# I give every rider a 5 star rating



## Roberto (Jul 16, 2014)

Heard mentioned in another thread that no tip=no 5 star rating. Think it's interesting concept. I don't particularly care for tipping or receiving tips so I maybe a bit biased. Still undecided on this but so far I've given every rider a 5-star rating (once someone drank beer in my car and I gave them 4 stars). There's no incentive on either side to give a low rating. For lyft I think if you rate them a 1 you never have to pick them up again and vice versa. No such incentive exists for Uber afaik. I know where you live if I'm picking you up or dropping you off at your house. I might be crazy and shoot your windows out with a pellet gun if you rate me a 1 for no good reason (I wouldn't but they don't know that). I also might be interviewing them for an internship or job or they me in the future. A rider might be my kid's teacher and so on. I wouldn't give a bad yelp rating to a restaurant I might go to again and the same logic applies here. I get that some people use the ratings as a gauge on whether to pick up the rider or not but many people just accept all pings so by rating people critically you're only helping the former. As to driver ratings, guess you're helping your fellow passengers but everyone is different. I don't say a word most of the time but some people like drivers that yap on about stuff and make small talk. If someone does something egregious like harass a rider then an email complaint is warranted. I don't get the point of the ratings I guess.


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## Mazda3 (Jun 21, 2014)

I spent the last 6 months thinking the way you are. I'd rate everyone a 5 (except for the one star rating I gave to a crazy drunk woman that I gave a ride to). But now I'm giving lower ratings to people that make me wait, damage my car, or people who are just plain asses. I figure, if we give them lower ratings for stuff like that, then we can inform the drivers that follow us in picking them up next time. Give them a warning about what to expect. I don't really care about the tips (they're not encouraged but always accepted).


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## Driver8 (Jul 29, 2014)

Agree with M3. I started out giving everyone a 5, as long as they weren't complete jerks. But then I started noticing how my daily rating seemed to fluctuate towards the downside everytime I encountered a difficult rider. One of the biggest conscience crises I had was about passengers whose _friends_ _("it's not his fault we're 10 minutes late leaving - it's his friend")_ made a ride difficult, but finally I got over it. On those rare (10% or less) occasions, it's so much easier to maintain a cheery disposition when I know I can give the passenger a low rating and we won't have to see each other again.


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## Mimzy (Jun 10, 2014)

I also give clients the deserved rating, always fair based on the experience. Question standing though, would a customer (who doesn't even know their rating, most likely) ever be contacted by Uber and "warned" or even "deactivated"? -- Couldn't they just open another email account and sign up again? --- May be a case of the customer is always "right" and wins no matter how thoughtful or not you rate the client.


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## UberComic (Apr 17, 2014)

I usually give five stars as well. I deduct for long waits resulting in short trips. I tend to forget waiting a long time if the trip is long. I'm also understanding if they're going to the airport, and had to make sure they had everything before leaving.

Gave a one star to a guy once who didn't ask if he could eat in the car, then left the trash in the back despite there being a trash can five feet from where I dropped him off. Yesterday I gave two stars to a lady who brought a toddler with no car seat, and then got weird when I told her we had to use my daughter's booster seat that happened to be in the back. Technically it was still the wrong seat for the child's age.


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## troubleinrivercity (Jul 27, 2014)

Mimzy said:


> I also give clients the deserved rating, always fair based on the experience. Question standing though, would a customer (who doesn't even know their rating, most likely) ever be contacted by Uber and "warned" or even "deactivated"? -- Couldn't they just open another email account and sign up again? --- May be a case of the customer is always "right" and wins no matter how thoughtful or not you rate the client.


This seems probable, and it's a huge advantage of passengers being in the dark on the two-way rating system. This is probably the one place Uber took care of us. They let us rate passengers anonymously, and didn't give anyone but us access to those ratings. Just wish # of rides was indicated. I feel bad turning away 5*'s.
But only someone who knows he pissed off a driver, and is also aware of passenger ratings and their consequences, is going to go through the stupid hassle of remaking an account to no guaranteed benefit.

And the whole star system would benefit from fleshing out and being broken down into categories. Even in fifteen seconds, I'd take in and gratefully process every single detail they see fit to give me.


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## dominant7th (Jun 24, 2014)

Mimzy said:


> I also give clients the deserved rating, always fair based on the experience. Question standing though, would a customer (who doesn't even know their rating, most likely) ever be contacted by Uber and "warned" or even "deactivated"? -- Couldn't they just open another email account and sign up again? --- May be a case of the customer is always "right" and wins no matter how thoughtful or not you rate the client.


