# Tipping - Atlanta



## Adjuster Mike (Jan 30, 2018)

I just read a lot of the posts with regards to tipping. Here are my thoughts on this. No need for abuse. This is just my opinion and I'm old enough and smart enough to understand that not all will share my opinions. 

I will never understand, having been in the transportation business for many many years. I understand progress fully and that the Limo and Taxi cabs have had exclusivity for many many years as well and they should have been ahead of the game with apps like Uber and Lyft came out with. But I digress. The only thing Uber and Lyft did for us in the transportation industry is destroy many Peoples lives and businesses but at least there are fewer drunks on the road, but, in a sense, they saved me because I felt like I was trapped in an industry that really does not make a lot of money unless you have unlimited funding and a very large fleet. I owned a Limo company for 10 years. I made sure my Chauffeur's received a 20% gratuity, added to the bill and none of my Client's ever had a problem with it. It made it easier for them. Now, having moved forward and I never thought that I would be in a career change again at my age so I signed up with Uber and Lyft to help make ends meet while taking classes for the new career. I have to say that I have not made such little money since I was 16 years old starting out in the working world. Just so nobody cusses me out, I am fully aware that no one is holding a gun to my head and making me drive for these companies. I signed up because we were supposed to be able to make a lot of money. NOT!!! 7 hours on the road, last night and I made 60.00 after fuel expenses. Keeping in mind that I drive a truck with a V8, again, not Uber or Lyfts fault that I drive a fuel hog. Either way, the culture of un-appreciative People, I fear, is here to stay. As far as I am concerned, Uber and Lyft created this non-tipping culture and they need to take it back. Customers always ask how I can possibly make any money with such a nice truck and a V8. I tell them that I really don't but nobody is holding a gun to my head to do it. I pay on average, 55% of my earnings in fuel. Thank God my new career will be starting in March. I don't expect to have to do this again unless something tragic happens. I am going into a field that is very lucrative and gives me total control of my life. Once I am done and moving, I will share what I am doing with the community in hopes that some will change to this field and make some real money. 

Now some recent tools that I read about, which are supposed to aid in getting passengers to tip better and more often, I think, is a very big mistake. I would be put off if my drivers were mentioning tips to me or if I was forced to stare at an advertising board promoting tipping on the back of the headrest as I was using their service. Whatever works for you and you're personal convictions, but I will not do that. I will just take it on the chin and move forward. What Uber and Lyft really need to do, so there are not as many ridesharing partners that are dying out there and slowly but surely going under is to fix the cheap culture they created. Some of the debates on here are ridiculous. With regards to messing with someone's food, no decent Human is going to mess with someones food, regardless of how often they are not appreciated for their hard work. I would say there would be, maybe 1 in 10,000 that would actually do something like that. I can tell you for sure that if I ever found out that a delivery driver did something to my food, I promise you that I would hunt them down and hurt them. But then again, I really don't have to worry about that because I rarely order delivery, part and partially because of that fear and the fact that I cook better than most restaurants and am definitely cleaner. Also, I have found that the majority of rideshare users have no regard for Peoples vehicles. Talk about expenses. The only thing we can get paid for is if someone pukes or does physical damage to our vehicles but what do we do when a really stinky person gets into our vehicles and it takes days to get the smell out. I got "Curried" one night from two ladies that were in my truck for literally 10 minutes, and it literally took me 3 days to get the smell out of my truck. I had comments from other passengers which may have hurt my rating but unfortunately, so far, it has not. So far, I have had to clean my seats 8 times in the last few weeks because of nasty People. So overall, everyone can talk about entitled People and debate the tipping thing, but as far as I am concerned, tipping is an appreciation for doing something that you, yourself, did not wish to do. How anyone can take an actual service from someone and not reward them for great and fast service, unless of course there was a reason not too, is beyond me. It simply does not compute in my head. Thanks be to God for moving me forward because this stresses me out so badly and makes me look at most Humans very very crooked. Have a nice day all and good luck killing yourselves out there. Those that have XL and Select vehicles are most likely doing well but here in Atlanta, the rates are so ridiculously low, I fail to see how all of the partners are doing anything more than just turning dollars. Interesting to see what this will do to me next tax season.


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