# Surge pricing = great pay day but poor rating



## Marcuber

How many of you saw their rating drop after a few surged trips? I am trying get uber to understand this and override poor ratings given to drivers after a surged fare trip.


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## Juber

@Marcuber . dont worry so much about ratings. go for the surge. always


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## OrlUberOffDriver

True that! This month I've done nothing but surges except a ride to Miami yesterday and my rating have slowly taken a dive. 
RATINGS SHOULD NOT BE GIVEN ON A SURGE!


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## uberguy_in_ct

My ratings have taken a big hit in the last few weeks. I've been in the 4.6 range for the last few weeks, lots of surges and lots of new riders using promo codes. Surge riders do it because they are pissed, promo code riders don't know that a 4 is total and absolute failure. I gave up trying to educate new riders on the rating system, and haven't heard a word from uber on my new lower ratings.


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## Jake Miller

I have had so many surge trips in South Florida and the majority of the ratings have been poor. We have discussions in the car and the rider always says "5 stars for you." The issue is that the rider can rate a driver after the ride and when the invoice comes, has the opportunity to rate again on the bottom of the invoice after seeing the surge price of the trip. Does not care that the driver gave awesome service, just pissed now because of the cost.


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## BlkGeep

Good thing they pay us in money and not ratings, because money actually matters ya know.

More surge than fare money, 5.0 rating for the week.


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## Forever truth

Marcuber said:


> How many of you saw their rating drop after a few surged trips? I am trying get uber to understand this and override poor ratings given to drivers after a surged fare trip.


Yes,I think riders get pissed off at the driver for higher prices. I'm having the same problem and really find this practice unfair but on the other hand I don't really care I'll just rate then 3 or below. Two can play that game...


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## Forever truth

Jake Miller said:


> I have had so many surge trips in South Florida and the majority of the ratings have been poor. We have discussions in the car and the rider always says "5 stars for you." The issue is that the rider can rate a driver after the ride and when the invoice comes, has the opportunity to rate again on the bottom of the invoice after seeing the surge price of the trip. Does not care that the driver gave awesome service, just pissed now because of the cost.


WTF...we can't win for losing!! So sorry but everyone gets three or lower.


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## SandmanOC

I only do surge rides in the OC on Saturday nights and my rating is a 4.7. I do 8-10 xl rides each night and seem to average one bad rating. I don't really give a shit, but I'm sure the surge affects it


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## Casandria

I used to care about my rating like we all did before we saw behind the green curtain. I still care, but not enough to bust my butt on a $4 fare to try and earn 5 stars. It doesn't honestly seem to matter what you do; just like there are pax who are never going to tip, there are pax that are never going to give 5 stars. The whole thing is whacked, but then again, so is the entire Uber platform so none of us should be that surprised.


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## UberXTampa

OrlUberOffDriver said:


> True that! This month I've done nothing but surges except a ride to Miami yesterday and my rating have slowly taken a dive.
> RATINGS SHOULD NOT BE GIVEN ON A SURGE!


Surge multiplier should also be used for rating as a multiplier. After all you are servicing a customer when there is a shortage of drivers. A 1 star in a 5x surge would equal 5 star.


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## zMann

UberXTampa said:


> Surge multiplier should also be used for rating as a multiplier. After all you are servicing a customer when there is a shortage of drivers. A 1 star in a 5x surge would equal 5 star.


It's a wonderful suggestion, why not, 1* @5x = 5*


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## Jake Miller

Forever truth said:


> Yes,I think riders get pissed off at the driver for higher prices. I'm having the same problem and really find this practice unfair but on the other hand I don't really care I'll just rate then 3 or below. Two can play that game...


Unfortunately you have to rate them immediately and they have 30 days!


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## Forever truth

Jake Miller said:


> Unfortunately you have to rate them immediately and they have 30 days!


Very unfair and I understand they can change their rating as well.


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## Casandria

Really? I thought they had 2 weeks (still too long) and I had no idea they could change their rating. Anyone have confirmation on that?


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## Forever truth

It is my speculation that customer service will do anything for the rider. I read this in the ratings thread you might check there if no one can confirm.


