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Uber rolls out in-app tipping

washingtonpost.com

21–30 of 376 posts

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#21
Not having to deal with tips is THE reason I never bother checking Lyft. Now I guess I have no reason not to check both. Smart move Uber?

Aside from that, this is terrible news to me. The tip system is so flawed. 99% of people in America do not consider tips optional, but service here is no better for it. I want to pay a fair wage. I don't want to tip. Is there simply no market for this?

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#22

Now I'm going to start using Lyft again. The tipping model is terrible and given the option I'll always shy away from it. Even though Lyft has the same feature, they pay better, so I don't feel bad for not tipping them. Also having to deal with some of the shadier/creepier drivers expecting tips sounds like something I'd rather not deal with.

You're going to switch to Lyft, which has had a tipping model for ages, because a competitor is just now adding tipping?

Sure. If Lyft is otherwise better, and Uber is getting rid of the one thing that keeps me using it, doesn't it make sense to switch?

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#23
Tipping in the US is guilt driven and has very little to do with service.

This is Uber's attempt pass on the burden of compensation to their passengers. Uber rides just got a little more awkward.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#25
post #2

Why not just raise the prices a bit again? Now I'm worried I'll get down-starred for not tipping on Uber, which is just kind of annoying. I feel like not requiring a tip is Uber's biggest differentiator

Of course, you'll get rated lower if you don't tip. You'll probably get 1 star every time. I would much prefer they just raise the prices a bit.

I'd doubt they can see if you didn't tip before you rated them. That would be incredibly stupid.

If you're a frequent customer of a certain driver and consistently don't tip then I can see some problems there.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#26
post #2

Why not just raise the prices a bit again? Now I'm worried I'll get down-starred for not tipping on Uber, which is just kind of annoying. I feel like not requiring a tip is Uber's biggest differentiator

Uber is going to use tipping as excuse to lower payouts to drivers.

If drivers get 80% of the fare now, they'll get 70% of the fare in a couple months because Uber will argue that drivers get tips now, which more than compensate for that loss.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#28
This is a really terrible idea.

It's not that the drivers don't deserve money- far from it. It's that you now have a company that is desperate for cash, and it is the one who tells the drivers how much they made in tips. What's to stop them from skimming the tips? Oh, not too much, not enough that anyone can really point it out, but just a little bit, right?

And let's not all pretend that a company as morally grey as Uber isn't willing to do it either. They'll write some legal bullshit into the contract, force all drivers to either agree to it, or stop driving, and then claim that everything they did was legal and therefore ethical.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#29
For something that is supposed to be friction free, tipping really runs against that.

We all know that next there are going to be the subtle and not-so subtle encouragements from drivers to tip. Then the expectation to tip.

This move seems to only confuse me as a consumer, create something else for drivers to be annoyed about (the tips they receive vs what uber claimed they'll see), and adding an additional cognitive layer in payments.

I don't see the lasting benefit here. Just increase prices or increase driver share of payout.

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