tipping
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Drivers push NYC to require tipping option in ride-sharing apps
In New York City, some ride-sharing services offer an in-app option for riders to tip the driver. Uber doesn't, so the Independent Drivers Guild is pushing the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) to make a decision on the matter. The group has over 8,000 signatures on a petition that asks the taxi regulators in the city to require app-based transportation services to offer a tipping option. A change in policy would force Uber to add the ability to tip to its app.
Uber affirms tipping drivers 'is not expected or required'
In most parts of the world, tipping for certain services has been a long-standing tradition. Still, Uber made sure that was never the case between its riders and drivers, unless a yellow taxi was involved. But after a recent $100 million class-action settlement in the US, speculation grew that Uber would start encouraging tips. Not so fast. Today, in a Medium post and an email sent to users, Uber clarified that tipping isn't expected or required, citing a hassle-free experience as to why it doesn't give riders the option to add a tip to their fares.
YouTube now lets you tip your favorite video makers
If you've been itching to tip YouTube video producers, you'll be glad to know that you can finally reward those people for their hard work: the Fan Funding feature has launched in Australia, Japan, Mexico and the US. If a video host sets up a virtual tip jar, you can use your Google Wallet account (including any attached credit cards) to contribute right from a video page or the Android app. You can specify any amount you like, although YouTube will take a small cut to handle the deal; in the US, it's five percent of your donation plus another 21 cents. Support is coming to both other countries and iOS users soon, so don't despair if you can't contribute to your favorite channel just yet. [Image credit: Rego Korosi, Flickr]
Square making Starbucks debut in November, will accept digital tips in 2013
If you're wondering when Starbucks is finally going to get around to rolling out Square, wonder no more. The company announced that starting in November customers will be able to pay for their no-fat soy mocha lattes using the platform founded by Jack Dorsey. Of course, being able to use Square Wallet at the nation's largest coffee chain is a major milestone for the mobile payment scene as a whole, but loyal customers likely already have a Starbucks card and its associated app. Only problem with both Square and the Starbucks app is you still need to carry cash to tip your barista. Thankfully, at some point in 2013, the company will start accepting tips through its own app and Square Wallet. Which also means you'll be out of convenient excuses for not tipping, you cheap bastard.
Square app update lets iOS users buy cookies on credit, sans signature
Heads up, card swipers, because Square has just issued an update to its iOS credit card app. Version 2.1 brings enhanced transaction speeds and a streamlined tipping interface to iPhone and iPad users, along with added support for $0.00 price points. Plus, any purchases below $25 will no longer require a signature, meaning you can safely buy that latte while keeping human interaction to a bare minimum. If you're interested in making the jump, hit up the source link below. [Thanks, Chris]
Gold Capped: Using blacksmithing to make gold on the auction house
Want to get Gold Capped? This column will show you how, and is written by Basil "Euripides" Berntsen, also of outdps.com, the hunting party podcast, and the call to auction podcast. Blacksmithing is a crafting profession that has made me a lot of money. Today, we'll talk about how you can use blacksmithing as something more than a couple of extra gem slots for your main, and actually make gold! Many people with crafting skills invariably have tried linking their profession in trade and saying "tips appreciated." Has that worked for you? Me either. If you want to make money with any crafting skill, the true profits are from acquiring the mats yourself, crafting, and selling your wares over the long term. As I mentioned in my previous post, the default UI won't cut it for our purposes, so let's get cracking and set you up with a proper crafting UI.
Insider Trader: Just the tip
So, there you are. You stand near your faction's favorite commerce hub. You're hawking your enchanting skills over the Trade channel, doing your very best to get pick up a few customers in between rapid fire Saurfang jokes and not-so-sly murloc references. Then, finally you see these words: "LF Enchanter for Greater Assault, have mats. Will tip." You drop the person a quick whisper, group up to make it a little easier to find them, and then enchant their bracers with that sweet, sweet attack power. They thank you and place the tip in a trade window . . . 2 gold. Before you can even blink, the person breaks group, and logs out. It could be worse -- sometimes, you feel like you're lucky to get even 1 gold for your time. Especially with the Dungeon Finder making gathering enchanting materials easier for everyone, craftsmen are finding themselves struggling to earn cash via the old tipping method. After all, enchanters are no longer the single-flow hub of getting enchanting reagents. And while enchanters are the long-traditional tipped craftsmen, Jewelcrafters, Inscription practitioners, and just about all professions are in the same boat. How do you get tips? How do you handle the tips? What goes into a tip? Let's take a look behind the jump and start breaking down the ancient art of supplying tips.
