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I used to drive Uber and deliver Uber Eats for something to do in retirement. I don't know why, but it struck me funny that I delivered a bunch of smoothies to

I used to drive Uber and deliver Uber Eats for something to do in retirement. I don't know why, but it struck me funny that I delivered a bunch of smoothies to the Uber Palo Alto office. They tipped well.

carabiner 5y ago
Wow this is fascinating. I wondered how people deal with boredom, loneliness in retirement. Is this a FIRE situation? Did you enjoy it?
- xeromal 5y ago
  I delivered postmates to handle boredom during the pandemic. If I didn't have to deal with entitled dick customers, I probably would've kept it up. Someone gave me a 20$ tip for a bag of egg rolls once.
  - mwattsun 5y ago
    Uber started this sh*t that people don't need to tip, so I never got a lot of tips. Oh well, I wasn't doing it for the money.
    - gruez 5y ago
      >Uber started this sh*t that people don't need to tip disagree. I don't like tipping culture in general, so I welcome any effort to uproot it.
      - alistairSH 5y ago
        I generally agree. I’d prefer everybody made a living wage (or better) and priced goods & services appropriately. But, does Uber (or whatever other gig employer) actually pay that? I hate that in the US, as a consumer, I don’t know. Much easier in much of Europe, where wait staff is paid a reasonable wage and tipping isn’t expected.
        mwattsun 5y ago
        I agree. I don't like tipping or depending on tips.
    - iso1631 5y ago
      Tipping is a horrendous cultural artifact stemming from bribery and aristocrats creating a servile class As Scott said, "tipping, and the aristocratic idea it exemplifies, is what we left Europe to escape. It is a cancer in the breast of democracy" At the start of the 20th century when Tipping was infecting the USA, it was common for business owners not only to fail to pay a salary, but to actually charge people to work for them! Gunton's Magazine stated that tipping was offensively un-American, because it was contrary to the spirit of American life of working for wages rather than fawning for favors. Caiman's defence from that era boiled down to "you should be able to bribe your way to preferential treatment". It's ironic that the "home of capitalism" is so much in favour of hiding information. Rather than a posted price for a given good or service, it's a price, plus an unspecified amount of tax, plus a tip of some sort which can vary from 0% to 30%. Tips of course also allow us to bypass all those pesky problems that we try to eliminate. If you're a racist? Great, you don't have to pay black people, only white people (or vice versa). Don't like that waitress having a Trump2024 bumper sticker, don't pay her wage.
    - hrrsn 5y ago
      The rest of the world started that well before Uber.
    - paranoidrobot 5y ago
      When Uber Eats launched in Australia, the tipping functionality was quite subtle, and not pushed. Then they started pushing it hard, and it's received an almost universally poor response. We don't have a mandatory-tipping culture, because it's expected that everyone doing a job is at least earning a living-wage. Tipping is reserved for exceptional service or doing something out of the ordinary.
      - mwattsun 5y ago
        I live in California where gas is expensive. I kept detailed records for a yr and half. I included all expenses (tires, etc...) and taxes, the depreciation on my car due to the extra miles and the time waiting for a ride (which wasn't much), then I came up with $6 an hour. More tips would have been nice. Drivers who make a living at it drive long hours.
