# rating expectations...this really puts me down



## Lyfty (Jul 26, 2014)

I apologize first cuz this is gonna be a rant.
I have been working with lyft for about 3 weeks now, my rating has been 4.7 most of the time..I have a very hard time figuring out why some people rate me low, I'm very friendly, I can be talkative if the passenger feels like talking, otherwise I just welcome them, ask how long they have been using lyft and that sort of short questions then I stop talking.
I usually work in the morning so that I don't deal with the drunk people and their problems.
So I have been trying so hard to get to 4.8, yesterday I had 6 rides that went absolutely amazing (the passengers that I had were very cool and thankful) so I was very happy. today I had my first ride in the morning and my rating was 4.7, I pick up this very nice guy who is heading to the hospital, and he started talking to me asking me where I'm from and such questions, he started talking politics and we pretty much agreed on everything, we had a very nice talk the whole ride and he seemed very appreciative, and I felt likewise, so I end the ride and rate him 5. I check my rating (using a request from my other phone) and I notice that my rating dropped to 4.6 ! 
Now this is driving me nuts, I have no idea why he rated me less than 5, and this pretty much ruined my mood for today, I had the impression that I would get 5 (easily) by how our conversation went very smoothly and all that..

Anyway, I have 56 rides so far, I hope that I can make it to 4.8 before 100 rides. I'm Truly trying my best here but I guess I have little control on my rating.

Any advice/feedback/comment/rant is welcome !


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## Jeff212 (Aug 1, 2014)

I agree, the rating system doesn't make a whole lot of sense.... I have got dinged by a person when they had absolutely nothing to complain about and then have received 5 from a lady I accidentally shut the door onto her foot, swerved violently to avoid a tire the a truck in front of me that he was able to straddle over because of it's height... What this rating system has done is make me realize that ratings on things I want to buy on amazon are worthless, it is the comments you read to make an informed decision.... So what should be done is if you get rated below a 5, a comment should be required and those comments should be forwarded to drivers.... Leave the name of the passenger off the information that is forwarded.... Same goes for drivers who rate passenger....


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## ElectroFuzz (Jun 10, 2014)

Well it could have been somebody else.
Lyft riders have 24 hours to rate you.
It could have been a passenger from the day before.

That said, I would avoid deep discussions about politics.

Here is another rule I learned.
No mater how friendly or how many questions they ask you
you should never ask them questions unless it's something
benign like weather or what state are you from.


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## Lyfty (Jul 26, 2014)

Jeff212 said:


> I agree, the rating system doesn't make a whole lot of sense.... I have got dinged by a person when they had absolutely nothing to complain about and then have received 5 from a lady I accidentally shut the door onto her foot, swerved violently to avoid a tire the a truck in front of me that he was able to straddle over because of it's height... What this rating system has done is make me realize that ratings on things I want to buy on amazon are worthless, it is the comments you read to make an informed decision.... So what should be done is if you get rated below a 5, a comment should be required and those comments should be forwarded to drivers.... Leave the name of the passenger off the information that is forwarded.... Same goes for drivers who rate passenger....


I agree %100 that there should be a comment required for less than 5, %90 of people would actually go back to 5 just to avoid writing a comment, if it was a serious issue then the passenger would mention it in the comment.


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## Lyfty (Jul 26, 2014)

ElectroFuzz said:


> Well it could have been somebody else.
> Lyft riders have 24 hours to rate you.
> It could have been a passenger from the day before.
> 
> ...


You're right, next time no politics. It was the passenger who started talking politics and I felt that he wanted to talk more about it, but apparently he deceived me


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## troubleinrivercity (Jul 27, 2014)

ElectroFuzz said:


> Here is another rule I learned.
> No mater how friendly or how many questions they ask you
> you should never ask them questions unless it's something
> benign like weather or what state are you from.


This is a rule beneficial to your ratings, but one I must insist on breaking if my job is not to become intolerably boring. Swearing off connection with your passengers is forfeiting one of the only perks of this job, access to people. Also asking a question is a good way to shut someone up. I get so. ****ing. sick of talking with passengers about the Uber system and my experience on it. It's also a trap since one of them is bound to report me for corporate disloyalty and badmouthing my employer/non-employer.

Talk about whatever you want, Lyfty. You're not a robot who drives. You're a person, and in the Uber system, that is something that needs to be re-asserted constantly. The ratings system tries to mold us into something really bland and lifeless. But it's all stick, no carrot, and you should ignore it to every extent possible. Just realize you have no control whatsoever over how the passenger rates, and what they rate. It's up to them and trying to take responsibility is just going to make you into an obsessive micromanaging crazy. And those people are the ones who miss turns and get dinged for actual important stuff.


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## uberdriver (Aug 4, 2014)

Don't over worry about your rating being 4.6 or 4.7. As the Uber/Lyft system is starting to mature, passengers' ratings are becoming more normalized, the novelty of rating everybody a 5 is wearing off. In a system of 1 to 5, a 4 is perfectly normal for a service that is very good to excellent. 5 is going to become more the rating for extraordinary rides, and that means out of the ordinary, the "once in a while" very unique experience.


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## ElectroFuzz (Jun 10, 2014)

I agree... and I break it from time to time.
The key is to know when.
Usually if there is a good vibe and the passenger is more or less in my age group
then I can break it.


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