Insider Trader: Your bad self
Insider Trader is your inside line on making, selling, buying and using player-made products.In the World of Warcraft, as in life, we are constantly being faced with morally significant choices. Some players try their best to listen to the Angel on their shoulder, while others will do whatever suits them at the time. Proper etiquette is always in debate.Of course, as this is a virtual world, the moral implications of our actions are on a much smaller scale. Hitting someone for being annoying could cause many problems in my personal and professional lives, yet blasting someone similar off of a cliff in-game can be almost therapeutic. When it comes to gathering and crafting, greed crops up. There are many ways to get what you want, often at the expense of others. This week, Insider Trader will discuss the underhanded side of the professional world.
Forum post of the day: A monetary slap in the face
Every once in a while we do nice things for other players out of the goodness of our hearts. More often we do things in game in exchange for gold or other necessary services. Feevah of Shattered Hand is unhappy that he was given a two silver tip for a portal. He feels that the acronym "WTB" implies that the tip for the service will be at least enough to cover the cost of materials. Thus defining the distinction between a purchase and a gratuity, which is usually given to members of the service sector above the advertised price. Some suggested that the tip was mistyped in either the wrong coin slot or missing a digit. Others suggested that Feevah should have immediately disbanded his group so that the penny pincher could simply stare at the portal without being able to use it. Perhaps the poster was unaware of the material cost of the spell, or maybe he was just a jerk.
Insider Trader: Fair wages
Insider Trader is your inside line on making, selling, buying and using player-made products.If you ever listen in on trade channel, you might have noticed just how little trading actually gets done. Amidst the ego trips, show-offs, begging, insults, whining, wooting, and the like, you may notice another trend; that of complaining about prices for goods and services. I often see people harassing others about the price of twink gear, crafted items, enchants, gathered materials, or even dungeon and world drops. Sometimes, the criticism is warranted, to protect the more naive members of the community. Most of the time, unfortunately, the comments begin to flow because players have not caught up to, and accepted, the cost of things.
Ask WoW Insider: Do you tip your tank?
Welcome to today's edition of Ask WoW Insider, in which we publish your questions for dissection by the peanut gallery. Last time we discussed identification with your virtual self, and this time we turn our attention once again to an issue of instance etiquette; James wants to know if it should be customary to tip your tank after a run: Hey guys, I was wondering if there is some standard etiquette for tipping your main tank after instances. The repair bill for our much-loved meat shields is usually much higher than the bill for me and my clothy brethren, so I'm curious if most PUG's will throw the MT a few gold after a run. To be honest, I don't normally tip the MT (and in my experience, they don't expect one) but is this something we should do? If so, what's a good amount? What's the verdict: do you tip your tanks, or do they not deserve the special treatment? Are there any circumstances in which you'd feel more likely to tip? What's a reasonable amount, and does it vary by instance? Got questions? Don't wait! Send them to us at ask AT wowinsider DOT com and your query could be up in lights here next week.
Insider Trader: Death of a salesman
Insider Trader is your weekly inside line on making, selling, buying and using player-made products.Forget the endless debate over "hardcore" versus "casual" – there's another moniker that we here at Insider Trader hold dear: "salesman." What's that? You don't know any salesmen in WoW these days? You're not alone. Times have changed since craftspeople toiled to build reputations as the go-to traders on their servers ... when Ironforge was the hub of civilization, where a few elite enchanters held court over the entire server with coveted formulae from such exotic locales as Stratholme and Scholomance.It's a brave new world in today's Outland. Most enchanters don't enchant for the general public at all, unless you provide mats and a tip. And in any profession, with so many other players on the servers who have the same patterns (even rare patterns are generally available from more than one player) and so many easy ways to make money (hello, daily quests!), there's little reason to hang around town to build a regular clientele. Components provided or created by other professions are readily available on the Auction House – there's no need to seek out and nurture relationships with another player from a complementary profession.Have the conveniences Blizzard has developed for today's crafters meant the death of the salesman?
Send us a good gaming tip, we'll send you a Joystiq tee [update 1]
This post is just a quick reminder that we're giving out a Joystiq t-shirt to the best tip we receive this week. We mentioned this mini competition in our recent post about rejected tips, but you may have missed the bit where we promised to reward one lucky tipster with an orange Joystiq t-shirt, as worn by Peter, Perrin, Shane, and Miyamoto-san.Anybody from a developer with some top-secret screenshots, somebody with a really cool forum post (see: crazy Wii guy), or even a sneaky employee of a game retailer willing to share shots of an unreleased console has the potential to win a Joystiq tee, so get tipping!UPDATE: By good tips, we meant good tips to stories, not the Konami code, or how to beat Goldeneye with both arms tied behind your back and a blindfold over your eyes. Thank you!