        carabiner 5y ago
        What kind of car do you have? Cars today have MPG varying from 17 to 60 MPG, so I'm wondering if it only makes sense for low-emissions vehicles.
        mwattsun 5y ago
        Had, because I wrecked it crossing the bridge over the mouth of the Columbia River (rain soaked bridges are extremely slick it turns out) I had a Ford Focus 2008 that got about 38 mpg. Maintenance costs are also a big expense if you keep everything up to date like I did, like changing the tires, transmission fluid and flushing the radiator. Edit: Some have questioned my $6 figure and have talked to drivers who say they are making good money. I think it's because they are not taking into account the wear and tear on their car and subsequent decrease in value. They are basically taking equity out of their car and putting it into their pocket and thinking they are making money.
        InvertedRhodium 5y ago
        From the perspective of many Australians, the cause of all those issues lies with Uber paying so little that their employees are forced to request charity from every single person they have a professional interaction with, just in order to survive.
    - sofixa 5y ago
      They've gone the other way. In France where tipping isn't mandatory and is only done for exceptional service or as an optional payment for a service ( e.g. a person walking you to your place in the theatre or a performance in a public place), Uber Eats heavily push you to tip the driver while ordering. When you still don't know what you'll get, which i find ridiculous. But at the same time a few months ago i found it absolutely impossible to tip a driver after a trip because they went above and beyond and managed to shave some minutes off running late - there was just no such option anywhere.
      - ajdsudnd 5y ago
        I absolutely hate DD and grub hub tipping policy How do I know the service was any good? If it's grub hub it probably isn't so low tip is definitely justified. Hell if we go the traditional route of what a tip is, many actually deserve zero
- mwattsun 5y ago
  I'm single, live alone and have been retired voluntarily for about 2 1/2 years and can't say I've ever been bored or lonely. It's probably because I'm always curious and love to learn, and my spirituality is such that I came to the realization that thinking of myself as an isolated mind in a body is an error of thinking. I think of myself more of a wave on a ocean of consciousness that we are all part of. I have family and friends that I travel through this timeline with. I always feel connected, never disconnected. Without the internet it would be more difficult I think.
Schweigi 5y ago
Many years ago I had a ride in the Bay Area with an Uber investor as the driver (he was a partner at one of the VCs). It was quite an interesting ride has he wanted to know a lot about why I choose to use Uber and all the good and bad about it. He told me that while they are already investing, he wanted to better understand how Uber is coming along.
- matt123456789 5y ago
  Now that’s what I call due diligence.
- toyg 5y ago
  Sounds like something straight out of a Silicon Valley episode.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
worker_thread 5y ago
I can relate to this very well, and it was very intriguing situation to be in. I used to work part time delivering groceries with Instacart and I actually delivered stationery stuff to Instacart Office in Downtown Toronto. Bonus: I got to pick-up a cool sticker while on my way out.
- mwattsun 5y ago
  I wondered if it was a test. I must have passed because they gave me a good tip.
  - worker_thread 5y ago
    You bet. I felt the same and it felt like 'Am I the chosen one?'

