post-Civil War racism and the old Pullman cars. http://www.b…

Why even keep it as a service charge.. just put it into the price

Because then you look more expensive compared to the pre-tip prices of other restaurants. As long as businesses can get away with posting prices that are less than what people actually have to pay, this silliness will continue.

Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#206

Post by madeofpalk »

whiddershins wrote: post #137
gk1 wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The same is true for tipping in restaurants and bars; it may seem like you're helping the server/bartender, but actually you're subsidizing the business.

It's different because in restaurants and bars it is so well established and priced in, it's really just part of the price.

Then make it a part of the price!

Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#207

Post by iLoch »

arebop wrote: post #124
dorfsmay wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's why I always pay 15% tip at restaurants regardless of the service. I disagree with tipping (an after-the-fact unilateral contract), but we know that restaurants don't pay fair wages. EDIT: Following some comments here, I feel I need to add that I'm in Canada where 15% is considered "normal".

There is universal agreement about tipping at restaurants. Tips of 15% (or 20%?) are definitely customary, expected, priced-in. People who don't leave tips after experiencing decent service are definitely not paying their fair share. Uber traditionally operates on the service-included model. That was very well established before some drivers agitated for a change. Since then, Uber has adopted an inconsistent policy […

> There is universal agreement about tipping at restaurants. Tips of 15% (or 20%?) are definitely customary, expected, priced-in. People who don't leave tips after experiencing decent service are definitely not paying their fair share.

Is this a joke? Not only is it not universal, it's not even customary. The agreement you have with the restaurant is this: you sit down, are served, eat food, and pay. Baseline service is free, that's what you're paying the restaurant for. If the person waiting on me has a problem with me not tipping, they're welcome to take their wage issue up with their employer. I can only say this as someone who supports fair wages for service industries though. I believe a lower minimum wage for restaurant/bar services is a problem. But absolutely under no circumstance will I provide a compulsory tip. It's not my job to pay the employees.

There is a secondary agreement you have with the waiting staff: if you go above and beyond your job description to provide excellent service, you may be rewarded as recognition. Even then, many countries believe that excellence to be part of the job, so tips are not accepted.

Tip if you're provided with above standard service, don't if you're not. What's hard about that?

Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#208

Post by tlrobinson »

packetized wrote: post #171
cortesoft wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if this varies by region? I ride with uber quite a bit here in Los Angeles, and I have never once been asked for a tip. I wonder what makes it different?

You're definitely an outlier. In San Francisco, tips are sought more than 10% of my trips.

Out of hundreds of rides in SF I've never had a driver ask for a tip.

Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#209

Post by madeofpalk »

prostoalex wrote: post #195
blhack wrote: post #89

I'd love if an economist of somebody with a better financial background could comment on this: When you're giving a tip, you're effectively giving money to the people who own the company (or participate in profit sharing). Tips allow employers to pay their employees under market rate. By paying enough tip to bring the employee's wage up to the market rate, you are subsidizing the company's profit, not the employees p…

Anecdotal counterpoint to that is a restaurant switching to no-tip policy but then seeing its formerly tippable workers flee for a tip environment http://money.cnn.com/2016/01/19/pf/no-tipping-reversed-bar-a... Even though the former model offers stability and fair pricing, there are some outperformers in the tipping world which must take pride in their customer service skills. If no-tip and tip business coexist in t…

Yeah, this is the problem when an establishment bucks the local trend and becomes a "no-tip restaurant" exception.

Go to a country where hospitality staff are paid a 'fair' amount and customers aren't expected to tip and this problem goes away.

Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#210

Post by throw_away_777 »

imartin2k wrote: post #199
djsumdog wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really hate tipping culture in America. In Germany, servers are surprised if you give them anything more thana euro. I have friends who visit from non tipping cultures who ask "Why isn't it just included in the price!" I agree with the author. Tipping is out of hand. Charge more for food, clearly state it on the menu/check, remove the tip black on the receipt and pay people a decent wage!

Tipping culture is actually one factor which makes it unattractive for me to travel in the US. Too much mental costs.

It really isn't that hard, pretty much you always just tip a standard amount (average tip is 15-20%).
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