Ridesharing Driver

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Uber
  • Lyft
  • Delivery
  • About
Home » Uber Eats » Tip Baiting on Uber Eats: Frustrated Drivers See Lowered Tips

Tip Baiting on Uber Eats: Frustrated Drivers See Lowered Tips

Updated May 11, 2021 By Doug H45 Comments

Let’s say you’re an Uber Eats driver, and you get a new delivery offer. The offer says “$10, includes expected tip.” You’re close to the restaurant, and the customer isn’t too far away, so you accept the order. All goes well.

But a few hours later, you review the order and find that the final payout dropped to $4!

The app says, “The estimate was $10, including an up-front tip, but the customer reduced the tip after delivery.” Ouch!

an uber eats payout showing a $10 estimate lowering to $3

A classic tip bait. From $10.14 to $3.44. Credit nat_7 on Reddit

Congratulations, you’ve been tip baited. It’s a frustrating phenomenon that happens to Uber Eats drivers when customers tempt them with a tip only to take it away after the order is complete.

Are you worried about tip baiting? Read on to see what it is, why it happens, and if there’s anything you can do to avoid it.

What is tip baiting on Uber Eats?

Tip baiting is when a customer enters a tip when they place the order, then removes the tip after the order is complete.

On Uber Eats, drivers can see approximately how much a customer tipped before they accept the order. But customers can change the tip up to one hour after the order is complete.

An Uber Eats driver may eagerly accept an order with a $10 estimated payout only to see later that the payout dropped to $4 after the customer removed the tip. It’s a frustrating situation.

Below is an example of a typical bait. The driver initially saw an offer for $10.10, but was ultimately only paid $5.50 after the customer removed the tip.

Tip bait on uber eats: payout lowered from $10 to $5

From $10 to $5. Ouch. Credit Pauly-B on Reddit

Why do customers tip bait?

We could not reach any perpetrators of tip baiting for comment, so we’ll have to try to do our best to dive into the mind of a baiter.

A few reasons come to mind: Customers might change their tip because they were unhappy with some part of the service. It could have been the food quality, the wait time, or their experience communicating with their delivery person.

A more cynical take is that dishonest customers tip bait on purpose to get faster service. These savvy users know that a high up-front tip will get them better results, so they dangle the tip only to pull it back once the order has arrived.

  • How tipping can get you faster service on delivery apps

I believe that most customers change the tip to express frustration about something from the delivery experience, even if it’s not the delivery person’s fault.

It seems more rare that a customer knows enough about the system to tip bait intentionally to get better service at a discount.

Unfortunately, drivers end up taking the blame for issues that may have been caused by the restaurant or factors out of their control.

More examples of tip baiting on Uber Eats

The payout below dropped from $10.67 to $2.67. That’s less than $3 for 21 minutes of work. This driver would not have accepted the order if the up front estimate was only $2.67.

A $10 uber eats order that lowered to $2

Credit natalie1518 on reddit

Baited at $7.97 dropped to $4.14. Not a pretty sight.

An uber eats order that lowered from $8 to $4

Credit Afraid-Maintenance60

How common is tip baiting

It’s easy to find examples of tip baiting online, but it’s just as easy to find comments from drivers who say it’s not a very common experience. Many drivers go hundreds or even thousands of deliveries without being tip baited.

This thread on Reddit has a few replies from drivers who say that tip baiting is actually quite rare.

You can understand why frustrated drivers rush to the internet to share screen shots of a tip bait. When you get burned, you want to share your story.

The opposite of tip baiting: When tips increase

The ability for customers to change a tip after the order can have positive consequences too. Some drivers experience the opposite of a tip bait, which is when the tip actually increases.

Below, this driver was pleasantly surprised to see that the $9 estimate increased to $17.

An order payout on Uber eats that increased from $9 to $17

Credit DanSensei on Reddit

The driver below started the order expecting $32 and received $77—one for the record books.

uber eats order with a tip increased from $32 to $77

Credit Slight-Salt-1578 on Reddit

How can you prevent tip baiting?

