<story><title>How Software in Half of NYC Cabs Generates $5.2M a Year in Extra Tips</title><url>http://iquantny.tumblr.com/post/107245431809/how-software-in-half-of-nyc-cabs-generates-5-2</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>nickstefan12</author><text>I just ran into this last night: I took a cab home from the airport. One: he had no gps and took a wrong freeway change getting home. Two he barely spoke English. Three I basically had to navigate him back on track and painfully turn by turn.&lt;p&gt;End of the trip I go pay, and he&amp;#x27;s sad that I want to pay with a credit card. Then the tip meter only has 20% or other. I hit other with a much lower tip. He cancels the transaction from the front, and says that the ride is actually 150 not 100, and that&amp;#x27;s why I need to tip. So I say fine and end up tipping him the 20% at 100.&lt;p&gt;But seriously isn&amp;#x27;t a tip like a bonus!? Why are we all required to give 20% tips even when the service sucks?&lt;p&gt;Next time I&amp;#x27;ll just uber.</text></comment>
<story><title>How Software in Half of NYC Cabs Generates $5.2M a Year in Extra Tips</title><url>http://iquantny.tumblr.com/post/107245431809/how-software-in-half-of-nyc-cabs-generates-5-2</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>infinotize</author><text>I thought this was a pretty blatant cheap trick the first time I saw it (similar to restaurants putting tip calculations on bills from 18-25% (which are usually post-tax no less!!)) and on the occasion I am in a cab always punch in &amp;quot;Other,&amp;quot; or best option pay cash.  Automatic deduction for cabbies who often tip themselves and hand you less change without asking - give me my change in full and I&amp;#x27;ll tip you, thanks.&lt;p&gt;To add a data point on tipping amounts I would say I usually tip 10-15% for a good cab ride or less for a bad one, or even zero if the driver &amp;quot;screened&amp;quot; my fare (common from yellow cabs in Queens - keeping the doors locked and asking where you are going before letting you in, which is illegal) or takes unnecessary routes, blatantly excessive slowing to hit red lights, etc.  I might venture into 20%+ for a good service ride to&amp;#x2F;from an airport.&lt;p&gt;Restaurants I stay around 15% for fair or better service, 20% for good, much less than 15% requires the server to be noticably rude or inattentive.  Sometimes I do feel like an outlier or cheapskate as the &amp;quot;norm&amp;quot; service for anything feels like it has become 20%, which I find a little ridiculous.  I won&amp;#x27;t not tip because I don&amp;#x27;t &amp;quot;believe&amp;quot; in the culture of tipping, because all I would be doing is hurt mostly decent workers; at the same time I won&amp;#x27;t default to a high tip for average service just because other people are doing it.  I try to find a middle ground.</text></comment>