A young relative of mine was driving Uber Eats for a while between jobs.
There is a bit of a paradox (according to him). In the restaurant world, the nicer the place, the more generous the tip. You have a good meal at a white table cloth restaurant; the food is great, the ambiance is beautiful, people are tipping 18, 20, 22% off the already high tab because overall, there is “value” in the experience.
In the Uber world, the more expensive the restaurant, the chintzier the tip. There is NO ambiance. You’re eating at the kitchen counter out of a foam container. So you already think the food is over-priced, but if you’ve got a yen for the sushi at a particular place, you’re running up your tab on the food. And not on the tip. Because there are no edgy floral arrangements of beautiful table settings- even from a high end restaurant delivery. It’s just food in a takeout box. So the higher the tab, the lower the tip-- both nominally and as a percentage of the total.
it is a very tough way to pay the rent.