Tip baiting will remain possible as long as Uber Eats includes tip info in the upfront estimate and allows customers to change a tip after the order is over.

One potential way to avoid tip baiting and bad ratings is to cancel on an order that is going poorly.

If a customer is upset or unreasonable before you even have their food in hand, you can cancel to avoid a bad rating and a tip reduction.

An even worse end to tip baiting would be if Uber stopped including tips in the estimated payout. You can’t get baited if the tip info isn’t there in the first place!

In the bad old days, drivers only saw the base payout from Uber and got no up front tip information at all. It’s always better to get as much info as possible before you accept an order, so it’s best if Uber continues to share estimated tips.

More Reading for Uber Eats Drivers
  • DoorDash vs Uber Eats: Which is Better for Drivers?
  • Are Walmart Orders Worth it on Uber Eats?
  • Our Complete Guide for Uber Eats Drivers

Originally Published May 11, 2021
Filed Under: Delivery Gigs, Uber Eats

About Doug H

Gig economy driver, writer, and expert since 2013. I created Ridesharing Driver to help drivers navigate all of the challenges we face in the on-demand world!

Comments

  1. BarackObama says

    September 7, 2022 at 12:29 pm

    The OBVIOUS solution here is for uber to track the Tip Bait.

    If a Customer has 90% Tip reduction, then drivers will see this and stop taking deliveries to a customer with a rating that low. Simply dont publish it until a customer has 5 deliveries. Then 1 tip reduction will not affect it.

    Reply
  2. Nydia says

    September 3, 2022 at 7:21 pm

    Nah I’m absolutely getting tired of this tip baiting game .. and it’s not about poor service I have a 96% rating and just started with Uber about a mth or two and I make sure ti be fast friendly and efficient.. i do grub hub to and Uber really needs to do what grub hub does grub hub does not wait to post tips once u make that delivery it’s automatically put in ur earnings which is the only way tip baiting would not be a possibility … gas is to high to be delivering anything for $2.50 I just took a order for $9.27 had to pay a toll to get to the person and boom I only got $3.44 out that like horrible that’s y grubhub is way better I do a job for 10 I get 10 automatically no worries about tip baiting smh Uber eats is horrible with this tip nonsense if they offer a certain amount n I grabbed that order why on earth would u allow the customer to lessen it if clearly we have the option to pick what orders we want to do smh and that’s what we agree to as pay for that order that’s like ordering fast food and saying here’s 2 dollars for pizza pie eff your 13 dollar price .. lol

    Reply
  3. Dee says

    March 30, 2022 at 5:14 am

    I just assume the food delivery platforms are “for profit” over “customer and driver”. Though I get the best tips from Uber customers, ( consistently $9-$12. and at least 3-4 $15 tips / week and 5 or more $20 tips\ month), there is still no way of knowing if uber steals part of my tips. I’m work 18-20 hours/ week. I accepted less than half my offers with Uber Eats. Doordash is a whole new ballgame. Accept less than 10% of their scrappy orders. Just choose which crook you wanna drive for PROFIT is their ultimate business mmm model, NOT YOU or the CUSTOMER. So don’t be surprised when you vote either ☺. Same with politics.

    Reply
    • Lauren says

      April 24, 2022 at 5:06 am

      Uber is stealing our tips. There are plenty of recent articles online about the new pay structure.

      Reply
      • Ajith says

        November 9, 2022 at 1:25 pm

        totaly agree. they steal our money. now they not showing there money also

        Reply
    • DC says

      August 25, 2022 at 5:22 pm

      You may be a bit incorrect in the assumption that ALL the less than expected amounts are baits. I have discovered, like in one of your examples, that “the estimate for this trip was..” is just that. Many times, we are so used to just banging the screen to accept an “amount” we aren’t careful to read whether a tip is attached. So, as in your example….that trip estimate probably showed as 7.97 when the driver took it…assuming there was a tip. But since there wasn’t, that 4.14 is their actual payout. If you were to look at the “paid to Uber” service fee and customer fees….you will find that other $3.

