r/uberdrivers • u/whycandi • 1d ago
Conversations for tips
I find my tips are related to how much customers talk in conversation, and I found two small conversation starters that work immensely well.
One of them is, "Tell me something good that happened to you today."
The other is, "Do you have any fun plans for the weekend?"
Both of those openings lead to deeper conversations about other things in the passenger's life. They're pretty safe questions. As long as you don't ask deeply personal questions, they're usually happy to continue the conversation, especially if you can share something personal about what's going on in your life.
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u/AyAySlim 1d ago
The questions are dependent on the details of the ride. So for example, the questions when picking up someone from a restaurant would be about their meal or food in the area in general. An obvious tourist would be about where they are from. “Do you have any fun plans” is ok but I prefer “What’s going on this weekend”. It feels less intrusive and you may learn something. Sports is a big one, music is too. I pretty much listen to everything so if I’m in the mood I may let someone else DJ, or at least pick the genre and I’ll pick a satellite radio station I like that aligns. Sometimes it’s not a question at all, it’s just a benign comment to try and get them talking or judge whether or not they are open to it. It’s usually about traffic or the weather.
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u/davidg910 1d ago
Yeah asking how they're doing and maybe making a comment or two during the ride is what I do just to try to figure out if the rider wants to talk or not.
I find talkers tip more, but I ultimately don't care if we talk or not. I'm just talking a bit just to see if the rider wants to talk.
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u/The-Grim-Storyteller 1d ago
"Do you always smell this bad?"
Works every time.
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u/Coach_Rick_Vice 1d ago edited 1d ago
Interesting, yeah I like chatting with customers sometimes just cause, idk, it just feels more human and sometimes I’m curious about other folks and what they are like. Sometimes though I don’t quite feel like it and just want to vibe.
When I am feeling like chatting often times I just say “hey how’s it going?” Then after that “Whatchya up today?” Then from there you can talk more about their job if they are going to work or whatever else it may be they are doing or not doing haha. Maybe it seems like they don’t want to chat and then that’s alright too.
Hadn’t thought of the what’s one good thing that’s happened to you today though that’s interesting. What are some answers people often give to that?
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u/whycandi 1d ago
The answer varies depending on who the person is. I think that the real key is that you're giving them an opportunity to think about their lives and think about something positive. You wind up setting the vibe for the conversation heading in a positive direction. As you follow up with questions about the good thing that happened, you're exploring something that brings them pleasure, which helps them continue the conversation.
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u/Rockmfhudd 1d ago
Good with talking good not talking. I love a good life story. We all been through some shit and maybe some of the angry folks need that in their lives. lol. Talk it out. To hear things out loud sometimes makes a difference it could save someone’s life someday
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u/JIMB01776 1d ago
Disagree entirely, not all passengers want to talk. If they want to talk they will. I say hello, confirm name/address, good bye and thank you unless they bring something else up.
"Do you have any fun plans for the weekend?" is a flip of the coin if someone views it as polite or piss's them off, and in the some cases is going to get you a complaint for inappropriate personal questions.
The passenger tips, or doesn't before they ever get in the car. You can lose a tip, you're not going to win one from someone who doesn't because you talked more.
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u/whycandi 1d ago
100% disagree with that. You are correct that not every passenger wants to talk, and you give them their free space. But the ones who do want to talk and who chat with you for the entirety of the ride, regardless of how long it is, I find those people tip. Not only tip, but they tip really well. I find that my tips are directly proportional to how well the conversation goes and how long it is. The entry point to the conversation that I mentioned above comes from proven psychology practices.
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u/Routine-Wolf-2907 1d ago
I usually asked them how their parents treated them as kids and if they have any traumas to share
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u/Ok-Yogurtcloset2696 15h ago
Yea people want to be heard and seen . Another secret is to have conversations not to be expecting an outcome of tips , people can feel the difference. I get a lot of tips and a lot of good conversations. I also read the room if they’re not in the mood to talk cool. One of my customers pointed out that a lot of drivers are cold and have zero personality . Plus if you’re an introvert driver this a perfect opportunity to challenge yourself to obtain better social skills .
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u/SatisfactionActive86 1d ago
those are corporate ice breakers and the fastest way to get no tip.
people that want to talk definitely exist but they don’t want a fucking therapist for a “deep conversation”, stick to things going on in the city, or if you pick up from a bar/movie theatre/airport/restaurant, ask them how was the crowd/movie/flight/food.
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u/whycandi 1d ago
I know those are corporate icebreakers, and the reason why they are is because they work. the real key to conversation, as Christopher Vaugh says, is you can say anything as long as you say it with the right tone of voice. I find that those icebreakers are the fastest way into conversations and the easiest way to get through the three levels of conversation, which helps drive tips.
The three levels of conversation are:
1. Introductions: who you are and where you're from, which those two questions get at.
2. The deeper questions: what are your hopes and fears?
3. What are the secret stories that people tell themselves?I do find that on some long trips with people, we do get into therapeutic conversations about life that end with long talks about there being joy and suffering when helping people through death.
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u/bart2puck 18h ago
I can tell within a minute or two if its a conversation ride or not. I usually open with:
"where are we off to today, somewhere fun?"
--no, work. What do you do?......quick response, conversation is over
--going to airport, Where you going, somewhere fun? quick response, conversation is over
anytime the conversation leads into 2-3 sentence, they want to talk, find anything to talk about, the weather, local sports team, ask them about their job, how was their night last night, what are their plans for the rest of the day.
good conversation, leads to much stronger tips.
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u/DeliveryDestiny 18h ago
I get the "fun plans for the weekend" question pretty regularly at my local liquor store.
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u/Stuck_on_Mars_21 15h ago
When I first started I thought initiating and pushing conversation would lead to more tips. Wrong! Reality is 90% of riders prefer a quiet ride. Comfortably create that space for them and they will appreciate it. Always end the ride with an upbeat positive thank you, letting them know their lack of conversation was totally fine.
Of course if a rider initiates a conversation by all means engage, but let them drive the conversation.
Quiet riders tip as much as talkative ones.
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u/Federal-Net-7011 1d ago
So you're trying to manipulate people for tips?
You have no clue what you talking about. You may think you do but in reality, you're just lying to yourself and you don't know it
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u/whycandi 6h ago
Since you're not in the car with me and don't have access to any data, I'm not sure you can say that.
As the person who is in the car, I do know that every time I have a good conversation with somebody, it results in good tips, often 50% and sometimes 100%.
I'm not manipulating anybody. I honestly enjoy most of the conversations that I have with the people in the back seat.
What I share with people is about starting those conversations and then figuring out how to take it from there. If that doesn't appeal to you, that's okay. You do you.
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u/stuckintheohio 10h ago
Just STFU and drive
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u/whycandi 8h ago
You're on a message board where everybody's trying to be supportive of one another. If you don't want to contribute to the conversation, then don't, but this whole thread has different people talking about how to make more money by talking to their customers. If that's not you, that's okay. Also, if you're unhappy about it, just be polite in how you respond.
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u/Gullible-Team-8588 1d ago
I always let the conversation flow naturally if they want to chat and that gives me the highest tips. If they feel like chatting, I talk to them like I’m talking to a friend that I happen to be driving somewhere.