Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Uber rolls out in-app tipping

washingtonpost.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

161–170 of 376 posts

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#161

Post by konceptz »

londons_explore wrote: post #79
savanaly wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not like they're fooling anyone though...regular users of uber will know the average outlay from using an uber is $X, whether it's through the fares charged or a lower fare plus expected tip. I would much rather have a higher fare than the stress of figuring out how much to tip. I could just decide on a tip to always give, but what about those times when the service is really shitty? Do I "get back" at them by l…

I'm gonna guess they'll keep the tips secret until many hours after the journey (and when both driver and passenger have left star ratings). They might even aggregate tips for the week/month. That way, if you leave no tip, it can't come back and bite you.

It would make drivers experience worse if they aggregated tips over weeks/months. This is primarily due to the "cash me out" feature where drivers may cash out a shift immediately upon completion.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#162

Post by throwaway055 »

Posting on a throwaway because of tipping stigma.

I take close to 1,000 Uber trips per year.

The biggest disappointment about this change to me is that I won't be having conversations with Uber drivers anymore.

Uber drivers will now be obligated to make pleasant conversation with me. I have no interest in speaking to somebody who's obligated to make pleasant conversation with me.

When you add tipping, you're essentially attaching a financial penalty to sincerity.

All economic arguments aside, it's just not right to penalize someone for being in a bad mood that day or not wanting to talk to you. We force these workers to maintain these totally fabricated upbeat emotional states and we act like it's normal. It's not normal anywhere else in the world, and I can't stand it.

Every time I see someone making conversation with a waiter or waitress, it honestly seems rude to me. They have to talk to you, they have to agree with you, they have to smile and laugh at your joke. By having a conversation with them you're forcing them to do all of these things, and if they don't, you're going to take money off their tab. That is just rude.

Uber will have access to all the data related to tipping, the fare splits will be adjusted accordingly, and Uber drivers' pay will normalize to exactly what it already would have been without tipping.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#163

Post by mtanski »

lojack wrote: post #158
mtanski wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Uber driver in my neighborhood complained that the teens call up the cab to go 2 or 4 blocks. They are trying to emulate their parents and seam like a baler to their friends.

They need to raise the minimum fare for that then. Making teens pay more seems ridiculous to me.

I don't know if that is the cause of it; it's just one data point I heard (last year).

I'm actually curious what drove the increase. Since they are still in cost undercutting and competing mode I doubt it's just "because they can". I wonder if it has anything to do with economics (higher insurance rate) or what. According to this article: https://www.geekwire.com/2017/uber-drivers-sound-alarm-teen-...

"Uber says teen rides will only be booked with experienced drivers who have received consistently positive reviews."

So maybe the pool of drivers is smaller for teen accounts.

Also, teen accounts are not teens paying for it. But an account a parent can designate for the teen and they pay for it.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#164

Post by awakeasleep »

awqrre wrote: post #155
pfarnsworth wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's still no obligation to tip whatsoever. After your ride, when you next open the app (which could be days later) you are presented with a screen asking you to rate your driver (this already occurs). I think if you give a 5 star, then the option to give a "compliment" is given, which is similar to a badge or a Facebook like. As well, now, a tip button is also presented. You don't have to click on it if you don't…

Won't Uber reduce payments to drivers if most people tip?

Yes, but they were going to reduce those payments anyway.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#165

Post by mrslave »

I have gleaned - from such authoritative sources as TV - that tipping appears to be a large part of customer service culture in the USA. (Though I wouldn't be surprised to learn that it varies by region. Because the USA is just New York and California, right?)

I think this will have a negative effect on the experience of both driver & rider in countries where tipping is unusual, due to the increasing ambiguity of the fee. Especially if ratings become contingent upon tip.

It also seems to not fit the model. In a dining establishment there is a three party arrangement (restaurateur, customer, and server) and the assumption that the best way to motivate servers is to create a separate financial relationship between them and the customer. Uber already has well defined payments for all three parties, and channels for rating drivers and riders.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#167

Post by snowwrestler »

djyaz1200 wrote: post #153

Tipping sucks because then the driver wants to build a relationship with me instead of letting me just zone out or check email or something. I don't want to have a single serving friend every time I need to go somewhere.

Why would this happen? Drivers know their riders.

I use Lyft, which has had in-app tipping for a while now. In DC, most of the Lyft drivers are chatty. Last time I visited SF, none of the drivers were chatty.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#168

Post by rrradical »

djyaz1200 wrote: post #153

Tipping sucks because then the driver wants to build a relationship with me instead of letting me just zone out or check email or something. I don't want to have a single serving friend every time I need to go somewhere.

I actually really enjoy talking to my driver. They usually have a very different background than me. Maybe they recently immigrated from another country, for example. And it's neat to hear a bit about their life.

If you think of interacting with another human as a chore, then it will be a chore. But if you think of it an an opportunity to learn, then it can be very rewarding I think.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#169

Post by baddox »

mrslave wrote: post #165

I have gleaned - from such authoritative sources as TV - that tipping appears to be a large part of customer service culture in the USA. (Though I wouldn't be surprised to learn that it varies by region. Because the USA is just New York and California, right?) I think this will have a negative effect on the experience of both driver & rider in countries where tipping is unusual, due to the increasing ambiguity of the…

My impression and experience is that it's pretty widespread in the US, although I've heard that the specific per-service expectations vary. I've never been anywhere in the US where tips weren't expected for sit-down restaurant waiters.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#170

Post by molmalo »

FireBeyond wrote: post #93
objclxt wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The few Uber drivers I know expect a tip. I think this varies a lot by city. I don't know if you're in San Francisco, but it's never been my experience here that drivers expect a tip. But when I fly down to Las Vegas nearly all the Ubers I've taken have notes taped up in the back stating the driver expects to be tipped (in cash).

When was this? I spent a week in Vegas in March and according to my records, 27 Uber trips. I don't recall seeing anything like that, at all.

I spent a week there in december, and I saw a few that did have signs like that.
Post reply on HN