      I have a theory that this is a PLOY Uber uses to get people to accept untipped orders. They know drivers aren’t paying attention to that small print on the offer screen and are accepting “amounts” visible. Bottom line is ALWAYS DOUBLE CHECK AS TO WHETHER THE OFFER SAYS “INCLUDING UPFRONT TIP”. There’s really no need at this point to even take untipped offers because it is RARE that a customer is going to tip AFTER delivery.

      Reply
  4. Austin says

    March 12, 2022 at 12:41 pm

    If you don’t want to tip appropriately, go and get the food yourself.

    Reply
  5. Todd gakk says

    January 30, 2022 at 7:48 am

    I focus on the the doordash orders… those are guaranteed to pay what they are advertised as or more… only take an uber eats if it is 2 miles away. It’s too risky to go further for no tip

    Reply
    • Sharmel says

      March 4, 2022 at 7:02 am

      I delivered an order with uber eats yesterday. The customer said she put a 20.00 tip on the order. She gave me a copy of the order showing the tip. Uber said she didn’t tip. I was payed 8.35 for the delivery. Today I looked at the order and they deducted 2.00. So it pays 6.35. They are stealing our money.

      Reply
      • Josh says

        April 29, 2022 at 6:32 pm

        I got increase in tips on 90% of my orders because I do thank you cards as well as some other things to help and no joke I get anywhere from 60 to 90% of my orders I get an increase tip after delivery with at least one to two tips a night that are about $20 plus some where in the around a month a go it stopped completely .. I don’t get any anymonyre !!! I’ve been doing this for over a year !! Wtf is going on!?!

        Reply
  6. Craig Lambert says

    November 16, 2021 at 3:04 pm

    Tip baiting sucks. The customer should be help to the amount originally entered.

    I work nights and often times have to wait an excessively long time in the drive-thru (like a McDonald’s, Taco Ball, JIB, etc.) because the lobby is closed. That the food I often times pick up has been sitting out because it is made as soon as the order is received, and I have spent 20-30 minutes in a drive-thru to pick up the order because the line is slow to move, and the restaurant is under staffed.

    I try to announce my arrival by calling the restaurant. Half the time, the number listed for the restaurant is for its corporate office. I use Google to get the correct number. Yet, good luck with someone answering the phone! Customers’ dissatisfaction is probably from receiving cold food. Yet, the restaurants are not proactive in correcting the issue. The restaurants seem to not care about timely service and whether a customer receives hot food!

    Reply
    • Kim says

      November 30, 2021 at 5:32 pm

      As someone who has ordered from DoorDash or Uber eats and tipped well just to have the driver make not just one not two but multiple stops and I end up with completely cold food time and time again, I’m not tipping for that or I’m lowering my tip. It doesn’t mean I’m tip bating it means I’m not happy with the service that you provided. I do not change my tip or my rating if it’s not the delivery person‘s fault.

      Reply
      • Ryan says

        December 3, 2021 at 7:21 pm

        Yeah, you actually are. The companies directed those extra stops with deliveries before yours. Nothing to do with the driver. Drivers select orders based on the payout, so if you want your order hot and fast, tip high!

        Reply
        • Seymore Buttz says

          January 2, 2022 at 7:49 pm

          It’s not tip baiting, Ryan. The driver chose to accept additional deliveries after taking the first one, and it’s only then that the other deliveries are given a higher priority by DoorDash/Uber etc. If you knowingly take on additional work that results in food being delivered cold, you provided poor service, and don’t deserve the tip.

          I ALWAYS remove the tip if my food is received cold. If the driver can indicate to me that the restaurant gave them the food cold, it would be a different story. If, however, the food entered the driver’s car hot, and I receive it cold, ultimately the driver is responsible for transporting the food in a timely manner and not accepting other deliveries (especially if they’re double-dipping and running stuff for multiple apps).

        • T Jackson says

          January 21, 2022 at 3:59 pm

          @Seymore Buttz

          You have no way of knowing if the food entered the driver’s car hot nor cold. So, that’s irrelevant. I 100% agree with Ryan. You should be held to the tip offered, only changing it should you want to give more. Only exception should be no delivery at all or, in a worse case, hours after ordering. Otherwise, you should be made to honor what you originally offered, or don’t offer a tip at all. That’ll be on you when drivers ignore said order.

