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Uber rolls out in-app tipping

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#241

Post by nailer »

veridies wrote: post #217
cocktailpeanuts wrote: post #183

It is sad that companies like Uber are being pressured into making these stupid decisions because of "social justice". For me the main benefit of using Uber (as well as all other on-demand services like Doordash, Caviar, etc.) was that everything is included and I don't have to think. Companies like Uber should be focused on building a product that consumers want and nothing else. These decisions are nothing more tha…

If they're being bullied into this decision (and I don't think they are), it's not because they're too timid to stand up to the media. It's because their customers might leave them, because their customers prefer companies that act more justly. You're arguing that a company should act only in its own rational self-interest. That's a reasonable point of view. But there's zero evidence that this is not in Uber's self-i…

Pressuring consumers into paying more than the negotiated price isn't 'acting more justly'

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#242

Post by huhtenberg »

whiddershins wrote: post #184

I am so unhappy about this change. I tip well everywhere it is expected, restaurants, bars, cabs etc. I hate the system but it is factored in to the price and there's nothing I can do about it. What I loved about Uber when it started was there was no ambiguity. Prices were predictable, as were wait times. Zero cognitive overhead. No guilt or internal debate. Over time every little thing I loved about Uber was taken a…

> What if instead of all these nitpicking changes, they kept the fares a bit higher and simply paid the drivers a bit more?

Drivers would still yearn and push for tips.

It's an established industry practice and drivers assume that most people will tip if asked, so by not asking they are leaving money on the table.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#243

Post by kelnos »

pfarnsworth wrote: post #149
justboxing wrote: post #143

I don't use Uber or Lyft, but if I was, this would drive me away from Uber. From what I hear from my friends who use Uber, 1 reason they love it is because all the charges are through the app and there is no "obligation" to tip, so it's 1 less decision them have to make, i.e. calculate how much to tip, keep wondering if you tipped the driver too much, or too little, what's a "fair" tip for the ride etc etc.

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…

> I will never tip with zero guilt.

I suspect you're in the minority. Most people (in the US, anyway), when presented with an explicit option to tip, will do so out of a sense of obligation, or out of a desire not to be seen as a cheapskate -- even if the decision whether or not to tip is anonymous! Unfortunately that's how ingrained tipping culture is here.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#244

Post by kelnos »

jffry wrote: post #190
johnnyo wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't Uber allow drivers to rate passengers as well? Couldn't drivers give low ratings to bad tippers?

I should think Uber wouldn't show the driver the tip amount until after they've given their rating.

Or, better, will only tell drivers their per-day tip totals, and not associate the amounts with riders at all (as I believe Lyft does).

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#245

Post by wutbrodo »

throwaway055 wrote: post #162

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 essentia…

> 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.

This is just silly. You could just as easily (and just as incorrectly) say that someone not conversing with their server is consigning them to the indignity of being invisible and ignored all day, like an appliance instead of a person. Hell, I've had plenty of waiters that talked _my_ ear off more than I would've optimally preferred. The fact that social cues are attenuated in the conversation doesn't mean they don't exist; blanket statements like "every time someone makes conversation with the waiter they're forcing them to talk" are just dumb.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#246

Post by TheArcane »

nailer wrote: post #237
homulilly wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was basically the only reason I ever used Uber instead of Lyft. Now I'll just use Lyft 100% of the time since drivers seem to like them better anyway.

Does Lyft have tipping? It doesn't operate where I am.

It does.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#247

Post by avdempsey »

avdempsey wrote: post #239

I'll break-down tipping for the neophytes. Yes, by George Orwell's account, tipping was considered repugnant by no less than the anarchist defenders of Catalonia in the Spanish Civil War. But you feel bad not tipping when expected and you want to know what to do. 1. Tip your bartender at least $1/drink. Maybe tip $3 if you got two drinks. Maybe $2 for one of it's something fancy. 2. In SF, tip your waiter 20% for goo…

Trying to decide if you should talk to your driver? Let them take the lead. If they launch into talking, and you feel like talking too, go for it! If they're quiet, let them work. Worried they're only talking to you for the money? Try to find out what their interests are and engage them. None of this should impact your tipping decision.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#248

Post by TheArcane »

kelnos wrote: post #243
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…

> I will never tip with zero guilt. I suspect you're in the minority. Most people (in the US, anyway), when presented with an explicit option to tip, will do so out of a sense of obligation, or out of a desire not to be seen as a cheapskate -- even if the decision whether or not to tip is anonymous! Unfortunately that's how ingrained tipping culture is here.

This 'feeling' doesn't exist in Europe or a big part of Asia.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#249

Post by kelnos »

furioussloth wrote: post #123
digitalzombie wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right Lyft already do this but there is no pressure because you don't have to tip right away. You get off and think about it. I was a Lyft driver for one summer. Also Lyft supposely paid more. Uber never encourage tipping and they didn't care about their driver at all. Their CEO was on the record for this. I chose Lyft because they were more friendly and they didn't treat their worker like dirt. I wouldn't ride an Ub…

" Riders will be asked whether they would like to leave a tip when rating their driver at the end of a trip." So exactly same as Lyft. Also do not forget Lyft would not exist without uber doing most of the "shady" work they did to get around and eventually change regulations which helped ride-sharing companies to operate .

And hell, Lyft has done plenty of shady stuff, too. They're just quiet about it and have a better PR department, and have branded themselves in a much more sympathetic way.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#250

Post by wutbrodo »

tedajax wrote: post #179
rrradical wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I commute via Uber so the idea of having to talk every time is awful. Plus after a while every Uber conversation is exactly the same.

> Plus after a while every Uber conversation is exactly the same.

I've been taking Uber for...5-6 years at this point, with hundreds of rides, and this is emphatically untrue. If this is happening to you, it's probably has less to do with Uber drivers than it has to do with you. (Not that that's an unambiguously negative thing: being able to reliably have interesting conversations with strangers is hardly a required skill).

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