Passenger Tips: Five Myths About Tipping

Myth 1: Tips Aren't Important.

I'd like you to look at your latest pay stub. Then, multiply your gross amount by .07, or your take home by .10. Whatever that number is, I'd like you to convert into paper currency, then look at it.

(Wondering where I got that number from? It's my lifetime gross and net percentage from rideshare work, i.e., the part that tips make up. From what I can glean from other drivers and columns, it's a fairly high number for rideshare, low for cabbies, and insulting if you are wait or bar staff.)

Is that an important enough amount of money to you?

I'm thinking that it is. And if it isn't, set it on fire, you know, for funsies. Or donate it to my Paypal link at the top of this blog.

Oh, and if you think it's crass to make everything about money, you can also do this exercise. Sit down in a chair, then don't get up for about 3.5 to 4.0 hours. Don't use your phone for entertainment, don't look at a screen, don't read a book, don't clean your house or do your laundry or make food or go to the bathroom or pet your dog or, well, damn near anything else that's fun.

Now, do that once a week, at a time when you *could* be doing any of those other activities.

That's the difference between rideshare without tips, and rideshare with. A significant and meaningful chunk of my remaining time on the planet, that I get to use like, well, a person who doesn't have to supplement their income.

Myth 2: Tips Should Be All About A Percentage.

Well, sure, it's a reasonable starting point, but the level of service and customer experience that you get from your ride can be all over the map. If you are in the car for five minutes as part of a shared ride, I totally get that you think it's too short and skimpy to tip. (I'd still do it, myself. The only way I'm not tipping is if I'm also leaving an explanation of why not, and what my server needs to do to be better.)

But if it's an hour and a half out to distant lands, with luggage and conversation and so on?

Well, it's your money, your life, your karma. But be fair, for heaven's sake. Especially if you want anyone to want to do this work in the future.

Myth 3: If You Don't Have Cash, Don't Tip.

I won't speak for all drivers, but personally, I prefer the tip to be in the ap. I'm declaring everything on my taxes anyway -- yes, not because I'm a huge fan of the current Administration, but more because it's my duty, not to mention my desire to live in a country with laws and standards and such.

Personally, I tend to tip in cash in restaurants, because I can't be certain that the management isn't getting its beak wet on credit card tipping, because some management, well, sucks. And we all know wait staff are getting killed on the hourly wage. But for rideshare, it's all going to your driver, so just use the card. Besides, I'm not carrying cash to make change and/or be a target in dicey neighborhoods.

Myth 4: You Shouldn't Tip Unless The Service Is Exemplary

Keep in mind that as your driver, I'm trying to match the experience to my read of your needs. If you come into the car with a modicum of conversation and engage with a companion or your device, I'm going to leave you alone. If you get into the front seat, make eye contact and start talking, I'm going to do the same. The first 15 seconds are, frankly, when I'm making all of those decisions.

So if your driver doesn't seem friendly or outgoing and you want that, you might want to think about the signals that you were throwing out first. I'm not a mind reader. And if you want a terse and business-like ride because you are in Work Mode, don't tip as if the driver made a mistake to give you just that.

Myth 5: Tipping Is For Professionals, and Ride Sharing Is Done By Amateurs

This one's just wrong, mostly because your driver is likely to have done this activity very often and for a lot of hours. (Not all of us, of course.)

Bonus: Don't Tip Drivers Who Are All About The GPS

We are all about the GPS because that's the recommended course of action from our provider, and in the long run, it saves us time. Your driver may or may not know your area very well, because drivers don't control where they are going, but even if they are a local, it's hardly fair to limit tips just to those of us who, well, got lucky with you.

So, in summation -- tip your driver. Or tell them why you didn't.