# Tips... Uber losing marketshare to Lyft.



## K-pax (Oct 29, 2016)

Uber tends to think that people do not want to tip, and feel obligated to. Working both platforms, a large percentage of pax do Lyft only because they 1. Think Lyft treats drivers better. 2. They want to tip and they feel like it's a pain in the arse to have to carry cash in order to do so.

The reality is that Uber's non-tipping obsession is losing them marketshare to their competition. I literally hear every single day from people on both platforms that they are frustrated with Uber not allowing them the option to tip in the app. They love the fact that they don't have to deal with cash. Even the new Clover state of the art POS systems showing up in high end stores all over the place make tipping convenient for the consumer (You get an option to add a percentage tip that will be calculated for you and added to the bill automatically. You could choose zero, or whatever you want. The future does not agree with Uber's outright contempt for people's ability to reward outstanding service via tips (and no... I don't think every low rated crappy driver DESERVES tips. You have to earn that). Uber's obsession with non-tipping is actually losing them business to Lyft. It's also making them look like luddites, compared to the competition who understand that some folks express satisfaction with excellence with a few (very much appreciated) bucks here and there. I've been very encouraged in my market because a lot of pax seem to actually be very much on the side of the drivers on many issues.


----------



## rcrouch (Jan 15, 2017)

I wonder if the employees of Uber leave tips for their servers when they eat out....I wonder if they leave a cash tip but pay with a card....I'm guessing that they did it through the card that they used to pay for it..... I wonder what the food industry would look like if the servers only got tips 5% of the time.

Am I wrong to make that analogy?

I like to get cash for tips (instead of through the app). I just wish that more riders understood this. And I wish that Uber didn't discourage it so much.

Uber's obsession with non-tipping is VERY discouraging to me. And I feel like I am an important component of their system!


----------



## Shangsta (Aug 15, 2016)

No tipping might bother drivers but pax dont care. They will always order whats cheaper.

If people want to tip their driver they will find a way.


----------



## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

Shangsta said:


> No tipping might bother drivers but pax dont care. They will always order whats cheaper.
> 
> If people want to tip their driver they will find a way.


Passenger "I can't tip you on the company credit card... can you add a $5 Bridge toll or something?"

Me "umm sure just a second"... bleep bleep.. "done"


----------



## Lag Monkey (Feb 6, 2015)

Surprisingly people do like the ability to tip. And it's something I hear almost daily why people like using Lyft. People still use uber but "feel bad about not tipping". Turns out Lyft drivers end up providing better service because of tips and thus earn more money. Uber tried to brake a long rooted American tradition. They failed


----------



## Geno71 (Dec 23, 2016)

Ah, Lyft passengers act nice, they feel real good about themselves, but in reality, most of them are just as bad if not worse than User's. I can't even count anymore how many times a Lyft passenger gave me the line that they like Lyft because "it takes care of it's drivers and people can tip" and then those were the ones that didn't tip. I think the way Lyft presents it makes people feel obligated and they want to let the driver know they "do tip" even if they're not planning to, probably thinking that's how they earn a 5 star (and with some drivers it is), then they go out hoping a driver doesn't know, but we do. While Lyft does end up getting us a little bit more tips, those are probably either guilt or some kind of bribery tips, and riders that talk about tips on a trip are full of it. I found that with UBER I actually got tips from really nice people that I had good rides with, with Lyft it was a random $1-2 from quiet types or extreme drunks, as an excuse for their behavior hoping it'll get them 5 stars. I never checked so people got rated regardless of tips.


----------



## Elmo Burrito (Feb 3, 2017)

K-pax said:


> Uber tends to think that people do not want to tip, and feel obligated to. Working both platforms, a large percentage of pax do Lyft only because they 1. Think Lyft treats drivers better. 2. They want to tip and they feel like it's a pain in the arse to have to carry cash in order to do so.
> 
> The reality is that Uber's non-tipping obsession is losing them marketshare to their competition. I literally hear every single day from people on both platforms that they are frustrated with Uber not allowing them the option to tip in the app. They love the fact that they don't have to deal with cash. Even the new Clover state of the art POS systems showing up in high end stores all over the place make tipping convenient for the consumer (You get an option to add a percentage tip that will be calculated for you and added to the bill automatically. You could choose zero, or whatever you want. The future does not agree with Uber's outright contempt for people's ability to reward outstanding service via tips (and no... I don't think every low rated crappy driver DESERVES tips. You have to earn that). Uber's obsession with non-tipping is actually losing them business to Lyft. It's also making them look like luddites, compared to the competition who understand that some folks express satisfaction with excellence with a few (very much appreciated) bucks here and there. I've been very encouraged in my market because a lot of pax seem to actually be very much on the side of the drivers on many issues.


It's Travis Kalaniks obsession to not have a tipping option on the Uber app. His pride will be hurt because he will have to do some backtracking.