They'll get passed over and eventually they'll realize they're scumbags who brought this upon themselves. Like I said, this past weekend I used the ratings to determine whether or not I'd accept during peak hrs. They'd get a ride, just not from me. Anyone with less than my rating I didn't pick up. And it worked beautifully. 5 stars from 33 of 38. Sunday, I picked up a "3" and he called right away asking if I would get him. I pick him up and as we're driving I ask him if he used Uber alot and he didn't really answer me. Then finally, he says he was a jerk in the previous car, so that's why he had the low rating. I kinda explained how people are really shitty to drivers and he said it was common amongst him & his friends to have the most obnoxius Uber story to tell his friends. Like a competition to see how much they could do. He said he needed a ride last week and noticed that everyone was either cancelling or not accepting. I told him, "well what did you think was gonna happen?" and he didn't know we used ratings. I betcha he's gonna be the nicest rider for a long time. I gave him a 5 (no tip but I figured he was trying to do right).

A week ago, I picked up a request and he went on about how he gave every Uber a 4 regardless. His friends who were with him in my car all said that that was bad; that 4 was basically saying "fire this guy". Then he said he smacked a Uber driver in the face on one of his prior trips, but since the call was on his friends account, his friend was the one who got dinged w/a LoneStar. I gave him the appropriate rating.


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## troubleinrivercity (Jul 27, 2014)

Wow holy shit. I am never ignoring or second-guessing a pax' rating ever again. Though I will usually take a 4.5 if I've been sitting ten minutes or so.

Hah this rating system. It's literally all that stands between us and having the same customers as yellow cabs. Use it well.


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## dominant7th (Jun 24, 2014)

Here in L.A., we really need to keep using the rating sytem to warn off other drivers of problem users. The people have been getting increasingly more and more unpleasant and Uber's rider quality has diminished. We need to be the one who condition the riders behavior. Remember, regular people with friends are also Uber partners who talk to each other about the business. That's how the Yelp about Uber ratings happened; the girl didn't know she was getting rated and then when she found out her attitude towards Uber did a 180. As far as downrating over tips, it's about how amenable you were as a passenger during the ride. I don't expect any tips; just be cool. Tips are very nice, but I don't demand them. I'll give you 10 up to wait before I cancel. I'll open the doors/trunk and help w/baggage. Just don't think I don't have an power over you either.


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## troubleinrivercity (Jul 27, 2014)

I'm putting up my first sign in the backseat. Guess what it is.

"Please close doors gently. Replacement door hinges are $$$! Thank you and happy Ubering!"

I don't know how else to pre-empt this massive and massively-unnecessary expense. I flinch at how hard they're slamming my doors.


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## JoshM (Aug 1, 2014)

picked up an english guy with a 4.6. thanks for the warning uberites that I should have heeded. arrogant with an air of entitlement. he was entitled to a 1 star which I gave him.


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## troubleinrivercity (Jul 27, 2014)

An air? I'm not sure I'd rate one for that. I take people's existing ratings into account while rating them. If I think someone fits their rating well, I'll try to give them whatever helps them maintain it. Though I err on the high side, since I like my riders. He sounds like a 4.5/4.6, which is not necessarily a bad passenger in my city. Just someone who thinks they're in a tipless taxi. Nbd.


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## dominant7th (Jun 24, 2014)

JoshM said:


> picked up an english guy with a 4.6. thanks for the warning uberites that I should have heeded. arrogant with an air of entitlement. he was entitled to a 1 star which I gave him.


Maybe 4 would've been appropriate unless he tried to demean you. I've had mostly good interactions with tourists and visitors but I know what you mean about snobbish behavior.


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## Roberto (Jul 16, 2014)

Didn't realize the riders couldn't see the rating I gave them. I assumed it'd update their rating immediately and they'd know what I rated them based on their average going up or down and perhaps rate me accordingly. I will be rating them accurately from now on. The morbidly obese guy (I'm not some pencil necked geek but this guy was like 500lbs) who likely gave me a 4 a couple of days ago because he couldn't fit in my car comfortably would have gotten a 1 instead of a 5. Same as the just turned 21 huntington beach kids who drunkenly asked to fit 8 people in my car. 1 star would also have been given to the baseball game goers who popped a beer open in my car.


