# New to Lyft and a couple questions



## JDE100 (Aug 31, 2017)

Hi everyone,
Been driving UBER for a while. Yesterday added Lyft. Very frustrated with first day. My very first ping I ended up at a gated community. Couldn't see any info on gate code in the Lyft screen. Tried to call passenger no answer. Drive away as people behind me and trying to figure out next step. Got angry call from passenger giving me gate code. I go back and pick up and drive 2 miles for a whopping 2.67 fare and a low rating. Other pings were better but I'm not liking the Lyft interface.

1 - Is there a particular place to look on the main Lyft screen if the passenger entered the gate code when they ordered the ride? If not whats best way to contact them? 

2 - Having trouble after I arrive and hit drive with never knowing exactly where I'm going. I have a address but a lot of times I don't recognize the address so I pull out and drive the wrong way because the gps hasn't caught up with my location yet. Any tips for that? For instance if I knew we were going to airport instead of 123 19th St I could preplan my route in my head. 

3 - How to handle bad Waze/Gmaps routing? One trip gmaps routed me 4 miles out of route and passenger was not happy. How best to explain to customer who seemed to think I should know where Yogis Grill was?

4 - Any tips to try and stay out of areas I don't prefer to drive in? I ended up at Chase Field and didnt want to drive in that area. How to get back to my favorite areas without just shutting off app and driving there?

Thank you


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## Okphillip (Feb 6, 2017)

Don't even bother with Lyft. Lyft is very patronizing and passive-aggressive. They will warn you with EVERY missed request and intimidate you about cancelled rides. And speaking of cancelled rides....they do what they call "bailout" you will constantly start driving to a passenger and get a cancellation that Lyft blames on the rider when in reality they passed it to a closer driver. They have fewer drivers so you will also get lots of ride requests for 15-20 minutes away! The DF works for shite too! They also require 90% acceptance rate and PT hours so you will get no PDB. Then, they will claim to love you by going to war against "hate" by giving your money to the ACLU instead of to drivers as PT rides (which is hard to find these days)

My advice: Skip Lyft! They patronize drivers and treat like little kids or uneducated immigrants!


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## Trump Economics (Jul 29, 2015)

Agree. There's no bigger POS than Lyft.


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## Johnydoo (Jul 25, 2017)

Don't do lyft! They are 10 times worst than uber now.


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## Raven087 (Jul 10, 2017)

Lyft is fine, don't listen to The Three Stooges above me.


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## BSki (Aug 3, 2017)

Interesting, I am in the total opposite camp. I rarely do Uber and only do Lyft, I give them priority. They have been way more accommodating and friendly to me than Uber. I also find Lyft pays better and IMHO, the pax are nicer and more engaging in conversation (I drive for the social aspect as well as monetary)

Let me see what I can add here.



JDE100 said:


> 1 - Is there a particular place to look on the main Lyft screen if the passenger entered the gate code when they ordered the ride? If not whats best way to contact them?


Nope, no place to look or for pax to add it that I know of, they need to text or call you.



> 2 - Having trouble after I arrive and hit drive with never knowing exactly where I'm going. I have a address but a lot of times I don't recognize the address so I pull out and drive the wrong way because the gps hasn't caught up with my location yet. Any tips for that? For instance if I knew we were going to airport instead of 123 19th St I could preplan my route in my head.


I have this issue as well. I hate Uber nav and always use google. If I do not know, I either guess or ask the pax.



> 3 - How to handle bad Waze/Gmaps routing? One trip gmaps routed me 4 miles out of route and passenger was not happy. How best to explain to customer who seemed to think I should know where Yogis Grill was?


Whenever that happens I err on the side of "It must be routing us around traffic, or an accident" If pax wants me to take a different route, I follow their directions unless it's a Line ride.



> 4 - Any tips to try and stay out of areas I don't prefer to drive in? I ended up at Chase Field and didnt want to drive in that area. How to get back to my favorite areas without just shutting off app and driving there?


Nope. Same problem with Uber or Lyft. Don't like where you are, either go offline or set a destination.


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## JimKE (Oct 28, 2016)

I kind of agree with Bski. The problems you encountered on this ride don't seem to be Lyft problems. Lyft has some problems, but these ain't them.

The pax was an entitled jerk. You WILL get more of those with Lyft than you're used to with Uber, but a jerk is a jerk. I would have canceled his ass as soon as I hung up from his angry phone call. Rides that start that way can never turn out well, and he's not worthy to ride in my car.
The nav craziness at the beginning of a ride from an apartment complex or similar is normal. Doesn't matter what nav you're using, they all freak out a bit at first. You just have to take a deep breath and wait. The nav comes to its senses eventually.
On the route changes, almost every time I deviate from the nav's route, I am sorry. I have stopped questioning it. I advise the pax that the nav is saying go an unusual route, but there must be some reason why. 
I had a route like that on Tuesday -- GMaps routed me on slow surface streets for a LONG way, but told me that route was saving me 21 minutes on a 50 minute ride. I know better than to argue. 
I'll go any route the pax wants, but don't get grumpy if we sit in a traffic jam for an hour because you wanted to go your favorite way.




