cestmoi123

That makes about as much sense as my voting down a driver because the UberPool routing was dumb.

TravelTheWorld66

Nope, it's not garbage. If I saw a request come in for a passenger with a 4.22 rating, I would pass. Not to say there's anything wrong with you, but it's just not worth the gamble. I'm not being a snob, but a rating that low usually indicates a consistent issue with the passenger. I've maybe picked up 10 riders with sub 4.5 ratings and on each of them I knew immediately why, and swore never again. Maybe they are drunk and obnoxious, or they request to go to the McDonald's drive-thru, or they smell horrendously, leave trash in the car, are disrespectful, are smoking (tobacco or weed), want to argue about having an open container in the car, can't handle their alcohol and get sick, etc.

Drivers don't get paid enough to deal with this sh*t, so if they refuse to pick you up because of your rating it is well within their right, and maybe you should attempt to improve your rating. This may not be the case for you individually, but for the most part this is why drivers don't pick up riders with poor ratings.

WRCSolberg

Bingo.

I drive occasionally and have driven for both Lyft and Uber. I try to be a nice guy, but every rider I've picked up with a sub-4.7 rating usually ends up proving to me why they have such a low rating and I end up regretting it.

If you're a normal human being, I'll almost always give you a five. You jerk me around, make me wait, treat me like your errand boy, or give me attitude and you're not getting a 5.

Unfortunately, there's a certain segment of the population that insists on treating their rideshare drivers like they're their personal slaves, and that just isn't the case.

Gig103

I haven't seen anyone in this thread discussing bad passengers. The report is that ratings are lower based on tipping. So, as a driver, do you do rate based on tip?

Miami305

Many do. There is an Uber drivers forum where they essentially non-stop complain about how much they hate "cheap" and "entitled" passengers.

WRCSolberg

I, personally, don't. But I know a lot of drivers will rate lower if there's no tip.

I prefer Lyft which has a tipping option, and I get plenty of tips, so it's not something that I put much thought into.

cestmoi123

I have a 4.61 rating. I'm always courteous and on time. I sit quietly, read, etc. My rating is purely a function of drivers who either (a) rate down passengers who don't tip, or (b) rate down UberPool passengers as a matter of principle.

Jaimito Cartero

I use Uber in SE Asia frequently. I don't tip there, and have a steady 4.5 rating. Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Miami305

You are absolutely right on both of your guesses. You will be rated down because you don't tip and because you take uberPOOL, which pays drivers less than X.

This is the world that Travis Kalanick created. Drivers can't take out their frustration on him for the low rates and lack of tipping (actually, his continued insistence that passengers should not tip), so they take it out on the only person they can: you.

darkhound

I've ridden UBER maybe 400 times and I never ever tip. If I want to tip, I'd take cab.

For me, the whole point of UBER is that it's convenient, and part of that means that I don't have to calculate the tip, just like no-tipping is a growing trend in fancy NYC restaurants.

But UBER is getting expensive these days anyway. Juno is usually significantly cheaper. Juno has a tipping function, but I don't tip there either.

WRCSolberg

[Unduly personalized text edited by Moderator.]

Sort of like the airlines, you guys wonder why some drivers treat you like crap and in the same breath you're proud of stiffing these guys out of a tip when they're probably not doing much better than minimum wage. It's the same adversarial relationship.

You say you'd tip a taxi cab driver, why wouldn't you tip your Uber driver? It's the same thing. How hard is it to calculate a tip? 10%.....take your total and move the decimal one place to the left.

darkhound

[Edits by Moderator to conform to upthread moderation.]

I don't purport to take a moral stand. I don't tip #1 because I'm cheap. Guilty as charged. And secondarily because it's inconvenient, i.e. I'm lazy.

IMO, being cheap is a pretty good habit and essential to building wealth. Personally, it has been very important for me and is a big reason why I'm <40 and a self-made multimillionaire. Not rich by any means, but decently above average.

I see all these young millennials ordering $4.50 lattes at the cafe. The cafe will of course offer tip options, with $1 being the minimum. Constantly astounded by kids giving 20%+ tips for a takeaway drink. Studies show that peer pressure is a big factor - everyone behind can see if you select the "NO TIP" option. Better to be cheap, esp. when you have a $100k loan for an art degree.

One reason I love UBER (and other similar apps) is because of the convenience. No cash is great, and I can just hop out when I'm done.

I hate cash. It's dirty and it's annoying, especially coins. In fact, my wallet doesn't even have a pocket for coins. I avoid cash like the plague but if I'm forced to use it, I leave all coins behind.

If you had to chart the dirtiness of bills against value, I bet $100 bills would be cleanest, followed by $50s then $20s, then $10s, then $5s, and finally nasty dollar bills. Then coins. Tipping UBER in cash means I've got to keep a collection of nasty $1 and $5 bills in my wallet, and worry if I've got cash that day. No thanks.


In my experience, Uber drivers have been pretty good. A lot better than yellow cabs. So I'm not complaining.

Also, I know that they don't report tips as income to the government. So they are dodging taxes illegally, whereas I'm paying a 50% rate and don't get paid basically, until July.

Well I've been using cabs since before Uber introduced tipless fares, so it is kind of been ingrained. Cab drivers also sort of expect it (and may threaten physical violence when they don't get one), whereas Uber drivers want a tip, but don't yet completely expect it. But you raise a good point. I'm going to lower my tipping of yellow cabs.

It's not hard. Just costly and inconvenient.

Miami305

Being frugal and cheap are very different.

One (frugal) is being responsible with your money. ^

The other (cheap) means you are stiffing a poorly paid blue collar worker who may not have been blessed to have been born with the same life opportunities you have had.

Explorer789

Not tipping does not somehow justify giving poor rating as an act of petty revenge. This makes the drivers guiltier imo.

Most of the time, drivers are just college students or middle-age adults just trying to make a few bucks on the side. They are hardly broke and most seem quite happy and friendly, which is why I just give a token 5% at most for a standard ride but not always.

Regardless of the monetary status of the rider, it is not our job to participate in this "trickle down economics" scheme while corporations get rich. If these blue collar workers do not like whatever they are getting paid, then they should be complaining to the company they work for or find another job.

darkhound

Exactly.

Tipping is for service. Driving is a low-skill job that requires zero service, which is why they will all be replaced by driverless cars within 5 years, max. I just need a nice silent ride, and a computer can provide that perfectly.

The only exception is when the driver gets out to help with baggage or my stroller, but that is very rare.