#restaurant

As of July 2016 across major Canadian cities Uber passengers can now tip their drivers through the app feature when completing the ride. In the past there were talks about implementing this option as users felt compelled to give that extra for a good experience.

Before Uber I used to catch a cab here and there around Toronto mostly arriving to destinations off the public transit reach or when going for big groceries. Then I switched to Uber for obvious reasons or price, practicality, quality, service, and was very happy to have embarked a whole new side of the sharing economy.

When riding on a taxi I used to give tips since we all know it can make a difference at the end of the month for the driver. However, I grew unsatisfied with cab service quality as fairs gone up, car quality gone down, especially for those routes taking passengers in and out of the airport. So I decided to switch.

Uber now has set the ability to give that tip to your driver with a preset sum of your choice. I’m a bit in the fence over this decision as tips should be give to those who deserve it for extraordinary service. The app already allows to express your driver’s rating and to send a thankful note as an additional way to remark what part of the experience was above your expectation.

I ask myself if the system is setup in a way your driver won’t give you a bad rating should you decide not to provide the tip because the ride was fine, but also because it was expected to go that way. Tipping should be a personal choice an not a moral tax based on quality.

Your waitress or barista at your local cafe will benefit when you drop that change into the jar on the counter that has a “thank you” note on it. We also understand that tipping these people is helping them compensate for the low hourly wages that alone aren’t enough to pay for the bills.

The process of tipping has long become so widespread in Canada there’s a minimum 15% to be given when sitting at restaurants, and that happens whether the service was sufficient or extraordinary, almost without discrimination. So customers will most of the time abide in case they receive the judgment stare from their server.

Personally, I always believed the tip is an extra people deserve if they went beyond their call of duty in a context of meritocracy, not on entitlement. I’m happy to provide more than what the bill states to the person that serviced me, but it shouldn’t be a taxation on the customer when service is mediocre at best.

My worry over the Uber tipping feature is that it will spark a guilt trip by riders into giving tips based on a subjective feeling and not on actual performance, or that a fear to receive a bad rating will trigger tipping. After all, when the driver is on time, drives safely, is polite, he or she is just doing the job as expected by contract with Uber.

Pearl Diner. Another NYC landmark lost to gentrification.