[thebrokencube]

> “But this is an elective service and our culture is taught to tip for elective services. And yet HQ doesn’t want to offend or dissuade customers by making the ability to tip more prominently featured for fear they may end up going to Uber. And so no drivers get tipped even when a passenger would like to give one. Maybe that’s more likely what’s bringing down morale.”

I never used Lyft or Uber until last week, and this was the most surprising part. I was trying to figure out how to tip the driver, and tbh I don't think I was able to figure it out. I ended up tipping them after the fact through the emails they send you, but it was very surprising as to how ambiguous that part of the user experience is.

With Lyft and Uber starting to take off a bit in my city, I was going to recommend it to some friends to make some extra cash. I don't think I'll continue to give this recommendation anymore though, if tipping is discouraged/hidden.

[Doji]

I've only used Uber, but my understanding is that the tip is built in. You choose a fixed percentage when you sign up, and that's the tip every driver gets. You can express how pleased you are with the service in your review, there's no need to do this through money. This model is a bit part of the reason I like Uber; tipping is an annoying, awkward, and outdated convention that I would prefer not to deal with.

[leetNightshade]

I'd rather not have a built in tip as a customer. I don't want to tip someone who doesn't do their job well. I want to tip someone who does an exceptional job, and I may even tip them exceptionally.

Granted I've never used a service like Uber, so I can't directly understand where you're coming from.

[bitJericho]

You're supposed to tip everyone unless they treated you like garbage. People who accept tips don't make a living wage without them.

[cbhl]

IIRC, Uber solves this by letting you rate people after each ride. People who have less than (4? 4.5?) stars get kicked off the service, so if you rate them a 1 then you probably won't see them again. So, in theory, you should only get rides from people who deserve a tip.

[thebrokencube]

That's definitely a legitimate model. At least my experience with Lyft was that you could either tip or review, and I don't remember seeing an option to set a tip percentage. Definitely agree that tipping is awkward though, I kind of wish so many people didn't need to rely on them to make livable wages.

[ilaksh]

Tipping is not discouraged or hidden at all. Its right on the screen. I always tip 2 dollars for Lyft. Last Lyft driver said the average was 3-7 but some people don't tip.

[thebrokencube]

Well, when I tried to tip, I also saw the review button and then clicked that first. I couldn't tip in the app after that.