Remember when Uber first started and almost every driver would offer you a bottle of water, even before tipping was even possible? It seems like those days are long gone, but one New York City Uber driver appears to have moved in the opposite direction with a very impressive pair of amenities in the backseat of his car.
This Uber Driver Is Serving Coffee And Breakfast Tacos In His Backseat…And He Might Be Laughing All The Way To The Bank
A viral Instagram video that popped into my feed shows an Uber driver who has taken the concept of “service” to an entirely different level.
Instead of just picking up passengers and driving them to their destination, he’s offering something more in the backseat (and no, not that).
In the clip, the driver has a coffee machine set up inside his car and is offering freshly made coffee (well, as fresh as Keurig can be) along with breakfast tacos (and water bottles) to his riders. It’s part ride, part café, entirely unexpected, and purely brilliant.
We’ve become so accustomed to ride-sharing being purely transactional and sometimes there is not even a greeting shared with your driver.
But this flips that model on its head and turns a pedestrian ride into a memorable experience.
And while some might roll their eyes at the effort involved, I suspect, if this is not just a gimmick, this pays for itself…and then some.
Think about it. If you step into an Uber early in the morning and someone hands you a hot cup of coffee and a breakfast taco, are you going to tip a few bucks or are you far more likely to leave a generous tip and a five-star rating?
Even for someone like me who hates the culture of tipping, that driver would be getting a big tip from me, especially if I drank his coffee or at his tacos (which I would risk doing…).
I understand the practical questions like liability, food safety, and whether Uber would even allow this if they took a closer look. But that’s not the point here.
I’m impressed by the creativity and the ingenuity. In a crowded gig economy where drivers are largely indistinguishable from one another, this is how you differentiate yourself. By adding value in a way people actually remember, not only can you take more pride in your job but I bet you pocket more money too.
CONCLUSION
No, not every Uber driver is going to start serving breakfast.
But this is a reminder that even in the most routine transactions, there’s still room for creativity.
And when you get it right, it doesn’t just make someone’s morning, it likely makes you more money too.
Kudos to this Uber driver. Even if this is staged…why don’t more drivers think like this?
@roastybuds / Instagram
*slams on breaks*
“Oh no… oh no, Brian… oh no… we need paper towels… oh, we are gonna have ants!”
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” – Maya Angelou –
I honestly didn’t realize breakfast tacos were a thing outside of Austin and San Antonio, and maybe Houston.
It is worh noting that breakfast tacos are a defining Texas tradition and a staple of Tex-Mex cuisine. While they likely originated from northern Mexican tacos de guisados and spread to Texas around the 1950s, they became a cultural staple in San Antonio, Austin, and the Rio Grande Valley. They are iconic throughout the state, frequently featuring eggs, cheese, and meats in flour tortillas. While popular statewide, San Antonio and Austin are often cited as the hubs for breakfast tacos, though San Antonians often emphasize the dish’s long history in their local, often domestic, culinary scene.
Honestly?
Have you ever left Texas?
I haven’t, but I hope to leave one day!