Driverless cars end their business model so they can't be thinking too long term.

I won't ride in one of those cars until they add the umlaut.

Uber is the Full tilt poker of app cabs

A "mandatory 20% tip" is in no way different than the "mandatory" part of the $5.99 I pay at Target that goes to pay the employees salary. Do you know what fungible means?

Mandatory tip is basically an oxymoron. They phrase it that way to...well, basically to take advantage of people like you. They would call it a tip on the toilet paper too if there was some public expectation that Target cashiers got tips.

well yes, if it was customary to tip cashiers but in this situation you don't have to then it would be accurate to say the tip is included.

is the big payoff in your spiel something about the literal definition of "tip" trumping common sense real world application?

I wouldnt feel super bad for the taxi companies that now finally have to face some actual legitimate competition and are finding that cuts into their profits.

But you do pay a mandatory included tip on every item at Target. There is just no marketing advantage to the company to call it that, so they dont. Otherwise there is no difference. Some day I'm sure they will come up with the bright idea of dropping the price to $5.49 and then adding a "mandatory 50c tip" especially with how concerned everyone sure claims to be about the plight of the bigbox retail cashier.

Their whole business model is driverless cars:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/benkepes...t-ridesharing/

Except for the part where price is influenced by over regulation.

JS,


http://www.theverge.com/transportati...mellon-poached

I stand corrected. Should have known they would have plans to adapt the business model to driverless cars, the same way Netflix did with internet video streaming. Well then, their thinking with regard to how they deal with their drivers can't be too long term.

"Uber’s CEO Travis Kalanick has long said that the fact that Uber needs drivers is a temporary annoyance." That says it all.

They don't want drivers long-term. They are content to build as big of a footprint as possible over the next decade and then roll out a bunch of driverless ubers as the technology allows. Building a footprint starts and ends with the consumer and the way to gain customers is to provide a better service at a cheaper price than any reasonable alternatives. Unless drivers hate it enough to stop driving, uber has no incentive to raise prices as the low prices are unarguably driving volume and building loyalty.

Wait, you cheapskates don't tip on toilet paper?

ENOUGH WITH THE "TIPS ARE/AREN'T INCLUDED" SEMANTICS!!!

I take back all the nice things I said about the folks who sent me PM's offering to share the "$250" with me.

(the guy in real life who actually referred me, gave me $0 )

For you guys who don't understand how this is ****ty, imagine this analogous situation:

A company opens a nice restaurant; not McDonald's type, but a sit down one with hostesses, waiters, bussers, etc. Everything in it is nice, clean, and new; actually looks nicer and gives a better experience than most restaurants.

And, while its customers realize that most restaurant employees aren't paid well and actually survive mostly on tips, this restaurant has a big sign over the door saying "you don't have to tip here, it's included". So its customers are even happier, figuring the staff is actually paid better than in other restaurants. But, in reality, they are paid even worse than other restaurants!

Not only would this be bad, I don't see how one could even say that the only ****ty thing the company is doing here is paying their employees less money than is standard. The putting the sign up magnifies the problem. It implies that the employees are paid -better- than the industry standard, when actually the reverse is true.

It's hilarious you guys are arguing about tip and on their website if you click the "Clear Pricing Button" (Uber.com)

It states:

Cashless & Convenient

You don't need cash when you ride with Uber. Once you arrive at your destination, your fare is automatically charged to your credit card on file – no need to tip. We’ll also e-mail you a receipt.

Their offers may differ based on location. Also, the larger rewards are for recruiting people who already drive for Lyft, etc.

If you or others don't like it, stop using their service and/or start tipping. They honestly make it tough to TIP using their software. You have to have extra money in cash form. You can't just add it like I would in a taxi. I don't have to tip taxi drivers either, but I normally tip 25-30%.

Lol at making it tough to tip. Anyone who rides with uber can find a way to get a few bucks in cash.

I don't use the service, I have no need for it. But the point is that most of their customers likely don't know that drivers are paid so little, and actually probably think they are paid better than cabdrivers, because of the "no need to tip" line, so they are not making an informed choice.

Wow. Thanks.

It's hilarious that you think we're arguing about that.

I have to use 1 form of payment for a taxi but Uber, I now need 2, that's definitely tougher. Their model is obviously DOOMed, but right now it's successful because people, the drivers, are stupid and think they can make money. I'd like to see something go against the Taxi industry, but the current system of Uber seems to be broken for the drivers.

This post is all you really need. El D is making a fool of himself, I suspect because he likes using uber (I do too as a rider) and doesn't wanna feel ****ty about it.