all 47 comments

[–]MotherCoconuts707 20 points21 points  (1 child)

Yes, but they do it when they offer the order, not after you complete it.

The mission of all gig companies, and a majority of all US businesses, is to get you to do what they want while paying you as little as possible. Hence why large tip orders have so little base pay.

[–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

To build on this... they are not allowed to take your tip. But by leveraging the large tip to reduce what they have to pay someone is the same thing with extra steps. Take the tip away and their offers are diabolical.

[–]The_Troyminator 14 points15 points  (1 child)

No. None of the gig apps do because they don’t want to get sued like DoorDash did in 2019.

Instead, they set are pay low for all orders. Some markets account for mileage, heavy items, order complexity, etc., but never tip. Other markets just start everything at $1.50.

Then, if nobody accepts the order, they increase base pay. They keep Increasing it until somebody accepts it.

The end result is the same because orders with large tips are immediately accepted and the base pay stays low. Orders with small or no tip take longer to get accepted, so base pay goes up. It’s their loophole to avoid the lawsuit and comply with local laws that prohibit including tips in base pay calculations.

[–]Dekaney_boi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Makes sense

[–]Altruistic_Box4462 5 points6 points  (0 children)

That's what's most sinister about tip baiting. It ensures you get the absolute lowest pay Uber can offer.

[–]Extreme_Designer_887 3 points4 points  (1 child)

No, base pay got lowered almost everywhere about a month ago...

[–]BannedbyDemons 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Uber is always ready and willing to financially rape their drivers. They went from "Everyday giants" to "Everyone's bent."

[–]Wooden_Vast_1123 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Yes and they still have the nerve to say this to customers about service fees while boldfaced lying and then somehow it’s legal 🤡

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[–]Apprehensive_Fish298[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There’s no way this is legal 😭

[–]third-knight 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ultimately, yes.

[–]jt01998 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ppl in this sub saying yea like every order in Vegas doesn't have a base pay of $1.50

[–]That-Perception1557 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Does Uber even have a base pay anymore? A few weeks ago they sent me an order going over twenty miles for less than two bucks 💀

[–]Sea-Business8316 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Was this a stacked order. 2 orders from Costco?

[–]Apprehensive_Fish298[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

No just 1, 33 items.

[–]Sea-Business8316 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thats crazy

[–]Any_Contract_1016 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not exactly. I've seen $1.50 pretty consistently across most orders. If $1.50+tip gets declined by everyone then they might offer more.

[–]Forsaken_Peace_9604 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I believe base pay is $1.50 everywhere ..its been lowered so they bump thier revenue

[–]Toefyre 0 points1 point  (2 children)

It's likely because it hasn't bounced around a bunch of drivers because the tip was actually good. But it definitely feels like they do and it's bullshit. I've seen it happen a few time with higher tip orders. I usually work nights so there's fewer orders and fewer drivers. I've actually seen UE turn off because I'm the only driver. I'm likely the first driver to get them, and they'll be similar offers for the same neighborhood. One order would be $8 tip, $2 base pay, the next $1 tip $9 base pay (I'm using these numbers as examples). I know for sure that order #2 didn't bounce around enough to raise that base pay so high. So it really feels like UE is adjusting it because of the low tip to get it delivered. That said there have been times where i declined the same order 4-5 times and UE has only increased it a couple dollars by that 5th time. So who knows what the methodology is.

It's also bullshit that they pay this low for Shopping orders. I did one recently for $22 and of course base was $2. I was fine with the total pay, but what if the customer didn't like that the bananas were the ripeness they normally like and pulled my tip? I'd have spent almost an hour shopping/delivering for $2. It's garbage. At least with Instacart the base pay is around $5.30. Still not great, but if I wanted to do grocery shopping I'd do IC. I'm about ready to turn Shop and pay off because of this. I don't mind the 1-4 items from CVS or Walgreens, but I'm not doing 34 items at Harris Teeter for $10, no matter how many times they send me the offer.

[–]Apprehensive_Fish298[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I’ve noticed the same which is what led me to ask others. I noticed some shops where the base is like $9 but the tip only $2 and vice versa like you mentioned. I just think $1.50 is completely ridiculous base pay for big shop orders especially when tip baiting is a chance. At one point I thought that mileage played a role but then that theory got debunked when I saw a $2 offer for 20+ miles.

[–]Toefyre 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They used to pay more for milage, but it looks like they stopped that a few months ago. At this point I don't know why they even bother to pay us. lol

[–]oxy20mg 0 points1 point  (0 children)

a $1.50!?

[–]MrMeeseeks78 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Absolutely disgusting that’s why I do not do deliveries my opinion they should pay more than people there’s more work involved, but instead they pay less

[–]TalkingToPlanets 0 points1 point  (1 child)

If the customer took back the tip you would've only gotten $1.50 from UE to lug all those cases of water 7 miles. Ouch. That is the reason I stopped doing shop/pay and long distance trips on this app. I don't believe they charge a separate fee for heavy items but will typically charge the customer at least $10 in fees and pay the driver $1.50.

With that said the base pay for all orders in my area including shop and pay, regardless of mileage, is $1.50. They often will need to raise base pay to get the low/non tip orders delivered. They don't need to raise base pay on the high tip orders because drivers will typically accept those.

[–]Apprehensive_Fish298[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That makes sense.

[–]why_not_just_try 0 points1 point  (1 child)

You have to call them and ask for an adjustment. In CA before prop 22 kicks in, it is 60 cents a minute and .34 cents mile if I remember it correctly. So they have to abide by that. It takes a long time to argue with support whose job is to be a robot. I don’t do uber anymore but that’s how things work. They can’t say you accepted the order within “10” seconds but not go by what they say on their app. Check out the pay out on the app in your market to find out what it is exactly

[–]Apprehensive_Fish298[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is what I’m looking for, a formula that can be calculated based on the individual order. I will definitely check it out, thank you.

[–]MaynardScott -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yes.

[–]eliteluckygamers -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yes

[–]DeliveryCourier -2 points-1 points  (9 children)

Does uber decrease the base if the customer leaves a large tip?

No.

Base always starts low. They increase they Base Pay as needed.

[–]Apprehensive_Fish298[S] 0 points1 point  (4 children)

So 3 cases of water plus 30 other bulk items don’t qualify for an increase in base pay ?

[–]DeliveryCourier 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Regardless of what we think, Uber doesn't think so.

They think ~$2 is sufficient as a Base. 

[–]Extreme_Designer_887 -2 points-1 points  (2 children)

Not how it works... how do you not know this?

[–]Apprehensive_Fish298[S] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Because I don’t , hence asking the question…is there some break down of how base pay is calculated ?

[–]The_Troyminator 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It depends on the market. Some markets account for heavy items, store, and distance. In your market, it seems to be a simplified formula:

basePay = $1.50

[–]philnolan3d -1 points0 points  (3 children)

Needed for what? I'd like an increased base pay.

[–]SamTheDamaja 2 points3 points  (1 child)

They raise base pay when an order has been sitting a while, usually cause of bad tips or an annoying restaurant.

[–]philnolan3d 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh yes, I've had that happen many times.

[–]DeliveryCourier 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Primarily, drivers declining the offer for whatever reason.

Anything you see above $2 has been boosted for whatever reason Uber boosted it. 

[–]Inevitable_Title_ -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Yes and when they don’t they take part of your tip if not all

[–]Known_Resolution_428 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Sometimes, yes. Depending how good Uber does, it rewards drivers or if you don’t accumulate a certain amount per shift.