Uber or Lyft? Etiquette?

[MoodyBlues]

Perhaps I'm the only person on Earth who hasn't yet used Uber or Lyft, but there you go.

If you're experienced with both, which do you prefer, and why?

If you've only used one, what did/didn't you like about it?

What's proper tipping etiquette? Percentage, like in restaurants; distance, time, something else? Is that all handled online?

It looks like I'm going to have my first go at it soon, and I'd like to be prepared.

Thanks for any input!

 

[ocnbrze]

i have only used uber....never tried lyft. i guess for me a fews years back i used uber and have not really saw a reason to try lyft. i do not uber all that much, maybe 4 or 5 times out of the past few years. i have heard it depends on the driver, but i have never had anything bad or crazy. it was pretty much straight forward, just picked me up and dropped me, nothing to it.

 

[mikedt]

Perhaps I'm the only person on Earth who hasn't yet used Uber or Lyft, but there you go.

If you're experienced with both, which do you prefer, and why?

If you've only used one, what did/didn't you like about it?

What's proper tipping etiquette? Percentage, like in restaurants; distance, time, something else? Is that all handled online?

It looks like I'm going to have my first go at it soon, and I'd like to be prepared.

Thanks for any input!

I've not used either, Uber pulled out of China, and I think Lyft is US only. However I regularly use Didi Chuxing, which is very much the same thing.

To me what's most important with advanced booking apps, is safety and the possibility of been ripped off.

1) Make absolutely sure the car and driver that arrives, matches what it states in the app, things like car type, license plate, driver photo ID, etc. And if it doesn't match, just walk away and cancel the booking, and state why you cancelled the booking.

2) There's a possibility the driver could make a detour or drive around in circles, to try to increase the fare. I've had this happen once, however the app itself does track the car, and calculates would the correct fare should be, and gives the option to pay the calculated fare rather than the driven fare.

About tipping etiquette, does the Uber or Lyft apps have provision for gratuities, or are you expected to tip the driver in cash? We don't usually tip in China, but the Didi app does have provision for it.

FWIW in the UK, tipping taxi drivers, restaurant waiters, etc. I think 10% is about right. And did the same when I was in the US years ago.

 

[ocnbrze]

About tipping etiquette, does the Uber or Lyft apps have provision for gratuities, or are you expected to tip the driver in cash? We don't usually tip in China, but the Didi app does have provision for it.

FWIW in the UK, tipping taxi drivers, restaurant waiters, etc. I think 10% is about right. And did the same when I was in the US years ago.

yeah tipping can be done thru the app.....no need for cash.

and i usually just do 10%

 

[dontpanicbobby]

I'd still slide a driver for either company at least a fiver in cash though
There have been issues with the in-app tips.

 

[mikedt]

I'd still slide a driver for either company at least a fiver in cash though
There have been issues with the in-app tips.

About issues, when you make a booking with Uber or Lyft, do they show the car make and colour, license plate number, along with the name and photo of the driver? Which should match what arrives for the pickup. And if they don't, that's a serious problem. Also with Didi in China, the app records sound during the ride.

Uber is still banned in many UK cities, including London.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

OT: What made them unpopular @ mikedt?

 

[MoodyBlues]

Thank you very much for the great tips, @mikedt, especially regarding safety. I'm very safety conscious by nature, but it helps to have specific things to watch for.

As I understand it from their sites, both companies send photos of your driver and other identifying information. I'll be sure to check all of it.

FWIW in the UK, tipping taxi drivers, restaurant waiters, etc. I think 10% is about right. And did the same when I was in the US years ago.

Here in the US, the standard tip for service people, like servers in restaurants, has been 15% for as long as I can remember. I rarely tip that little--only if the service wasn't so hot--preferring 20-25% depending on the service.

You may not know that servers here are not even paid minimum wage; they're paid like $2 or $3 an hour, and depend on tips for the majority of their income. I've never worked a job like theirs--on your feet all day, running back and forth, carrying heavy trays, having customers tell you you're a piece of shit (because the kitchen cooked your order wrong) and leaving no tip--so I feel for them!

Some restaurants have experimented with paying the wait staff a decent wage, raising prices somewhat, and doing away with tips, with mixed results. I think the current method sucks, and would like to see everyone switch to this model.

 

[MoodyBlues]

yeah tipping can be done thru the app.....no need for cash.

and i usually just do 10%

I'd still slide a driver for either company at least a fiver in cash though
There have been issues with the in-app tips.

I don't carry cash, and haven't for decades. (Except at casinos.) I'll just have to hope the in-app method works!

 

[Bearsyzf]

I use Lyft and there is a place to choose the amount of tip you think they deserve...... my main problem with some of the drivers mainly stick to the route even if you tell the a quicker and easier way...