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## TomNashville (Jul 20, 2014)

Driver8 said:


> Agree with M3. I started out giving everyone a 5, as long as they weren't complete jerks. But then I started noticing how my daily rating seemed to fluctuate towards the downside everytime I encountered a difficult rider. One of the biggest conscience crises I had was about passengers whose _friends_ _("it's not his fault we're 10 minutes late leaving - it's his friend")_ made a ride difficult, but finally I got over it. On those rare (10% or less) occasions, it's so much easier to maintain a cheery disposition when I know I can give the passenger a low rating and we won't have to see each other again.


That works on Lyft, Uber doesn't care if you rate them a 1, you can still get matched-up again.


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## TomNashville (Jul 20, 2014)

dominant7th said:


> Here in L.A., we really need to keep using the rating sytem to warn off other drivers of problem users. The people have been getting increasingly more and more unpleasant and Uber's rider quality has diminished. We need to be the one who condition the riders behavior. Remember, regular people with friends are also Uber partners who talk to each other about the business. That's how the Yelp about Uber ratings happened; the girl didn't know she was getting rated and then when she found out her attitude towards Uber did a 180. As far as downrating over tips, it's about how amenable you were as a passenger during the ride. I don't expect any tips; just be cool. Tips are very nice, but I don't demand them. I'll give you 10 up to wait before I cancel. I'll open the doors/trunk and help w/baggage. Just don't think I don't have an power over you either.


Tips wash away a bunch of evil for me. For instance, a ping 10 minutes away, then a 5-minute wait for a minimum fare? That is 3 stars all day long in my book, no matter how nice the pax are. However, throw in a $5 tip and you just bought yourself 5 stars!


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## TomNashville (Jul 20, 2014)

Roberto said:


> Didn't realize the riders couldn't see the rating I gave them. I assumed it'd update their rating immediately and they'd know what I rated them based on their average going up or down and perhaps rate me accordingly. I will be rating them accurately from now on. The morbidly obese guy (I'm not some pencil necked geek but this guy was like 500lbs) who likely gave me a 4 a couple of days ago because he couldn't fit in my car comfortably would have gotten a 1 instead of a 5. Same as the just turned 21 huntington beach kids who drunkenly asked to fit 8 people in my car. 1 star would also have been given to the baseball game goers who popped a beer open in my car.


I always cancel on groups of 5 or more if they don't say that they have already requested a second vehicle. Your ratings will suffer if you take the ride either way. First of all, they'll be pissed that you're costing them more money if you break them up, and second of all, they obviously don't respect you or your ride if they want to cram that many people in, what makes you think they'll rate you well? Thirdly, if you let them cram in, they'll expect all of us to do the same and the cycle will continue. If they get left on the side of the road a few times, they'll get with the program, especially since you should always select the "passenger requested cancel" option in those cases to get your cancellation fee.


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## LookyLou (Apr 28, 2014)

TomNashville said:


> Tips wash away a bunch of evil for me. For instance, a ping 10 minutes away, then a 5-minute wait for a minimum fare? That is 3 stars all day long in my book, no matter how nice the pax are. However, throw in a $5 tip and you just bought yourself 5 stars!


I agree with this. I don't expect tips. To me they are strictly an unexpected bonus. I would never down rate a passenger because they didn't tip, especially when Uber is pushing the fact that they don't need to. I will however give an uprating for tippers that would normally be rated lower.


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## KrisThuy (Aug 6, 2014)

i was givin passenger 5 no matter what but then it change because of how they are rating me even i was so being polite and friendly to them

i just dont get why in the world would there be people like those exist lol

u help them with all u got and they still give u 1 star :///


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## GearJammer (Jul 9, 2014)

Uber App rating on Google Play, 4.2, so I suppose it should be deactivated right?


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## Greg Svolos (Aug 15, 2014)

Lyft is 3* and you will never see that person again.


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## Bobhopenut (Jul 25, 2014)

dominant7th said:


> They'll get passed over and eventually they'll realize they're scumbags who brought this upon themselves. Like I said, this past weekend I used the ratings to determine whether or not I'd accept during peak hrs. They'd get a ride, just not from me. Anyone with less than my rating I didn't pick up. And it worked beautifully. 5 stars from 33 of 38. Sunday, I picked up a "3" and he called right away asking if I would get him. I pick him up and as we're driving I ask him if he used Uber alot and he didn't really answer me. Then finally, he says he was a jerk in the previous car, so that's why he had the low rating. I kinda explained how people are really shitty to drivers and he said it was common amongst him & his friends to have the most obnoxius Uber story to tell his friends. Like a competition to see how much they could do. He said he needed a ride last week and noticed that everyone was either cancelling or not accepting. I told him, "well what did you think was gonna happen?" and he didn't know we used ratings. I betcha he's gonna be the nicest rider for a long time. I gave him a 5 (no tip but I figured he was trying to do right).
> 
> A week ago, I picked up a request and he went on about how he gave every Uber a 4 regardless. His friends who were with him in my car all said that that was bad; that 4 was basically saying "fire this guy". Then he said he smacked a Uber driver in the face on one of his prior trips, but since the call was on his friends account, his friend was the one who got dinged w/a LoneStar. I gave him the appropriate rating.


