A lot of UponArriving readers use Uber and Uber Eats, especially since they can get $15 monthly credits from the American Express Platinum Card and other occasional discounts by utilizing Amex Offers. But when it comes to saving money a lot of people wonder whether or not they should tip Uber Eats drivers since tips are not included in the order.
As someone who uses Uber Eats all the time, this question intrigued me so I started asking around and talking to Uber drivers, passengers, and also reviewing what people were chattering about on web forums like Reddit.
In this article, I will talk about whether or not you should tip your Uber Eats drivers, and I will present arguments for both sides. I will also show you how to tip your Uber driver through the app (or using cash). Finally, I will talk about ways that you can avoid the tipping situation altogether with alternative choices.
Table of Contents
Uber’s position on tipping
Let’s start off the discussion with Uber’s official position.
With regards to tipping drivers, Uber states:
While tipping is never required, you can add a tip as an extra way to thank your delivery partner for their efforts….
We offer the option to tip your delivery partner directly through the Uber Eats app, or you can tip them in cash when they deliver the order. Either way, 100% of the tip goes to the delivery partner.
Uber doesn’t give a clear answer on whether or not tipping is expected.
It just states that it is never required and it’s a way to give thanks to your driver for their efforts.
So that’s a little bit helpful but we’re gonna have to dive a lot deeper.
Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!
The case for tipping
There are a few very good reasons why you should tip your Uber Eats driver.
It’s customary
At least in the United States, most people tip their delivery drivers, especially in the food industry.
These tips happen for delivery of food items like pizza, Chinese take out, etc. so why wouldn’t you also tip your Uber driver?
Perhaps, that’s why the average tip per delivery is about $5 for an Uber Eats driver.
Yes, when tipping you technically are paying somebody extra to do the job they signed up for.
But that’s just the way that our society works, so there is no reason why an Uber Eats driver should be singled out as someone “not worthy” of consideration for tips.
It’s warranted by their efforts
Sometimes the situation just mandates a tip, in my opinion.
Could you imagine riding a bike in sweltering hot weather, freezing winds, or through torrential downpour to deliver food on time? Then you show up, deliver the food, and never receive a tip for your efforts?
And in some metropolitan areas there could be a danger element — dealing with aggressive drivers, unkept roads, and whatever else could be lurking out there.
One survey showed that out of 500 App-based courier drivers, almost half reported being involved in an accident or crash while driving!
Then there is the fact that parking and/or leaving your car idle is very difficult, impossible, or illegal, in many locations.
Convenience
Also, if your Uber Eats driver is delivering your food directly to your doorstep, the convenience involved in that should warrant a tip.
This is especially true if they have to hunt down your apartment building, climb up flights of stairs, and then locate your unit (and then find their way back out).
Sometimes we take for granted that we can enjoy almost any type of food we want with only having to take about 10 steps from our couch to our front door.
But that’s only possible because of delivery drivers.
Wages
Uber Eats drivers make around $9.37 per trip and $15.84 per hour, without factoring in costs like vehicle depreciation.
Depending on where you live that can be a pretty low amount of wages. If this is that driver’s only source of income then a small tip with each delivery could go a long wait for that person.
Also, if you live out of the way and it takes your driver a longer time to get to you then those wages could be even lower.
In some cases, the driver could be working effectively for well below minimum wage and so tips could be extremely important to keeping them afloat financially.
Related: Can You Order DoorDash, UberEats, or GrubHub When at A Hotel?
The case for NOT tipping
Not everybody is on board with tipping their drivers. Here are some reasons that many people might think to not leave a tip.
“Uber is a non-tipping service”
Uber originally marketed itself as one of the ride share services that does not require or expect tips. To me, there always seemed to be an emphasis on not tipping when using their services.
And while they did slowly roll out the option to leave a tip it definitely felt like more of an afterthought. So many people do not associate tipping with using Uber. And in fact may even associate not tipping with using Uber.
Related: How Much Does Uber Charge Per Mile?
The outrageous fees
“The fees are too damn high.”
When you order Uber Eats, you’ll be expected to pay a delivery fee. The amount of this delivery fee can vary greatly.
Once upon a time there was a flat $4.99 delivery fee and for the most part you probably will still be paying a fee of $5 to $6 these days. Paying a delivery fee for a delivery service is understandable.
However, the delivery fee will vary and it also can get very high during surge pricing hours.
For example, some people have been charged delivery fees of over $20. When you get hit with an insanely high delivery fee of that amount it is really hard to throw out more cash out of your wallet to tip a driver.
Obviously, the driver has nothing to do with that fee but many people feel like they do not want to support Uber any more than necessary to receive their meal when that happens.
Uber Eats also recently added an additional service fee.
This adds an additional 10% and additional $2 when your order is below $10. So by the time you factor in the delivery fee, the service fee, and the taxes, it is really difficult for some people to want to hand out more money for a tip.
For some people, they may also believe that if they refrain from tipping over time and many others do as well that fewer people will drive for Uber Eats, and they will be forced to adjust their fees. That sounds good in theory, but I don’t think that will ever actually happen.
A bad delivery experience
Sometimes you might have a terrible delivery experience. When using the app, you can track where your driver is and it is for the most part pretty accurate.
Sometimes you can witness the frustrating experience of watching your driver miss your road over and over again or taking some unexplainable backwoods route that takes 3X as long to get to where you are.
If you notice that they take a substantially longer time than what was needed and your food arrives cold or melted then that can be a major problem.
It’s one thing for them to call you if they are having issues navigating but it’s another for them to never reach out to you and let you know anything and just expect you to be okay with food they should know is in an unacceptable or subpar state.
