I've literally stopped going to coffee shops that became too chatty. Sometimes I just want a coffee, not a chat about the weekend and the weather and the local sports team.

I much prefer the French service style: efficient, cordial, but out of your way.

In America if a waiter is too chatty you can politely ask for more quiet time, they are chatty because they want a good tip. Asking a French waiter to be less out of your way isn't as easy

I would rephrase that to "Asking a French waiter to be more in your way because the service sucks isn't as easy."

I would say this could be due more to other factors apart from tipping.

I don't find hospitality customer service any ruder in Australia and we're not a tipping country.

In general though, customer service seems to be superior in the US than in Australia from my experience.

They intend, and try to give good service 99% of the time I think. So for me at least, that's why I have trouble not tipping. It's the thought/effort that counts I guess. I almost never have a less-than-great service situation and attribute it to the waiter just being lazy. Can't remember the last time that happened to be honest.

I do vastly prefer the model in Australia of anyone being your server, rather than having a specific waiter. If your waiter goes missing in the US, it seems so silly that if you talk to another waiter, they have to go find _your specific one_ for you.

One couldn't even argue the ride sharing between friends when you actively don't want to communicate with your driver....

Although apparently Lyft is now available where I live, it's never even had the inclination to try their service (as a passenger) because I find actually meeting new people and having open-ended conversations with them quite exhausting and stressful. At least with UberX I am assured we can just be polite to each other and not say much.

I'm not asocial, but sometimes I'd rather just get from A-to-B without fuss.

But to your broader point, tastes do differ.

I 'm curious if companies like these could legally operate by not charging by time or distance but instead operating as a private club wherein someone purchases a membership that grants them free time or mileage (up to a certain limit) or some system based on pricing sort of like how NYC MetroCards are set up).

https://www.lyft.com/

"Hop in the front seat and greet your driver with a friendly fistbump"

It creates an expectation - and it feels like you're not really getting into the spirit of things if you're not playing along.

It's the whole reason I haven't tried Lyft yet too, much like other people in this thread.

I should mention, though, that you can have the healthy culture of driver respect at a place like Lyft with the professionalism of Uber. Sounds like the sweet spot to me.

I prefer Uber for at least this reason. I don't want to chat or make a friend; I just want to get from point A to B and be left alone.

As I was reading the article, though, I realized that if I were a driver, I'd prefer to drive for Lyft. I'm not a particularly "professional" person, and I appreciate Lyft's "come as you are" driver culture... at least from the perspective as a potential driver. As a rider I'd still prefer the efficient and non-social Uber.

Does the same not work with Lyft? I've only tried Lyft once (in SF). I chose to sit in the front, and had an enjoyable conversation with the driver.

[0] except when it comes to customers versus uber, of course

Because his/her/its username was designed to call attention to being female and involved with movies. If I chose the username "whitenerdyguy" (which I am), I would expect some flack about it.