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Uber and Lyft plus tipping
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Tip? Hardly ever for anything. Unless I feel they did something above and beyond.
You agree a fee before using. Then you pay extra? I don't really get it if they just did a basic job.
Yep I know it is different there in Europe. I wish we didn't have to be expected to tip here but it is ok.
I tipped very little when I was in the US too!
Service wasn't that good in the bars and restaurants I went to in LA. Even expensive ones.
5-10% if I tipped at all. A lot of the time when I'd waited 20 minutes for a drink, I didn't!
I tip 15-20% for everything. If the service is good, I may tip even more.
Yeah, well if they recognized you after previously giving a 5% tip, it’s no wonder why it takes 20 min for a drink.
I’m no fan of tipping culture. Servers should be paid a living wage; not to mention tipping culture is correlated with corruption. But the present reality is that this is how these people scrape enough money to live there (ontop of second and third jobs), especially LA.
I've been to the States a few times, and I dislike the tipping culture immensely. As someone from a country where it's really practically non-existent as a custom, it was at times hard to remember that it's expected there.
At the same time I do however realize why it's expected, and that it has nothing to do with greed or expectations of being entitled to extra money, but as expressed above, the servers very often depend on tips to live. It's a sad state of affairs when people working in the service industry can't make ends meet by simply doing their jobs, but is it what it is, which is why I begrudgingly fork out the extra cash when dining or just drinking out while visiting.
At the same time I do however realize why it's expected, and that it has nothing to do with greed or expectations of being entitled to extra money, but as expressed above, the servers very often depend on tips to live. It's a sad state of affairs when people working in the service industry can't make ends meet by simply doing their jobs, but is it what it is, which is why I begrudgingly fork out the extra cash when dining or just drinking out while visiting.
Lol. Never went back to the same place twice!
We don't generally tip much in the UK. That's probably why I struggle with it. Tip the waiter, tip the Uber driver and tip the hotel bell boy? That's a lot of tips!
Yes, it’s quite pervasive. It’ll require quite a cultural shift to change too.
My Uber customer rating dropped on a recent LA trip from 4.9+ to less than 4.6, and I’m certain the reason is tipping. However, some of the cars that turned up in LA were actually dirty, and on one trip I had to share the back seat with plastic bags full of college coursework. Why should I tip in those circumstances? In London and Lisbon where I’ve used the service previously the Ubers are typically immaculate. Take pride in your work and the tips will always come.
Agree. A tip is when the service is above and beyond.
Not when it's below par.
As a European, I will tip when service is better than expected, or the server or driver unusually pleasant, not when it is simply average or below standard.
In Europe, the whole point of a tip is that it is discretionary, not expected.
I have to say that the culture in the US, where the customer is - in essence - expected to pay for the good or service, and then pay the wages of the server, too (which is what tipping has become, given that the wages are utterly inadequate) is outrageous.
If you run a business, pay your staff properly, don't expect your customers to pay them.
In Europe, the whole point of a tip is that it is discretionary, not expected.
I have to say that the culture in the US, where the customer is - in essence - expected to pay for the good or service, and then pay the wages of the server, too (which is what tipping has become, given that the wages are utterly inadequate) is outrageous.
If you run a business, pay your staff properly, don't expect your customers to pay them.
Couldn't agree more. I also hate when you pay cash and the person expects to keep the change. If I can see they are not wanting to give it to me, I'll ask for it even if I was planning to tell them to keep it!
Around twenty years ago, my brother and his then partner (now wife) visited the US. In New York, they had an especially grim meal with appalling service in an Italian restaurant. They left without tipping, and were pursued by an aggressive waiter, who galloped down the path (sidewalk?) after them, in hot pursuit and stopped them.
"You forgot to tip," he whined, whereupon my brother explained that he hadn't forgotten at all, rather, he had chosen not to tip. "But here, you have to tip, it's the custom here", responded the waiter, quite aggressively; my future sister-in-law, who is German and correct and polite, suggested politely that maybe they should tip, if only to defuse what was becoming an aggressive situation.
But - like you - my brother was adamant, and this had become a point of principle. He said that he had deliberately not tipped, that in Europe tips were discretionary ("they are not here" retorted the furious waiter) and that the food and service were so poor - in fact, were dreadful - as to not merit any sort of tip. "Oh" returned the waiter, "if only you had told me, I could have made a difference". Sorry, mate; that is your job and you should know when your service is poor and merits nothing extra by way of recognition or merit, such as a tip.
I really don't get this "we don't pay our staff at all and/or we don't pay our staff a living wage" mentality that is so prevalent in the US. This is all why I am implacably opposed to the concept of internships.
If you run a business, pay your staff properly and treat them with respect: Or call yourself a charity, - where people will work for nothing, or next to nothing because they agree with the principles of the organisation and are motivated by the thought of supporting that - or declare bankruptcy. This is not rocket science, but a form of pure exploitation and bottomless and shameless greed.