The difficulty with this is that sometimes your food may have just taken a long time to be handed over to the driver.
You might perceive them as taking a long time but the real culprit with your cold food may have been with the restaurant’s service to begin with. This is especially the case when items are not delivered.
Also, sometimes the app gives the drivers horrible directions. If the driver is not familiar with your area than it really is not their fault for being led astray.
Helping them out
If you go out of your way to meet the Uber driver and make their life easier rather than forcing them to come to your apartment unit or some other area, then you may be justified in thinking that you don’t owe them a tip.
In that case, the argument is that all the driver had to do was drive from Point A to Point B and that is the entirety of their job. They were not asked go above and beyond and probably did not even have to get out of their vehicle.
I think there is some legitimacy to this argument because you are saving them some time, parking issues, etc. But maybe in those cases you just go with the minimal tip of $1 or something.
Higher food costs
Some people have reported that the menu prices for ordering food through Uber Eats are higher than they would be if you ordered your food in the restaurant. For example, Chipotle’s prices are said to be about 17 percent higher for delivery than for in-store service.
The higher price paid for the delivery option makes users feel less inclined to offer a tip.
Again, this is another thing that is not the driver’s fault but is something that definitely is not helping their cause.
Tip: Check out the free app WalletFlo so that you can optimize your credit card spend by seeing the best card to use! You can also track credits, annual fees, and get notifications when you’re eligible for the best cards!
Should you tip your Uber Eats driver?
I think that in general you should tip your Uber Eats driver. The main reason is that the wages can be very low, it can require frustrating work, and a lot of the negative aspects of the Uber Eats experience (e.g., fees) are out of their control.
The only time I would not tip is if the driver showed a blatant disregard for providing me with the food ordered on time. When there is no apology or explanation for why the order was so late, it’s clear that the driver really doesn’t care.
And I would like to discourage that person from working there because they are probably doing the same type of thing for other people and ruining their meals as well.
How to tip Uber Eats
There are basically two different ways that you can tip the driver.
Tipping through the app
First, you can tip the driver through the Uber Eats app. When you are getting ready to place your order you can choose to tip your courier.
Your tip will be sent to them one hour after delivery and you are able to adjust that tip before then. Personally, I don’t like to tip until after I have received the service, so I usually just hold off.
You can also wait until after your delivery has taken place and select an amount to tip them. First, you will need to select either thumbs-up or thumbs down for their delivery. Then you will see preselected tip amounts but you can also choose to set your own custom amount.
Cash tips
Finally, while Uber Eats does not accept cash as a form of payment like Uber does, you are allowed to provide them with a cash tip.
You should note that whether you tipped in cash or you tipped through the app, the driver will receive 100% of that tip (so there’s no need to feel the need to tip in cash just to make sure they receive all of it).
If you have a gift card or some sort of credit that can also be applied to the tip.
How much should you tip Uber Eats drivers?
If you decide to tip your driver, the next question is how much should you tip them?
This is just going to depend on your personal preference but you can tip based on a percentage or just offer them a flat tip.
Generally, I think leaving $1-$2 for easy, cheap orders is not a terrible tip because at least you are giving them something.
However, if the delivery involves any kind of extra effort on their part such as biking through a city, finding your apartment, dealing with certain elements, I would advise to give them the middle or higher option offered by Uber. This would probably amount to a 15% to 25% tip.
Do Uber Eats drivers know if you tipped?
Yes, your Uber Eats driver will know whether or not you gave them a tip for your delivery.
An alternative to tipping
If you are in a location that is also served by GrubHub (or a similar service), you may consider ordering takeout. This should allow you to avoid the delivery fee altogether. (However, you should be aware that many take out places do receive tips and many believe that it is the right thing to do.)
If you get a card like the American Express Gold Card and you can get a monthly $10 credit to use on a service like this. By avoiding the delivery fee and potentially a tip, this is a great way to maximize the value of your credit.
Final word
I think you should tip your Uber Eats drivers on most occasions and just use your judgment on the amount. Put yourself in their shoes for a moment and that should help you decide on what type of tip they deserve.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, and CNBC. Read my bio.
Many restaurants charge higher prices for UberEats because Uber itself is charging the restaurant. So in many cases Uber gets 20% from the restaurant, a delivery fee, a 15% service fee, and possible a small order fee. Keep in mind the 15% service fee is on top of the higher 20% food price so in essence Uber is compounding their fee.
When you add it all up Uber is already getting a 40-50% markup. There’s plenty of room their for Uber to adequately pay their drivers and no need for customers to subsidies Uber’s wages.
Uber drivers do not get the 40 – 50% markup! NOT EVEN CLOSE! I have only been driving a short time and have been informing friends and family that they should really consider all options (including financials) when calling on delivery services. While Uber may have high markups, their drivers rely on tips as their main source of this income. UberEats also allows multiple pickups/deliveries at the same time, when such orders are accepted by the driver, Uber creates the route to take for the driver. If the driver is not familiar with the area, it can take much longer to get the orders to both customers and one or the other is sometimes later than normal. This is an app issue for incorrect routing or that there isn’t enough drivers at that given time to deliver to distant locations. PLEASE ALWAYS TIP YOUR DELIVERY DRIVERS AT LEAST AS MUCH AS YOU WOULD YOUR WAITER OR WAITRESS IN THE SAME RESTAURANT! IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO THEM AS THEY HAVE A VEHICLE TO MAINTAIN!!!
