Uber founder and long-time CEO Travis Kalanick opposed tipping. Well, tipping of his Uber drivers. Some of his publicity woes involved the poor judgment of business meetings at strip clubs, and I wonder if he didn’t tip the dancers?
Speaking of exotic dancers and Uber drivers, one memorable tip I received was from a talkative stripper I drove to her club, Chicago’s Admiral Theater. She left me five single Dollars. Everyone wonders where those bills had been.
Uber hasn’t allowed tipping in its app. Competitor Lyft does and enticed many Uber drivers away. Taxi drivers thrive on tips; in my experience, many are surly and demanding. I never figured out what a cab driver considers appropriate; using the 15% or 20% rule for standard or good service meant rounding a $7.50 fare to $10. That normally meant unhappy, complaining cabbies.
Yet, Uber stood fast against tipping. This was an odd position because it costs Uber nothing to allow riders to pay its drivers tips. You probably noticed Uber costs less than a cab. If you are thinking of tipping, keep in mind Uber keeps a cut; Uber drivers earn a lot less per ride than a taxi driver does. If you tip cabbies, you probably should tip Uber and Lyft drivers. Uber drivers earn an average $13.36 per hour, meaning tipping would make a big difference. If you usually tip a cabbie, it makes sense to tip your Uber driver, especially if you are happy with the service. The same logic applies as to other service providers- if people generally tip servers, they have an incentive to provide above and beyond service.
Uber has sought to head off a defection of drivers by adding a function to its app that lets customers provide tips, a feature offered by U.S. rival Lyft Inc. Kalanick was against letting riders tip, calling his opposition “principled” since he believed restaurants and taxi companies use tips to underpay their workers. Now, in Kalanick’s absence, the company is trying to take a new tack [1]
Effective almost immediately after Kalanick’s firing on June 23, Uber announced tipping is coming to its app.
So, should you tip?
I would argue yes, if the service is excellent or if you have an unusual request. Uber riders have asked me to take them through McDonalds and other drive-thrus, stop and wait for them at liquor stores, transport their dog, fill my trunk with groceries, wait a few minutes for their friend, asked to use phone chargers, demanded I play a certain music station, asked me for water bottles when thirsty, and many other unusual requests. I’ve provided useful information about Chicago tourist attractions and useful info about the airports. At least eight times I’ve driven somewhere to return a phone or wallet a rider left in my car; most have tipped for that, but several have not. Riders may not be aware Uber pays zero to an Uber driver to cross the city to return your phone the morning after you left it in his car. It’s the driver’s own time and gasoline.
Do you tip a server, a hairdresser, or bartender? I think a tip entices a service provider- and an Uber driver or cabdriver is one. You rate Uber drivers through your app, but, interestingly, Uber doesn’t pay anything more to highly rated drivers (full disclosure: I’m 4.90/5.00 now) than to mediocre drivers. Handing a driver a few bucks for a courteous, informative, and safe ride in a clean car is an incentive to all Uber drivers to provide such service. This is the same mentality as bell hops, servers, and pizza delivery guys.
That said, if you felt the ride was substandard or just ordinary, I wouldn’t feel a tip was mandatory.
As a highly-rated driver, I presumably get the best tips. I’ve received the occasional $20 or $10, but most tips are in the range of two or three dollars or a five dollar bill. Except for strippers and their caches of small bills to hand out. One drunk hombre kept giving me crumpled up bills- an amazing $19 tip when I counted it all later. Still, the vast majority tip zero.
Whatever you do, please don’t say, “I’d give you a tip, but I don’t have any cash on me.”
I’d rather not hear it. I don’t expect a tip on every ride, but mentioning it reminds me I’m not getting one.
“I don’t have any money on me, but I’ll tip you next time.”
Please don’t say that; a surprising number tell us that. With tens of thousands of Uber drivers in the Chicago market, we almost certainly will never meet again.
Consider tipping your Uber driver for excellent service, but don’t feel obligated to do so.
Milwaukee Avenue 