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## Casandria

It wouldn't surprise me. I actually had several 5 star pax that weren't new to Uber, didn't tip and weren't all that pleasant. After about the 4th one, I started wondering if Uber had reset them to 5 since so many drivers won't pick up low rated pax anymore. I guess it could go both ways, but that would make Uber even more diabolic than even I imagined. Pax gives you 5 stars then emails support and wants to change it to 1 and they do it? Totally whacked.


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## Forever truth

Marcuber said:


> How many of you saw their rating drop after a few surged trips? I am trying get uber to understand this and override poor ratings given to drivers after a surged fare trip.


How many of you are waiting all day/night for the rider to accept the surge price? I'm in Tampa bay and almost never get surge request...riders just wait it out so SAD!! IF I DO GET A SURGE ITS THE SHORTEST DISTANCE IN HISTORY...SMH there's no money in my area, I do good to make $100 in 6 to 8 hours.


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## scrurbscrud

Forever truth said:


> How many of you are waiting all day/night for the rider to accept the surge price? I'm in Tampa bay and almost never get surge request...riders just wait it out so SAD!! IF I DO GET A SURGE ITS THE SHORTEST DISTANCE IN HISTORY...SMH there's no money in my area, I do good to make $100 in 6 to 8 hours.


Make is a pretty subjective term in Uberland. If you grossed $100 before expenses how much did you actually make after Uber's cut and other costs? I don't know why you guys in Florida even consider getting on the road for 75 cents a mile and sitting around waiting for surge is, in most places where there is driver saturation, a colossal waste of time.


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## Forever truth

Well I'm learning fast this is really not worth my time and mileage. I spend about $15 on gas. UBER has lied all across the board on payout no where near $1000 a week. 
Thanks


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## Daniel13

Forever truth said:


> Well I'm learning fast this is really not worth my time and mileage. I spend about $15 on gas. UBER has lied all across the board on payout no where near $1000 a week.
> Thanks


You're doing something wrong. 
I spent 28 hours online last week


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## Forever truth

True something is very wrong!!!
You're in the west coast somewhere no comparison for Florida but good payout for you. Only 50 rides!! Or are you an uber insider. More lies from uber.


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## Daniel13

Lol. No. I'm not an insider. But I guess and insider would say that haha

I can show you when I made 500 a week but then I figured shit out.


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## zMann

This is a fake statement


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## Forever truth

But wouldn't you say it depends on market and demand...Here in Florida we are still fighting for the right to have uber and their classification.


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## Yoav Yo

Hey guys. 
New to the forum...
Im in Toronto and when surge price hits, i find people dont wanna use it.... just by doing the math they see its 1.2x and feel they are going to pay a fortune for the ride. 
In any case, most surge pricing usually come in cocky and hesitant until they see the final price and then dont care.


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## scrurbscrud

Forever truth said:


> True something is very wrong!!!
> You're in the west coast somewhere no comparison for Florida but good payout for you. Only 50 rides!! Or are you an uber insider. More lies from uber.


Yeah, averaging 20 bucks a trip doing UberX in SoCal at 90 cents a mile seems to be pretty good. Must have a nice little corner somewhere to do nothing but 15 mile trips both ways.


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## williamjohnson

Daniel13 said:


> Lol. No. I'm not an insider. But I guess and insider would say that haha
> 
> I can show you when I made 500 a week but then I figured shit out.


what did you figure out?


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## limepro

When it surges in my area it is better to switch to lyft, that's what riders do they take he cheaper of the 2.


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## Daniel13

williamjohnson said:


> what did you figure out?


I figured what times to work and where.


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## johnywinslow

lol Yes, I had my biggest surge night last week, and my lowest rating for the week of all time to go with it! once you have hundreds of rides and your rating is in the 7.8 range, who cares. the way I see it there are only two ratings, "WORKING and DEACTIVATED" and uber will not bother you until you get into the 4.6 range! sooner or latter if you drive long enough, your ratings will matter less and less with hundreds or thousands of trips. you just reach a TRUE AVERAGE!