Apparently the writer of this article and you are not familiar with what REALLY goes thru the head of an UBER EATS driver. If you DO NOT tip, your food will most definitely sit and get cold. Period!!! And now that UE is paying less per delivery, you as the consumer are expected to tip much bigger.
Some drivers will drive for less than a $1 a mile,…but rarely anyone who has any experience who pays their own bills will touch those orders.
I have over 5000 deliveries and since August 2020 we see if the customer pre-tipped or not. Your tip should be AT LEAST $1.50 a mile and if you live farther than 10 miles away, you need to be above that for the driver doesn’t like delivering items outside their comfort zone. As gas prices are rising, expect it to get worse. I remember a year ago I would be around 70% acceptance rate, and for a good year it was around 50% acceptance rate. Now it is below 30%. The people must tip more or we won’t be picking up their food. Simple as that. You can speak about all your crappy data and stats….nobody cares.
Tip or watch your food sit.
Wow, you sound like a real dream boat of an employee, wonder why a real job alludes you. I live in the ‘burbs, the couple of times I’ve ordered I see it get picked up and travel straight to me, not “sit and get cold” while you sit around smoking a blunt. Plenty of people tip cash on delivery too so roll the dice if you want to. Keep deliberately screwing people over, it’ll eventually catch up to you and you’re fired or people just quit ordering. DEMANDING a tip at all much less a specific amount doesn’t work for me and I’m sure a lot of other people.
I’m not sure why you would have assumed that he was a pothead. Nor am I sure why you would consider being a rideshare driver as a “real” job. I 100% agree with the first guy. Asking the question a million different ways doesn’t legitimize a duma** question. People ask if they are supposed to tip their server when they go out to eat, so why would this be different. Sometimes demanding that people pay you your worth is the only way you can combat idiocracy. When the mass of society wants to do away with tipping altogether then raising wages to commiserate with skill level, work duties, time in service of this job position, etc then that’s a totally different convo as well. Also, I think you misunderstood. He didn’t say he was messing with anyones orders. He just said if he could tell that the person had not previously tipped well he just didn’t except the order. I don’t see a problem with this? Why does anyone want to be backed into a corner or doing a job and not making any money. Perhaps you haven’t through of all the extemporaneous charges involved in moving your vehicle. Insurance, gas, maintenance, vehicle cleanliness and COVID sanitation. All that is at our own personal expenses. So when Little Timmy orders small fries and isn’t going to tip. What’s the point? The amount you will spend on your vehicle isn’t covered by the delivery, not even close! Why should people work for free just because it’s not a “real” job? I’m curious what you would consider a real job. I’m sure I wouldn’t be any more impressed. The kind of person that needs to tear someone else down to boost his own point probably thinks a lot more highly of himself than I would.
“People ask if they are supposed to tip their server when they go out to eat, so why would this be different.” It’s different because your AREN’T A SERVER. Period. You don’t hang out with me while I eat, getting me napkins, utensils, sauces, take my plates, wash my dishes, clean my kitchen.
You transport a bag of goods from one place to another, like UPS or a courier and then leave. Honestly, I’m not even sure why a driver needs to know my bill, that’s between me and the restaurant.
I’m not against you getting paid as much as your heart desires. Demand $100/hr/trip from YOUR employer. My entire point throughout is quit begging for tips, demand what you consider a decent wage from your employer. I tip, not a percentage of MY bill, you know why? Because you don’t pay taxes on an assumed tip off a register ringer like a SERVER does. If a server “sells” $1000 of food in a night, they pay tax on an assumed amount of tips whether they get them or not.
I understand all too well the soft costs of car ownership/maintenance. Factor all that into what you demand from your EMPLOYER. Like I said, demand $100/hour. I hope you get it. Perceived underpay isn’t my responsibility to make up the difference. $100 in food doesn’t entitle you to $15 for a tip because the bag you’re moving is worth more.
You’re carrying a bag from one place to another. The value of that bag has zero relevance to it’s carrier since the carrier doesn’t pay income tax on it like a server does. I don’t care what I order, small fries or a solid gold porterhouse, it’s none of a courier’s business. If you don’t like the tip, fine. I’m not the subsidizer of your wages. I’ve already paid plenty of fees to your boss, demand more from THEM.
A “real job” is pretty easy. It’d be a job that there is reasonable chance for growth and advancement that develops or puts to use a real, meaningful skill(s) and has career potential. This would be a fine gig for just teens, college students, extra side income, etc. If this is your real daily job, you’re wasting your life, earning potential and likely the best years at learning/developing real marketable skills. When driverless cars come along your resume will look pretty bleak as a Uber driver for the last 10 years.
It’s a real job for me. I don’t take cheap orders. I’m a great driver. I always check my orders for mistakes and that everything is right for my customer. I make approximately $20 an hour for the hours I am able to work. If you’re a cheap customer and the app says I’m going to get $2.00 for your $60 sushi lunch order… on to the next driver that will work for $5 an hour 🤣🤣 If someone is going to be pissy about tipping, why not penny pinch and get your own food??
It’s a roll of the dice, a lot of people say they tip in person. The value of a person’s bag is irrelevant to the one moving it. You aren’t paying income tax like a server does.