          Also, o, driver’s should NOT be penalized for something the company offers in regards to multi
          -deliveries either.

      • Michael says

        January 3, 2022 at 12:51 am

        Doordash and Uber wats gives customers the option to make your order priority all you have to do is pay like $1.50 more.

        Reply
      • UberGrubhubDD driver says

        January 4, 2022 at 3:20 pm

        Actually Door Dash, Uber and GH does not always tell drivers it is a stacked order upfront. Especially, Uber..You will see a 21 dollar payout and eagerly take it. Then all of a sudden you see it is 3 separate orders.

        Reply
      • Amanda says

        February 15, 2022 at 1:24 pm

        Actually your food is cold because it sits on a shelf at the restaurant that’s not warmed up.

        Reply
      • Lando says

        February 26, 2022 at 12:05 pm

        As a driver I will say usually there’s no way to tell if its their fault or not. Sometimes we have multiple deliveries in high traffic areas and we arent allowed to drop off your food until we have all orders picked up, they wont even let us see your address until all orders are picked up.

        Reply
      • Johnny says

        June 11, 2022 at 6:08 am

        It’s not the drivers fault. It’s door dash and Uber eats. They pair orders together without us knowing a lot of times. Drivers always foot the bill. Need to call them and get credit for the order. Never hurt us drivers. We just do what they tell up.

        Reply
      • Ash says

        March 5, 2023 at 11:29 pm

        I deliver for ubereats and as many others have mentioned most of the time the orders are stacked and we do not know it’s multiple deliveries until we accept. I’m confused as to how it double dipping when the company is the one sending the multiple orders to the drivers. It’s not like the drivers are doing anything wrong besides accepting the company’s offer for more earnings. I believe if you all are frustrated with multiple stops you should express that to Uber and not penalize a driver who is trying to make an honest living. Just my opinion tho

        Reply
    • M Mayha says

      December 23, 2021 at 12:15 pm

      We have a chain Restaurant, Customer, Driver, Uber eats,

      When the customer make an order and he doesn’t pay a tip, then the offer will be too low and the drivers will not accept the order, then the food will stay in the restaurant and Uber eats will pay the restaurant regardless if the food delivered or not, and Uber eats will refund the customer, so what should Ubereats do to avoid these losses, Uber eats will use phishing approach to attract the driver to accept the order then when the driver complete the order, you will give him the actual amount not the attracted amount.

      Ubereats using the weaknesses part of the chain whi is the driver.

      Do you got it?

      I am working with Doordash and Grubhub and never that happened always receive the amount which I accepted or more not less
      When I got amount less than I accepted, this type of phishing and scamming
      And I know how to get my right in the legal way because I don’t accept for any one scamming me or used me

      Reply
« Older Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Deliver with DoorDash

Recent Posts

  • So, does your acceptance rate on Spark matter or not?
  • Openbay vs CarAdvise: Which is the best way to find car repair?
  • Someone else’s food delivered to your door? What you should do!
  • UberX Teen: Rides for minors are here! How it works for passengers and drivers
  • The two big problems with Petco orders on DoorDash!

Recent Posts

  • So, does your acceptance rate on Spark matter or not?
  • Openbay vs CarAdvise: Which is the best way to find car repair?
  • Someone else’s food delivered to your door? What you should do!
  • UberX Teen: Rides for minors are here! How it works for passengers and drivers
  • The two big problems with Petco orders on DoorDash!

Follow Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Quora

Affiliate Disclosure

RidesharingDriver.com is an affiliate for various products and services. That means that we may be compensated when we refer you to the products and services of our partners.

Our affiliates include, but are not limited to: Uber, DoorDash, Instacart, Shipt, Amazon, HyreCar.

Important Links

  • About Us
  • Resources for Drivers
  • Blog
  • Privacy Policy and Terms of Service

Copyright 2023 RidesharingDriver · Terms of Service & Privacy Policy