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## Daniel13

zMann said:


> This is a fake statement


Yup. You got me. Lol.

The way you think it's impossible to make that, will prevent you to succeed in this. If you think it's a shitty gig and crappy pay, that's what you're going to get. Be positive man. Accept nothing less than 2.0x and you'll be happy.


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## UberNOTon

Daniel13 said:


> You're doing something wrong.
> I spent 28 hours online last week


That is fine and well unless you drive in city that doesn't have sustained x2 + surge. Your payment statement is completely unrealistic, eventually driver saturation will even out your surge times.


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## UberNOTon

johnywinslow said:


> lol Yes, I had my biggest surge night last week, and my lowest rating for the week of all time to go with it! once you have hundreds of rides and your rating is in the 7.8 range, who cares. the way I see it there are only two ratings, "WORKING and DEACTIVATED" and uber will not bother you until you get into the 4.6 range! sooner or latter if you drive long enough, your ratings will matter less and less with hundreds or thousands of trips. you just reach a TRUE AVERAGE!


The average is only for your 500 most recent trips.

Since I started only accepting surge fares my ratings are almost always a 4 or lower.


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## Daniel13

UberNOTon said:


> That is fine and well unless you drive in city that doesn't have sustained x2 + surge. Your payment statement is completely unrealistic, eventually driver saturation will even out your surge times.


Been pretty consistent for me for the past month and a half. People like you will fail at uber cause you complain more than try to figure out what things you should do differently to make more money. Good luck with lyft and postmates.


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## UberNOTon

Daniel13 said:


> Been pretty consistent for me for the past month and a half. People like you will fail at uber cause you complain more than try to figure out what things you should do differently to make more money. Good luck with lyft and postmates.


Not complaining just saying your current situation is not stable. I try new things with Uber until I find what is most profitable. Every few weeks the environment changes and I adapt. The only consistent variable with Uber is change.


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## Coley

Daniel13 said:


> Been pretty consistent for me for the past month and a half. People like you will fail at uber cause you complain more than try to figure out what things you should do differently to make more money. Good luck with lyft and postmates.


It's not "people like you." That is a narcissistic statement. 
At least here in Chicago there are too many drivers now. I had a laugh this past Monday. We had a morning rush hour snow storm. The surge was 4.4 in some areas for an extended period of time. 3.7 in others. I was at home in the burbs watching the surge numbers bumming because I was not out there. That is until my buddy explained that it took him 1.5 hours for one round trip because the traffic was at a near complete standstill. With a 4.4 surge, he was able to complete only 3 rides and his gross fare for the morning rush (3 hours) was $120.00.



UberNOTon said:


> Not complaining just saying your current situation is not stable. I try new things with Uber until I find what is most profitable. Every few weeks the environment changes and I adapt. The only consistent variable with Uber is change.


You are correct. I tried something new - not taking rides that were more than 10 minutes away because I LOST money on those rides. After being warned that my acceptance rate was too low, I was deactivated. Anyone who believes that Uber wont take advantage and screw its drivers one way or another is clearly delusional.


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## Daniel13

Because in La there aren't a lot of drivers? Lol I'm been working the surge for a while and Staying offline after a ride until I like the surge which isn't long. 96% acceptance rate. And I like the money I'm making. 

Sorry for sounding narcissistic. Good luck making money with uber. UBER ON!


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## ElectroFuzz

Daniel13 said:


> Because in La there aren't a lot of drivers? Lol I'm been working the surge for a while and Staying offline after a ride until I like the surge which isn't long. 96% acceptance rate. And I like the money I'm making.
> 
> Sorry for sounding narcissistic. Good luck making money with uber. UBER ON!


A lot depends on your market.
On your statement SURGE is $660.
If your city didn't have any surges you would be complaining as well.


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## Daniel13

Yeah. True. Every market is different. But when people in MY market are complaining, then that means they aren't trying.