You mention a resume and marketable skills?? You say that as if I’m uneducated 🤔 I am, by choice, a stay at home mother. My home and my car are owned outright. I have 0 debt. I do this on the side for something to do while my kids aren’t home. While you may be correct that the value of your order is irrelevant, you also get what you pay for. When I pick up my customers order, I double check the order to make sure nothing is missed. Because most bags are sealed, I take the time to have the employee show me what’s in the bag, then reseal it. I have a clean and well maintained vehicle. I also do not take stacked orders (delivering 2 customers on one run) because I want you r food to be as fresh as possible. So it’s more of a roll of the dice for the customer. For my service, I will not take a $3 order. However, it’s possible that the driver that will take that cheap order has a filthy car full of pet hair, week old take out boxes, and a strange indistinguishable odor. I mean, have you ever received your food in a bag with pet hair stuck to the bottom and cigarette ash sprinkled on the top? That $3 could be why. I care for the customers that care for me
So what your truly saying, tips shouldn’t be visible to the drive until the order has been successfully delivered. There are so many people who do not tip until after the food is delivered simply because there isn’t a single service in the service industry were a person is tip before services are provided. Period. What your suggesting is, when your at a restaurant, you need to tip your waitress before you have been seated, otherwise the waitress won’t come to your table. Your job is to deliver food. That’s what you signed up for. That is your job. A tip, is only a bonus, and should never ever be your means of survival or relied on as a income. You need to go back to school and find a better job.
I deliver food for Uber. I didn’t receive my pay on pay day today…Im sad about that. However, I still went to work again today. I got paid $5 today for a 35 minute trip. That doesn’t include driving to pick up the food. At the end of my trip, I was in another city/county. There are times I’ve been paid $3 to travel for 27 minutes to deliver someone’s food. So, understand this, your fees my be high; but if you saw the breakdown of those fees, you would realize Uber drivers are paid pennies. Uber is paid more than the drivers(simply because drivers utilize their app). Please understand, when your food comes from a restaurant far away, most times, they send a driver from far away to deliver it. My car is having issues now…uggh…the wear and tear is inevitable. I hate that…they don’t treat drivers well…but it’s my only employment during and after graduating from college. Especially with the pandemic. My children, husband, and I just got over covid, and bills are due. Regardless, I have to do something(work somewhere). It’s convenient and I have a disabled toddler. So, I suck it up. Thanks for reading my comment. Please consider tipping your delivery driver. Stay safe. Bye.
Uber will give us a couple bucks for the delivery but most of our income is tips. What this article doesn’t say is when your order pops up on our screen and it’s, say 10-12 miles for $4… most drivers won’t even accept that order. If you’re cheap and don’t tip, there’s a pretty high chance your food will sit there a while before someone actually accepts your low pay order. Consider the miles from the restaurant to your home… drivers usually have a standard of $1-$2 a mile.
So your saying I should give a driver a $20 tip for living 10 miles away? You do realize how ridiculous that is right? Most people don’t make $20/hour at there 40 hour/week desk jobs and you want people to give you that in your 20-30min drive? You’d be making upwards of $40-$60/hour in tips alone if your swooping 1-3 orders/hour if that were the standard. Lets be a little bit more realistic.
The gig nature is dependent on tips to make the numbers viable. Cash or app tips are both appreciated but cash is an upfront expression. Uber will not pay drivers from their fees as it is being used elsewhere in their corporate portfolio. If drivers had perks of company vehicles, paid gas and insurance and every maintenance cost covered, a base salary plus incentives and tips… they would be employees not independent business owners.
You are absolutely right. Uber should take responsibility for the drivers.
Uber newest pay scale averages about $3.00 a delivery. This makes the driver dependent on the customer providing a tip otherwise it’s just not worth it to deliver on the Ubereats.
I drive for Uber eats have been waiting over an hour for a delivery. I had two deliveries yesterday with no tip. My wife works for favor her tips are more in line with the price of the order 18 bucks on an order yesterday plus they offer bonus plans were she is guaranteed 20 bucks an hour. Oh well guess I will jump ship to favor. Thanks everyone for making it an easy choice
Just so uber eats customers know, Panera bread uses their own drivers to deliver uber eats orders. Panera pays server wage for drivers 5.55 hour in Chicago suburbs. Also, perhaps more importantly, we never see if you tip. On a biweekly check we see “uber eats tips ” and it’s a few bucks total but never shows who tipped what. A cash tip is always appreciated and I dare say expected..10% is fine. Or when I come to the door “hey, tipped on the app!” Cool thanks 🙂
Tips are necessary for drivers to continue the service. Uber does not pay enough (ex. $3 for half an hour trip). If you tip your waitress who is multi-tasking customers at a sit-down restaurant 15%, then why not someone who has to deal with heavy rain, reckless drivers on the highway, potholes, construction, etc just for you. Usually your driver is designated only to you. If you live in an apartment/condo, please provide the name of the building and any gate code in your customer notes. Uber doesn’t pay us for the extra time it takes to navigate an apartment maze in a sprawling complex to find your door, and find our way out. It’s insane to expect service to your door and not tip. Uber’s payout is based more on miles than time, therefore if we have to wait 15 or 20 minutes extra for a busy restaurant to bring out your food or in a long drive thru line so you don’t have to, experienced drivers would just cancel and leave, so if your driver does that for you, please tip accordingly. If there’s a minefield at your house to get to your front door, please do the right thing. I understand Uber Eats’ delivery charges and fees can be high, but please don’t assume the driver gets much of that.
In addition, do not take it out on your driver’s tip if there are missing items or substitutions. Most restaurant workers hand us sealed bags and take offense when we try to question what’s in there. Uber does not allow us to open bags. We cannot check the order the same way you would if you personally got your own food. If your food arrives late or cold, it is not automatically the driver’s fault. Yes, your food can be sitting at the restaurant for an hour while Uber finds a driver willing to accept that pickup. So don’t take it out on the person who accepted to bring your food to you. Instead, tip your driver properly and appeal to Uber Support for a refund regarding issues with your food. In the last couple months Uber Eats updated their driver’s app so we can say the expected payout including the tip you entered when you place your order. If you didn’t add a tip, many drivers will pass on it. You can always change the tip after delivery, for example, if you hand the driver cash.
