[gruez]

>for ubereats , you have a chance to tip upfront which is basically a bribery since the company in California can't give their drivers a liveable wage.

From wikipedia: "Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty"

How is tipping upfront any way related to the above definition? Or are you just using "bribery" to mean "exchange of money I don't like"?

[mikestew]

How is tipping upfront any way related to the above definition?

It’s not. Then again, few people would disagree with the usage above. Why is this so important to you that it’s worth being pedantic? Do you find the wording of the comment confusing?

[gruez]

>Why is this so important to you that it’s worth being pedantic?

Because words have meanings, and playing fast and loose with words for dramatic effect cheapens it. Next time a someone is accused of taking a "bribe", do we know it's actual corruption, or someone expressing displeasure about the transaction?

[adamomada]

Why do you consider Wikipedia and Wikipedia only? It took 2 seconds to see a different definition that fits from my phone

> persuade (someone) to act in one’s favour, typically illegally or dishonestly, by a gift of money or other inducement

[gruez]

How is pre-tipping illegal or dishonest?

[adamomada]

It doesn’t have to be, you can consider it atypical bribery if you wish

[zaphirplane]

Too aggressive. I wouldn’t call it a bribe. Your comment is confusing to most People. Bribing is nefarious and/or illegal. Like bribe to get out of a fine or a bribe to get some government agency to approve Something

This is a fee for service.

[mikestew]

Your comment is confusing to most People

Not my comment.

And maybe not “most” people. I understood perfectly well what OP was saying.

[happymellon]

No, a fee is an upfront amount to do a task.

The fact that is it nebulous, and if you don't put a number that's considered big enough (by someone elses judgement) then you won't get your food delivered puts it beyond a "fee".

[genocidicbunny]

Well those platforms call it a tip, not a fee for service, so they're already being dishonest and nefarious.

And I don't personally know anyone who wouldn't consider it a bribe, except for one or two pedants.

[pfannkuchen]

It’s bribery if the quality of service may be influenced by the size of the tip. That pretty cleanly fits your definition, no?

[gruez]

Paying more money for better service is bribery now? What's next, I'm "bribing" usps whenever I opt for expensive overnight service?

[Libcat99]

It's closer to bribery than not.

Or gambling? It's the lootbox of food...

With usps you are paying more for a guaranteed service. There are standards they'll hold that delivery to. You are paying for something specific and real.

A higher pre-tip on the other hand is paying for a hope and a prayer that you get what you paid for on time and in good working order. It's not the same thing at all.

If you paid a fee for priority Uber that let you jump the queue it'd be closer to not a bribe.

[gruez]

>If you paid a fee for priority Uber that let you jump the queue it'd be closer to not a bribe.

Do you feel the same way about how offering a better price on craigslist gets you counterparties faster? eg. if the going price for a phone is $300, and you list at $250, you're going to get people messaging you sooner because you essentially "jumped the queue" for everyone who's looking to buy a phone.

[Libcat99]

When you post to Craigslist you ultimately are going to enter into a negotiation where you and the other party agree to price, date of exchange, product condition, etc.

With Uber you are making a one-sided negotiation in which the other party doesn't know what terms you'd like. You can pay more to potentially get better terms, but you don't know how much more to pay or how much better it will make those terms.

[trealira]

It should be part of their pricing model. If USPS gave minimal service, and you were informally expected to pay the delivery driver(s) more (some unspecified amount) to get better/faster service, I would also call that bribery.