Tales of the Uber/Lyft Driver: Don't Judge the Tip by the Rider

In the service industry we often try to judge what kind of customer we're dealing with. When tipping is involved, it's tempting to size up the customer in regards to the amount of the tip you might reasonably expect to receive. Assumptions are often invalid. As an Uber/Lyft driver, I have received large tips from passengers I didn't expect to tip at all and I've received no tip at all from passengers who could have easily afforded a large tip. I recently gave a long ride to a passenger who is easily one of the wealthiest men in the entire state. He gave less than a 10% tip. I recently gave a short ride to a woman who needed a lift to work because her car wouldn't start. She gave a 50% tip on the ride. They say black people don't tip. Not true. They say young women don't tip. Not true. There are patterns but there aren't absolutes. Some drivers ask for tips or have signs posted in their cars requesting tips. Some drivers have tip jars. I don't use any of those. If you tip, you tip. If you don't, you don't. I'm not going to mention tipping during the ride. If you ask about tipping, however, I will explain how to do it through the app or let you know you can tip in cash. I try to not size up passengers by the tip they might give, and I don't give better or worse service to passengers based on their perceived ability to tip. You get the same ride, regardless.