carabiner 5y ago

Wow this is fascinating. I wondered how people deal with boredom, loneliness in retirement. Is this a FIRE situation? Did you enjoy it?

xeromal 5y ago
I delivered postmates to handle boredom during the pandemic. If I didn't have to deal with entitled dick customers, I probably would've kept it up. Someone gave me a 20$ tip for a bag of egg rolls once.
- mwattsun 5y ago
  Uber started this sh*t that people don't need to tip, so I never got a lot of tips. Oh well, I wasn't doing it for the money.
  - gruez 5y ago
    >Uber started this sh*t that people don't need to tip disagree. I don't like tipping culture in general, so I welcome any effort to uproot it.
    - alistairSH 5y ago
      I generally agree. I’d prefer everybody made a living wage (or better) and priced goods & services appropriately. But, does Uber (or whatever other gig employer) actually pay that? I hate that in the US, as a consumer, I don’t know. Much easier in much of Europe, where wait staff is paid a reasonable wage and tipping isn’t expected.
      - mwattsun 5y ago
        I agree. I don't like tipping or depending on tips.
  - iso1631 5y ago
    Tipping is a horrendous cultural artifact stemming from bribery and aristocrats creating a servile class As Scott said, "tipping, and the aristocratic idea it exemplifies, is what we left Europe to escape. It is a cancer in the breast of democracy" At the start of the 20th century when Tipping was infecting the USA, it was common for business owners not only to fail to pay a salary, but to actually charge people to work for them! Gunton's Magazine stated that tipping was offensively un-American, because it was contrary to the spirit of American life of working for wages rather than fawning for favors. Caiman's defence from that era boiled down to "you should be able to bribe your way to preferential treatment". It's ironic that the "home of capitalism" is so much in favour of hiding information. Rather than a posted price for a given good or service, it's a price, plus an unspecified amount of tax, plus a tip of some sort which can vary from 0% to 30%. Tips of course also allow us to bypass all those pesky problems that we try to eliminate. If you're a racist? Great, you don't have to pay black people, only white people (or vice versa). Don't like that waitress having a Trump2024 bumper sticker, don't pay her wage.
  - hrrsn 5y ago
    The rest of the world started that well before Uber.
  - paranoidrobot 5y ago
    When Uber Eats launched in Australia, the tipping functionality was quite subtle, and not pushed. Then they started pushing it hard, and it's received an almost universally poor response. We don't have a mandatory-tipping culture, because it's expected that everyone doing a job is at least earning a living-wage. Tipping is reserved for exceptional service or doing something out of the ordinary.
    - mwattsun 5y ago
      I live in California where gas is expensive. I kept detailed records for a yr and half. I included all expenses (tires, etc...) and taxes, the depreciation on my car due to the extra miles and the time waiting for a ride (which wasn't much), then I came up with $6 an hour. More tips would have been nice. Drivers who make a living at it drive long hours.
      - carabiner 5y ago
        What kind of car do you have? Cars today have MPG varying from 17 to 60 MPG, so I'm wondering if it only makes sense for low-emissions vehicles.
        mwattsun 5y ago
        Had, because I wrecked it crossing the bridge over the mouth of the Columbia River (rain soaked bridges are extremely slick it turns out) I had a Ford Focus 2008 that got about 38 mpg. Maintenance costs are also a big expense if you keep everything up to date like I did, like changing the tires, transmission fluid and flushing the radiator. Edit: Some have questioned my $6 figure and have talked to drivers who say they are making good money. I think it's because they are not taking into account the wear and tear on their car and subsequent decrease in value. They are basically taking equity out of their car and putting it into their pocket and thinking they are making money.
      - InvertedRhodium 5y ago
        From the perspective of many Australians, the cause of all those issues lies with Uber paying so little that their employees are forced to request charity from every single person they have a professional interaction with, just in order to survive.
  - sofixa 5y ago
    They've gone the other way. In France where tipping isn't mandatory and is only done for exceptional service or as an optional payment for a service ( e.g. a person walking you to your place in the theatre or a performance in a public place), Uber Eats heavily push you to tip the driver while ordering. When you still don't know what you'll get, which i find ridiculous. But at the same time a few months ago i found it absolutely impossible to tip a driver after a trip because they went above and beyond and managed to shave some minutes off running late - there was just no such option anywhere.
    - ajdsudnd 5y ago
      I absolutely hate DD and grub hub tipping policy How do I know the service was any good? If it's grub hub it probably isn't so low tip is definitely justified. Hell if we go the traditional route of what a tip is, many actually deserve zero
mwattsun 5y ago
I'm single, live alone and have been retired voluntarily for about 2 1/2 years and can't say I've ever been bored or lonely. It's probably because I'm always curious and love to learn, and my spirituality is such that I came to the realization that thinking of myself as an isolated mind in a body is an error of thinking. I think of myself more of a wave on a ocean of consciousness that we are all part of. I have family and friends that I travel through this timeline with. I always feel connected, never disconnected. Without the internet it would be more difficult I think.

Schweigi 5y ago

Many years ago I had a ride in the Bay Area with an Uber investor as the driver (he was a partner at one of the VCs). It was quite an interesting ride has he wanted to know a lot about why I choose to use Uber and all the good and bad about it. He told me that while they are already investing, he wanted to better understand how Uber is coming along.

matt123456789 5y ago
Now that’s what I call due diligence.
toyg 5y ago
Sounds like something straight out of a Silicon Valley episode.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

worker_thread 5y ago

I can relate to this very well, and it was very intriguing situation to be in. I used to work part time delivering groceries with Instacart and I actually delivered stationery stuff to Instacart Office in Downtown Toronto. Bonus: I got to pick-up a cool sticker while on my way out.

mwattsun 5y ago
I wondered if it was a test. I must have passed because they gave me a good tip.
- worker_thread 5y ago
  You bet. I felt the same and it felt like 'Am I the chosen one?'