Tip baiting has plagued delivery drivers on Uber Eats for years, and it may finally be coming to an end now that Uber is rolling out changes to the tipping system.
Customers noticed a new note on the tipping screen:
“Once your order is placed, your tip can’t be removed, but extra tips can be added.”
Customers can’t remove tips! No more baits
Drivers are thrilled to hear that customers can no longer remove a tip after the order is complete!
Before you celebrate: These changes aren’t live everywhere
Uber has only released this update in a few cities. In most markets, customers still have up to 1 hour to lower, remove, or increase a tip.
What tip baiting is, and why it’s such a headache for drivers
Tip baiting is when a customer enters a tip at checkout but removes it after the delivery is complete.
When drivers first accept an order, the estimated payout includes some or all of the tip left at checkout. If the tip is removed or lowered after the delivery is complete, the driver will receive less than expected.
They feel like they were ‘baited’ into accepting an order with a tip but never actually received it.
Why drivers love this change
Getting tip baited is one of the most frustrating parts of being a delivery driver.
You might feel that you did everything right, but you are still punished with a lower tip.
Customers often remove a tip for reasons outside of the driver’s control, like missing items or bad food quality. It feels unfair.
With this change, what you see in the upfront estimate will be what you get. And there’s even a chance for a higher tip!
You won’t get punished for the restaurant’s mistakes, and habitual tip baiters will finally be blocked from doing this dishonest trick.
Why customers might not like this change
Some customers will miss the flexibility to remove or lower a tip.
Many drivers don’t like to admit that lowering or removing the tip can be justified, but customers have genuine complaints about poor communication, rough handling, or inappropriate behavior.
Bad delivery experiences happen, and customers will be annoyed if they are forced to pay a tip that wasn’t earned.
Will customers tip as often if they don’t have the option to remove it?
One potential negative outcome is that customers may not tip as often or as generously if they don’t have the ability to change their minds later.
Instead of leaving a big tip upfront, they might leave a small tip and only increase it later if nothing goes wrong. Because if something goes wrong, they’ll be stuck paying that big tip.
But we all know how infrequently customers rate drivers or increase tips. So even a well-intentioned customer might forget to increase the tip later on.
More about tipping culture on delivery apps
- The highest tips we’ve seen on Uber Eats
- Tip baiting on Spark is a big problem
- Drivers can see your tips up front!
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