These drivers aren't even entitled to minimum wage protections, let alone car maintenance and gas. While I agree that tipping is a bad form of compensation because it is so volatile, this is the only way folks like this are keeping their head above water.
This is the only solid rebuttal I've ever really seen someone come up with when seeing complaints about tipping, but my general response still applies: The reason I "buy" from a company/service is so I don't need to worry about "how" my request gets completed. If I need to pay your employee/contractors, i might as well look at hiring them directly and skip the middle-man taking a cut. I'm not your HR department, pay them properly and don't expect me to tip them based on my judgement of their performance.
I fully agree. It's going to be a while before tipping goes away, but it's being recognized more and more as a problem. Restaurants that get rid of it are usually seen positively. There's a successful brewery in Seattle that has a no-tipping policy. The beers are about a $1 more than elsewhere, so you pay the same. The employees are also paid more in regular wages to make up for this. Everybody wins: The employees make about the same except with more stability, and there is no awkwardness.
Tipping in restaurants is really problematic especially due to issues with tipping out the back.
> The employees make about the same except with more stability, and there is no awkwardness.
This is my biggest gripe with tipping. It's just a crappy experience as a consumer, and a weird power dynamic for the employee. Promotes class divisions, and makes me feel kind of crappy. I just want everyone to get a fair deal and thats it...
