In general you are getting a ride from someone. Other than the fact that with legacy taxis you tip, (just like at a restaurant) where it doesn't really relate to quality of service, I don't see how much extra someone can do that would make a ride tipworthy.
Perhaps this is just a difference depending on where you are in the world, but I'm not used to people in first world countries carrying cash.
It might be me but I perceived the culture in smaller town Scotland to be more cash oriented than I am used to in the USA.
I personally saw more people pay with cash than I am used to.
I still love your country and will go back at any time.
Probably because you didn't have chip and pin.
If an establishment takes a card without chip and pin in the UK/Europe, the fraud rules are very different.
I do have chip and pin and I wouldn't have left without a chip and pin card (I have more than one out of my 8 credit cards, not counting debit cards...which I have several as well...). There was absolutely zero reason to believe a perceived lack of chip and pin was an issue from what I wrote.
Also the fraud rule are/will be different in the US as well.
I went to a deli they told me that I have to ahev £10 minimum to use a card. I went to a restaurant and they had a £1.50 surcharge for card as well and encouraged me to pay in cash.
The first time I used card while I was there was at Wetherspoons... lol...
I also base my feelings on my personal observations of watching other people pay for things as well. Of course my "feeling" could be off base as well. People are known for getting a wrong impression sometimes.
That being said - I still love Scotland and will visit again in a heartbeat. In fact I hope to visit again in the near future!
The reason I went to the place I went was because the primary purpose of my trip was to visit someone.
I've also been all across small town USA :)
I really hope I don't offend. I don't mean to.
Interesting that Germany is different.
Also if its a crowded pub waiting while you dig you card out and slowly use the one machine your holding every one up.
No? Why would it get eaten by a machine?
Additionaly, nothing is to prevent a driver from keeping a small amount of cash on their person and then stashing the rest periodically in a hidden safe. So yes they might lose $50 or $100 vs. not getting tips. Even if they don't get tips a person could assume they had some cash on them.
The point of the small amount of cash is twofold. One it's a small amount so if you lose it not that big of a deal. But it's also enough that if you got robbed you could give something to the robber. So they don't harm you or beat you thinking there is more somewhere. [1] This is similar to the old rule of leaving a small amount of cash in your cash register at a store and leaving the register open. That way someone comes in, takes the cash, and in theory has less of a reason to trash your store.
[1] Of course you could store more of the money where you can find it to satisfy them if the $100 wasn't enough and if you felt your life depended on it. Kind of a honey pot in a way.
Works at cash only places - this probably varies around the world. In Australia, most places will accept card - the exception being Asian places, cause we're cheap =).
Small merchants are happy to receive it - I suspect this is changing, the fees are next to nothing these days, and by not handling cash, they avoid issues like employee theft, and also people are encouraged to spend more.
You get a discount when buying gas - we don't have this here (Australia)
The aforementioned tipping - likewise, we don't have this here. In general, I prefer to know how much I am spending beforehand, and I dislike the concept of tipping, or people needing to beg for tips.
It works when the power out - err, I suspect if the power is out in say a supermarket or a restaurant, they would have more issues than just the credit card machine not working.
I'm not saying never carry cash - but I like the convenience of card. And let's be honest most people aren't keeping their money stuffed inside their mattress.
Their money is in a bank account - and not in physical notes either, it's a set of electronic digits. So the whole, going to a bank, converting it to cash, giving it to somebody, so that they can then convert it back into electronic digits - seems incredibly archaic and outmoded.
Been there, done that. Only once, but yeah, it happens.
Some what now?
Why would you want the hassle? Or risk it being lost/stolen?
You want to buy a bottle of coke from a vending machine? Most of them don't have card readers.
You want to tip the valet/bellman/maid? Most of them don't have card readers; even if they do, it's still inconvenient to make them dig it out.
Feeling compassionate toward the beggar on the corner? Think he's got a card reader?
Want to pay the babysitter? Does she carry a card reader?
Then there's the other side of risk. Ever had your identity stolen? (I have, though not from a dodgy card reader.) And if you think chip and pin is going to make that impossible, I expect that the crooks will find a way.
I don't panhandle, but I am homeless. In fact, I have a PayPal account. IIRC, I could get a card reader from them if I wanted it (though, in practice, I might need a better phone than I currently have to make that work).
Although I am posting this merely because it strikes me as humorous, it isn't crazy to think beggars may soon have card readers, at least some of them.
I carry small amounts of cash (in part to print e-gift cards at the library) and do as much as possible via debit card/paypal/online payments/etc.
I never have that urge tbh.
