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Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

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Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#491

Post by kazagistar »

dnautics wrote: post #414
developer2 wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With optional after-the-fact tipping, I'd still be concerned whether or not the fact you tipped is tracked. When you tip, is the driver individually informed? The next time you get the same driver, are they in a position to remember that you were a bad tipper on the last trip? Even if the driver isn't made aware of your individual tipping history, surely the company as a whole is tracking this information and buildin…

Some answers (specifically, addressing the situation with Lyft): > When you tip, is the driver individually informed? No, not directly. Yes, indirectly. You get a ride summary at the end of the day. Backtracking who tipped what takes effort. Even so, sometimes people tip when they open their app back up (or through the email) which can present a lag... I've gotten "x tip from day y" additions to my ride summary days…

It sounds like tiping is a regressive tax against lower class "suckers".

Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#492

Post by brbrodude »

lightcatcher wrote: post #464
grecy wrote: post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a non-American this is how I feel about tipping in general. It's so much easier to just pay people a decent wage, include it in the cost of things and then not have the pressure of tipping. That, and tipping is akin to having paid servants. i.e. " if you do a good job, and if I feel like it, I might give you some of my wad of cash. Or not, sucker.". (Of course, I do tip because the servers rely on it, I just don't…

What do you mean that it's "much easier to just pay people a decent wage"? Do you mean that it's much easier to convince companies to pay their employees more than they have to, or that it's much easier to pass higher minimum wage laws? Neither of these seem easier than "convince the public to toss in a few extra dollars when they use a lowly paid service". I see "make sure that all working people are paid fairly" as…

Other countries have solved the problem. Also there's a lot of other instances where US impossible to crack problem is solved... Not meaning to bash, but it seems evident. Other cultures just aren't so much into cut-throat competition, it's just not that fun.

Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#493

Post by Ntrails »

italicbold wrote: post #400
nailer wrote: post #393

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a non American, for jobs where the service makes a significant difference, a service charge or tips seems reasonable. I live in London. I generally pay the service charge. Once out of every hundred times I eat out, I ask them to remove the service charge as I spent ten minutes trying to get someone's attention to order, rather than talk to my dining companions. Service doesn't make a huge different for transport t…

pro tip: in london the service charge rarely goes to staff. service charge is not the same thing as a tip, which should usually be cash if you wish it to go to the waiter.

I don't know that to be generally true based on both my experience in the industry and those people I know still in it.

There were certainly places I worked where any credit card tips were declared for tax whilst cash tips weren't. This is one reason why staff preferred cash. Similarly in some places cash was distributed by shift whereas cards were distributed monthly based on hours worked.

As a final point, the idea of tipping the person directly is not consistent with anywhere i've ever worked. Even when distributing at the end of a shift, everyone would have put tips in the jar to be shared between staff.

Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#494

Post by chimeracoder »

lostboys67 wrote: post #450
developer2 wrote: post #391

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're stating that they're not guilty until caught in the act. What percentage of the population do you think scrutinizes every credit card statement line-by-line? Many people would not notice an unauthorized charge on their card. It's merely a matter of scale: some people will notice a single unauthorized charge for $5, while others won't even notice $500. Credit card fraud is rampant, and any company that willingl…

Until chip and pin this was thing in some uk restaurants waiter used a black (of the books) cardreader out of sight of the punter to skim your card.

They still can do that. The only difference is that they would then sell the numbers to be used online, instead of running as fraudulent card-present transactions.

Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#495

Post by imgabe »

throwaway729 wrote: post #313
taneq wrote: post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not being judgemental, and I'm not saying they're stupid to drive for a small immediate profit instead of doing nothing. I'm just perplexed when they say they're losing money (or making so much less than minimum wage that they may as well be) but they keep on doing it instead of stopping. If they're not just blowing off some steam with hyperbole, they would literally be better off staying home on the couch.

> I'm just perplexed when they say they're losing money (or making so much less than minimum wage that they may as well be) but they keep on doing it instead of stopping Most people don't drive Uber as a job. It's a second or third job. Make-you-own-hours is what makes that possible. > If they're not just blowing off some steam with hyperbole, they would literally be better off staying home on the couch. I mean, ditt…

If you drive for Uber could you partially count the depreciation of your car (for the miles you drover for Uber) on your taxes? At least then you'd get some benefit in the form of a reduced tax bill that could offset the losses.