Thanks for the insight!
Sorry Uber doesn’t pay diddly, but I just ordered a $26 meal and paid $9.49 in fees on top, $5.49 of which were “delivery fee” and “driver benefit”. In my world, that should be a generous tip included.
*BTW, tipping is NOT optional – the app won’t let you select “0” for a tip, so you have to tip one cent.
Uber: They’ll hose you then make you look like a schmuck.
So you’re expected to tip the restaurants 20%+, and also tip the delivery person 20%+, on top of UberEats surcharge of 20-30%, for a total of 60%+?
Ryan, I know Uber Eats charges a delivery fee and I believe also has a food surcharge, but on the Uber Eats driver app, they show (a normally quite low) pay for the driver to pickup your order and deliver it to your requested location, which is not NOT immediately given to the driver. Your delivery location is only at first shown on a zoomed map, which sometimes diminishes the drivers perception of the actual distance. The drivers current location (typically, but not always near the restaurant) and route to get to the pickup location, is not considered in the payment from Uber Eats, nor is, after completing the delivery, returning to a descent working location for the next potential order pickup. Uber Eats does not provide assistance, except (once the order is accepted) they provide directions to the restaurant or pickup location, ONLY THEN, AFTER THE ORDER IS PICKED UP is the driver is finally provided the actual delivery address. The time it should take to get there and the total miles are the only indications a driver is provided to make a decision whether or not to accept your delivery request. Uber Eats does not provide any payment or financial support in heading to an accepted pickup or returning from a delivery to the next potentially good pick up location. The driver only receives a small portion of the delivery fee and possibly a ‘trip supplement’ (usually even a way smaller amount) to deliver your order. Also, drivers have to deal with a whole lot more than your restaurant waiter or waitress, such as traffic, school zones, parking, leaving their car parked and running while delivering your order, etc. YES, PLEASE PLEASE TIP YOUR DRIVER! If it is not financially feasible for you to tip at least $3.00 (which is possibly a gallon of gas) for your order, then please do not order for delivery.
Tipping a server in a restaurant 15-20% is reasonable, they wait on you hand and foot for an hour+ and are paid a very small wage ($2.13/hour in my state). They are paid low and taxed on the expectation of tips. They also juggle numerous tables at the same time and have all the other opening/closing duties of a server. Paying a similar percentage (which the app tries to get you to do) for someone driving a bag to you is crazy, especially since they’re making a somewhat normal wage. With all the astronomical fees (delivery, service and higher food prices) already getting heaped onto the bill it isn’t my responsibility to take a stress free job of driving a bag across town and pay them like it’s something other than what it is. Sorry, this isn’t a skilled “career” and shouldn’t be paid as such. If Uber drivers don’t like what they’re paid from Uber, don’t do the job. It’s the only way Uber will adjust their wages to get people to work for them. Not by forcing people who just want a meal to subsidize their employees wages.
Drivers don’t make minimum wage. Many times, drivers net $5/hour after expenses. If servers are worthy of a tip for just doing their job, then why not tip the delivery person who used their own car, put wear and tear on their car, and took time to pick up the food you could’ve gotten yourself? No wonder there’s a driver shortage.
For all the reasons I already stated. I didn’t say a driver isn’t worthy of some sort of tip. Getting tipped like a server in a sit down restaurant is ridiculous though. They make less than minimum wage, in a lot of cases WAY less. They wait on you hand and foot for over an hour. Most importantly, they pay income tax on their “ringer” meaning it’s assumed if my bill was $100 they’re going to get an assumed tip of a certain percentage and they pay tax on that assumed tip. If you’re begging for more, get Uber to cut into their ridiculous “service fee”.
Something has to give with all this, it’s unsustainable. Everyone is trying to get a sizeable piece of the pie here. The restaurants are charging more for the menu items, Uber (& others) are charging a massive percentage service AND delivery fee and then the driver has their hand out. As is, Uber tries to get you to tip the driver a percentage tip of a traditional server (10-20%)
Uber drivers in Texas are taxed as a SMALL BUSINESS on ALL THEIR PAY, whether from the customer tips or from Uber!
How do you tax people on cash tips that aren’t reported to anybody?
Using UberEats is a LUXURY. If you can’t afford to tip your driver who is using their own gas and vehicle, and spending their time, then pick up the food your damn self. You sound so entitled. As a driver, we can see if there is a tip beforehand. If there isn’t, we decline. And decline. Which is why your food is cold, if you get it at all. Those who tip to show their appreciation for the person risking their own property and life to deliver their meal, get it FAST AND HOT.
Talk about sounding entitled….. Pay me, then I’ll work hard (?). UberEats is NOT a luxury, it’s a simple service to transport a bag from one place to another. You didn’t make the food, you didn’t prep it for transport, you aren’t paying taxes on the bags value. You don’t hang out my house while I eat it, refilling my drink and taking my dishes from me. You aren’t risking your life to bring it to me, nor your property. You really seem to think this is some sort of hero situation here. If you don’t like the pay you get for transporting bags, ask for a raise from your employer. It’s funny how many people act like this is the only option in their life. Do it like the rest of us did, start at a job at the bottom and work your way to the top through hard work and sticking around. Yep, it sucks at first and the pay is low but if you do what I just said, the cream will rise to the top. Sorry if you’re expecting instant wealth from every entry level job so YOU switched to the “gig” economy. I’m simply NOT paying a percentage of the bags value for you to move it. Makes zero sense. Go be a real server if you want that sort of money but DEMANDING your tip first, ain’t gonna work so that probably won’t work for you.
