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Uber Finally Adds a Tipping Option To Its App (gizmodo.com)
After years of complaints, Uber is rolling out a tipping option for drivers. "Tipping is available in Seattle, Minneapolis and Houston as of today. We're starting with only 3 cities so we can create the best tipping experience for you and your riders. We'll be adding more cities over the next few weeks, and will make tips available to all U.S. drivers, by the end of July 2017," Uber said in an email to drivers. Gizmodo reports: Uber will also roll out a full set of driver-friendly features. The cancellation window will narrow to two minutes (it was previously five) and drivers will get a per-minute fee if a rider makes them wait beyond two minutes. Drivers will also get a cut of Uber's "teen fare" which had previously gone exclusively to Uber. Now, drivers will get $2 of the fee. Uber will also offer drivers the option to enroll in injury-protection insurance. Uber has always argued that it offers a seamless experience and that adding a tip feature into its app would interfere with that. The company promises an up-front fare to the rider, with no fumbling around for cash or evaluation of a driver's performance beyond assigning a rating.
Everyone hates tipping because in North American culture, we're at the point where it's considered obligatory not optional. One of the nice things about travelling to Japan or Australia is that no one expects to be tipped.
Allowing for tipping might get more drivers out on the road, but it will make for a substantially less satisfactory customer experience.
I can understand why many people will want to tip. But I thought the whole point was to use RATINGS to reward or hurt the drivers, not money. Riders would know what the exact amounts are in advance and yet still have the power to adjust the drivers future success through feedback in the app. Higher rated drivers will be more sought-out, have more success, and ultimately make more money.
Now tipping will become EXPECTED, like it is in all other industries where tipping exists. Yeah, Uber says:
âoeTipping is not included, nor is it expected or required,â the team added. âoeAnd thatâ(TM)s how we intend to keep it.â
But I am telling you, there will be an expectation of tipping for good service and leaving no tip will imply bad service. And no tip might lead the Driver to downrate a Rider.
Oh good; just when I have a 5.0 rating, the Uber star rating system becomes pay-to-win.
The so called "tipping culture" is one of the (many) reasons I did not return to the US after leaving in my 20's. It exemplifies the hypocrisy of American self view, where most Americans pride themselves on being honorably anti-corrupt while essentially bribing people in service industries for better service or benefits (e.g. more meat in a sandwich or "free" drinks at a night club) with the reward being tips. The idea is similar to success-based fee structures in the legal profession (prevalent in the US), which happens to be strictly illegal in most English common law jurisdictions for precisely the same moral reason against tipping.
Sometimes agreeing to demands from employees or contractors is wrong, and it should be in Uber's interest to avoid conceding on this. A better and morally sound alternative would be to offer incentive based revenue sharing adjustments on a driver-by-driver basis based on feedback ratings from riders. For example, the top 25% rated drivers with average billable miles driven per day could earn an increase of 15-25% on passenger revenue, while the bottom 25% would lose a comparable amount of their revenue share. This kind of solution provides an entrepreneurial incentive to perform better, which is precisely in line with the concept Uber (and other ride sharing services) was built on.