> You want to tip the valet/bellman/maid? Most of them don't have card readers; even if they do, it's still inconvenient to make them dig it out.
Yeah, when I'm on vacation I'll run to the bank and get some $5 bills for that sort of thing. Hence "regularly" was the word I used. I'm not on that sort of vacation 51 out of 52 weeks a year.
> Feeling compassionate toward the beggar on the corner? Think he's got a card reader?
I donate directly to large charities that I know provide food, etc. to people. I honestly don't see beggars on street corners [largely because the local police are assholes].
> Want to pay the babysitter? Does she carry a card reader?
Actually yeah. She does.
> Then there's the other side of risk. Ever had your identity stolen? (I have, though not from a dodgy card reader.) And if you think chip and pin is going to make that impossible, I expect that the crooks will find a way.
Yes. If you meant actually identity theft [e.g. social, driver license] so they can masquerade as you...a lack of credit card provides no protection. The insurance companies you use, your employer, your bank, and dozens [if not hundreds] of "big data" companies have this info as well.
If you somehow believe a lack of a credit card will magically secure you against this risk, you are very much mistaken.
Stolen credit cards, honestly, are much less of a problem than stolen cash. I can get the money back from a stolen credit card.
If I'm in town and not attending a fair, I don't have cash on me. Period.
I'm not really sure why you are against tips for drivers.
They don't make great money so the tip is worth it.
It's great that you want people to be paid sanely for the job they do, but the fact of the matter is people largely aren't in this industry. Uber doesn't allow tipping, and doesn't pay particularly well. After factoring in depreciation of their vehicle most drivers are going to be bringing in something like $10/hr.
We live in a culture where businesses won't pay their employees sanely. Until that is fixed I want the ability to show my gratitude for a job well done with a tip. "Blah blah use cash!" Sure I can do that, but it's inconvenient for a number of reasons and the reality is that most people won't do it.
I'm not tipping you for your own (long-term) good.
I think some of it is (stupidly) driven by new credit card / eftpos machines that have the tipping option built in.
Tipping through an app allows the employer to pay them even less because "they receive tips", in the end you're tipping the company that hired them.
This makes drivers expect to be tipped (even if they did usual or mediocre job) and essentially becomes a hidden fee.
And your point is kinda negated by the fact that Lyft usually pays more than Uber.
As for the negating point, this is not something that happens instantly, but if you want an example then look at restaurants. There's even special minimum wage (currently $2.13) for jobs that receive tips.
That doesn't happen with Lyft: because tipping is built into the app, nobody asks for cash.
I don't carry cash, so I'd be screwed if I rode Uber and a driver threatened me with a 1-star rating if I didn't fork over cash.
If a driver ever asked this of me I would give them a bad rating along with an explanation. I'd expect the driver to get canned pretty quickly if passengers report such behavior and passenger reputation to be restored if the drivers gave them 1-star ratings. As far as I understand it, driver reputation is far more important than passenger reputation (they certainly have a lot more to lose).
Like the drivers who won't ask but will still give you a low rating if you don't offer a tip. And then you have the ones in the middle, who have tip jars sitting in the middle of their car. Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/uber-driver-complaints-e...
Also, while you or I might complain, a lot of people are either too scared to speak up or just figure that a big company like Uber won't care, so this kind of stuff just goes unreported.
This isn't even close to the case - being friendly, having a clean and quiet vehicle, and providing a ride that is safe and not white-knuckle terrifying will all garner a lot more in tips from me than someone careening through traffic to save 30 seconds. I think your hypothesis is baseless.
[1] http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/passenger/taxicab_rate.shtm...
Tips can be nice in certain situations, but I think people would prefer to just be paid more, so their income is stable and dependable.
No, just tell me the amount. Most of the world works this way. Even in places where bribes are routine, there isn't as much tipping.
Restaurants are moving away, slowly, from the tipping model, mostly due to increases in base wages, making it unpalatable for all but the rich, to pay a premium price and a tip on top of that.
Pay your employees/contractors a fair wage and take responsibility for it, don't shift wage responsibility to the "fare" (paying passenger).
they are ?
I used to love Lyft more than Uber but then the lack of professionalism over my last three times using it in SF have made me hesitant to ever recommend them again. First time around, the driver was completely incapable of finding me at SFO despite me following Lyft's text message instructions and communicating precisely which gate I was waiting at. Second time in downtown SF, the Lyft driver 'accepted' the ride only to basically never pick me up. Third time, same thing happened. And of course, there's that time when the driver almost ran someone over because they were focused on talking.
Now, I don't see any difference between the two. I've definitely had less than stellar experiences with Uber but now I don't see any differences between the two.