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Uber rolls out in-app tipping

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#301

Post by creepydata »

distances wrote: post #274
withdavidli wrote: post #145

They're charging teens more?? The people who earn the least if any at all... is there a special teens services that I'm not aware of? And who asked for tipping besides drivers? Hate the concept. Charge us more or split the fare with them better.

How do teens pay for Uber rides? Surely children aren't eligible for credit cards in the US?

I think teens are allowed to have debit cards in the US now (it wasn't that way when I was a teenager). They also can be added as an authorized user to an adult's credit card account, which gives them their own card in their name.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#302

Post by [deleted] »

savanaly wrote: post #86
londons_explore wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

But it will come back to bite me in a psychological way. I don't want to feel like the sort of person who doesn't tip when tipping is expected, I want to use a service where I don't have to think about tipping and can feel like a decent person. If that service has to cost more then so be it.

[deleted]

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#303

Post by gambiting »

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…

I'm just not going to use this option in the app. There seems to be absolutely zero downside to not doing it, and multiple downsides to using it.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#304

Post by pheldagryph »

cocktailpeanuts wrote: post #216
smt88 wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uber is building a product consumers want. That product must have a brand that consumers don't find repugnant. You seem to want a free market, but not a market that prioritizes things (e.g. tipping) that you don't care about. You can't have it both ways. The market has spoken and Uber has responded.

"I really hope I can pay more to get from A to B", said nobody. Also I don't know where your assumption "The market has spoken" comes from.

> "I really hope I can pay more to get from A to B", said nobody.

Oh, that's me! Here's a few reasons I'd want to have the option to pay a driver a bit more:

- I forced them to drive a stressful route

- I forced them to drive waaay off the beaten path

- They helped me schlep large items in/out of their vehicle

- I inconvenienced them somehow to where it makes their next ride a bit less likely to tip / star (like making a mess in the car)

> The market has spoken

A driver and I recently discussed this change, and our conclusion was: "finally!". Tipping is the custom in the USA for exactly this kind of job. Making it inconvenient or impossible to tip inside the app is like garnishing drivers' wages. Some drivers really really do deserve to benefit more from their labor, and some riders really do owe their drivers a bit more.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#305

Post by yebyen »

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…

You know what, I am in a college town that is otherwise way too small for Uber and Lyft, but we have service because of the college. I was on a two hour train ride home after 12 hours of air travel, to save a couple of bucks. I arrived at the train station after the three hour ride (one hour late) at about 1:00am, and all of the Uber drivers had gone to sleep at least an hour ago!

I was so glad to see one Lyft driver still signed on, when the conductor came and told me we'd be at the station in 20 minutes. When he got me home with no hassle, I felt compelled to leave a $10 tip. I've never been a heavy user of either service, but I believe the Lyft app has had this feature for a long time.

Because this guy personally saved me from a $20 cab ride, at least, when all of the other cars had left the map, it was easily worth $10 extra. Now writing about it I think I should have tipped $20! I shudder to think what I would have done if I had to depend on Uber instead, where the price only goes up when there is a surge in demand.

(Probably would have taken a cab, I'm sure it's not as bleak as I'm making it out to be, but the fact is Uber drivers all went to sleep at 12:00, for some reason, and Lyft stayed up. I wonder if it was because of tips? To Insure Prompt Service! I don't know if this is a major difference for the drivers, but when I've asked people who drive for both services off-hand which one they prefer, I've never heard any of them answer Uber. It's always Lyft.)

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#306

Post by criddell »

gambiting wrote: post #303
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…

I'm just not going to use this option in the app. There seems to be absolutely zero downside to not doing it, and multiple downsides to using it.

Do you mean you won't tip in the app, or you just won't tip?

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#307

Post by gambiting »

criddell wrote: post #306
gambiting wrote: post #303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm just not going to use this option in the app. There seems to be absolutely zero downside to not doing it, and multiple downsides to using it.

Do you mean you won't tip in the app, or you just won't tip?

I've never tipped Uber drivers(it would be extremely weird giving the uber driver cash if the payment for the fare is done through my account, do other people tip their uber drivers?), and will continue not doing so - will just ignore the option in the app. I do tip in other industries and situations.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#308

Post by criddell »

cocktailpeanuts wrote: post #216
smt88 wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uber is building a product consumers want. That product must have a brand that consumers don't find repugnant. You seem to want a free market, but not a market that prioritizes things (e.g. tipping) that you don't care about. You can't have it both ways. The market has spoken and Uber has responded.

"I really hope I can pay more to get from A to B", said nobody. Also I don't know where your assumption "The market has spoken" comes from.

I say that. I usually want to tip the driver and I want an easy way to do it. I started using Lyft because I could tip in the app. I don't want to have to carry around cash.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#309

Post by criddell »

nailer wrote: post #241
veridies wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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'

There isn't much of a negotiation though.

Somebody else said than an early version of the Uber app let customers define their tip in the app and it was automatically applied. Maybe they should bring that back and also give drivers the ability to filter on that value.

Re: Uber rolls out in-app tipping

#310

Post by gehwartzen »

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…

I completely agree, this is a terrible move on uber's part.

That being said, if tipping is going to be part of the new model going forward I would at least want it to be anonymous. That is have the driver receive all of his/her tips in aggregate at the end of the pay cycle without knowing which passengers it came from. The driver can still determine if his overall service was, on average, financially valued by the drivers above the fare price but passengers don't have the same pressure to tip (blacklisted by drivers, bad reviews, etc) if they don't want to.

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