# Doomed to get 4 star ratings doing Uber taxi?



## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

So...

I’m running into ratings issues.

Namely to say, I got another 4*

big whoop

but I only have 13 rated rides,
at the rate I’m going 100 rates rides will take 8-10 years....


4.75 rating.
and I’m not joking, all 5s and 4s. Nothing below a 4 either


I have some theories behind the “bad” ratings.

1. I only work high surge times on uber
A. Uber taxi pings only exist when Uberx is surging. Uber taxi fares are always more than unsurged uberx fares.
B. What the customer pays is consistently more than an Non surge uberx fare.
2. I’m perpetually driving a taxi that has a little bit of vintage, namely 200,000+ miles
3. That taxi smell
4. Due to only working high surge events I’m NEVER getting customers picked up anywhere close to their estimated time. Usually it’s 10 minutes when estimating
5. I often get customers after they get canceled on one or more times.
Today, one of my pings got canceled on twice by other drivers.

TLDR. My customers are always paying surge prices and I show up late in a ratty taxi with over 250,000 on the odometer.

So honestly.. am I doomed to get “bad” 4 star ratings?


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## WAHN (May 6, 2019)

Time to turn on your natural charm. 

Work on that "taxi" smell.

Maybe communicate enroute as to ETA.

Corporate rating systems are so stupid. They might as well all just be thumbs up or down since anything less than the highest is considered bad.

Good luck.


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## 125928 (Oct 5, 2017)

When I lived in Las Vegas, I dropped off a pax that worked at a bank call center. She explained to me the importance of rating your customer service experience whenever I contact that bank for assistance. For them it's about job performance and retention. I still to this day, do not complete any surveys when ask. These companies need to find a better way to determine satisfaction. I refuse to play their rating game.


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## WAHN (May 6, 2019)

In my last sales job, we were supposed to solicit ratings after closing the sale. I can't recall if it was a scale of 1-5 or 1-10, but anything below a 5 or a 10 was considered bad.

It's just completely stupid.


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

WAHN said:


> Time to turn on your natural charm. :biggrin:
> 
> Work on that "taxi" smell.
> 
> ...


Communicating the ETA is actually a really good idea.

The problem with the taxi smell is if I get the keys to the cab at 8:00 pm have 20-30 minutes to find the car and clean it up... then all I have is 12 hours

I mean your right, in every sense of correct.

But I just don't have time to detail the car exceptionally well when I get my hands on it.

to be honest a good thorough detailing would take me like an hour

It sounds like I'm making excuses but,

cleaning a taxi and getting the smell out is like... polishing a turd.

even after you clean the taxis out really well it's still has that lingering taxi smell.

I get the rating system. If I was getting ones I would totally get it, and there would clearly be something to address but I'm not I'm getting 1s, it is JUST 4s.and 5s.

like what I'm wondering, if I'm getting the oldest dumpiest cars in the cab fleet (part timer) are the 4 Star ratings just inevitable?


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## Clarity (Sep 20, 2018)

After being on this site for a while, I noticed most drivers have mostly 5s, 4s, and a few 1s. Some riders feel like a 4 is good enough, especially if they are used to giving ratings on Yelp. 4s are gonna happen from time to time even when you know the ride went well and you got them from point A to B smoothly. 

If you don't have ozium gel yet, I would keep that in the car at all times and use the spray from time to time. Open the windows for a few minutes between rides.


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## Dilf411 (Jan 27, 2020)

Stevie The magic Unicorn said:


> So...
> 
> I'm running into ratings issues.
> 
> ...


So you're driving an old stinky fart box around? Steam clean that thing!


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## Another Uber Driver (May 27, 2015)

Stevie The magic Unicorn said:


> I got another 4*


That is curious. I drift between 4,87 and 4,91 on Uber Taxi, here. Currently, I have a few three stars, one two star and no one star. The two star is considered a "unicorn".



Stevie The magic Unicorn said:


> 1. I only work high surge times on uber
> A. Uber taxi pings only exist when Uberx is surging. Uber taxi fares are always more than unsurged uberx fares.
> B. What the customer pays is consistently more than an Non surge uberx fare.


