3 ms·

Tipping helps people who need it. It is simple. Voluntary. Binary. A $1 or $2 tip may not seem like much, but if it gets saved (which often tip receivers do)

Tipping helps people who need it. It is simple. Voluntary. Binary. A $1 or $2 tip may not seem like much, but if it gets saved (which often tip receivers do) it adds up. Like found money. Do uber drivers make a lot? Could $1 $2 $3 help them? It is not about guilt. It's not about service quality. It is not about greater things. It is about helping someone who most likely needs it. You could get on a high horse and make grandiose statements - all for a few dollars!! Tip receivers know the types that never tip. And types that tip big. And types that cant afford to tip. Dont over think Tipping. I never wish anyone financial hardship but if you ever experience it you will know how greatful a small or large tip helps.

oconnore 9y ago
Tipping exists because employers (in this case Uber) don't pay enough. Not tipping once you are already stuck with that system doesn't solve anything, but expanding that system makes things worse.
- snowwrestler 9y ago
  Uber repeatedly and forcefully reminds the world that it does not employ its drivers, they are independent contractors to whom Uber is providing a service: matchmaking with riders. According to Uber, when you get in a car, that driver is actually working for you.
snowwrestler 9y ago
I wish this comment was higher. I think it's a bummer to see developers who make way over the national median income complain they "don't want to think" about maybe giving a couple extra bucks to people who could use it.
- losteverything 9y ago
  I used to never tip. I thought of tipping as a review of their work. Good service:18% ok service:10% crappy service: lousy tip. Then i got displaced. Bartending introduced me to the tipping "infrastructure" and lifestyle. Then making deliveries. I think developers just can't feel until my way about tipping until they lose their jobs. It is not they are assholes - just not worldly.
- TuringNYC 9y ago
  >> I think it's a bummer to see developers who make way over the national median income complain they "don't want to think" about maybe giving a couple extra bucks to people who could use it. Numerous comments here are indeed suggesting "don't make me think" but to be fair they are also suggesting higher prices and wages for drivers. They are not saying "don't want to pay", they just want to not think about it and rather let it be part of the payment formula in the first place.
  - snowwrestler 9y ago
    My perspective is that, if I think drivers should be paid more, tipping gives me the capability to make that real for my drivers. The model of Uber is in fact that the driver is an independent service provider to me, the rider. Uber is just the matchmaker. So if I want my driver to make more, I pay them more. I think the mindset of "I won't tip but at least I think Uber should pay their drivers more" is just rationalization. Merely thinking things in our heads doesn't change anything.
    - losteverything 9y ago
      If anything is wrong it is that the starting point for salary/service was too low. Paying a really good wage was not done. Why shoudnt an Amazon worker or a delivery person make $75-100k. The investors and ceo make multiples more. So we live in the sysyem we have now.
    - TuringNYC 9y ago
      The commenters (including me) are not saying "Uber should pay their drivers more" they are actively suggesting increasing the price of the rides so more money goes to drivers (who make a % of the price.) They are advocating for higher prices overall so drivers get more money. Also, higher prices are more fair. Ask anyone who waits tables and you learn pretty people make more in tips. It isnt fair. I dont know firsthand but I imagine someone with an accent might make less. Formulaic prices for rides seem to me a far more fair way to compensate drivers than the whims of individuals.
- askafriend 9y ago
  It's not about a few extra bucks, that's not the big issue with tipping. I would be completely fine if a service costed 30%-50% more if that meant the employees would get paid a decent wage. The onus should be on the employers -- not on the employees and the customer to figure it out. I hate tipping. The whole experience of it just sucks in every way. It doesn't bring joy to anyone. Both parties lose. The service provider constantly has to worry about tips and have no consistency in income. If they were paid a normal livable wage, then they wouldn't have to worry about this. For the customer, the whole process of purchasing a product is made more painful and more complicated - unnecessarily.
  - snowwrestler 9y ago
    It's literally tapping one extra button in the app UI. I'm really surprised at how hard this seems to people.
    - ck425 9y ago
      How do I know what to tip? How do I estimate before getting an uber how much it's going to cost? Tipping is the worst part of visiting the US. You go to restaurant and the menu for your meal says $x, but it's not $x, it's $x plus taxes plus tips. As a consumer I just want to know up front how much something is going to cost. No other country in the world makes this as ridiculously hard. And if you screw it up your "cheapskate".
      - snowwrestler 9y ago
        This thread is full of people who work in technology, who think of themselves as smart capable people, complaining bitterly about choosing between 15%, 20%, or 25% in an app. Just tap the middle option. You can't go wrong, and your driver will have a slightly better life than otherwise.
        askafriend 9y ago
        Why not just increase prices by 30% and pay the driver more? That was it’s a better exper for everyone involved.
- Majestic121 9y ago
  That's the whole point : people who could use it should just be paid decently from starter. Tipping is just an unnecessary social pressure, and if you read what people actually say, this is not about the few bucks it costs, it is specifically about the practice which introduce doubt and insincerity in what should be a dead simple process. Increase the prices, and pay people decently, but don't tip.
lukaslalinsky 9y ago
When I use Uber, I want to get from A to B and the driver is paid for doing exactly that. I have no problem tipping people who do something outside of their duty, but I don't see why should I decide how much extra to pay for what Uber should already be paying.
- losteverything 9y ago
  I understand your thoughts. You do noy have to pay extra. You bring your lifes experiences on your drive. You intersect with a person who may need a few extra bucks. A second job. A displaced older man. A parent trying to manage caring for pre-school aged kids. An immigrant making extra to help his family. Now. You have a chance to help this person. That is ALL a tip is. People from the school of hard knocks tip more and "get it" But you never HAVE to tip

oconnore 9y ago

Tipping exists because employers (in this case Uber) don't pay enough. Not tipping once you are already stuck with that system doesn't solve anything, but expanding that system makes things worse.

