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Question for uber drivers

RichG

Junior
Aug 24, 2001
824
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Hmmmm, frequent UBER rider, had a 5.00 rating, just noticed went to 4.88 ?
I've always rated drivers 5 stars, and always tip $5 to $10 per trip.
I prefer to sit back and let the driver, drive, but if he/she is talkative, I'll chat.
(No, personal hygiene is not an issue, Don't Start !)
Just wondering, why would a driver, rate a passenger a 4 ?
I'm retired, no need to rush, let the driver choose the route.
Perhaps, he/she didn't like my face ? But, what's not to like, IMHO !
Don't know why this bugs me, but, It Does !
Curious.
 
You're not supposed to tip...

Says anyone looking for a cheap excuse not to leave the driver a tip. You should tip your uber driver, just like you would tip your cab driver. Just because Uber says its not necessary doesn't mean you shouldnt do it. I have found most people with a lot of money dont tip. I have picked up people in their 5 million dollar beach homes, put their luggage in the car and unloaded it at the curb of the airport only to get stiffed. I have found most working class people are more generous w/ their tips too. Dont be the guy who thinks giving the driver 5 stars is such a treat for him. I cant stand the person who stiffs me and then says hey buddy, 5 stars for you!! Like I am some kindergartner getting a sticker from the teacher.

To answer the OP, if you left a tip there should be no reason you didn't get 5 stars. The only thing I can think of is that maybe he meant to hit 5 and only hit 4, it happens when you are trying to slide the bar, sometimes it doesnt always respond the way you want it to. I give all my riders a 5 star as long as they aren't a dick. 4 stars or less usually mean you made me wait more than 3 minutes for you to come out, you left empties in my car or other trash or you were just annoying for some other reason.
 
We have 4 traveling to a resort near Epcot (Wyndham Bonnet Creek) and I've decided against renting a car, instead we will use Uber everywhere. The resort charges $20 to park your car, plus the Disney Parks are close to $20 to park, so that's $40/day on top of the daily car rental. Will the 4 of us be comfortable in a regular Uber car or will we need the Uber XL ? The resort is very close to the parks, the only significant rides will be back and forth to the Orlando Airport. Getting picked up at the Orlando airport it appears we will have to take a shuttle off the airport grounds as Uber not allowed to do pickups only drop offs.

PS- I haven't used Uber before but my 19 year old son uses it a lot at college. My wife and I will soon be adding accounts to our phone, as you get a $15 discount off your first ride, which we will use for the back and forth from the Orlando Airport.
 
I never expect a tip because the fare is already taken care of so money is not exchanges. I always give a rider a 5. Unless he's late to the car and doesn't apologize or is real obnoxious why would you rate lower?
 
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Says anyone looking for a cheap excuse not to leave the driver a tip. You should tip your uber driver, just like you would tip your cab driver. Just because Uber says its not necessary doesn't mean you shouldnt do it. I have found most people with a lot of money dont tip. I have picked up people in their 5 million dollar beach homes, put their luggage in the car and unloaded it at the curb of the airport only to get stiffed. I have found most working class people are more generous w/ their tips too. Dont be the guy who thinks giving the driver 5 stars is such a treat for him. I cant stand the person who stiffs me and then says hey buddy, 5 stars for you!! Like I am some kindergartner getting a sticker from the teacher.

To answer the OP, if you left a tip there should be no reason you didn't get 5 stars. The only thing I can think of is that maybe he meant to hit 5 and only hit 4, it happens when you are trying to slide the bar, sometimes it doesnt always respond the way you want it to. I give all my riders a 5 star as long as they aren't a dick. 4 stars or less usually mean you made me wait more than 3 minutes for you to come out, you left empties in my car or other trash or you were just annoying for some other reason.
Thanks New... ! Was hoping it would be something as you described !
 
Says anyone looking for a cheap excuse not to leave the driver a tip. You should tip your uber driver, just like you would tip your cab driver. Just because Uber says its not necessary doesn't mean you shouldnt do it.

