Uber X Driver Tips for Passengers, Episode 2: Tipping Protocol

 

Experienced Uber X passengers already know the drill, but I sometimes get questions such as this from new Uber users: "is the tip included?" or "do I tip in cash or what?"

The answer to both is "no." For Uber X service, there is no automatic gratuity as there is for Uber Taxi (and maybe Uber Black? I don't know). One of the major benefits of Uber is there is no need to carry cash or  worry about whether the on-board credit card machine is "broken" or wonder how secure your card information is after being handed over to some random driver. In short, no cash or other payment method need be exchanged between driver and passenger. Uber will charge whatever payment method you have on file with them, and that charge is all-inclusive.

That said, cash tipping is permitted if you insist. However, it is neither expected nor customary. So if you don't have a couple bucks with you to tip with or you just don't feel like tipping, no worries. 90-some percent of riders don't tip so you'll be in a very comfortable majority.

Uber X Driver Tip for Passengers, Episode 1: Please Be Considerate of Our Time

 

When I receive a pickup request from you, I make my best effort to get there as soon as possible. When I'm taking you to your destination, I make my best effort to get you there via the quickest route. I'm not doing these things as a favor to you; I'm doing them in part because that's rightfully what is expected of us from our customers and in part because I realize your time is valuable.

The thing is, so is mine. In this business, the old "time is money" cliché applies in the most literal sense. Time spent waiting around for you to stroll out the door at your own leisure is time I could have had a paying customer in my car. I realize that sometimes we're quick to arrive if we're nearby when you send your request and you may not have all your loose ends tied up; in those cases it's understandable if you're not ready right when I get there. Even so, please make a good-faith effort to be ready to go as soon as possible.

But for those times when there's a 10+ minute arrival estimate when you submit your request, there's little excuse for you to not be ready when I arrive. If the arrival window was that big, that typically means I already drove several miles with an empty car to come get you, most likely foregoing a closer pickup opportunity to do so. In that case, my patience for sitting around with a still-empty car waiting for you to saunter out whenever the mood strikes you will be very thin, and the time I'm willing to wait before I declare you a "no-show" and move on will be correspondingly short.

If I'm expected to be punctual in picking you up, please do your best to take advantage of my punctuality. Lets make the most of both my time and yours.

Introduction; First "FAQ" Question Answered


Yay! My very first "Confessions of an Uber X Driver" blog (hereinafter referred to as the COXD blog), and I figure I might as well spend it addressing the most frequent question I get from passengers: "How do you like driving for Uber?"

As of this posting (March 22, 2014) I've been at it for roughly six weeks now. And so far it's been a mostly positive experience. Uber has been a fair company to work with so far. Uber X drivers are 100% self-employed, and not in the "self-employed, wink-wink" variety some companies use to keep de facto employees off their official employee roles. We are responsible to provide our own car, our own insurance (more on that topic in a later post, I'm sure), we pay our own expenses (fuel, maintenance costs, etc.). And in return, we determine our own schedules. I have heard, but don't know for sure if it's true, that some other "ride-share" services require drivers to sign up for shifts. Not so with Uber. I go out and work when I want, and I stay home when I want. If I'm ambitious enough to work 15 hours a day, 7 days a week, I'm certainly welcome to. If I want to take the entire week off, that's my prerogative.

So what does Uber X provide to its drivers? They provide the marketing, the customer stream, and the IT infrastructure that makes the whole service possible. They also provide the iPhone (and pay for the data plan) through which we manage our passenger requests and that serves as the "meter" for your ride. Unfortunately the phone is pretty locked down, allowing little more than their own app to operate -- no phone calls, no Angry Birds, no music library. We need to provide our own phone for contact between ourselves and waiting passengers and any music we want to stream through our in-car infotainment systems. For all this they take a 5% cut from Uber X drivers (I understand it's higher for Taxi, Black, and SUV drivers), which I consider more than fair to the drivers.

More "Frequently Asked Questions" coming soon...