{"id":3727,"date":"2015-12-01T09:13:47","date_gmt":"2015-12-01T14:13:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.taxifarefinder.com\/newsroom\/?p=3727"},"modified":"2015-12-01T09:13:47","modified_gmt":"2015-12-01T14:13:47","slug":"is-ubers-no-tipping-culture-under-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taxifarefinder.com\/newsroom\/2015\/12\/01\/is-ubers-no-tipping-culture-under-attack\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Uber’s No Tipping Culture Under Attack?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Call for a ride with your phone, enter a destination (if you\u2019d like), and then get out of the car once you arrive. \u00a0These days, that\u2019s all it takes to get from point A to point B with the rideshare app Uber. \u00a0The process is painless, easy and most importantly of all, frictionless. \u00a0And that\u2019s exactly how Uber wants to keep it.<\/p>\n

But for one group of people, the status quo just doesn\u2019t sit well. \u00a0When I first signed up<\/a> to be an Uber driver, the fact that there wasn\u2019t a tipping option wasn\u2019t a big deal. \u00a0Drivers like me were enamored with this innovative form of transportation and in awe of how much money could be made just driving people around.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until rates started dropping, and driver saturation reached an all time high, that many drivers began to wonder\u00a0why they couldn\u2019t receive tips on Uber.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a bad question either, since when you think about how ingrained tipping is in the American service culture, there aren\u2019t a whole lot of industries where tip isn\u2019t expected (and maybe none where it\u2019s not even an option). \u00a0 And\u00a0despite traditional below par service in the taxi industry, tipping has always been expected with taxis.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Why Do Uber Passengers Love Not To Tip?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Out of all the Uber passengers I\u2019ve talked to, not one has ever said that they love Uber because they\u00a0don\u2019t have to tip. \u00a0Passengers may mention that fact later on, but most often you hear things like, \u2018The experience is awesome\u2019, \u2018The cars are cleaner\u2019 and my personal favorite, \u2018The drivers are way better than taxis!\u2019<\/p>\n

But whether passengers realize it or not, not having to leave a tip really is a big part of the Uber experience. \u00a0We\u2019ve all been through that awkward exchange at the coffee shop or the food truck when you go to sign your credit card receipt and there\u2019s a line for tipping or an electronic option to leave a tip.<\/p>\n

Even though all your barista may have done is hand\u00a0you a coffee, there is still that societal pressure to leave a tip and the awkwardness can be palpable.<\/p>\n

Uber to its credit, recognized this awkwardness and removed it from the experience. \u00a0And while many Uber passengers incorrectly believe that tip is included in the price of the fare, Uber hasn\u2019t exactly gone out of its way to correct them.<\/p>\n

Uber\u2019s official stance is that \u2018With Uber, there\u2019s no need to tip\u2019 which isn\u2019t a whole lot different from their\u00a0implied stance that \u2018tip is included in your fare\u2019. \u00a0Contrary to popular belief, there is no tip included in your UberX fare, Uber takes $1 from every ride and an additional 20-30% commission.<\/p>\n

Drivers Just Want The Option To Tip<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unlike the restaurant or taxi industry, most Uber drivers that I\u2019ve spoken with don\u2019t think they deserve a tip on each and every ride. \u00a0They really only want the option to tip. \u00a0Tim Keough, an Uber driver and passenger told me, \u201cUber\u00a0just needs to add the option to tip. \u00a0When I need a ride,\u00a0I tend to use Lyft just so I can tip. \u00a0When I use Uber, I never tip because I literally never carry cash and I\u2019m a fellow driver.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s really nothing more frustrating for drivers than hearing\u00a0from their passenger, \u2018You did a great job, wish I could leave a tip, but I don\u2019t have any cash.\u2019 \u00a0This actually happens more often than you might think and some drivers have taken it upon themselves to install everything from tip jars in their car to tablets with Square readers in order to make it easier for riders to tip.<\/p>\n