Go deliver food for a couple of weeks and then ask me what you think. Is destroying your car for 2 bucks seem worth it? Would you give a stranger a ride 14 miles round trip for 2 bucks seem worth it? Tip. Otherwise we get a fair wage and you pay 200 percent more for your food. Not 20
Perfect, that’s exactly what I want. Get YOUR employer to pay YOU a “fair wage” and charge the customer a straight up fee. Let the chips fall where they may. In the end you’re a bag courier, picking up a bag, dropping a bag off. You aren’t a restaurant server and shouldn’t be tipped like one. You also don’t pay taxes like a restaurant server and your tip should have nothing to do with the value of the bag.
David, you seem to ignore reality. The American way is to charge the customer less and make it up through tipping by customers. It’s not just food delivery (and by the way, it was always customary to tip food deliveries before UberEats), it’s also barbers, beauty salons, massage parlors, restaurant dine in, hotel bell boys, hotel concierges, etc… As for taxes, Uber drivers do pay taxes on the money Uber pays them as they get a 1099 the following year if they made $600 or more. You right tips on Uber Eats orders should not be on just the value of the bag, they should reflect the weight of the bag(s), the distance from the restaurant, and for fast food places waiting time (they often don’t start making the order until the driver checks in).
Just for knowledge… waitresses actually pay tax on minimum wage… not projected or expected tips. Drivers get a 1099 for all the income we make. Just thought I would throw it out there 🤷🏼♀️
ordering first uber eats now. Thanks for the insights.
Driver was sent from FAR to a restaurant so close to me. He did good, I tipped $3 cash. I mert him in the courtyard, I could see online where he was every step of the way. He seemed very happy with tip. The order was wrong; on restaurant menu it has tofu in veg curry, on ubereats menu it doesn’t say tofu. I double-checked, my item was removed from the ubereats menu (means they ran out?). I walked the order over to the restaurant and they remade it. I was pretty good. Uber paid $24 anyway, which was all of the food. So the tax and fees were about $8.50 on $24 in menu items. Tax is like 2.50, here, on that. So total fees like $6 or 25%. Seems it was uber’s mistake (not that they type in every menu). Does the restaurant add menu items, or does ubereats have a bot that puts all the items in their site like a dropship site lol. Future: I’ll just call or walk.
Well said! A table server earns a higher tip for exactly the reasons you mention. Though even that model is somewhat flawed. As it is not the number of people being served or the complexity of the order (both of which probably do more to increase the amount of work/attention required) but the price of the food. Example, 2 adults eating lower dollar meals (chicken wings, burger, beer) and 2 kids eating off the kids menu, versus 1 adult eating a prime rib and two glasses of wine.
I have only used Uber Eats once. I was busy working and ordered fast food for me and my two kids. Uber charged me a $4.50 service fee and an additional $1.99 delivery fee. So they already hit me for 20% of my order. I tipped, but only $3 – $4. Probably won’t use them again. I think that is too much money to pay Uber for what they do. I don’t remember ever seeing a restaurant charge me more than $5 to deliver their food.
Remember, drivers don’t get the lion’s share of the fare. They only get paid by the mile (below 60 cents in most markets) for pickup and dropoff.
I’m not unsympathetic to that BUT, if you aren’t happy with your base pay don’t drive for them. Getting the rider to pay twice via the fare and the tip is not fair. Uber does ZERO of the driving and gets hella fees for what amounts to the app and it’s infrastructure. If you (and others) refused to drive for them they’d have to adjust. Either get the customer to foot the entire bill or rethink their profit requirements.
If their FEES are too high, then why ORDER from them!? The driver is only the worker, not the company. You should be saying ‘don’t order from them’ in lieu of ‘don’t work for them’. It’s like saying, “I’m going to dinner at the RITZ but not tipping my waiter/waitress because the food is too expensive!” if you think it’s too expensive, go to a more affordable eatery, i.e. McDonald’s!
But the food wasn’t too expensive. The service I paid to bring it to me charged me a hefty fee already so we’re square. Get a regular job like the rest of us if you don’t like what YOUR employer pays. I would.
It’s kind of sad to watch people waste their lives doing this sort of work. It’d be fine for a short term stop-gap or as a side hustle to get out of debt but you only have so many good working years and this could be time spent learning a skill/trade and racking up seniority at a real job with benefits, even starting at entry level.
Please continue to tip your drivers and complain to Uber about their service and delivery fees! Thanks!
As a Driver for UE who just worked tge lunch and dinner today (friday) i enjoy the fact that the platform allows me to pick whom i deliver too. I always deliver on time or early…it doesnt matter if its a $4.00 delivery or $14.. that being said. I rarely take a $4 unless its an add on under a mile..
I have an older car and im going to say that most of my orders lunch today were between $7-9 with a base pay of $3 and a tip ..after an hour of $4-6
Most people were less than 2 miles away!
Oh heck yes! im smh at the Roxy Racoco order thats taking me 10 miles away from the sweet spot…somebody will take it.
I just started in Sept..ive wasted soo much gas..driving an suv.. so i have options. Today was a good day..
I stayed busy didnt waste gas and made a decent wage.
.
I dont make the rules I just do what i have to do. I have a 96% pro status i must be doing something right.
Its work it pays my bills which pay my way thru med school. I like delivering. It is what it is.
You dont have to me tip. BUT I also dont have to bring your food either.