snowwrestler 9y ago
Uber repeatedly and forcefully reminds the world that it does not employ its drivers, they are independent contractors to whom Uber is providing a service: matchmaking with riders. According to Uber, when you get in a car, that driver is actually working for you.

snowwrestler 9y ago

I wish this comment was higher. I think it's a bummer to see developers who make way over the national median income complain they "don't want to think" about maybe giving a couple extra bucks to people who could use it.

losteverything 9y ago
I used to never tip. I thought of tipping as a review of their work. Good service:18% ok service:10% crappy service: lousy tip. Then i got displaced. Bartending introduced me to the tipping "infrastructure" and lifestyle. Then making deliveries. I think developers just can't feel until my way about tipping until they lose their jobs. It is not they are assholes - just not worldly.
TuringNYC 9y ago
>> I think it's a bummer to see developers who make way over the national median income complain they "don't want to think" about maybe giving a couple extra bucks to people who could use it. Numerous comments here are indeed suggesting "don't make me think" but to be fair they are also suggesting higher prices and wages for drivers. They are not saying "don't want to pay", they just want to not think about it and rather let it be part of the payment formula in the first place.
- snowwrestler 9y ago
  My perspective is that, if I think drivers should be paid more, tipping gives me the capability to make that real for my drivers. The model of Uber is in fact that the driver is an independent service provider to me, the rider. Uber is just the matchmaker. So if I want my driver to make more, I pay them more. I think the mindset of "I won't tip but at least I think Uber should pay their drivers more" is just rationalization. Merely thinking things in our heads doesn't change anything.
  - losteverything 9y ago
    If anything is wrong it is that the starting point for salary/service was too low. Paying a really good wage was not done. Why shoudnt an Amazon worker or a delivery person make $75-100k. The investors and ceo make multiples more. So we live in the sysyem we have now.
  - TuringNYC 9y ago
    The commenters (including me) are not saying "Uber should pay their drivers more" they are actively suggesting increasing the price of the rides so more money goes to drivers (who make a % of the price.) They are advocating for higher prices overall so drivers get more money. Also, higher prices are more fair. Ask anyone who waits tables and you learn pretty people make more in tips. It isnt fair. I dont know firsthand but I imagine someone with an accent might make less. Formulaic prices for rides seem to me a far more fair way to compensate drivers than the whims of individuals.
askafriend 9y ago
It's not about a few extra bucks, that's not the big issue with tipping. I would be completely fine if a service costed 30%-50% more if that meant the employees would get paid a decent wage. The onus should be on the employers -- not on the employees and the customer to figure it out. I hate tipping. The whole experience of it just sucks in every way. It doesn't bring joy to anyone. Both parties lose. The service provider constantly has to worry about tips and have no consistency in income. If they were paid a normal livable wage, then they wouldn't have to worry about this. For the customer, the whole process of purchasing a product is made more painful and more complicated - unnecessarily.
- snowwrestler 9y ago
  It's literally tapping one extra button in the app UI. I'm really surprised at how hard this seems to people.
  - ck425 9y ago
    How do I know what to tip? How do I estimate before getting an uber how much it's going to cost? Tipping is the worst part of visiting the US. You go to restaurant and the menu for your meal says $x, but it's not $x, it's $x plus taxes plus tips. As a consumer I just want to know up front how much something is going to cost. No other country in the world makes this as ridiculously hard. And if you screw it up your "cheapskate".
    - snowwrestler 9y ago
      This thread is full of people who work in technology, who think of themselves as smart capable people, complaining bitterly about choosing between 15%, 20%, or 25% in an app. Just tap the middle option. You can't go wrong, and your driver will have a slightly better life than otherwise.
      - askafriend 9y ago
        Why not just increase prices by 30% and pay the driver more? That was it’s a better exper for everyone involved.
Majestic121 9y ago
That's the whole point : people who could use it should just be paid decently from starter. Tipping is just an unnecessary social pressure, and if you read what people actually say, this is not about the few bucks it costs, it is specifically about the practice which introduce doubt and insincerity in what should be a dead simple process. Increase the prices, and pay people decently, but don't tip.

lukaslalinsky 9y ago

When I use Uber, I want to get from A to B and the driver is paid for doing exactly that. I have no problem tipping people who do something outside of their duty, but I don't see why should I decide how much extra to pay for what Uber should already be paying.

losteverything 9y ago
I understand your thoughts. You do noy have to pay extra. You bring your lifes experiences on your drive. You intersect with a person who may need a few extra bucks. A second job. A displaced older man. A parent trying to manage caring for pre-school aged kids. An immigrant making extra to help his family. Now. You have a chance to help this person. That is ALL a tip is. People from the school of hard knocks tip more and "get it" But you never HAVE to tip