[kideyse]

Hi All,
I have put together a brieflet that fits on a 3" x 2.5" card. The contents are below. The format got messed up when I copied and pasted. I plan on handing these cards out to all pax on non-surge trips. Uber can't complain about telling the pax the truth. The numbers don't lie. Request for comments.

Impossible To Continue Without Tips
Fares reflect non-profit ride-sharing expense recovery.
Allows TNC to bypass Driving for Hire laws. Do the math:
Fare Calc: $0.85/mile, $0.18/minute; IRS says $0.54/mile for expenses, that leaves us $0.31/mile
Minimum fare: $5.60 whether 1 pax or 4; $5.60/4 = $1.40 per pax, lower than city bus fare per pax. Most city buses lose money ,subsidized by tax payer. Who subsidizes us? Out of $5.60 after booking fee and TNC's cut, driver is left with $3.20; we take out taxes, expenses. How are we supposed to continue? If you don't tip, we can't survive.

 

[UberLou]

Your rating is going to tank. Passengers do not want to be pressured to tip you. They are all going to think the same thing, why are you continuing to do this job if you cannot survive.

 

[kideyse]

there is no pressure. nothing wrong with telling the truth. How would you word it to have a less pressurized tone? Maybe add something like
"There is no compulsion for tipping, but pls understand that if you do not tip, what we are being paid by the TNC for this trip only covers expenses, we earn nothing as profit or wages. Not fair to us."
the card or pamphlet needs to be concise as possible, not seem pushy, but informative enough to explain the reality.
This is not just for me. Every driver would want to present this to their pax on non-surge trips. That is why we should collaborate on the wording of the pamphlet. All suggestions welcome.

 

[kideyse]

we can get around the ratings by having the pax agree to a verified 5 star exchange at the end of the trip as a condition for the trip. pax don't agree we cancel.

 

[sellkatsell44]

there is no pressure. nothing wrong with telling the truth. How would you word it to have a less pressurized tone? Maybe add something like
"There is no compulsion for tipping, but pls understand that if you do not tip, what we are being paid by the TNC for this trip only covers expenses, we earn nothing as profit or wages. Not fair to us."
the card or pamphlet needs to be concise as possible, not seem pushy, but informative enough to explain the reality.
This is not just for me. Every driver would want to present this to their pax on non-surge trips. That is why we should collaborate on the wording of the pamphlet. All suggestions welcome.

glad you think so b/c your wording sucks.

if i really had to have a pamphlet (which to be honest, most folks would just dump and not read), it would be short, and to the point with a twinge of sympathy for the driver, not "do the math" bs and "if you don't tip, we won't survive".

you could easily say something like: "average fare=$8 before uber cut; after uber cuts its more like $5; after gas and mileage maintenance= $4 after federal, state, and social/medi taxes= $-1.

Any gratuity welcomed and appreciated.

 

[UberLou]

I would never present anything like this to any passenger. I've done well over 1,000 trips between Uber and Lyft with ratings of 4.92 and 4.91 respectively. I get tipped on both platforms.

You don't need signs and parlor tricks. Just provide 5 star service. Study your surrounding areas and make note of areas where people tend to tip. It took me time but it has paid off. I don't go crazy with opening car doors and giving out water however I do have chargers and mints.

I think you need to take your focus off signs and pamphlets and educate your passengers where appropriate in conversation.

 

[I_Like_Spam]

Hi All,
I have put together a brieflet that fits on a 3" x 2.5" card. The contents are below. The format got messed up when I copied and pasted. I plan on handing these cards out to all pax on non-surge trips. Uber can't complain about telling the pax the truth. The numbers don't lie. Request for comments.

Won't work. Uber has already put out press releases that the average driver nets 90k, and the recent cuts in rates actually mean more money for drivers.

People believe what they want to believe, and they want to believe that everyone is happy with low fares.

 

[kideyse]

There is a difference between just believing something and presenting real facts and figures. We can provide the link to the Uber Web page that actually presents the uberx rates.
Again, the numbers don't lie. The riders that do want conversation almost without exception ask how it's going. Because they question the Uber propaganda.

 

[kideyse]

We need to push back and stop being used by Uber. Truth and justice r on our side. All we have to do is present the facts.

 

[UberLou]

We need to push back and stop being used by Uber. Truth and justice r on our side. All we have to do is present the facts.

What you are not grasping is that even if you present the facts to riders it doesn't matter, they don't care. They want to find the most inexpensive way they can to get to their destination without having to drive. Uber says, No need to tip. In my opinion that is the #1 reason they use Uber over the competition. Save your breath and provide the best service you can, if you cannot not do that move on.

Bring the fight to Uber but trying to do it through the riders is just going to set you up for failure and/or deactivation. People want a cheap ride, the fact that we aren't getting compensated fairly is our problem not theirs.

 

[RightTurnClyde]

Flip the script; as a customer someone hands you a pamphlet asking/begging for what equates to sympathy. People generally don't respond favorably when your asking something "from them" in a situation where they view you as a "provider". I totally feel where you are coming from and I respect you for trying to make a difference. That being said, where I live I'm constantly asked to give to people all day long; whether it be panhandlers that seem to be at every gas station I visit, or even sales propositions as I'm going about my business. At the end of day I'm just not in the mood for yet another story. I don't think I'm different than most people...

 

[MulletMan]

Very bad idea... My advice: Only accept uber rides when surging and count that as your tip. Otherwise keep lyft running and you'll have a chance for tips; plus lyft pays more anyway. if we all do this Uber will get the idea sooner or later.. UNITE!

