# Best Method to Encourage Tips



## Abraxas79 (Feb 7, 2016)

Tips rolled out in our city last week and I rolled out to see the effect and was very much disappointed. Hardly anyone tips. 1 in 10 trips on average for a few dollars. The difference is negligible and with low rates is not going to make a difference in deciding to drive or not. I was told that PAX have to update their application to be able to tip and as it relatively new some may not be aware of it, but when I opened the rider app myself, a message immediately greets you advising you of the ability to add a tip, so I do not see how any PAX can claim ignorance at all. 

Anyways, the way tips were rolled out makes it easy not to tip. Just close the application. The tip prompt should have been included at the end of the ride forcing the pax to put zero if they do not wish to tip. Also, the idea that you are going to get a tip 30 days after your trip is ludicrous. No one is going to do that.

Be that this as it may, those drivers that are still active should do all they can to encourage trips. One starring all non-tippers is risky. The revenge rating is surely going to bite you, as I have had this happen to me even before there was tipping. Waiting a couple a weeks to downgrade rating for non-tippers is also problematic, as I don't even know that UBER does the adjustment and if you do that too many times you risk suspension. 

For now, I am recording all the names of the non-tippers for automatic cancellation fee should I be paired with them again. This isn't really a good solution either though as the clueless PAX will not be able to figure out the reason why. I can also do a rough estimate of what I should be collecting in tips (Minimum 10%) and collect them in cancellation fees instead, but I prefer not to do this. For all I know the smuck that incurred an unjust cancellation fee might have been one that actually tipped.

There has to be a way though. Not only do I not want non-tipping PAX, but I don't want any other driver to have to take them either. Of course telling the PAX they can now tip is gratuities 101, but a lot of PAX do not wish to converse and I don't know that telling the cheap SOB's is going to make much difference. 

There has to be a way though. I am going to give the matter so more thought. I cannot imagine going to dinner or getting a haircut or taking a cab or ordering a pizza and not tipping. You would never do that. Its called learned behavior. This is the type of behavior we want to encourage for UBER Drivers. One final note. What kind of sadistic SOB gives you a sticker but no tip !??!? This is truly perverse.


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## Phil Turless (Mar 14, 2017)

I just roll with a summer sausage in my pants.


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## pomegranite112 (May 14, 2017)

You're not req to get a tip. You sound just as entitled as some of my passengers


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## Abraxas79 (Feb 7, 2016)

Indeed no one is required to get a tip. The waitress, bartender, hairdresser, valet attendant doesn't need a tip even though they claim they are paid less then minimum wage and could not survive without them. So I hope you are being consistent and not tipping anyone for anything.


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## HDriver (Jan 30, 2016)

Abraxas79 said:


> Tips rolled out in our city last week and I rolled out to see the effect and was very much disappointed. Hardly anyone tips. 1 in 10 trips on average for a few dollars. The difference is negligible and with low rates is not going to make a difference in deciding to drive or not. I was told that PAX have to update their application to be able to tip and as it relatively new some may not be aware of it, but when I opened the rider app myself, a message immediately greets you advising you of the ability to add a tip, so I do not see how any PAX can claim ignorance at all.
> 
> Anyways, the way tips were rolled out makes it easy not to tip. Just close the application. The tip prompt should have been included at the end of the ride forcing the pax to put zero if they do not wish to tip. Also, the idea that you are going to get a tip 30 days after your trip is ludicrous. No one is going to do that.
> 
> ...


There is a guy at the Houston Airports that is selling signs that hang on the rear view mirror that say "Tips Appreciated". The sign works very well. Even with the Uber app now including a tipping option, most Uber clients will not tip, unless they are reminded that the tip is not included in the fare.

If you can find this guy whose name is David, buy a sign from him They are only $9.95. You will recoup your investment very very quickly.


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## SansTalent (Apr 22, 2017)

Pass out napkins at restaurants with five stars on it and a Uber/Lyft logo on it. "Please reward drivers for good service with generous tips" Then pair it with a generous tip of your own for the service rendered to you.

Maybe you can get something started this way. They all claim ignorance, but if you give them a little, maybe they will reciprocate the next time. Positive reinforcement works better in most cases.

Servers, hairdressers, valets, etc. are well known industries that are known to depend on gratuities to make ends meet. Uber drivers are not in that category due to the fact that tips were discouraged for both drivers to accept and for riders to provide. Since that has changed now, there will be some riders that are disappointed by this. This is your target audience... those that didn't want to tip in the first place. How do you convert them into feeling comfortable tipping you?

Now also ask yourself if you drive a "sheet-box" and make all sorts of unnecessary lane changes, smell bad, make partisan comments, miss turns, have radio blasting, have dirty windows/car, noisy brakes/suspension, creaking/rattling interior, etc, and if you think that your ride has made your rider satisfied with it all. We also need to look at the mirror sometimes to figure out what the problem can be. Yes, many times it's the passengers, but not always.

Markets are efficient and will settle the matter on its own. Over saturation of cars has led to greater supply and lower rates. People working for such lower sustained rates will either quit or provide bad service. Passengers will have to decide if the lower rates justifies the services being rendered and it will eventually figure itself out. As a side note, bad drivers/cars will obviously get tipped less than nicer drivers/cars and that will also either create a separate tier or push out bad drivers/cars, if that is what the passengers want. I predict that the passengers want cheaper... until more people get raped and maimed. Then it might change.


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## Yulli Yung (Jul 4, 2017)

SansTalent said:


> Pass out napkins at restaurants with five stars on it and a Uber/Lyft logo on it. "Please reward drivers for good service with generous tips" Then pair it with a generous tip of your own for the service rendered to you.
> 
> Maybe you can get something started this way. They all claim ignorance, but if you give them a little, maybe they will reciprocate the next time. Positive reinforcement works better in most cases.
> 
> ...


I started reading you post but fell asleep before finishing it. Hope it all worked out


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