With the evolution of the on demand apps, the process of doing the business has become easier than ever. With the rise of the sharing economy, a tap on the smartphone app can get the required thing on the door step. This On-Demand Economy connects both the producers and the consumers to access the necessary service without any haste.
People can get the service by simply downloading the app on the mobile phone and ordering or booking the required service. And the process of paying for the service has also become simpler because in some of the app the customer has to register their card details so that once when the requested service is completed the amount gets withdrawn directly from the customer’s account or in some cases the customers can make payment using their credit cards. Therefore the society has become a cashless society where there is no flow of cash in many businesses; this has also diminished the process of tipping in the society.
To attract the customers and to obtain the goodwill of society, many companies had mentioned in their company policy that they are against tipping and that the customers need not tip their employees or workers. But after some serious protest by the employees, workers, laborers, individual partners and social activists protested against the policy and thus the tipping is allowed by some companies.
Etiquette experts say that tipping is part of the service etiquette and they also said that some of the companies that include the tips in the bill does not directly reach the workers instead it is charged by the credit card companies, so having some cash in hand is part of the etiquette.
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Tipping in the sharing economy
We have adapted to the on-demand services and are using them to deliver groceries and foods, have a stylist or masseuse visit the house or office and hail a taxi ride, but even then, the one thing that confuses the public is that whether tip or not the on demand services.
No tipping policy
Some of the companies under the on demand services do not include the tipping in their company policy because the main goal of those companies is to attract the customers and earn the goodwill of the people. Washio, Handy and Uber are among the list of companies that follow the ‘no tipping policy’. But after certain protest, the company has planned to include the tip in their app. The main drawback is that the employees or the workers working in these companies are not aware of the actual amount that is charged under tipping out of the total amount.
Optional tipping
There are certain companies that make tipping optional, and this makes it even more complicated or the customers. The companies give the option of tipping, ranging from zero percent to twenty percent and so many people decide not to tip. There are some services that give the option where the customers have to tip either 10% or 15% or 20%.
And the extra charges collected by some of the on demand services make the customer assume that the tipping charge is also included in the extra charge and thus complicate the situation further. In this case the workers or employees are affected because they do not know how much they were tipped for the service. And because of the tip-less service in some of the on demand apps, the customers fail to tip for the service provided to them.
Auto-generated tip
The on demand massaging service, Zeel includes the tipping charge along with the price of the massage. The company has allocated eighteen percent as the tipping range, so that people need not worry about the amount they have to give us tip. The receipt that is received by the customer has a detailed report on each and every charge taken from the amount paid by the customer, thus giving them the awareness that they have tipped the person who has served them. Similarly the other service providers like Caviar and Glamsquad also include the tipping amount and this ensures that the amount being paid as tipping charge reaches the customers and the workers are also aware of it.
But in many major cities, the tax that is applied for the massage implies only to the basic price and not the tip. And if the tip is not broken, then it means that the amount paid by the customer is not broken into tips and it goes under the service tax.
Paying extra cash for the drivers, delivery person, housekeepers are not going to affect us, while it gives the other people some extra cash for their livelihood.
Car hailing companies
The ride sharing giant, Uber in their company policy does not allow tipping since their aim is to keep their customers cashless, but 2 lawsuits were filed by their drivers and thereon the company allows tipping. And its competitor Lyft allows the riders to tip the drivers within the app and therefore the riders can bring cash or they can even tip via the app. Even if you are not tipping the driver, atleast rate them with good reviews so that they can get benefits from it.
Dry cleaning companies
There are many new dry cleaning startups popping in the United States of America, where they pick up the dirty laundry from the customers place and return the clothes clean and pressed. The leading laundry service companies in the United States are the Rinse and the Washio does not have the tipping culture because it encourages the customers to visit or take the service once again. But tipping the laundry delivery person is good when they take time to deliver the clothes back to you instead of leaving them behind the doorman or concierge. You can tip up to ten to fifteen percent of the laundry bill.
Restaurant delivery companies
Eat24, Grubhub and Seamless are some of the restaurant delivery companies where they allow tipping along with their website or app. Even then, give tips when they deliver bulk orders like office party or any other reasons. You can tip them from twenty to twenty five percent of the cost of the order.
Online rental property sites
With the help of HomeAway and Airbnb, booking a room or a condo or a private cottage has become way easier for the tourists and people who plan for a vacation because they need not stay in a hotel and pay more price for each service. But when people book the rental property they forget about tipping. They need not tip the property owners, but the owners would have hired some people to clean and tidy the place, they can tip them with a small fare. Not necessarily your tip should be more than ten dollars, but you can tip them from three to five dollars.
Grocery store delivery
Many grocery delivery services like the Postmates, Instacart and other stores have no tipping policy. People can tip the person who is delivering the goods because they have to deliver the things even during the bad weather and sometimes they have to climb many stairs while delivering. Next time when you have grocery delivery, try tipping twenty to twenty five percent of the grocery cost.