Possibly the cheapest, most pompous low-ball comment I've ever read here. A few bucks to a driver who signed up to provide you a service as a second income or side job who may appreciate a tip? The stark nerve. Really? Karma.
LOL... What a
joke. There's nothing "low-ball" about it. Do you tip the mailman? Do you tip the cashier at the supermarket?? Do you tip the UPS driver?? Do you tip the attendant at the state park when you go camping?? Do you tip the lifeguards at the beach????? I highly doubt it.
The whole "tipping" culture is sick and disgusting. "a few bucks to a driver who signed up blah blah blah" that's not the point. It's not about "a few bucks". And whether it's a second income or side job has nothing to do with it. We
pay for
services. I pay $10 shipping and UPS delivers it to my door. DONE. Do I need to tip the driver? I pay my fee to get in to the state park... Do I need to tip the attendant at the booth??? The
problem is Uber. Uber shifts the burden of paying the driver to the
customer. Uber also shifts the burden of paying ALL TAXES to the
driver. Uber pays ZERO payroll taxes for drivers because they're considered "independent contractors". And Uber drivers don't make SH*T generally speaking. Uber makes a fortune off of drivers that it pays peanuts to and pay zero payroll taxes on.
It's the same with restaurants. The RESTAURANT shifts the burden of paying the employee to the
customer. And then (1) the customer is put in the awkward position of having to calculate a f*****g tip, and (2) the waiter/waitress is at the "mercy" of the customer to leave a civilized tip because they DEPEND ON IT. It's sick and twisted, but somehow lots of brain dead people have been brainwashed into defending it. Let's see... What makes more sense???
(1) Paying an employee a
civilized wage in the first place, thereby paying payroll taxes for those employees (taxes which are used for the betterment of society as a whole), or
(2) paying the employee sh*t-all and then forcing the customer to pay the difference (tax free). If the RESTAURANT actually paid a DECENT,
LIVING wage to the waiter/waitress there would be no need for a stupid tip. And waiters/waitresses wouldn't end up depending on tips to make a living. But of course that would require the restaurant to pay more taxes, and of course taxes are evil! And
even less taxes are paid because do you REALLY THINK waiters and waitresses declare ALL of their tip income??? Yeah
no, that's not happening. If they were paid a decent wage their taxes would be accounted for and paid automatically now wouldn't they?
Same with taxis, at least in my experience in Philadelphia and New York. You get in the cab, go for a ride that ends up costing $18.50 (for example), and the taxi driver expects a tip. Wait WHAT??? A tip for....................?? Driving? Isn't that what I'm paying $18.50 for in the first place??? OK sure if the guy goes out of his way and is super congenial and talkative and offers some good tips or whatever then fine. But I'm talking about a taxi ride where I open the door, put my ass in the seat, and get out. No luggage, no nothing. And I'm supposed to pay a tip?? Hilarious. But for there to be an
expectation of a tip on the part of the taxi driver for simply
doing his job is absurd and it's ridiculous. If the fare isn't enough to get by on,
THEN INCREASE THE FARE. I've ridden in taxis in Western Europe as well as in Argentina. In Europe there's no retarded tipping of taxi drivers. They drive nice vehicles and
drive well (unlike here in the US) and they make a decent living and I'm HAPPY to pay whatever the fare is.
To the original point. It's stupid to have to pay a tip to an Uber or Lyft driver. It's a SERVICE. The fare/fee should be related to that service and should provide reasonable $$ to the provider of the service. In the case of
UPS, for example, they have a Union. The Union makes sure they don't get f****d over by the UPS Corporation. In the case of Uber, drivers
don't have a Union and they have essentially nothing protecting their interests. The reason Uber and Lyft seem so "amazing" in my opinion is because taxi services are so
dysmal. If taxis had been providing a decent service in the first place there wouldn't be a need for Uber or Lyft. Uber makes a ton of money off of drivers that eat
all of the costs. Drivers pay for the car, the gasoline, the insurance,
AND they pay all of the taxes. Again:
Uber pays zero payroll taxes for drivers. But they're happy to take their 25% or whatever cut of the fare every time.
The problem is not the driver, the problem is Uber. The problem is a society that's OK with waiters/waitresses getting paid sh*t-all for their work, and being at the mercy of "tips" to make a proper living. The problem is with a society that thinks it's OK for restaurants to basically evade paying taxes on the total compensation of their employees. Instead of being a job with dignity, the waiter/waitress has to kiss every customer's ass in the hopes that they get a decent tip.
The point is not about "a few bucks to a driver" LOL. That's hilarious. The point is about the
MILLIONS and BILLIONS of "bucks" to the driver and the waitress and the others that go untaxed. The point is about the
MILLIONS and BILLIONS of "bucks" that the
customer is forced to pay the employee as opposed to the employer. As a customer it's my job to pay for the SERVICE or the PRODUCT, not to directly pay the WAGES of the employee (as one does with tipping, basically). When you buy a set of tires for your car, I guess you also add in a tip for the mechanic and the trucker who moved the tires and also the employees at the tire factory that made the tires right?
Given your reaction, you must tip
everyone. The mailman, the trash guys, the Best Buy employee, the cashier at Target, the painter, the roofer, and the mechanic. Right? I mean someone who doesn't tip is just a scumbag of a human being. A low-balling, pompous individual right.