 

[maire5]

I usually use Lyft per my granddaughter, because she has had semi-serious issues with Uber. On at least two occasions, driver has driven right past me and then I got charged for no show. Looking straight ahead and not looking at me standing on the sidewalk waving him down. What am I supposed to do, step out in front of his moving car so he can hit me? On my very first ride, they changed drivers and cars on me three times before picking me up, taking longer, and making me late for an appointment. I avoid both if at all possible. I think they are just too expensive anyway. Cab more reliable, but you usually have to wait longer.

 

[maire5]

I use Lyft and there is a place to choose the amount of tip you think they deserve...... my main problem with some of the drivers mainly stick to the route even if you tell the a quicker and easier way...

I asked a driver about the route one time and he told me that they are required to use the route chosen for them. Sounds about par for the course.

 

[mikedt]

Thank you very much for the great tips, @mikedt, especially regarding safety. I'm very safety conscious by nature, but it helps to have specific things to watch for.

As I understand it from their sites, both companies send photos of your driver and other identifying information. I'll be sure to check all of it.

In the early days of Didi, I had it a couple of times where a different car and driver turned up. But it's not happened recently though. I believe they tightened up their practises, because there was a couple of murders and rapes by bogus Didi drivers, and they shut down the service for a while because of that.

Here in the US, the standard tip for service people, like servers in restaurants, has been 15% for as long as I can remember. I rarely tip that little--only if the service wasn't so hot--preferring 20-25% depending on the service.

You may not know that servers here are not even paid minimum wage; they're paid like $2 or $3 an hour, and depend on tips for the majority of their income. I've never worked a job like theirs--on your feet all day, running back and forth, carrying heavy trays, having customers tell you you're a piece of shit (because the kitchen cooked your order wrong) and leaving no tip--so I feel for them!

Some restaurants have experimented with paying the wait staff a decent wage, raising prices somewhat, and doing away with tips, with mixed results. I think the current method sucks, and would like to see everyone switch to this model.

AFAIK that would actually be illegal in the UK. Where all employees must be paid at least national minimum wage, set by the government, which I think is around the equivalent of $8 an hour now. And some restaurants and hotels have been prosecuted for underpaying their servers, waiters, porters, etc.

 

[mikedt]

OT: What made them unpopular @ mikedt?

Licensing issues mostly. In the UK anyone who takes passengers in their car for payment must have a private-hire/advanced-booking license or a taxi license, have the correct insurance as well, and must have a clean criminal record. And many drivers working for Uber didn't. Licenses are issued by the local councils.

Apparently Uber is now back in London, but only temporary for the moment.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/uber...fl-why-sadiq-khan-taxi-app-row-090815184.html

 

[mikedt]

I asked a driver about the route one time and he told me that they are required to use the route chosen for them. Sounds about par for the course.

Sometimes a driver may have to make a detour because part of the chosen route is closed, which might be longer and increases the estimated fare. That to me is no problem. But I had one a couple of years ago, where the driver went twice around an area, because I wasn't Chinese, and thought I didn't know the area. That increased the fare and the app showed what happened, and offered a lower final fare to pay based on the direct route he should have taken.

 

[MoodyBlues]

In the early days of Didi, I had it a couple of times where a different car and driver turned up. But it's not happened recently though. I believe they tightened up their practises, because there was a couple of murders and rapes by bogus Didi drivers, and they shut down the service for a while because of that.

There have been some incidents like that here, too--by both fake AND real Uber drivers. I don't recall hearing of any cases like that involving Lyft.

AFAIK that would actually be illegal in the UK. Where all employees must be paid at least national minimum wage, set by the government, which I think is around the equivalent of $8 an hour now. And some restaurants and hotels have been prosecuted for underpaying their servers, waiters, porters, etc.

It's not only perfectly legal here, but it's the norm. As noted, a few places have experimented with eliminating tips [and paying a living wage], but they're in the very small minority.

I don't know what minimum wage is here, but I know it varies wildly by state. I've heard of people still making only $6 or $7 an hour, and just shake my head in disbelief. Here in California, we voted to incrementally increase our minimum wage to $15, but I don't remember its timeframe.

 

[maire5]

I believe the CA minimum wage will hit $15 in 2021. Some employers of minimum wage type employees have already started moving toward that. My grandchildren, with their last raise, now get $14.96 an hour. Since they are relatively new to the world of paid work, I warned them that they will never see another pay raise in this line of work (retail) once they get that last $0.04/hour. My hourly wage for a professional job, remained stagnant for almost 20 years. Only within the past year has it inched up gradually. Within the past three months, it has started back down again. A never-ending flow of available workers allows the employers to get away with wage stagnation as long as they don't have to deal with minimum wage standards.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

This issue is the problem aside from what Management can do with your tips in the US depending on State.