Myth Busters

1282 Views 16 Replies 14 Participants Last post by Joe Graca, Apr 6, 2017

PTUber

Discussion Starter · Apr 3, 2017

So I drove both Friday and Saturday night and had the opportunity to test out a few Uber/Lyft myths. To be clear these are very unscientific from a small sampling:

1. People in the service industry (waiters/waitresses/bartenders/strippers) understand we are like them so they tip.
Conclusion: FALSE. Picked up a female bartender heading to meet friends. Had a great talk about how the rating system sucks which transitioned to how Yelp rating sucked. She felt sorry for guys like me that drove the drunks home from her bar. She even said I always tip people in the service industry 20% no matter what. Got out of the car no tip!
Picked up a male bartender from Psycho Suzies at 2:30 a.m. he had been working since 10:00 a.m. Saturday morning. We talked about how busy it had been. He said it was a long day but he made a bunch in tips (later over heard him on the phone tell a buddy he made $500 in tips) I mentioned I hadn't gotten many tips. Got out of the car no tip! It was Lyft so I thought he would add it in later, nope!

2. Lyft PAX tip more because of the in app tipping feature.
Conclusion: Not necessarily. Friday night first 4 Uber PAX I picked up all tipped $27 total one guy tipped $20 (see #3 below). 4 total Lyft rides no tips. For the week 61 Uber trips 10 tippers (16%) for a total of $59.00. 16 Lyft trips 6 tippers (37.5%) for a total of $17.00. So both average right around $1.00 per PAX.

3. Drive thrus and other in route stops should be avoided.
Conclusion: Not necessarily. Picked up a couple Saturday night around 9:00. They asked if we could make a couple stops (gas station and McDonalds). Of course I said "I'm not sure it is the busy time (it wasn't) and I need to drive". He said "I'll throw you some cash and I'll be quick". Since both were on the way and it was a small surge 1.4 I said sure. He was in and out of the gas station in about 2 minutes and handed me a folded up bill I thought was a $5. We went through the drive thru and the wife offered to buy me something I had just ate so I declined. Rolled through in a couple minutes and dropped them off down the road. I then looked at the bill and it was a $20. That is the 2nd time in the last couple weeks I received a $20 for a drive thru.

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rideshareMN

· #2 · Apr 3, 2017

thanks for sharing...service people I've picked up tend to tip slightly more often than regular riders, but they are NOT a sure thing even though they know how critical tips are to the bottom line (worst was a bartender I gave a ride home, took him by a liquor store where he was not fast -- no tip);

on your 2nd point -- i'm actually starting to hope Uber does NOT put a tip function in the app; Lyft tips tend to be tiny; I would say the big Uber tips I get end up outpacing the batch of tiny Lyft tips

point #3 -- I've never NOT gotten a tip/food offer for stopping at a drive-thru; best was $20, lowest was $5 + burrito

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Diamond_Vision

· #3 · Apr 3, 2017

I think the bottom line is some people are going to tip and others won't no matter what. As long as we all keep planting the seed that tips are NOT included in the fair, we will overcome the brainwash that UBER has done. I am seeing progress in the Uber rides that people are starting to tip. Keep putting the soft sell signs in the car, provide good service and hopefully everyone will see more tips. Best tip I received was $100 the week before Christmas.

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iceman49

· #4 · Apr 3, 2017

The bartenders I've given rides to have been worthless for tips. I've had waitresses tip me, usually in the $2-5 range but at least they made an effort. My best tips have come from the middle class Joe Sixpack types, not the affluent or business people. Even have gotten a couple of large tips in ghetto suburbs which was surprising. I agree that there is a trend of more people tipping.

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wk1102

· #5 · Apr 4, 2017

Im am 3 for 10 on bartenders that I can recall may be more but I don't remember.

To me that's horrible, bartenders should be the best tippers, imo.

If I had to guess, servers 30-40% tip.

The last two sat nights my last trip was servers. Two weeks ago, I had two couples, separate drops. 20 each. This sat, 20. I've had plenty not tip though...
The woman in both groups tipped me, and this Sat was a single rider a woman.

I feel women are better tippers, but it's probably equal.