If the math doesnt add up i have a choice unlike another app ..
..
The way UE is set up is the way its set up.Its fair..think about it-
would you pick up a strangers food for $5 an hour (after expenses) im not running a chartity here.
if you don’t like UberEats and the way its set up dont use it.
Theres always the yourcar app..where you use your car to get your own food..
So until UberEats drones start dropping your off Tacobell at 2am
#NoTipNoTRIP
#sorryNotSorry
If you are unwilling to tip your driver or think the fees are already too high to have whatever it is that you ordered, at any time of the day or night, brought directly to your door so you don’t even need pants on if you so choose…..
Then do not order delivery. Period. It’s that simple. Regardless what app you’re using. The portion of the delivery fee the driver actually gets is by far mostly covering the gas. That’s it, little to no profit just from the fee. If you can afford to eat out or have it brought to you…tip. waitress, driver, or the kid next door doing you a favor. If you don’t want to tip then cook in your home. So simple
So we aren’t allowed to think fees are already too high? Am I just supposed to walk around with a stack of money all day and make it rain for anyone that smiles at me? Most here aren’t saying zero tip but you shouldn’t be tipped like a SERVER. You’re a bag bringer, 1 single trip AND you aren’t taxed on my total so it should NOT be a percentage based tip. It’s irrelevant to the drive how much my food cost me whether it be Wendy’s or Caviar in the bag. But again, it’s not MY job to pay extra to make up the bulk of someone’s wages when I’ve already paid a huge fee for that service. If you want a career driving bags around and feel you’re underpaid ask your employer for a raise, they make PLENTY. It’s that “simple”
Maybe you should just get your own food. I bet you’re just a gem to live with ….
I need to know what city/state you live in!
WE ARE TAXED IN TEXAS MORE THAN a SERVER IN A RESTAURANT! WE PAY TAXES ON ALL THE MONEY WE RECEIVE, JUST THE SAME AS A SMALL BUSINESS!
You’ve gotta stop with the CAPS. Quit begging people to tip you like a server in a restaurant, you aren’t. You do NOT deserve a percentage based tip on what my food cost me. You do not do more or less work on how much a dish cost me. Period. Quit driving for your employer if they aren’t paying you enough. If they don’t have enough drivers they can’t do business. It’d not our job to subsidized your perceived underpay You have a car to maintain, we get that. It’s just not my job to care for your car. That’s something you have to weigh into deciding if your employer is paying you enough.
If you don’t believe us drivers, when you have time; call and ask Uber EXACTLY how much of that money goes to the driver. I urge EVERYONE to do that. If they dance around your question, repeat it, over and over until you get a honest answer. Sure they can deflect and transfer you….but be firm. I assure you Uber gets more of that money (than drivers). More than &0%. So, essentially, you pay to use the app, and money is also deducted from drivers for using the app.Especially now.
I literally just ordered 34 dollars of food for 54 dollars through UberEats because the “15%” tip isn’t based upon the size of my order… it’s based upon order cost + delivery fees + service fees. I tried to lower it, and uber showed me a message that my order cost was like 47 dollars. Um, no b*tch, it isn’t. My order was 34 dollars – your bullsh*t fees were an extra 13. Why should I have to pay a tip on a fee over which I have no control?
I used to order through UberEats every day – like… I’ve EASILY spent twelve-thousand dollars on UberEats in the last year but I don’t make enough money to keep up with y’all. I’m about to take my butt to the grocery store and save me a solid $7,000.
$12,000? 🤧
Thanks for sharing this article. Tipping a uber eats driver is always appreciated. People are taking advantage from the UberEat drivers by not tipping. It is making that service fade away as more and more drivers are opting out of delivering.
That’s the beauty of capitalism, if it’s a bad/flawed business model it will either adapter or something will take it’s place. Somehow you’ve been convinced to take a perceived low wage from YOUR employer and rely on THEIR customer to pay you directly and if we don’t, WE are ‘taking advantage’ of you. I’d rather see them pay you more and charge us a fee for the service. That way it’s in our face of what we’re paying and if it’s worth it to use their service. I tip, not based on the total of my bill, that’s completely irrelevant to the driver as they are NOT taxed like a server.
And we do pay taxes too.
Im sorry that the fees are too high for you and you think i should work for less. 🥱🥱
I didnt realize that the charges were a percentage.
Gotta read the fine print when you order stuff.
Really.. go ahead and number crunch because if it doesnt make dollars it doesnt make sense. I make choices.
I took a woman a oreo blizzard last night almost 12 miles and made 15$+ my other order $22tip + $8 base.
Her address was 4 or five miles away from my other drop ..she has it like that.
Dont hate the player hate the game.
I don’t know where you live, but that’s rare.
the alleged “delivery fee” is the tip….then the uber regime slaps 20% to the cost of food so its tipping 2 times already….”service fee” is yet another tip…….they dont need to slap 3 hidden tips or expect a seperate tip
The value of the bag is irrelevant for a driver moving the bag from point A to point B. Uber drivers aren’t paying income tax on the value of the bag thus there is ZERO reason to pay a percentage of it’s value to the delivery person like you would a server. Don’t take the order, I couldn’t care less.
You are aware that door dash has a monthly plan… if you’re on a tight budget, that may be a better option for you.
I am going to break some additional facts down to you. About this “to tip or not to tip”, for both rideshare and food delivery.
