Photo: Screenshot from YouTube
Unless you're an author looking to meet as many different personalities as possible, nobody really enjoyed catching a cab. It's a bit like playing the Russian roulette with only one bullet missing: chances are very high you won't have a very pleasant experience.
You can end up with the driver from hell, with the one that never shuts up or the one that listens to Indian music, and whenever you want to say something about it, he'll give you a look that will make you swallow your words. And when the ride is finally over, there comes that awkward moment when you give him some money, and he begins to search everywhere for the change, just in case you say "nevermind, keep it."
And even if he didn't pull this move, you'd still feel like you had to tip him. Driving a taxi is one of those jobs where being tipped comes with the territory. You don't even have to do something in particular to earn it - you know, like driving considerately, asking if the passenger feels like talking first or asking what kind of music they prefer, if any. The moment a customer enters your car, your tip is guaranteed.
Uber changed all that by taking the cash transactions out of the equation, and a lot of people were very happy about it. It's a lot cleaner, definitely more impersonal and you feel like you are more in control of how the whole proceeding goes. The fact that you can rate the driver (just like they can rate you) makes everyone behave a lot more politely - a lot more normally, one would say.
Now that Uber settled in the worker misclassification case, you can bet the tipping disease will spread over the Uber drivers like wildfire. They won't ask for it outright, but they'll make it very clear it would be appreciated. You know the type: "we pretend we're not asking for it, you pretend it comes from the greatness of your heart." And in case you don't consent, your rating will probably suffer drastically, until you are not able to catch a ride anymore. So soon enough, there will be one very important reason less to go for Uber rather than a regular taxi company. Especially since the latter doesn't have price surges.
Of course, there is a way to fight this, and that is simply to refuse to tip. If everybody did that, we'd all have bad ratings and Uber drivers would have two options: either take anybody because ratings have just become irrelevant (thanks to them), or go home and find another job. Or find A job, since driving for Uber apparently isn't one.
And even if he didn't pull this move, you'd still feel like you had to tip him. Driving a taxi is one of those jobs where being tipped comes with the territory. You don't even have to do something in particular to earn it - you know, like driving considerately, asking if the passenger feels like talking first or asking what kind of music they prefer, if any. The moment a customer enters your car, your tip is guaranteed.
Uber changed all that by taking the cash transactions out of the equation, and a lot of people were very happy about it. It's a lot cleaner, definitely more impersonal and you feel like you are more in control of how the whole proceeding goes. The fact that you can rate the driver (just like they can rate you) makes everyone behave a lot more politely - a lot more normally, one would say.
Now that Uber settled in the worker misclassification case, you can bet the tipping disease will spread over the Uber drivers like wildfire. They won't ask for it outright, but they'll make it very clear it would be appreciated. You know the type: "we pretend we're not asking for it, you pretend it comes from the greatness of your heart." And in case you don't consent, your rating will probably suffer drastically, until you are not able to catch a ride anymore. So soon enough, there will be one very important reason less to go for Uber rather than a regular taxi company. Especially since the latter doesn't have price surges.
Of course, there is a way to fight this, and that is simply to refuse to tip. If everybody did that, we'd all have bad ratings and Uber drivers would have two options: either take anybody because ratings have just become irrelevant (thanks to them), or go home and find another job. Or find A job, since driving for Uber apparently isn't one.
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