Landlords use depreciation to have low taxable income despite being cashflow positive. I don't see why Uber drivers shouldn't be able to. They're making business use of a physical asset (their car).

Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#496

Post by imgabe »

iopq wrote: post #93
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.

> Maybe Uber should just pay you more and we can not encourage the antiquated custom of tipping. they can't advertise higher rates than Lyft or they'll lose the price war

But they can and do (or did) advertise the convenience of not having to tip.

Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#497

Post by roel_v »

homakov wrote: post #407
roel_v wrote: post #406

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You never say anything at all? I mean, like, you open the door, sit down, when he stops where you're supposed to be you just get out and don't acknowledge the driver at all? Sure I don't chat with taxi drivers unless I feel like it but you at least say 'hi' and 'thanks' when you get in and out, or not?

Of course i say hi & thanks, these are "handshake" words I use automatically interacting with anyone. But no smalltalk, and outside the US, drivers are often silent too

Oh OK, yeah that's how I interpreted the GP as well, so then I still wonder how the steps described aren't the default or even just blindingly obvious to the point that doing anything else is weird. I mean I can see when someone is drunk and is annoying, but apart from that.

Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#498

Post by kevin_b_er »

grecy wrote: post #352
redm wrote: post #4

No Tipping is one of the main reasons I liked Uber; no cash, no pressure, you just get out of the car and walk away with everyone happy. I would rather pay more for each fare and have Uber aggressively prohibit tipping. I suspect many people feel the same way and if Uber doesn't get it under control, it could be the biggest challenge they face.

As a non-American this is how I feel about tipping in general. It's so much easier to just pay people a decent wage, include it in the cost of things and then not have the pressure of tipping. That, and tipping is akin to having paid servants. i.e. " if you do a good job, and if I feel like it, I might give you some of my wad of cash. Or not, sucker.". (Of course, I do tip because the servers rely on it, I just don't…

It is not. The greed of the consumer prevents raising prices. Not advertising the true price is the new scheme.

Tipping hides the true cost of services by forcing the customer's guilt on the ability of the employee to make a worthwhile wage.

No tipping restaurants have to have higher prices and the hyper-price-conscious consumer will defer to the cheaper ones. You could make a quality argument, but on equal terms the no tipping restaurant will lose. It is because it has not hidden its true cost of goods and services like the tipping resultants.

Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#499

Post by Jemmeh »

Pyxl101 wrote: post #399
blahedo wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it's not even customary This is thoroughly false. It is so customary in the US that it has been baked into the minimum wage laws: in general, the federal minimum wage is $7.25, but for waitstaff and some other "tipped" jobs, the minimum wage is less than a third of that, at $2.13. The whole system is completely appalling, but that doesn't change the fact that in a lot of places the waitstaff is effectively subcontr…

> in general, the federal minimum wage is $7.25, but for waitstaff and some other "tipped" jobs, the minimum wage is less than a third of that, at $2.13. In the United States, pay for tipped employees is regulated by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which among other things requires that they always be paid a minimum wage. https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs15.htm If anyone is claiming that a particular…

A lot of waiters don't report because they can't afford to lose their job over the odd slow week where they're stiffed $20 and then get blacklisted at other restaurants. And no, that's not a lot of money to lose out on, but it adds up.

And yes, it's illegal to fire someone over reporting, but it happens all the time. And it takes time for a lawsuit to go through, so you've gotta find work somewhere else in the meantime. And now you have to also take time to sue your old company. When you're barely afloat, it's not worth rocking the boat because you might drown.

That's reality for a lot of people. You can't just say, "this is the law so it's not happening."

Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#500

Post by morgante »

lostboys67 wrote: post #474
morgante wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's honestly why I continue to use Uber despite all the negative press. They continue to hold the line against the excessive tipping culture in America and I want to support them for refusing to give in to pressure to add a tipping option to the app. Any driver who aggressively solicits for tips automatically gets a low rating and a note from me.

"hold the line against the excessive tipping culture " you mean screwing over some poor minimum wage worker and the IRS (which when it comes down to it is you)

Uhhh, how exactly do you think that tipping is good for the IRS? Tips are far less likely to be reported as income than wages are.

Your comment makes absolutely no sense.

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