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I use Uber precisely because of its predictability and lack of social dances and pressures. At this rate it will just be another taxi company before long. I wan

I use Uber precisely because of its predictability and lack of social dances and pressures. At this rate it will just be another taxi company before long. I want the drivers to be paid fairly, and if that means making the rates more reasonable then so be it I'm happy to pay a fair price. Just don't make the drivers livelihood depend on how well he can pretend to be interested in my day etc to eek out as much tips as possible. The dynamic it creates is not fun for either side.

baxtr 8y ago
Changing human nature is really really difficult, maybe impossible EFIT: because of the downvotes I want to clarify that I meant: if Uber is developing towards other, older taxi companies it’s maybe because of human nature and not because they wanted to become like that
- adamrainsby 8y ago
  Not in this case. The culture around tipping is not universal.
- leducw 8y ago
  You don't need to "change" human nature for this. Just pay them fairly and don't encourage tipping culture since it leads to things like this.
- Analemma_ 8y ago
  Tipping is only “a thing” in the United States, it is in no way a human universal.
- imgabe 8y ago
  There is nothing "human nature" about tipping. A significant majority of humanity gets along just fine without tipping.
kalleboo 8y ago
In the linked thread I'm also seeing someone giving riders 3 stars for "short trip" and BS like that. Really ruins the service if you have to worry about those things. edit: they're also talking about retaliatory ratings "if you give me a 1 I'll go back and change you to a 1 and you'll have a hard time getting picked up again", I thought that wasn't possible? Did Uber change that?
- SyneRyder 8y ago
  > Did Uber change that? Not sure about on the driver side, but on the passenger side you could log into the desktop website & modify ratings for a previous ride. Was useful when a driver forced you to give 5 stars, you could revise it once you got back to your laptop.
  - apacheCamel 8y ago
    Have you had experience with a driving forcing you to rate 5 stars? That seems incredibly crazy to me. That just throws the reasoning behind having a rating system out the window. If a driver has 5 stars merely because they uncomfortably made passengers rate them that way then the system is pointless.
    - SyneRyder 8y ago
      Yes, but it was three years ago [1]. The driver even gave me his empty McDonalds bag and asked me to throw it out for him. It was around the time when taxi drivers in my city all started becoming Uber drivers because taxi use had plummeted. Uber quality has improved in my city a lot since then though, at least for me. And I've personally had far worse experiences from regular taxis in the past[2], so I'm still a fan of Uber. [1] https://twitter.com/syneryder/statuses/756130867269873664 https://twitter.com/syneryder/statuses/756130867269873664 [2] https://web.archive.org/web/20170816073734/https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/passenger-dumped-on-roadside-as-taxi-drivers-blockade-melbourne-airport/ar-AAq9hyR?li=AAgfLCP https://web.archive.org/web/20170816073734/https://www.msn.c...
SyneRyder 8y ago
> I want the drivers to be paid fairly, and if that means making the rates more reasonable then so be it I'm happy to pay a fair price. Agreed. Rather than tipping, I prefer Uber's other ideas like UberX Plus. For 20% extra, you get a driver with a 4.80 rating or higher. It's one way to make sure your driver earns more money for the same trip, and to encourage quality of service over lower price. There's also Uber Black, if you can afford to pay 2x the cost - I used to get Uber Black all the time, but unfortunately right now I can only afford/justify it on occasional trips. Sadly, I think the ridesharing services have discovered (like airlines) that most people just want the cheapest cost, not better service. For some people that makes sense - eg my neighbour is a pensioner, and making Uber cheaper than a taxi means she can now afford to go more places, it's improved her life. But for those of us who liked the free mints & free water, a comfortable ride, and a driver who helps you with your bags, we've got to pay higher prices & choose higher tiers to make those service levels sustainable.

baxtr 8y ago

Changing human nature is really really difficult, maybe impossible EFIT: because of the downvotes I want to clarify that I meant: if Uber is developing towards other, older taxi companies it’s maybe because of human nature and not because they wanted to become like that

adamrainsby 8y ago
Not in this case. The culture around tipping is not universal.
leducw 8y ago
You don't need to "change" human nature for this. Just pay them fairly and don't encourage tipping culture since it leads to things like this.
Analemma_ 8y ago
Tipping is only “a thing” in the United States, it is in no way a human universal.
imgabe 8y ago
There is nothing "human nature" about tipping. A significant majority of humanity gets along just fine without tipping.

kalleboo 8y ago

In the linked thread I'm also seeing someone giving riders 3 stars for "short trip" and BS like that. Really ruins the service if you have to worry about those things. edit: they're also talking about retaliatory ratings "if you give me a 1 I'll go back and change you to a 1 and you'll have a hard time getting picked up again", I thought that wasn't possible? Did Uber change that?

SyneRyder 8y ago
> Did Uber change that? Not sure about on the driver side, but on the passenger side you could log into the desktop website & modify ratings for a previous ride. Was useful when a driver forced you to give 5 stars, you could revise it once you got back to your laptop.
- apacheCamel 8y ago
  Have you had experience with a driving forcing you to rate 5 stars? That seems incredibly crazy to me. That just throws the reasoning behind having a rating system out the window. If a driver has 5 stars merely because they uncomfortably made passengers rate them that way then the system is pointless.
  - SyneRyder 8y ago
    Yes, but it was three years ago [1]. The driver even gave me his empty McDonalds bag and asked me to throw it out for him. It was around the time when taxi drivers in my city all started becoming Uber drivers because taxi use had plummeted. Uber quality has improved in my city a lot since then though, at least for me. And I've personally had far worse experiences from regular taxis in the past[2], so I'm still a fan of Uber. [1] https://twitter.com/syneryder/statuses/756130867269873664 https://twitter.com/syneryder/statuses/756130867269873664 [2] https://web.archive.org/web/20170816073734/https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/passenger-dumped-on-roadside-as-taxi-drivers-blockade-melbourne-airport/ar-AAq9hyR?li=AAgfLCP https://web.archive.org/web/20170816073734/https://www.msn.c...

SyneRyder 8y ago

> I want the drivers to be paid fairly, and if that means making the rates more reasonable then so be it I'm happy to pay a fair price. Agreed. Rather than tipping, I prefer Uber's other ideas like UberX Plus. For 20% extra, you get a driver with a 4.80 rating or higher. It's one way to make sure your driver earns more money for the same trip, and to encourage quality of service over lower price. There's also Uber Black, if you can afford to pay 2x the cost - I used to get Uber Black all the time, but unfortunately right now I can only afford/justify it on occasional trips. Sadly, I think the ridesharing services have discovered (like airlines) that most people just want the cheapest cost, not better service. For some people that makes sense - eg my neighbour is a pensioner, and making Uber cheaper than a taxi means she can now afford to go more places, it's improved her life. But for those of us who liked the free mints & free water, a comfortable ride, and a driver who helps you with your bags, we've got to pay higher prices & choose higher tiers to make those service levels sustainable.