One company in the space, Vugo, even went so far as to add a tipping function<\/a> in the latest iteration of their rideshare advertising app. \u00a0Drivers on the Vugo platform now have a \u2018tip your driver\u2019 button on the tablet screen that sits on the back of the head rest (Vugo delivers rideshare ads<\/a> to passengers).<\/p>\n

More and More Attention<\/strong><\/p>\n

Startups like Vugo have recognized the growing momentum for a tip function in the driver community and capitalized on it. \u00a0But that\u2019s not where it stops.<\/p>\n

There is currently a petition<\/a> asking Uber to add a tipping feature that has garnered over 25,000 signatures from drivers. \u00a0This may represent only a fraction of the total number of drivers (Uber reported 160,000 \u2018active\u2019 drivers in January 2015) but it\u2019s clearly an issue that has struck a nerve.<\/p>\n

In recent weeks, we\u2019ve also seen a flurry of media activity from major news outlets (CNET<\/a>, Huffington Post<\/a>, MarketWatch<\/a>) that have brought this issue to light. \u00a0These articles have highlighted everything from drivers who rate poorly when they don\u2019t receive tips to the confusion between the\u00a020% tip on UberTaxi rides and your traditional UberX rides.<\/p>\n

A big problem for drivers in this space is that even though they are in an independent contractor relationship with Uber, Uber holds all\u00a0of the cards. \u00a0If drivers could set their own rates or had the freedom to accept rides of their choosing, the tipping issue would be moot.<\/p>\n

But since drivers don\u2019t have control over a lot of major aspects of their business, this problem persists. \u00a0This point of contention is already being used by the plaintiff\u2019s side in the current Uber employee lawsuit that will be heading to trial in California next year so it won\u2019t be going\u00a0away anytime soon.<\/p>\n

What Would An Uber Tipping Option Look Like?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Uber competitor Lyft, has actually had a tipping feature in their app since the beginning and it\u2019s one of the most common reasons that I hear as to why drivers prefer Lyft over Uber. \u00a0But Uber employees that I\u2019ve spoken with have often\u00a0remarked that Uber will never add a tipping function because it creates too much friction.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think that\u2019s the reason though since Lyft\u2019s UI works pretty well. \u00a0After your Lyft ride is over, you rate your driver and provide feedback (just like with Uber) and you also have an option to submit a pre-selected tip amount. \u00a0Then you hit submit.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, what it boils down to is this: Uber\u00a0doesn\u2019t have a whole lot of incentive right now to to add a tipping function. \u00a0They\u2019ve obviously done pretty well for themselves up until this point so there\u2019s not need to change anything.<\/p>\n

But in the midst of all that growth, drivers are taking more and more of a hit\u00a0to their income and are starting to look to alternatives to increase their revenue. \u00a0Apps like Vugo, petitions for tipping and media attention are just the tip of the iceberg. \u00a0I don\u2019t think Uber realizes just how bad drivers want a tipping option and it will be interesting to see just how far drivers are\u00a0willing to go to get it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"About Harry Campbell, The RideShare Guy<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Hello TFF Readers, my name is Harry Campbell and I run a blog for rideshare <\/em>drivers called The Rideshare Guy<\/a> and I also write about the on demand economy for Forbes<\/a>.\u00a0 I\u2019ll be <\/em>sharing articles from time to time on what\u2019s going on in the world of rideshare and what you need to know as a passenger whether you enjoy taxis, rideshare or all of the above!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Call for a ride with your phone, enter a destination (if you\u2019d like), and then get out of the car once you arrive. \u00a0These days, that\u2019s all it takes to get from point A to point B with the rideshare app Uber. \u00a0The process is painless, easy and most importantly of all, frictionless. \u00a0And that\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2889,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[116],"tags":[417,13,10,418,11,12,105,131,136,15,416,36],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taxifarefinder.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3727"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taxifarefinder.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taxifarefinder.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxifarefinder.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxifarefinder.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3727"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxifarefinder.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3727\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3733,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxifarefinder.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3727\/revisions\/3733"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxifarefinder.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taxifarefinder.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxifarefinder.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxifarefinder.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}