There must be something about your market. In mine, on short and mediocre trips, the cab and UberX/Lyft are about the same. If there is a mild surge, the cab is less.

On long trips, UberX/Lyft are noticeably less than a cab. If, however, the surge hits 1,7, it is about the same even on a long trip. At 1,9, you are paying more than a cab.



Stevie The magic Unicorn said:


> 2. I'm perpetually driving a taxi that has a little bit of vintage, namely 200,000+ miles
> 3. That taxi smell


Number two explains Number Three. You are driving Company Junque, driven for all those miles by who knows how many drivers and all kinds of people with all kinds of hygenic habits who have been in and out of that thing...........................there _just ain't a whole lot that you ever will be able to do for it_.



Stevie The magic Unicorn said:


> So honestly.. am I doomed to get "bad" 4 star ratings?


You are getting mostly visitors from all over the world. They bring different rating criteria with them. In your market, as in mine, it is difficult to predict ratings.



WAHN said:


> Time to turn on your natural charm.


That would be sound advice. I have managed to avoid downratings by being nice to people.



WAHN said:


> Work on that "taxi" smell.


He is driving a rental cab that has been driven all of those miles by all those drivers and has hauled all of those customers; has had spotty, at best, maintenance......................there just is not much to be done for it. A little de-stinkifier spray is the best that you can do.



WAHN said:


> Maybe communicate enroute as to ETA.


At times, that works well. There are, however, times that it will blow up in your face.



Dilf411 said:


> So you're driving an old stinky fart box around? Steam clean that thing!


If you are driving Company Junque off the yard, rarely do you have the time for that. You must get out there, make your rent and gasolene before you make the first dollar for yourself. Even if you had the time, there would be little to do for it.


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## Boca Ratman (Jun 6, 2018)

WAHN said:


> In my last sales job, we were supposed to solicit ratings after closing the sale. I can't recall if it was a scale of 1-5 or 1-10, but anything below a 5 or a 10 was considered bad.
> 
> It's just completely stupid.


We bought a new car recently for the wife. I kind of know the salesman. It was a smooth deal, we knew what we wanted and didn't want. We didn't get the whole sales push for the bullshit extras. Easiest car I've ever bought from a dealership.

Wife was asked to rate our experience, apparently she gave all 9s, out of 10. Why not 10s? She figured because it was 1-10 not 1-5 like uber, that 9 was great and more believable.

The next day I get a text from the sales man to please call him. I did, He got a talking to about the poor experience we had. Lol.

She spent almost an hour getting them to let her re do the survey.


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

Another Uber Driver said:


> That is curious. I drift between 4,87 and 4,91 on Uber Taxi, here. Currently, I have a few three stars, one two star and no one star. The two star is considered a "unicorn".
> 
> There must be something about your market. In mine, on short and mediocre trips, the cab and UberX/Lyft are about the same. If there is a mild surge, the cab is less.
> 
> ...


Your almost spot on, my rent+gasoline is $90-110 depending on if i'm in a van or a sedan and if it has pickup rights at Disney or not. Usually takes me 4-5 hours to cover my rent with another 5-6 to turn a profit.

The maintenance however is up to par. Aside from the "Needs service" indicator coming on they almost never have a check engine light.

The one thing you are a little off on is that i'm driving the crap wagons that a _part timer_ can actually get his hands on at _*8:30 PM on a Friday.*_

The conclusion that I've come to is to uninstall uber off my phone. If i was a full timer maybe, but... there just ain't no way to polish those turds into being 5 star quality for uber.

And given how few of these i actually take i'm not missing as much as you would imagine. It's more like i'm turning off uber Pool than anything. It averages less than 1 ping a shift (not even joking). The only times i get business off it is from surges,

But your correct, ubertaxi is cheaper or shorter trips but the hood-rats all either pay cash or use lyft. And in the tourist district i'm at cab stands where i have Uber off. Disney doesn't have rides short enough to hit that ratio.

99% of the time when it's busy enough to create uber pings I can get a taxi fare.

taxi customer:_ " this car is kinda"

"Funky in the bad way? I'm a part timer so i get what i can get"

"That sucks"
~20% tip_

Uber Customer :
_10 minutes of silence followed by 4 star rating_


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