I've had conversations with two people, a server and a server/bartender. I had driven them before and always tip. I asked their opinion on non tipping service employees specifically bartenders and servers, both told me I should definitely call them out. They were appalled at the 30-40% I estimated as tippers.

I just don't get it... It's more than uber says not to tip. They just don't think we deserve tips.

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Spike00

· #6 · Apr 4, 2017

Service industry people typically suck ass at tipping....I've been saying for months that I don't want the Uber tip option. In the past 6 months I've received at least ten $20 tips. Never had 1 on Lyft thru the app. Last time I agreed to a drive thru, it was a 3x surge (DT to Brooklyn Park), got a burrito & pop bought for me & once we arrived all the pax started emptying their pockets for tip money. I had cash being handed to me from 4 different pax, totaling $27

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JediDriver

· #7 · Apr 4, 2017

I suppose the thought process is, "I worked my ass off for these tips. This person is just driving!"
Now Uber drivers that don't tip are the lowest life forms. Why did you even tell me you drive Uber if you are not going to tip?

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wk1102

· #8 · Apr 4, 2017

Spike00 said:
I've been saying for months that I don't want the Uber tip option. In the past 6 months I've received at least ten $20 tips. Never had 1 on Lyft thru the app.

I read that lyft recently passed reached 200 million in tips passed on to drivers, since lyft' s inception.

Lyft gave more than 150 million rides in 2016 alone. Safe to say they gave at least 75 million in 2015, that's less than $1.00 per ride.

A tipping option in uber isn't going to make much of a difference, I'd be willing to bet I would take a hit.

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1rightwinger

· #9 · Apr 4, 2017

I agree I have had a lot of bartenders and waitresses and a lot of them have not tipped. And they like to talk about how much they earned in tips. And yeah bartenders should definitely tip. When you go into a bar and order a drink let's say you get a beer they price it at $3.50 and they make you feel like a heel if you give him a 5 and want any change back. So a lot of people end up tipping a dollar fifty for a 3.50 drink. Just as an example. That's like a 43% tip. Makes me mad when bartenders do not tip. Also do you know who else doesn't tip? Hair dressers. When I go in to get my haircut I leave at least 20%. They don't tip uber drivers.

BurgerTiime

· #10 · Apr 4, 2017

Next time you order a drink ask them if they've ever used Uber and do they tip within the app(trick question). When you get the response your looking for, walk away and leave nothing.

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Joe Graca

· #11 · Apr 4, 2017

Gesture Happy Font Elbow Pleased

I tried this sign and got a 20.00 and a 5.00 tip right away. I think it was beginners luck nothing after that. I am going to try another approach. I agree the folks in the service industry are crappy tippers. I like the trick question.

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Dadwith2boys

· #12 · Apr 4, 2017

Joe Graca said:
View attachment 110121

I tried this sign and got a 20.00 and a 5.00 tip right away. I think it was beginners luck nothing after that. I am going to try another approach. I agree the folks in the service industry are crappy tippers. I like the trick question.

Looks great. Where in your vehicle did you place this sign?

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Joe Graca

· #13 · Apr 4, 2017

On the back of the passenger seat - So its starring at the rider in the back seat. I laminated it.

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Woodbury77

· #14 · Apr 5, 2017

I've done signs in the backseat on the 1st row headrests and above the glovebox. I think they helped my tips and hurt my ratings. I think some people thought they were tacky. Someone's perception of me doesn't pay the bills though and it didn't drop my rating that much.

Had a guy the other night ask what I wanted when he stopped at SA for smokes and I said I was good. Came back with two powerball tickets and told me to pick one. Gave me $5 in his driveway and said he hoped it was enough. Dude got me out of Stillwater and back to civilization the tips were icing on the cake.

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bev in eagan

· #15 · Apr 5, 2017

Where can I buy a sign like that?

BoundaryWalters

· #16 · Apr 5, 2017

It is completely unacceptable for people in the service industry to not tip other people in the service industry, and I always give low stars to waiters and bartenders who don't tip.

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Joe Graca

· #17 · Apr 6, 2017

You can just copy and paste the sign and print it.
I agree with Woodbury. Sometimes the PAX got very quiet after they saw the sign.

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