April 12, 2021 10:43 p.m.
One of the updates to the Uber Driver app in recent months is that it lets you send a note thanking your passenger when they tip you. This, of course, means a little button will pop up on a certain trip in my history asking if I'd like to thank the passenger for the tip.
Multiple times over the last six weeks or so, I've given rides to people who I know had to pay a lot for the ride - more than they wanted to pay - because of a shortage of drivers. And I could tell by the houses and apartments where I dropped them off, and sometimes, by the uniforms they were wearing (as I was their ride home from a long day of work at a restaurant or healthcare facility) that there's a good chance they didn't really make a lot of money. A lot of times, those passengers will want to talk about their day, their job, what they want to do to move up in the world, etc. I happily listen. I engage in conversation with them. I try to give them a relaxing experience on their way home because they've been working their tail off all day for way less than they deserve.
And then, when I see that the young man who got off a 12 hour shift at a long-term care facility and needed a ride back to Hillsdale or the exhausted fast food worker eager to get to her bed in Spanish Lake or the middle-aged mom going home to Dutchtown from her security guard job... when they tip me $3 on a $30 ride - honestly, that means far more to me than a tip of twice as much from an obnoxious drunk person going to Ballwin at the end of a Saturday night out with friends.
It means more because even though they had the bad luck to get off work right when the bars were closing, and rates were high, they still enjoyed the ride and appreciated it enough to pay a little extra on top of what they already paid.
So, from one expendable, er, essential worker to another - thanks.