 

[kideyse]

Uber rarely surges in my area except on weekend nights, so I have been doing some heavy Lyfting since Uber dropped its rates. Besides, trying to work the surges or the earnings guarantees is like trying to win at playing 3 card monty. The problem is that I only get 1/3 of the number of pings with Lyft that I got with Uber. Lyft is popular in some areas but it just doesn't have the base that Uber does here. Lyft also cut its rates to match Uber's in 30 locations though my area is still the old rate.
Out of the replies I have gotten thus far, only sellkatsell44 offered suggestions on the wording of the pamphlet. The rest are reticent about it.
My fellow drivers, we are victims of deceptive marketing by Uber. They lured us in with promises of $thousands per month, then after many of us have already committed to car loans, leases, schedule adjustments, etc, they lower the rates. I later learn that profits and wages are not legal in most states "Ride Sharing" statutes. If as a driver you receive more than "expense recovery" amounts for the trip, then it is a "commercial ride" and you and vehicle must be licensed and insured as such. So Uber cannot raise its rates even if it was inclined to do so without substantial and mounting legal challenges. They discourage the riders from tipping. They lose the class action law suit re "Rider Safety Fee" and forced to pay $28M. We are dealing with a deceptive company. I feel morally obligated to expose the deceptions even if it turns some parasite riders off.
I would appreciate the rider's sympathy, but more importantly I want them educated about what's really going on and I won't be taken advantage of.

 

[UberLou]

Uber rarely surges in my area except on weekend nights, so I have been doing some heavy Lyfting since Uber dropped its rates. Besides, trying to work the surges or the earnings guarantees is like trying to win at playing 3 card monty. The problem is that I only get 1/3 of the number of pings with Lyft that I got with Uber. Lyft is popular in some areas but it just doesn't have the base that Uber does here. Lyft also cut its rates to match Uber's in 30 locations though my area is still the old rate.
Out of the replies I have gotten thus far, only sellkatsell44 offered suggestions on the wording of the pamphlet. The rest are reticent about it.
My fellow drivers, we are victims of deceptive marketing by Uber. They lured us in with promises of $thousands per month, then after many of us have already committed to car loans, leases, schedule adjustments, etc, they lower the rates. I later learn that profits and wages are not legal in most states "Ride Sharing" statutes. If as a driver you receive more than "expense recovery" amounts for the trip, then it is a "commercial ride" and you and vehicle must be licensed and insured as such. So Uber cannot raise its rates even if it was inclined to do so without substantial and mounting legal challenges. They discourage the riders from tipping. They lose the class action law suit re "Rider Safety Fee" and forced to pay $28M. We are dealing with a deceptive company. I feel morally obligated to expose the deceptions even if it turns some parasite riders off.
I would appreciate the rider's sympathy, but more importantly I want them educated about what's really going on and I won't be taken advantage of.

I just don't understand why you subject yourself to this? No one is forcing you to work for Uber or any other company for that matter. You made the choice to do this. You failed to do proper research before you got started and it is everyone else's fault but your own?

Uber started it's rate drops in January 2014, this is not new. They have frowned upon tipping since the start, this is not new. They have been getting people trapped in horrible car loans and leases for years, this is also not new. They have been tip toeing around policy's, procedures, and laws since day one, yes this also is not new.

People who read an Ad and take it as gospel without doing research only have themselves to blame. Regardless if everyone, myself included, believes Uber was deceptive we all knew what we were getting into. The only thing that is going to stop Uber are the courts and as of today is a slow go.

The moment you referred to customers as parasites is the moment you should have realized this is not the business for you.

Uber is the devil no doubt but until I stop making a profit I will continue to use them for supplemental income. It is easy work that takes very little effort.

 

[MulletMan]

I am sympathetic to your idea. However, I think that yours may be the wrong approach. Maybe humor would go over a little better with pax.

 

[kideyse]

Thanks MulletMan Tips and tricks of the trade I will print out and use with our permission.

 

[kideyse]

I meant "your" permission. sorry

 

[MulletMan]

Thanks MulletMan Tips and tricks of the trade I will print out and use with our permission.

I just binged funny tip jars, bing has more pics than google from my experience.
Uber is awesome. Don't ask questions...just drive.

 

[kideyse]

UberLou, thx for yr comments and advise.
I have quit Uber, and mostly doing Lyft. I have made my own arrangements for local repeat riders that I have met through Uber and Lyft. They have become regular scheduled routes in the weekday mornings. I still have many slots to fill so I can be TNC free in the evenings as well.
I always ask if a trip is a regular one, and if so I try to bypass the TNC for the repeat business.
To answer some of your questions and comments:
I disagree with you that the courts are the only way to correct Uber. If all of you do as I just mentioned, and solicit the repeat business of the regular, scheduleable, trips from the riders, eventually we will have our income, satisfied riders, and local business, no longer paying Uber or other TNC a dime. That would punish Uber where it hurts.
Until I get to that point, that is why I'm still "torturing myself". Hopefully not much longer.
I didn't do enough research b4 signing on, and I regret that. I had joined Uber January 2015 and for the most part quit since they lowered their rates last January, so u can say for 1 yr. My "friend" who got a $200 bonus for referring me also quit. I understand that they have been baiting and switching pax and drivers for years and nothing new. I am sorry but I am just not used to being deceived and continuing.
Re "parasite": I think that is an appropriate definition of someone that feels entitled to something for nothing or close to nothing from the services of others.

 

[Fuzzyelvis]

we can get around the ratings by having the pax agree to a verified 5 star exchange at the end of the trip as a condition for the trip. pax don't agree we cancel.

You'll enforce that how?