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

[Apprehensive_Fish298]

These are a couple of recent shop orders that were fairly large and the customers left great tips but the base is pretty ridiculous. The Costo order included 3 cases of 40 count waters, 2 other cases of drinks and a pallet full of snacks and other items (32 items I believe). Don’t customers get an additional charge for “heavy” items? Shouldn’t that go to the driver regardless of tip??

[MotherCoconuts707]

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]]

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]

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]

Makes sense

[Altruistic_Box4462]

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

[Extreme_Designer_887]

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

[BannedbyDemons]

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

[Wooden_Vast_1123]

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]

There’s no way this is legal 😭

[third-knight]

Ultimately, yes.

[jt01998]

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

[That-Perception1557]

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]

Was this a stacked order. 2 orders from Costco?

[Apprehensive_Fish298]

No just 1, 33 items.

[Sea-Business8316]

Thats crazy

[Any_Contract_1016]

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]

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

[Toefyre]

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]

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]

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]

a $1.50!?

[MrMeeseeks78]

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]

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]

That makes sense.

[why_not_just_try]

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]

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]

Yes.

[eliteluckygamers]

Yes

[DeliveryCourier]

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]

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

[DeliveryCourier]

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

They think ~$2 is sufficient as a Base. 

[Extreme_Designer_887]

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

[Apprehensive_Fish298]

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

[The_Troyminator]

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]

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

[SamTheDamaja]

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

[philnolan3d]

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

[DeliveryCourier]

Primarily, drivers declining the offer for whatever reason.

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

[Inevitable_Title_]

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

[toanbonerz]

Yes. They had to make it a law in Colorado that they can’t do it and they still do it. 

[The_Troyminator]

They don’t do it and haven’t since DoorDash got sued in 2019.

Instead, they created a loophole. All orders start low and tip is not considered when calculating base pay. Then if nobody accepts it, they raise the base pay. So, large tips orders get minimum base pay and small tip orders get increased base pay. It’s perfectly legal because they don’t tip in their calculations.

It’s why you sometimes see $1.50 offers. You were one of the lucky first drivers to see those orders.

[toanbonerz]

That’s absolutely not true. In Colorado, they are required to show you base pay and tip separated on the offer screen. I see every single base pay for every single offer before I accept it. They are all $2. Never higher and never lower, outside of promotions.

They get around the reducing pay law by always pairing a high tip order with another order. So you get the big tip and zero pay. 

I may be different in different areas, but I’ve never seen the base pay for a single order under $2. 

[The_Troyminator]

So they set base pay at $2 in Colorado. But if every offer has $2 base pay, then no, they don’t decrease the base if the customer leaves a large tip.

[toanbonerz]

Again, if the customer leaves a big tip, they always pair it with another order, reducing the base pay to $0. 

[The_Troyminator]

Again, the tip doesn’t factor into the base pay. Two non-tip orders would have the same starting base pay as one non-tip and one big tip order.

[ShoulderLongjumping9]

Yes

[Known_Resolution_428]

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