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Uber rolls out in-app tipping

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#261

Post by jbmorgado »

linkregister wrote: post #82

I used to abhor the in-app tipping option in Lyft. But increasingly I would be asked to tip cash by drivers when I used Uber. My rating started to get lower as the cultural expectation to tip cash took hold. It turns out the Lyft model, where the driver doesn't know whether or not the rider tipped, is better for the rider. The rider doesn't have to carry cash in order to avoid getting extorted for a 5-star rating. Ti…

I'm curious, but why didn't you rate your drivers 1 star rating evertime they would break the Uber agreement and try to coherce you into tipping them in cash?

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#262

Post by kelnos »

HappyTypist wrote: post #182
eridius wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If Uber drivers' pay ends up at exactly what it was before this, I think Uber's going to have a big problem as all their drivers ditch the platform. Uber already pays their drivers shit, there's no way they can justify taking even more of the money from each ride away from the driver. As for whether they should tip in the first place, this wouldn't be a problem if Uber charged enough to begin with. But they got into…

Uber's margin on a ride is already 35-40% in US cities (source: UberPeople), thanks to their 'upfront fares' pricing (rider fare is not used for calculation of driver fares at all, drivers are paid per mile/km and min), their Booking fees, UberPool pricing disparities, and Surge disparities (a rider paying a 1.5x surge does not necessarily mean a driver is receiving 1.5x).

> (rider fare is not used for calculation of driver fares at all, drivers are paid per mile/km and min)

Is this still the case? Uber recently lost a class-action suit about this (and I got a silly $42 check in the mail from it).

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#263

Post by kelnos »

rrradical wrote: post #168
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.

That's awesome that you enjoy that, but not everyone does. Many of us are introverted and/or shy, and forced interaction with a stranger is very draining. Claiming that this is a personal choice or frame of mind is incorrect. I would rather save my social/emotional energy for my actual friends, not people I'll likely never see again after a 10-minute ride.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#264

Post by kelnos »

Kluny wrote: post #234
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.

Don't you just sit in the back if you want to zone out and sit in the front if you want to talk?

Uber has never had a culture of sitting in the front seat (unless the rear seats are occupied, of course). Even with Lyft, that practice, along with fist-bumps, seems to have fallen out of favor.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#265

Post by imgabe »

Look, you can't have demand based pricing AND tipping. If you think I'm adding 20% onto a 2.5x surge fare, you're out of your damn mind.

The pricing is dynamic based on supply and demand. If the fares are too low, that means there's too many drivers and not enough riders. So, if it's not worth it at that time...don't drive. Prices will go up until drivers decide it's worthwhile to drive. If they're out they're driving, that means they've decided the price available at the time is worth it to them.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#266

Post by tedajax »

wutbrodo wrote: post #250
tedajax wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I'm totally capable of having interesting conversations with strangers thank you very much, but Uber rides almost inevitably lead to one of 4 out 5 topics with rare exceptions. Frankly I'd pay extra for an option to say "I prefer to be matched with drivers who don't want to talk".

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#267

Post by kelnos »

SamLevin88 wrote: post #55
vthallam wrote: post #8

The most important feature I liked in Uber relative to lyft was no tipping. Why not spike the price up a little and compensate them. When they have started, the motto was, "Uber - Your private driver" and it was truly like that until today I tip the driver like every other service you get.

Why are people up in arms over this? Being able to tip on Lyft is one of my favorite parts and from what I've read and understood, it generally favors the drivers. You don't need to tip immediately, a nice little dialog pops up with pre-configured amounts, and you can go above and beyond if you had good service

> Being able to tip on Lyft is one of my favorite parts

Feeling obligated to tip on Lyft is one of my least favorite parts, and in fact I refused to switch from Uber to Lyft much longer than I would have preferred to because of Lyft's tipping culture.

> it generally favors the drivers

You know what favors the drivers better? Paying them more. Not only does this put more cash in their pockets, but it also provides more predictable income for them.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#268

Post by kelnos »

linkregister wrote: post #90
SilasX wrote: post #52

Well, there goes my last reason for using Uber. I had been really excited that they were the one oasis pushing back against the tipping culture[1]. Particularly troubling is the framing: >Uber is enabling passengers to tip its U.S. drivers with a tap on its ride-hailing app for the first time, part of a push to recast itself as a company with a conscience and a heart. What? As if anyone preferring that a service be u…

Yeah, all the tipping advocates are probably not aware that most countries don't have tipping. Restaurant staff are paid according to local wages. So a racial minority won't be paid less than someone from the majority race. European and Australian restaurant staff aren't depending on arbitrary tips. They know exactly what they are going to make at the beginning of their shift. They don't feel like they're working for…

> until drivers start insisting on seeing you enter your tip before awarding your 5-star rating.

If any driver did that to me, I would give them a 1-star rating, no tip, and immediately report them to Uber's customer support.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#269

Post by kelnos »

linkregister wrote: post #134
wcummings wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think most restaurant staff split tips, so no one will be paid less than anyone else if they get low tips.

I don't know what percentage of restaurants do that. From my anecdata, few restaurants do it. Also, California law prohibits it.

I believe CA law prohibits sharing tips with the kitchen staff, not pooling tips among the front-room staff.

And pretty much every bar/restaurant I know of pools tips, not the opposite as you suggest.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#270

Post by distances »

Simulacra wrote: post #100
bpicolo wrote: 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

I deleted Uber and installed Lyft after riding in a car in Portland where the driver had discreetly tucked a dollar bill in the console as a tacit cue to tip. I hate tipping. I avoid situations where I have to tip, or get pressured to tip.

Note that deleting the app isn't enough. You should also explicitly close your Uber account.
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