TravelingForMiles.com may receive commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on TravelingForMiles.com are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. TravelingForMiles.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers.
Some links to products and travel providers on this website will earn Traveling For Miles a commission which helps contribute to the running of the site – I’m very grateful to anyone who uses these links but their use is entirely optional. The compensation does not impact how and where products appear on this site and does not impact reviews that are published.
Uber has started to introduce “in app tipping” in the US with the cities of Seattle, Houston and Minneapolis having the dubious privilege of being the first to get the new functionality. The tipping option is expected to be fully rolled out across the US by the end of July 2017.
The good news is that, apparently, the tip option won’t be available in the app until after the driver has rating the rider so, if this is true, at least riders can’t be held hostage if they value their Uber rating.
Uber has been coming under a lot of fire recently – so much so that its Chief Executive has just had to resign – and the move to allow riders to tip is part of a broader initiative (called 180 days of change) which will supposedly improve the lot of its drivers.
Fantastic, I’m all for corporations doing everything within their power to improve working conditions and pay for those who work for them….but I will not have corporations drag me into being a direct part of that solution.
I have no issue at all with some of the other changes Uber is putting through to improve life for its drivers – things like a shorter cancellation window, the removal of unpaid wait times and driver insurance protection – as they’re probably the right things to do….but I will not subsidise a driver’s income with tips because a multi-billion dollar corporation refuses to pay a fair wage.
Uber drivers aren’t employees of the company (as far as US law goes) and that’s how the corporation skirts around a lot of employment regulations it doesn’t like. By having drivers classified as independent contractors rather than employees it gets to avoid paying expenses like overtime pay, vacation pay, maternity leave, healthcare insurance and a lot more …and that’s more than a little ironic.
Uber has spent an amazing amount of time and energy making sure its drivers are as small an expense to the corporation as possible…..and now it’s asking its customers to pay up instead.
No. I refuse.
This issue has direct parallels with Marriott’s ridiculous introduction of “tip envelopes” in rooms back in 2014 and a lot of the same arguments from then apply here and now.
If Uber drivers are underpaid (and I’m not saying they’re not) then it is up to Uber and not the consumer to make that right.
By all means increase the cost of rides if that extra cash will go directly to the drivers – I can decide if I want to pay that increased fare when I get the quote for my ride on the app – but don’t abdicate responsibility for providing a living wage for my driver to me at the end of my ride.
I’ve no doubt that I’ll get called “cheap” for this point of view (a lot of like-minded people have been called that when they advocate against tipping) but, amusingly, the same people who tar me with that word choose not to tar Uber in the same way.
Why am I cheap but the corporation isn’t? And if you think the corporation is being cheap then why is it my responsibility to make up for that cheapness?
Here’s Another Thing…..
Why don’t we tip the store assistants in Macy’s who spend twenty minutes helping us find what we want before we walk out having bought nothing at all? Why don’t we tip the bus drivers who take us to work every day? Why don’t we tip the flight attendants who serve us in the air?
How about teachers? We entrust the education of our children to them on a daily basis but I don’t see parents hand Mrs. Morrisson a crisp $10 bill at pick-up time.
As far as I’m aware none of those is considered a well paid job so why don’t these people get tips for the service they provide us?
No one is forcing drivers to work for Uber just like no one is forcing my local bus driver to do his job and just like no one is forcing the shop assistant in my local Walmart to work there either….so why does only one of those three deserve a tip for providing a service?
Why do we only feel the need to subsidise worker pay in certain areas of the service and hospitality industries?
Because we have been brainwashed into acting this way.
US society has been brainwashed into accepting the ridiculous tipping culture that permeates so may aspects of everyday life and there are not enough people questioning it. There aren’t enough people standing up and asking why we, the consumers, have to put up with this…because don’t.
No Expectations
Lastly, it’s easy to forget just how new Uber actually is. The business is still in its infancy so there cannot be any preconceived ideas about remuneration and tipping like these is in jobs like waitering/waitressing which have been around for centuries.
Our culture hasn’t had Uber in it long enough for the expectation to tip its drivers to be ingrained in our psyche and so, by extension, no one wishing to be a driver has any reason to expect to be tipped.
Uber drivers haven’t been tipped in the past (as a rule) so why is there now an expectation that they should be? Why the sudden need for tipping?
If someone joined as an Uber driver and isn’t earning what they expected to earn that’s either:
- the fault of the driver for not working out what he/she would take home or
- the fault of Uber for not communicating earning rates effectively.
Whichever it is it’s not up to the customer to make up any shortfall via a tip.
Likewise if, for some reason, it is now more expensive to be an Uber driver than it was when a driver first signed up it is still not the responsibility of the customer to pay for any shortfall through tips. Either Uber takes responsibility and pays more (if that’s through increased fares or though some other means I don’t really care) or the driver finds a job where the income is more to his/her liking.
Tipping is not the answer.
Bottom Line
It’s time for corporations and businesses to take responsibility for how much the people working for them earn and to stop relying on the charity of their customers to help keep their bottom line looking healthy.
If Uber thinks its drivers are underpaid then it’s time for drivers to become employees, for rates to go up or for the company to hand over more of the earnings to drivers.
If Uber doesn’t want to give drivers full employee protections or hand over more of the earnings it’s not up to me as the consumer to be a driver’s back up plan – this is an issue between Uber and the drivers.
If Uber doesn’t want to put up rates then clearly the corporation doesn’t believe there’s an issue…..but it’s not up to me as a customer to make up any shortfall in driver earnings (through charitable tipping) if Uber is acting like an ostrich.
Any issue around how much Uber drivers take home is between Uber and the Drivers – leave the customers out of it.
It’s time to stop corporations using tips from customers as a way of protecting their profits and it’s time to force them to make some tough decisions. Most importantly it’s time to kill the tipping culture.
Well said. I find the US system challenging because the hotel and employers get away with paying a pittance to staff but still get all they can from the customer before any tip is distributed after the bill is paid.
I am in Greece and paid a €note tip in cash to a great driver who despite the austerity and system imposed on him was a delight to travel with throughout our joinery. His face was truly surprised and pleased on receipt and he had already rated me on his app. He got 5* as well.
Tips in the UK are for outstanding service not to compensate derisory and exploitative wages paid by employers. It should be a reward and not an expectation or requirement.