Is it even possible to add a tip to the fare in the Uber app?
 
No. The driver would never get paid. Driver gets his pay plus and toll reimbursments from Uber.

So, like BlueLot mentioned, tipping the driver sort of defeats the whole ease-of-use thing with Uber. If you can't include the tip in your on-line Uber payment, then you have to carry a whole bunch of cash every time you take an Uber in order to leave a tip. At least with a taxi, you can include the tip in a credit card payment, or if you pay cash, you can get change from the driver (e.g., on a $9 taxi fare, you can hand the driver a $20, tell him to take $13, and get $7 in change).
 
Says anyone looking for a cheap excuse not to leave the driver a tip. You should tip your uber driver, just like you would tip your cab driver. Just because Uber says its not necessary doesn't mean you shouldnt do it. I have found most people with a lot of money dont tip. I have picked up people in their 5 million dollar beach homes, put their luggage in the car and unloaded it at the curb of the airport only to get stiffed. I have found most working class people are more generous w/ their tips too. Dont be the guy who thinks giving the driver 5 stars is such a treat for him. I cant stand the person who stiffs me and then says hey buddy, 5 stars for you!! Like I am some kindergartner getting a sticker from the teacher.

To answer the OP, if you left a tip there should be no reason you didn't get 5 stars. The only thing I can think of is that maybe he meant to hit 5 and only hit 4, it happens when you are trying to slide the bar, sometimes it doesnt always respond the way you want it to. I give all my riders a 5 star as long as they aren't a dick. 4 stars or less usually mean you made me wait more than 3 minutes for you to come out, you left empties in my car or other trash or you were just annoying for some other reason.

First time I tried to tip and the driver said uber doesn't take tips. I do t know anyone that tips uber.
 
We have 4 traveling to a resort near Epcot (Wyndham Bonnet Creek) and I've decided against renting a car, instead we will use Uber everywhere. The resort charges $20 to park your car, plus the Disney Parks are close to $20 to park, so that's $40/day on top of the daily car rental. Will the 4 of us be comfortable in a regular Uber car or will we need the Uber XL ? The resort is very close to the parks, the only significant rides will be back and forth to the Orlando Airport. Getting picked up at the Orlando airport it appears we will have to take a shuttle off the airport grounds as Uber not allowed to do pickups only drop offs.

PS- I haven't used Uber before but my 19 year old son uses it a lot at college. My wife and I will soon be adding accounts to our phone, as you get a $15 discount off your first ride, which we will use for the back and forth from the Orlando Airport.

Enjoy Bonnet Creek , we had a great time there.
 
Had dinner with several friends the other night, 3 of whom use Uber regularly (I've never used it) and they're all very nice people, who make good money and tip most people quite well, but they don't tip Uber drivers. They all said it was not expected. Just reporting what I heard...
 
Hmmmm, frequent UBER rider, had a 5.00 rating, just noticed went to 4.88 ?
I've always rated drivers 5 stars, and always tip $5 to $10 per trip.
I prefer to sit back and let the driver, drive, but if he/she is talkative, I'll chat.
(No, personal hygiene is not an issue, Don't Start !)
Just wondering, why would a driver, rate a passenger a 4 ?
I'm retired, no need to rush, let the driver choose the route.
Perhaps, he/she didn't like my face ? But, what's not to like, IMHO !
Don't know why this bugs me, but, It Does !
Curious.
I'm guessing the driver was in a hurry to close out your ride and hit 4 stars by accident. It happens some times. Drivers do not expect tips but gladly accept them. For the money they make driving Uber, I always throw a 5 or 10 unless they are dbags.
 
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I always tip in cash, big damn deal having a $5 or $10 in my pocket... Tip, if you wish, or don't ! If, the ride was prompt, safe, and without incident, I feel a tip is warranted.
 
