An experiment convincing Uber drivers to split their tips with me. 

Sales

On “National Tip Day”, designed to draw attention away from their PR nightmare, Uber allowed riders to tip drivers for the first time and would match drivers’ tips on July 18, 2017. 

While many riders responded by tipping their drivers a bit extra, I had something different in mind… 

After ensuring my plan was legal, I got in Ubers and asked drivers about National Tip day. After a few minutes of friendly small talk, I made my pitch.

“I want to tip you $100. We’ll split the amount Uber matches, you’ll give me $150, and we’ll each walk away with $50 profit.” 

While sketched out a bit, my first prospect admired my creativity and trusted me enough to go along with it.

Not surprisingly, Uber had built in-app tip limits, protecting against this type of (mis)use. I ended up tipping the maximum $18, and received $27 before leaving the car, splitting the $18 that Uber matched.

As my trip was $7.92, I had gotten a free ride to Chicago and profited $1.08.

With slim margins and the risk of a driver not willing to go along with my ridiculous plan, I decided not to drive around in circles for the rest of the day. 

This experiment taught me about sales and making pitches, how to creatively view new opportunities in the marketplace, and that true, unfettered arbitrage is never as straightforward as it may seem.

Thank you Uber for the fun experiment, keep up the great service, and don’t stop supporting your drivers!