In this country, it is customary to tip your driver, at least before UBER came out with its policy a few years back. That was to include ANY transportation worker except city bus driver. You tipped your charter bus driver, your valet…in and out every time he or she gets in or out of your car, concierge, bell hop, room service attendant, even airport shuttle driver, town car driver, taxi, sky cap, boat staff, boat captain (charters) even your maid at hotel and motel. As well as, food delivery staff. Many of which work solely FOR tips. Uber and Lyft never have encouraged tipping, because it goes against the grain of their basic pricing models. Which by the way are intentionally not transparent to the end user, as well as the person working for these companies. For instance Does this person who so cavalierly decides to forgoe a tip even know what the driver does make??
Well let me give you some insight because we all too quickly forget(convieniently) That is if you ever cared to know.
First, if you apply ubers transportation model to its food delivery, you probably eat a lot of poptarts and drool on yourself. They aren’t the same, or the same service. Only consolation is that, you are supposed to be confused by this by design. Back to the transportation issue. When rideshare started with UBER their focus was convenience being primary. Because, that was the lure. “In and out”,”no muss no fuss”. And UBER had to pay its initial drivers a comparable rate to what they would make otherwise. Plus black car drivers then and now still get tipped 95% of time. So the black car driver and elevated class drivers DO in fact make money. But they aren’t the ones delivering your food or the most common ordered form of transportation. It is the basic lyft and uber x services. NOW here is the thing to remember. These men and women, don’t get paid shit. I have personally driven 1800 rides for uber and 4k for lyft, 2 for postmates, and 2 for uber eats. I am a platinum level driver for Lyft with a 5 star rating through my tenor on both platforms with almost 6k rides combined and over 3k compliments. People are cheap, most that is. AS 1 IN 10 PEOPLE ACTUALLY TIP. And it is mostly Babyboomers and a small percentage of Gen x , millennials do not, nor genZ. The reason is that the companies fucked that up. UberX drivers over 6 years ago were making around $3/per mile. I started in 2016 at $2.62/per mile and left Uber to go to Lyft when the previous figure fell below $2. Then while at Lyft, seeing these companies over extend themselves in a price war, I saw the per mile in Los Angeles dip to .69 cents/per mile. These pay decreases paid for their lawsuits as well as the expansion into new markets, and oddly where they pay drivers even less.
For the person that can’t tip, you are a cheap SOB looking for a reason not to.
For the person thinking that not tipping will subsequently drive costs down. You are a manipulative, cheap, ass.
See those of you who think I am an ass, you probably don’t even reme.ver what cab fares used to look like and the top expected with those fares.
You are not entitled to rideshare, or having an albertos burrito delivered to you at 3am. These are luxury services and even on the most routine and minute scale. These people that do these things for you with a smile, get you home safely from drunken nights, that all of you have asked for more of than you would do, many of you complai. As that is your only outlet to vent, but In my case, I am someone who cares, and takes pride I my work. And I have been threatened, my car peed in, thrown up in, couples have tried to screw in, and been disrespected more times than I can count. Through covid getting people to hospital, or home. And really too much to list. And with grace and respect to my passengers. Still only 1 in 10 tip.
My parting shots are these:
The companies have made it possible but convenient not to, as the one that does it first will instantly be deemed the more expensive platform and lose business. So this action will never happen, until uber swallows lyft in the coming years.
Did you know that lyft is a publicly traded company that is one billion. In debt. And after they launched their IPO and made the boardmembers millions of dollars the drivers still aren’t making a living wage due to the contractor status you cheap asses voted on in California(uber and lyft arch enemies spent 200 million dollars on this propaganda. And you bought it.
But next time, you ask anyone to provide you with a service that essentially is above and beyond, dig into your jeans and come up with some scratch. Tip, it shows you appreciate the service. And yes without a doubt the driver thinks you are a cheap fuck every single time you don’t tip. I personally would never want that driver touching my food if he or she delivers to me often and I didn’t tip.
And for those of you in a service industry where tipping is prevalent, and you have no expenses….SHAME ON YOU. you are the lowest common denominator. How are the poptarts?
I invite anybody to mock anything I have said, as when you do you will definatly affirm you are an ass, and a cheap one.
Now this is a factual account of things, there is so much more. But this is the real story not told or apparently cared about.
Uber pays the driver $2!!! The fact that they don’t make gratuity mandatory on the app is mind blowing!! They don’t even tell you this as a consumer they make you believe they are paying your driver and you “can tip your driver as a thank you” No!!! That is not ok! It should be a flat rate of $10-15 per delivery no question! If you can’t pay that then this isn’t for you!! When I found out they only get paid $2 per order I was disgusted with the company. I only want well paid happy people bringing me food not people you’re paying $2 per order!! You’re not even encouraging tipping or letting us know these things! Uber could easily build a flat rate into the app and actually advocate for their drivers. The consumers need to protest that all the money we pay in fees do not even go to the person bringing your food!!!
So your saying I should give a driver a $20 tip for living 10 miles away? You do realize how ridiculous that is right? Most people don’t make $20/hour at there 40 hour/week desk jobs and you want people to give you that in your 20-30min drive? You’d be making upwards of $40-$60/hour in tips alone if your swooping 1-3 orders/hour if that were the standard. Lets be a little bit more realistic. I always take care of people doing me a services of any type by tipping. But I’m not going to give you half of what I make in a hours time at my job because you picked up a meal for me a few miles from my home. I could make $80/hour and still wouldnt pay a tip that high.
Yes, you should pay $20 tip for 10 miles away order, because you have to cover the cost of the GAS in both directions, vehicle amortization and the time and effort of the driver, since Uber gives only couple of cents from all those fees to the driver. If you can’t afford it, then take the bus or walk to the restaurant and deliver it to yourself for free!