JDE100 said:


> 4 - Any tips to try and stay out of areas I don't prefer to drive in? I ended up at Chase Field and didnt want to drive in that area. How to get back to my favorite areas without just shutting off app and driving there?


Don't know about that one. With Uber, I just hit "Stop New Requests" and I'm good. I don't know any way with Lyft other than just going offline.


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## MHR (Jul 23, 2017)

Unless I know exactly where I'm going I always ask PAX if they have a preferred route or do we roll with the crappy GPS route. Always. And yes I say crappy. 

Seems to work, I get good ratings and tips and haven't had any navigation complaints as of yet.

Always find something or someone else to blame. At least when you have PAX.


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## beezlewaxin (Feb 10, 2015)

Before you press the nav button glance at the Lyft map and is the destination north south east or west of you?

Now glance at your car's compass and see what direction you're pointing and you now have enough information to make sure that you leave heading the right direction.

First, you have to turn off the auto-navigation feature in the Lyft app. And your car must have a built-in compass in your guage cluster.

A compass knows what direction you're pointing even when you're stopped. Whereas GPS apps need you to start moving for a little bit before they can determine what direction you're heading.


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## JDE100 (Aug 31, 2017)

beezlewaxin said:


> Before you press the nav button glance at the Lyft map and is the destination north south east or west of you?
> 
> Now glance at your car's compass and see what direction you're pointing and you now have enough information to make sure that you leave heading the right direction.
> 
> ...


Great idea. Thank you.


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## unPat (Jul 20, 2016)

1. When I arrive at gated community , I hit arrive and wait for them to text me the gate code or wait for other cars. 
I never call them unless the trip is a worth significantly more than the cancellation fee of $5. I call them after app promts me to call them I but hang up quickly. Even if you cancel and dont get the fee, email support with the name of the passenger with the approximate time, they will refund you within $5 in 3-5 days. But be nice to them. Customer support is the only good thing about lyft. 


2 & 3. Don't use both apps. Use one and stick to it. Google maps is way better than waze. Download offline areas in gmaps. I usually avoid tolls to pickup passengers but take tolls when transporting passengers. I sometimes ask them if I should follow the gps or they want to give me directions. But don't kiss up for 5 stars. Even if they give you bad review, lyft CSR will remove those bad ratings .

Both waze and gmaps have real time traffic data, and based on congestion and traffic they will redirect you the best way, so those routes could be different than you usually take.


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## buzzy77 (Aug 7, 2017)

I've never had a problem with Google Maps and use it for every ride. My pax seem to appreciate me following the quickest route possible and not choosing my own...this way I can't be blamed if something happens that is out of my control. As far as the gps taking a few moments to catch up to where the destination is... I usually take this time to exchange pleasantries with the rider, let them get settled, and if the destination still hasn't appeared, I asked them if they included it when they made the ride request. I've never waited more than 10-15 seconds for the gps to catch up. Of course, a lot depends on the quality of the cell plan and service you have in your area.
I agree with JimKE....if you don't want to drive through a particular area, turn off driver mode. If you get a ping for an undesirable location, you ARE allowed to refuse a ride request. Remember, you are an independent contractor...not an employee.


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## DrivingForYou (Aug 6, 2017)

JimKE said:


> I
> Don't know about that one. With Uber, I just hit "Stop New Requests" and I'm good. I don't know any way with Lyft other than just going offline.


To get out of an area, use destination mode set for a location you would rather be in. I use destination mode several times a day for this reason. Works best when your destination is a hotspot.


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## BSki (Aug 3, 2017)

DrivingForYou said:


> To get out of an area, use destination mode set for a location you would rather be in. I use destination mode several times a day for this reason. Works best when your destination is a hotspot.


Several times? Like two?


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## KK2929 (Feb 9, 2017)

BSki said:


> Several times? Like two?





DrivingForYou said:


> To get out of an area, use destination mode set for a location you would rather be in. I use destination mode several times a day for this reason. Works best when your destination is a hotspot.


You are missing the point. He does not want to pick up in certain areas. If you use the destination mode you are cheating yourself out of some sweet runs. All of you drivers who sit at LAX for long periods of time and use the destination mode to get your long run are fooling yourself if you think that you make more money.


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## DrivingForYou (Aug 6, 2017)

BSki said:


> Several times? Like two?


I use destination mode 3 to five times a day n some cases. The limit is 6 or so.


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