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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 ha

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.

cjslep 9y ago
That kind of disconnect and isolation is really well explored in the movie Fight Club: "Everywhere I travel, tiny life. Single-serving sugar, single-serving cream, single pat of butter. The microwave Cordon Bleu hobby kit. Shampoo-conditioner combos, sample-packaged mouthwash, tiny bars of soap. The people I meet on each flight? They're single-serving friends."
- baddox 9y ago
  Isn't that just making the same point, that pretending to be friends with an obviously very short-term acquaintance is silly?
  - aaronbrethorst 9y ago
    It's not about "pretending to be friends." It's about making a connection to another human being.
snowwrestler 9y ago
Why would this happen? Drivers know their riders. I use Lyft, which has had in-app tipping for a while now. In DC, most of the Lyft drivers are chatty. Last time I visited SF, none of the drivers were chatty.
rrradical 9y ago
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.
- isatty 9y ago
  I enjoy talking to my uber drivers as well but I don't want them to be obliged to talk to me. I'm an extroverted person and I enjoy chatting, but there are times when I'm busy and want to check my email etc; but with tipping there'll be more drivers who start the conversation and it'll be rude to not reply. Honestly though, I don't see the need for tipping to make people interact with each other. I've been taking uber for years (both in southern California and Singapore) and I don't see the need for this.
  - rrradical 9y ago
    I use Lyft, which has always had tipping, and I don't find this to be an issue. Usually I am the one that starts the conversation. And I'm no fan of tipping in general, but there's a lot more to a ride besides conversation that someone might want to tip for.
- tedajax 9y ago
  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.
  - wutbrodo 9y ago
    > 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).
    - tedajax 9y ago
      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".
Kluny 9y ago
Don't you just sit in the back if you want to zone out and sit in the front if you want to talk?
- kalleboo 9y ago
  I think that's a Lyft policy? As both an Uber and regular taxi rider I always sit in the back seat and drivers always talk to me.
- kelnos 9y ago
  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.

cjslep 9y ago

That kind of disconnect and isolation is really well explored in the movie Fight Club: "Everywhere I travel, tiny life. Single-serving sugar, single-serving cream, single pat of butter. The microwave Cordon Bleu hobby kit. Shampoo-conditioner combos, sample-packaged mouthwash, tiny bars of soap. The people I meet on each flight? They're single-serving friends."

baddox 9y ago
Isn't that just making the same point, that pretending to be friends with an obviously very short-term acquaintance is silly?
- aaronbrethorst 9y ago
  It's not about "pretending to be friends." It's about making a connection to another human being.

snowwrestler 9y ago

Why would this happen? Drivers know their riders. I use Lyft, which has had in-app tipping for a while now. In DC, most of the Lyft drivers are chatty. Last time I visited SF, none of the drivers were chatty.

rrradical 9y ago

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.

isatty 9y ago
I enjoy talking to my uber drivers as well but I don't want them to be obliged to talk to me. I'm an extroverted person and I enjoy chatting, but there are times when I'm busy and want to check my email etc; but with tipping there'll be more drivers who start the conversation and it'll be rude to not reply. Honestly though, I don't see the need for tipping to make people interact with each other. I've been taking uber for years (both in southern California and Singapore) and I don't see the need for this.
- rrradical 9y ago
  I use Lyft, which has always had tipping, and I don't find this to be an issue. Usually I am the one that starts the conversation. And I'm no fan of tipping in general, but there's a lot more to a ride besides conversation that someone might want to tip for.
tedajax 9y ago
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.
- wutbrodo 9y ago
  > 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).
  - tedajax 9y ago
    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".

Kluny 9y ago

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

kalleboo 9y ago
I think that's a Lyft policy? As both an Uber and regular taxi rider I always sit in the back seat and drivers always talk to me.
kelnos 9y ago
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.