I hate tipping. Tipping sucks. I still do it when it’s expected (required).
C’mon, I’m not Scottie Pippen.
Generously, too, because I like to think I’m a decent human being, and I also understand that those working in industries that expect tips are often ones where the laborers themselves are grossly underpaid and that it’s the unfortunate responsibility of patrons like me, to make sure they can make their ends meet.
But still, I hate tipping. It’s a practice that reeks of labor abuse, and that companies that allege to care about their customers, put the burden of paying their workers onto them.
What I liked about Uber, aside from the obvious reasons that it’s not a dirty, rickety cab driven by an asshole that smells like one too and they show up relatively quickly and have (usually) better cars is that I don’t have to tip. I know my cost up front, it is taken out of my PayPal account, and I get from point A to point B with full transparency on cost, who’s taking me in what type of vehicle, and a fairly accurate estimate of time it is going to take. And at the end of the ride, I don’t have to tip anyone, don’t feel obligated to tip anyone, and the drivers (I hope) aren’t expecting any tips.
That is, until soon, since Uber is apparently rolling out tip capabilities across the board. Initially, they’re claiming it’s to keep up with their rivals Lyft, but really for both companies and all other rideshare clones, the integration of tipping is something that is closing the gap between rideshare and taxi, but in the wrong direction.
I’m sure Uber drivers are excited about this, but based on my knee-jerk reaction, and justified by a large portion of internet commenters that I’ve seen, the riders aren’t the least bit enthused about it, at all. And the sentiment is pretty much the same: people favor rideshare because of economic transparency, and seldom the feeling of obligation to tip.
Once Uber rolls out tipping, it’s going to create a scenario where riders are going to feel like they’re obligated to tip at the end of a ride, in fear that the driver will give them a poor rating and bring down their overall rating, and if your rating goes too low, drivers might be less apt to accept your ride requests. It’s like that episode of Black Mirror where everyone is hell bent on their social media rankings, except that this is a facet that actually is coming true.
An Uber driver will get a ping, but see that the rider has below a 4.2 rating on account of their inadequate/non-existent propensity to tip, and then refuse the request. The rider then misses an important appointment and then they lose their job and then they fall behind on their bills and then they meltdown and kill their families before blowing their own head off with a shotgun.
That’s what making fucking tipping encouraged is going to do.
Seriously though, I’d rather pay more money upfront, than to be put in the awkward situation of feeling like I need to dole out a tip because they did their fucking job. Really, I’d rather wish that Uber would just pay drivers better, or allow them to keep a larger percentage of their fares, and absolve with this fucking tipping in the first place, but I’d be better off wishing that the world would stop talking about politics.
But nope, Uber joins the capitalist ranks of money-grubbing assholes in the business world, and riders who simply want an efficient and convenient alternative to taxis will be the ones to hoist the financial burden of compensating labor. I can’t say this is going to make me stop using Uber, or Lyft, because ridesharing is efficient, but I’ll definitely be feeling resentment at the end of rides when I see a pop-up window or whatever bullshit prompt we’ll be bound to see on our phones, encouraging us to fork over more money at an unpredictable and spontaneous amount.
It would be funny though if another ride share company rose on account of this though, and actually paid their drivers decent wages, and didn’t force their riders to feel obligated to tip, by not making it an option. Like, Uber getting Uber’d, because Uber themselves decided to make themselves closer to the taxi industry with tips.
Tipping sucks.