I always tip my uber drivers and I can tell you it definitely makes a difference because when I'm standing at the ridgewood train station at 2:30 AM after a night in the city and 5 other groups of people are all trying to get Uber's, I always get picked up within 15 minutes while most of the time the other people are all bitching that no one has accepted their requests yet...in NYC or places where there are drivers everywhere, it probably doesn't matter as much
 
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My curious Uber question, to drivers. How much do you make - by ride or hour worked?
 
Hmmmm, frequent UBER rider, had a 5.00 rating, just noticed went to 4.88 ?
I've always rated drivers 5 stars, and always tip $5 to $10 per trip.
I prefer to sit back and let the driver, drive, but if he/she is talkative, I'll chat.
(No, personal hygiene is not an issue, Don't Start !)
Just wondering, why would a driver, rate a passenger a 4 ?
I'm retired, no need to rush, let the driver choose the route.
Perhaps, he/she didn't like my face ? But, what's not to like, IMHO !
Don't know why this bugs me, but, It Does !
Curious.
You must have had TT as your uber driver. Mr. 1 star.
 
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Had dinner with several friends the other night, 3 of whom use Uber regularly (I've never used it) and they're all very nice people, who make good money and tip most people quite well, but they don't tip Uber drivers. They all said it was not expected. Just reporting what I heard...

Uber has made it clear to their customers that tips are not expected, which is why I dont base my ratings on if a passenger tips or not. I would say probably about 40% of my passengers tip. As to the driver who refused a tip, thats just ignorance. I would imagine in the next year Uber will add a tipping feature to their app.

My curious Uber question, to drivers. How much do you make - by ride or hour worked?

I average about $30/hour on a busy Saturday night. That does not include money spent on gas, etc. I normally just leave the app on while I am sitting at home and usually around 7PM it starts and I keep going until around 11-12PM when I turn it off. Its not worth it to me to be picking up drunks or waiting outside a bar for people. During that time I am rarely w/o a passenger or request for more than 5 minutes and its still pretty quiet down here in Ocean City. I imagine once summer hits it will be crazy.

It should be noted that the rates down here in South Jersey are more than what you get/pay in North Jersey. Rates there are 85 cents a mile (which to me doesn't seem worth the trouble of driving) down here they are $1.65 a mile. A year ago they were over $2.00 a mile and when Uber first started in NJ they were close to $3, so drivers were making some good money.

The most I have ever made in one day was $700 during the polar bear plunge in Sea Isle.
 
I've only ever rated passengers under 5 stars if 1) they're more than a few minutes late, 2) try to drink alcohol or smoke while I'm driving (yes this has happened before), or 3) are rude.

Out of the 100+ rides I've given, I think I've only ever rated somebody below 5 three times.

I've only been tipped twice. I don't expect it, but the fact that Uber keeps lowering rates in NJ is why I haven't given a ride in almost a year.

I started Uber driving for nights and weekends for fun and a little extra money while doing my PhD at Rutgers but now it's not worth it anymore. I should also mention that I have never been rated lower than a 5, which customers I've picked up always seem to find interesting. I don't give out water or anything but I did my Ubering in a 2008 5 series wagon and helped with luggage.
 
In talking to Uber drivers, the ones in NJ will be hitting the shore hard beginning next weekend. They also go to RU in the fall and many go to JC/Hoboken all year round- basically, the go where the drunks needing rides are lol. Which is smart. Those are three spots I use it most aside from airports, and each time the driver has come from far off and told me he was looking to get the surge and frequent ridership. Morristown is another spot they told me they look for.

When I was at Coachella, my driver came from Santa Monica (2 hours without traffic away) and stayed at a motel- just to soak up the surge (was 4.7x when I rode).

I rarely tip but Lyft does offer a feature in which case sometimes I throw on a buck or two (I usually just use Lyft to ride locally here in Hudson County on short rides).

