I think this write up is much too one sided and obsessed with making the practice seem horrible. Some drivers might like to do a little dance occasionally. I know I would like anything that adds some levity to the day. If it's not mandatory and just a bit of fun, what's so bad?
Yes, seems like a dumb little joke like telling the pizza guy to write a good joke on the box or telling hotel staff to leave a picture of Tom Hanks on the nightstand. I imagine most of the time it'll get ignored, but when it does happen it's fairly entertaining for both people involved. No need to read into it like it's some awful worker abuse, there are plenty of real cases of that we can talk about instead
That would be the case, if it were limited to the two parties (one of which can't be arsed to be physically present).
However in this case, the transaction is then being recorded and turned into fuel for /personal gain/ of one of the parties. Possibly without knowledge, and almost definitely without consent of the other.