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We were just down in NSB for a little getaway, had drinks at this new place, incredible view, the server was unbelievable, and when it comes to drinks, there's quite a bit of leeway with the execution (and how the server deals with the bartender).
Ours were nuts
We left $100 on a $72.xx bill
There is a movement in my state to not allow businesses to pay servers less than minimum wage. Yes, the STATE actually has a declared minimum for tipped employees so it's not just the businesses choosing not to pay more, the state allows it to happen. Many tipped employees will actually end up taking a pay CUT if that goes into place as paying them a declared wage equal to what they make in tips simply isn't possible if the business wants to avoid raising prices considerably, resulting in lower sales.
Also, as expressed above, the mindset is that better service gets better tips. If the tips aren't on the table (so to speak) I can only IMAGINE the quality of service we might encounter.
I can't speak to Uber or Lyft, I haven't used those services. The 3 times I've employed the services of a Taxi, I don't recall tipping though I may have on the 2 I don't distinctly remember, all were on the company dime anyway. for the one I don't recall, I actually was GOING to tip, then screwed up the transaction - it was a 4 AM Saturday pickup at a hotel to take me to the airport, the guy was kind, unloaded my luggage, etc, he deserved something though now that I think about it he was probably still ferrying drunks home from bars anyway.
I see nothing wrong with the state refusing to allow businesses pay less than the minimum wage; nobody should be paid less than the minimum wage - otherwise, it is exploitation and/or slavery.
I still cannot see any reason why businesses think that it is their right to pay staff next to nothing, or the minimum wage, or something less than that - pay people properly, and pay your taxes, and cut out this nonsense of a business model that has your customers paying the salaries of staff and the staff - dependent, perhaps, on performance - uncertain of how much they will make, or whether they will make anything, and all the more insecure on account of that. It is a monstrous model.
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I was a waiter when young so I know they count on their tips for everything, but you must earn it and not simply expect it. worked Lyft & Uber as well, got more tips with Lyft than I ever did with Uber....
I tip wait staff, my barber, people who deliver food, and Lyft drivers. Those are the ones I can think of now, there may be others. I may also sometimes put change in a tip jar.
I generally tip 15-20% depending on the circumstances (doubling the tax of a restaurant bill yields about a 17% tip). With Lyft I usually tip $2 or $3.
I generally tip 15-20% depending on the circumstances (doubling the tax of a restaurant bill yields about a 17% tip). With Lyft I usually tip $2 or $3.
I've only used Uber on company dime with the company CC. They authorize a 20% tip. My first Uber I gave $5 in cash extra on top of the company 20% tip cuz it was my first time (fairly recent - 2 weeks ago).
I've done Lyft in the past and tipped generously just because I was on MI&E.
Personally I hate the tip culture here in America. I'd probably go out a bit more often if I didn't have to set aside 10-20% for a tip. I would be 100% ok with prices going up and tipping disappearing completely.
I see I have a 5.0 rating in Uber, no rating in Lyft. Interesting.
Made me CRINGE to see Ubers waiting on their riders to get done with whatever they were doing or not being at the location meeting point. I did notice that in DC my GPS was usually on the other side of the street of where I actually was so had to modify meeting point before requesting a ride several times. How hard is it to be polite and nice?
I usually tip pretty well but I feel obligated to but I'll tip a lot if service is good - like at a local Subway, several of the staff went way out of their way to be nice, and at an EPL (El Pollo Loco). I usually try to leave a $5-10 on my last day of hotel visits (putting up DND until last day).
I've done Lyft in the past and tipped generously just because I was on MI&E.
Personally I hate the tip culture here in America. I'd probably go out a bit more often if I didn't have to set aside 10-20% for a tip. I would be 100% ok with prices going up and tipping disappearing completely.
I see I have a 5.0 rating in Uber, no rating in Lyft. Interesting.
Made me CRINGE to see Ubers waiting on their riders to get done with whatever they were doing or not being at the location meeting point. I did notice that in DC my GPS was usually on the other side of the street of where I actually was so had to modify meeting point before requesting a ride several times. How hard is it to be polite and nice?
I usually tip pretty well but I feel obligated to but I'll tip a lot if service is good - like at a local Subway, several of the staff went way out of their way to be nice, and at an EPL (El Pollo Loco). I usually try to leave a $5-10 on my last day of hotel visits (putting up DND until last day).
If you ever get a chance peruse the "Uber" message boards and see what the drivers say about tipping. They are absolutely ruthless with downgrading folks who don't tip. Mine has also gone down after experiencing a dirty/filthy car or the ride was less than five or ten minutes.
It actually soured my approach to tipping. I know not all of them are like this, but the vocal few was enough for me. I still use them, but I only tip if the ride was above and beyond. If my rating goes down, it goes down.