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Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

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Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#481

Post by falsedan »

madeofpalk wrote: post #361
vmarsy wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed this problem goes away. A new one pops up though: mediocre service, such as having to ask many times for refilling the tap water bottle or get condiments, and struggling to get the waiter's attention in general.

Coming from a country that doesn't enforce tipping, I have not found a noticeable lack of customer service compared to the US. In fact the opposite - I find service at restaurants in the US to be noticeably fake and insincere. I'm not sure why you don't think that tips are the only incentive for businesses to have good customer service. Places with poor waitstaff drive customers away, and that restaurant goes out of…

> I find service at restaurants in the US to be noticeably fake and insincere

Also, really really slow! They gotta show off their serious "oh mx customer, look at what a unbelievable level of service I, your server, am giving you, the money-haver, right now" while 10 more people patiently wait in line for their turn on the throne.

I much prefer surly service, if it means I can get my coffee and get out on my way a minute faster. That's time I could be spending with my loved ones.

Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#482

Post by always_good »

lewilewilewi wrote: post #456
wpietri wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you think this is fraud? At least in SF, I'm pretty sure the standard deal is that the drivers pay for the cab regardless of what they get in fares. Cabs were a cash business for a hundred years, after all. I think the deal with credit card machines in the cabs is that the cab companies see it as a revenue source. I know cab drivers grumble about the cost of using them. It makes sense to me that Stripe is chea…

A hundred years? That's cute. Cabs have been a cash business for 250 years: http://www.lvta.co.uk/history.htm

It's weird that you thought the correction was so meaningful and "that's cute" was such clever snark that it cajoled you to register a new account.

Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#483

Post by elf25 »

grecy wrote: post #352
redm wrote: post #4

No Tipping is one of the main reasons I liked Uber; no cash, no pressure, you just get out of the car and walk away with everyone happy. I would rather pay more for each fare and have Uber aggressively prohibit tipping. I suspect many people feel the same way and if Uber doesn't get it under control, it could be the biggest challenge they face.

As a non-American this is how I feel about tipping in general. It's so much easier to just pay people a decent wage, include it in the cost of things and then not have the pressure of tipping. That, and tipping is akin to having paid servants. i.e. " if you do a good job, and if I feel like it, I might give you some of my wad of cash. Or not, sucker.". (Of course, I do tip because the servers rely on it, I just don't…

from a customer's perspective, yes I agree. From a business owners viewpoint, it's cutting payroll expenses and good for business that I can get away with the lower payscale.

However, my personal thoughts are to take care of the employee and make employee happy, Happy employee will make more customers happy.

Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#485

Post by tveita »

wiwofone wrote: post #377
roel_v wrote: post #362

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Never used Uber, what's the problem with someone knowing where you're going? Doesn't the app tell the driver before they pick you up? (Well I guess not, or they wouldn't call you...)

The destination shows up when the ride starts (i.e. you get in the car). Calling beforehand is a an indication that the driver might want to cancel the ride if the destination is "inconvenient" (e.g. from city center to a remote suburb).

Uber is of course a ridesharing service, so it's reasonable for the driver to confirm that you're going the same way they are, to prevent a detour. /s

Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#486

Post by brbrodude »

UweSchmidt wrote: post #410
grecy wrote: post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a non-American this is how I feel about tipping in general. It's so much easier to just pay people a decent wage, include it in the cost of things and then not have the pressure of tipping. That, and tipping is akin to having paid servants. i.e. " if you do a good job, and if I feel like it, I might give you some of my wad of cash. Or not, sucker.". (Of course, I do tip because the servers rely on it, I just don't…

Same here. Tipping also seems to lead into a more in-your-face service. A waiter might find tips go up if he/she draws attention to her work, starts conversations and offers all kinds of extras. In the end you can't argue that the service wasn't outstanding, but life would have been better for everyone involved if he/she just put the food on the table.

Amen!

Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#487

Post by Gustomaximus »

NetMonkey wrote: post #439
seanp2k2 wrote: post #376

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe we're still a decade or more from true driverless vehicles / cabs. There are so so so many situations which require specialized decision making to get out of that we really need general AI to truly have cars drive themselves. I'm sure we'll get some sort of hybrid model sooner where the cars are driverless 95% of the time, but someone at a remote center can take over and pilot it around construction / throu…

But why wouldn't the callcenter approach work? That's where I see many other industries going. Cut the workers, use a callcenter instead through telepresence. Even if it's only 95% selfdriving, that's massive savings compared to having a driver in there 100% of the time.

This could be great for freight trucking where they spend majority of time on freeways, which should be easy win for self-driving, and then do the last leg with a virtual, or physical pick-up driver. Likewise for shipping.

Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#488

Post by headcanon »

grecy wrote: post #352
redm wrote: post #4

No Tipping is one of the main reasons I liked Uber; no cash, no pressure, you just get out of the car and walk away with everyone happy. I would rather pay more for each fare and have Uber aggressively prohibit tipping. I suspect many people feel the same way and if Uber doesn't get it under control, it could be the biggest challenge they face.

As a non-American this is how I feel about tipping in general. It's so much easier to just pay people a decent wage, include it in the cost of things and then not have the pressure of tipping. That, and tipping is akin to having paid servants. i.e. " if you do a good job, and if I feel like it, I might give you some of my wad of cash. Or not, sucker.". (Of course, I do tip because the servers rely on it, I just don't…

> That, and tipping is akin to having paid servants

It feels like that because that's what it is - American tipping culture has its roots in slavery.

Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#489

Post by eli »

pc86 wrote: post #465
eli wrote: post #430

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or to a "bad neighborhood"

I don't know why you're using quote, there are legitimately dangerous neighborhoods that someone may not want to drive to at 2:30 AM. Granted, if that's the case, then they shouldn't be Ubering at 2:30 AM, but it's still a legitimate concern.

At least in my experience, "bad neighborhood" more often than not simply means "black people live there."

Re: Uber Driver Tip-Hustling Schemes

#490

Post by syrrim »

Larrikin wrote: post #226
syrrim wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't get to set the minimum wage, and perhaps have difficulty determining the precise wage without tips, but tips allow you to choose the maximum wage. If you knew $5 of what you paid Uber would go towards the driver for a 20 minute ride, that they had to spend a dollar of that on gasoline, and perhaps that they would need an extra 10 minutes to get home, you could estimate they earned $8 an hour. If you deemed…

Uber should pay that and it should be priced into the model. If the market is unwilling to pay then it should go under

Uber should pay it, yes, but they aren't. Further, not paying it is unlikely to make them go under - in fact the reverse. Charging more, or giving more to the drivers, will take away from their profits. Conversely, not paying their drivers enough will at worst cost them drivers moving to Lyft. Until this is a problem, they won't change.

The only parties that take advantage of the driver are Uber and yourself; if Uber is unwilling to take up the mantle of proper pay then the responsibility falls on you. The question becomes: does the driver have a right to be payed properly? Or, in other words, if the driver is willing to work for a lower pay, do you have a responsibility to pay them more? Some would argue that it's a free market, and that if they don't like the pay, they should find a different job. If you believe in a minimum wage however, you should make sure that all those under your service recieve a reasonable wage.

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