----------



## Elmo Burrito (Feb 3, 2017)

rcrouch said:


> I wonder if the employees of Uber leave tips for their servers when they eat out....I wonder if they leave a cash tip but pay with a card....I'm guessing that they did it through the card that they used to pay for it..... I wonder what the food industry would look like if the servers only got tips 5% of the time.
> 
> Am I wrong to make that analogy?
> 
> ...


You/we are an important component. They are the glove but damned it we are the hand inside the glove!


----------



## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

Elmo Burrito said:


> You/we are an important component. They are the glove but damned it we are the hand inside the glove!


No... they are the logo on the glove, we bought the glove, we clean the glove, the hand is ours... uber is just a name and (very sophisticated) dispatch computer.


----------



## Chauffeur_James (Dec 12, 2014)

I hope Uber NEVER adds a tipping option for the exact reason that Geno71 stated. Since I've implemented my tipping tablet I get tips from 30 - 40% of my Uber fares where I'm lucky to crack 10% on Lyft.
I'd say 30% of pax that I pick up on Lyft that tell me how much they like the tipping option actually tip. I think they know that it gets them 5* because we think they will tip us.


----------



## steveK2016 (Jul 31, 2016)

Chauffeur_James said:


> I hope Uber NEVER adds a tipping option for the exact reason that Geno71 stated. Since I've implemented my tipping tablet I get tips from 30 - 40% of my Uber fares where I'm lucky to crack 10% on Lyft.
> I'd say 30% of pax that I pick up on Lyft that tell me how much they like the tipping option actually tip. I think they know that it gets them 5* because we think they will tip us.


I don't drive Lyft so I don't have experience there, but I'm starting to agree with the sentiment. I actually don't care if Uber never puts in app tipping, it may actually hurt my system more than it would benefit it.


----------



## htboston (Feb 22, 2016)

I beg to differ. Some people might feel bad, but the majority doesn't care at all, or at least in my city. They use Uber because it's quicker, more professionally designed, and cheaper. That's the vibe and interpretation I get from people. Uber continuously cut their fares and any cheapskate can request a 5-dollar ride now. Ever since I added a tip sign in my car, I give a lot of 1-star or 5-star now, rarely anything in between.

I guess it does feel awkward to hand someone cash in their personal car especially for shy people. People would strongly prefer doing it electronically. Since most drivers are out there doing their own thing, we are not united enough to stay home until Uber meets our demand of an electronic tipping option.

Uber is worth $60 billion, Lyft is only worth $500 million.

They are doing something right and you can only earn money by screwing your employees over.


----------



## Chauffeur_James (Dec 12, 2014)

htboston said:


> I beg to differ. Some people might feel bad, but the majority doesn't care at all, or at least in my city. They use Uber because it's quicker, more professionally designed, and cheaper. That's the vibe and interpretation I get from people. Uber continuously cut their fares and any cheapskate can request a 5-dollar ride now. Ever since I added a tip sign in my car, I give a lot of 1-star or 5-star now, rarely anything in between.
> 
> I guess it does feel awkward to hand someone cash in their personal car especially for shy people. People would strongly prefer doing it electronically. Since most drivers are out there doing their own thing, we are not united enough to stay home until Uber meets our demand of an electronic tipping option.
> 
> ...


You speak as if Lyft doesn't screw their drivers over. Lyft has pretty much copied everything Uber has done over the years, except Lyft's app sucks on the driver end. And in my experience they take a lot longer to pay out on incidents. I had a PAX spill a hidden container of alcohol all over my back seat. Took 2 weeks for Lyft to get me a check. I had a pucker last night and it took Uber 45 minutes to add the money to my payout. If Lyft really cared about their drivers they would A. Make it easier to submit a problem with a fare. B. Raise their rate somehow. Advertise that the fares are higher because Uber keeps its drivers in poverty so on Lyft you are getting a much safer ride. I'd even be up for 3 month inspections if they would raise their rate to even $1.50 a mile.


----------



## htboston (Feb 22, 2016)

Chauffeur_James said:


> You speak as if Lyft doesn't screw their drivers over. Lyft has pretty much copied everything Uber has done over the years, except Lyft's app sucks on the driver end. And in my experience they take a lot longer to pay out on incidents. I had a PAX spill a hidden container of alcohol all over my back seat. Took 2 weeks for Lyft to get me a check. I had a pucker last night and it took Uber 45 minutes to add the money to my payout. If Lyft really cared about their drivers they would A. Make it easier to submit a problem with a fare. B. Raise their rate somehow. Advertise that the fares are higher because Uber keeps its drivers in poverty so on Lyft you are getting a much safer ride. I'd even be up for 3 month inspections if they would raise their rate to even $1.50 a mile.


I don't drive for Lyft so I know nothing about them.


----------