I didn't realize that Uber drivers don't know how much they will get even on set fares- I took an UberPool from JFK and the driver asked me how much I was paying lol.
 
Why would you need to carry a bunch of cash? A dollar or two is greatly appreciated. I don't understand why people don't feel the need to tip an uber driver, but always tip cab drivers.
 
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Why would you need to carry a bunch of cash? A dollar or two is greatly appreciated. I don't understand why people don't feel the need to tip an uber driver, but always tip cab drivers.
Because that's the companies position. I don't know the compensation an Uber driver gets vs. a cabbie. If it's a better model and the driver sees much more of the revenue than you would think a tip is not necessary, especially if that's the companies position.

One day I went into a pizza place and paid cash for a pizza. The next day they put in a debit machine and now they want a tip for the same service? All that happened is pizza owners have not kept up with inflation in paying wages and passed the expense on to customers.

If uber wanted us to tip they would hire a competent programmer and 30 minutes later we would have the ability to tip in the app.
 
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In NYC Uber sent out an email that sends mixed messages about tipping. I believe as a result of the class action lawsuit the company is opening up to the idea of tipping or at least not discouraging it. It makes the situation a bit awkward given that there was a no tip expectation before, but now it's not clear. I believe the best solution for the passengers is a tip option on the app. Like many others stated the ease of no cash is part of what makes Uber a desirable option, muddling up the expectation will be bad for business.

Personally I don't carry cash other than an emergency $20 at times. If tipping becomes expected even if not stated explicitly, at least give an option on the app.
 
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I'm a bit shocked that there are uber drivers among us posting on this board.

Shocked I tell you. lol
 
I drive Uber during the winter while I'm waiting for snow. I have around 100 fares and I believe maybe 5 have tipped. It's not expected and that's what most riders like.
 
I , I just feel like if someone does a good job, I tip them. I always tip my uber driver a couple bucks. When I'm driving, I'd say between 10 and 20 percent of riders tip. A dollar is great. I think the most I've gotten is 5. At $0.85 per mile, drivers aren't making much money.
 
I have never met anyone that has ever tipped an uber driver. Take a taxi if you want to exchange cash and tip.
 
I always tip my uber drivers and I can tell you it definitely makes a difference because when I'm standing at the ridgewood train station at 2:30 AM after a night in the city and 5 other groups of people are all trying to get Uber's, I always get picked up within 15 minutes while most of the time the other people are all bitching that no one has accepted their requests yet...in NYC or places where there are drivers everywhere, it probably doesn't matter as much
I barely ever use uber.
Do the drivers see a passenger rating that has comments that you or anyone are a tipper? Or do they only see star ratings? (And so one would assume a tipper would have a higher avg rating)
 
In NYC Uber sent out an email that sends mixed messages about tipping. I believe as a result of the class action lawsuit the company is opening up to the idea of tipping or at least not discouraging it. It makes the situation a bit awkward given that there was a no tip expectation before, but now it's not clear. I believe the best solution for the passengers is a tip option on the app. Like many others stated the ease of no cash is part of what makes Uber a desirable option, muddling up the expectation will be bad for business.

Personally I don't carry cash other than an emergency $20 at times. If tipping becomes expected even if not stated explicitly, at least give an option on the app.
If you use UberTaxi in NYC you can set the tipping percentage on the uber website in advance.
 
If you use UberTaxi in NYC you can set the tipping percentage on the uber website in advance.
It's funny that you mention that as I thought I set up a tip % when I first joined Uber years ago. Is there anyway to change / review that setting at this point?
 
I barely ever use uber.
Do the drivers see a passenger rating that has comments that you or anyone are a tipper? Or do they only see star ratings? (And so one would assume a tipper would have a higher avg rating)

They only see star ratings but I personally know 3 friends who drive and they all say they only give 5 stars to tippers. Anyone who doesn't tip gets at most 4 stars. I have taken over 200 Uber trips and have a perfect 5 star rating.
 
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