If someone smacked me during a trip, I have a little something for them. I would stop the car and handle the situation. No punk a$$ drunk is going to smack me in my car.


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## driveLA (Aug 15, 2014)

i think its a bad practice to rate every rider a 5 just for good karma or whatever. i started about 4 weeks ago and now that i have become familiar with the ratings, they are a lot more useful if the driver rates honestly. i actually would rather not have a rating system but since its there it might as well be used to our advantage. I have found that people with low ratings tend to make me wait longer, are not very friendly, probably will rate low regardless of the service, and worst of all, cancel when you are already around the way.

i don't make a practice to ignore pings from ALL low-rated riders because i know the rating system goes both ways. sometimes they haven't had many rides or just had had drivers that are just as picky. but i do find more often than not that the ratings tell a lot about the rider. especially since most drivers want the same thing. a pleasant, friendly, tolerable ride. while riders probably have more factors involved in their rating habits. I will decide whether or not to pick up riders with low ratings depending on how far the pick up is, how busy i am in the area im already in, if i'm willing to chance dealing with a problem rider, etc. it just depends.

both riders and drivers need to be aware that uber is an interactive experience. both should be on good behavior. though i think some riders (uber ones more so) tend to be a bit stuck up and just see the driver as their servant. those definitely will not get a 5 from me. the rider needs to become aware that this is a 2-way street. drivers should rate honestly so riders will get the picture.

as drivers you are doing yourself and other drivers a disservice by not giving us the heads up about how bad certain riders are.


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## Roberto (Jul 16, 2014)

^Yeah I stopped doing that once I found out the riders could no longer see their ratings. Everyone starts at 5 and then gets a + or - depending. Hot girl dressed sexy +1, multiple passengers (more than 3) -1, no tip -1, cool conversation +1, morbidly obese -4, etc.


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## Narkos (Aug 5, 2014)

Bobhopenut said:


> If someone smacked me during a trip, I have a little something for them. I would stop the car and handle the situation. No punk a$$ drunk is going to smack me in my car.


 Exactly!


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## Bobhopenut (Jul 25, 2014)

Roberto said:


> ^Yeah I stopped doing that once I found out the riders could no longer see their ratings. Everyone starts at 5 and then gets a + or - depending. Hot girl dressed sexy +1, multiple passengers (more than 3) -1, no tip -1, cool conversation +1, morbidly obese -4, etc.


I didn't know that the riders couldn't see their feedback. I am always afraid that if I give them the low rating that they deserve they will retaliate and give me a low rating for bending over backwards to make their trip a good one.


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## Greg Svolos (Aug 15, 2014)

dominant7th said:


> They'll get passed over and eventually they'll realize they're scumbags who brought this upon themselves. Like I said, this past weekend I used the ratings to determine whether or not I'd accept during peak hrs. They'd get a ride, just not from me. Anyone with less than my rating I didn't pick up. And it worked beautifully. 5 stars from 33 of 38. Sunday, I picked up a "3" and he called right away asking if I would get him. I pick him up and as we're driving I ask him if he used Uber alot and he didn't really answer me. Then finally, he says he was a jerk in the previous car, so that's why he had the low rating. I kinda explained how people are really shitty to drivers and he said it was common amongst him & his friends to have the most obnoxius Uber story to tell his friends. Like a competition to see how much they could do. He said he needed a ride last week and noticed that everyone was either cancelling or not accepting. I told him, "well what did you think was gonna happen?" and he didn't know we used ratings. I betcha he's gonna be the nicest rider for a long time. I gave him a 5 (no tip but I figured he was trying to do right).
> 
> A week ago, I picked up a request and he went on about how he gave every Uber a 4 regardless. His friends who were with him in my car all said that that was bad; that 4 was basically saying "fire this guy". Then he said he smacked a Uber driver in the face on one of his prior trips, but since the call was on his friends account, his friend was the one who got dinged w/a LoneStar. I gave him the appropriate rating.


if I got smacked in the face I would call 911 and press charges for assault. Anyone touches me and I will press charges


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