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## jemini48

Forever truth said:


> Yes,I think riders get pissed off at the driver for higher prices. I'm having the same problem and really find this practice unfair but on the other hand I don't really care I'll just rate then 3 or below. Two can play that game...


yea but how do you know they gave you a low rating after ending the trip? Once you see the fare price, you know they aint gonna be happy, I suppose if you get them again, you could exact revenge..but im sure it will b forgotten by then


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## jemini48

Jake Miller said:


> Unfortunately you have to rate them immediately and they have 30 days!


 Uber should suppress the rating part of the app for driver and rider when its 2.0X or higher. Easy enough to implement in the app. Surge > "1.9" goto bypass-rating


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## Teksaz

I'm a fairly new driver. Actual days driven, 10. Average riders per day driven, 8. This is a noobs observation and only my thoughts since starting.

My opinion of surge is that it's evil, and Uber has caused this due to reduced rates. Surge has pitted rider against driver and I actually witnessed it this morning. I've read multiple accounts of what the rider will do to keep from paying surge prices. Giving destinations out of the surge area, waiting until surge subsides, and shortening trips or canceling trips altogether. I've had two instances in my short Uber life due to surge and five out of ten riders that I've had either complain or have concerns about surge. Not good Uber.

Surge is a broken business model and I think it needs to be completely eliminated. To fix Ubers broken mess in my opinion, for starters, would be a $2.00 per mile rate, across the board no matter what market your in. This way every rider no matter where you are, knows exactly what their rate is going to be. The way it is now, riders are confused and obviously not the happy campers they could be if they could just get a straight fair. Implementing said rate, I think, would guarantee rider/driver ratios to even out resulting in both parties feeling compensated and ratings to stay as they normally would.

With these low rates, Uber is leaving so much money on the table it's ridiculous. I picked up a client that had used a taxi the day before I picked him up and said his taxi fair was $90.00. Ubers fair was $34.00. WTF!?!? Is it so hard for Uber to understand that if they just increased the rates by half, or doubled what they are now, they could double their money and still undercut taxi's? SMMFH and this is a multi-BILLION DOLLAR Company.

Bottom Line Uber...PAY YOUR DRIVERS!!

This is what happened this morning due to surge. Gotta ping surging at 1.5. It's a 10 minute drive for me. Arrive and no client in site. I send a text after about a five minute wait. Here is the result and I cancelled as a no show to help cover my ten minutes of dead miles.









Thanks Uber


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## Yankee

Daniel13 said:


> Yup. You got me. Lol.
> 
> The way you think it's impossible to make that, will prevent you to succeed in this. If you think it's a shitty gig and crappy pay, that's what you're going to get. Be positive man. Accept nothing less than 2.0x and you'll be happy.


Do you mean you don't accept a ping unless its surging at 2x?


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## Daniel13

Yeah. Don't go below 2.0x.


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## DriverMiss

Marcuber said:


> How many of you saw their rating drop after a few surged trips? I am trying get uber to understand this and override poor ratings given to drivers after a surged fare trip.


Hi. I'm new, just started Saturday. I drive in D.C.. I had ALL FIVE STAR RATINGS until today. One person have me 4. And one person paid a surge rate. I'm sure, it's one in the same. My riders have been great, telling me they're giving me five stars. But there is that one.... 

I wrote to Uber. I won't stress myself over this. Uber needs to have a commonsense -approach with this dynamic. Otherwise, they'll lose this five-star driver.  I care about my riders. I can't control if they aren't happy about the price. 

Thanks for the topic. It validates what I suspected.


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## Emp9

BlkGeep said:


> Good thing they pay us in money and not ratings, because money actually matters ya know.
> 
> More surge than fare money, 5.0 rating for the week.


 the issue is that you can lose money with lower ratings, for example if you opt in the fee back percentage based on how many fares. you are asked to keep a 4.7 or higher for the week.


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## BlkGeep

I'm making forty plus an hour, I don't opt into anything. Rating has never been higher. 4.86 on 1200 rides. One thing I might agree on is that if you do something ******ed on surge my rating might intensify for you. Something I might let go would bother me more.


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## Taxi Driver in Arizona

Daniel13 said:


> You're doing something wrong.
> I spent 28 hours online last week


How many hours did you spend offline, waiting for surges?


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## Forever truth

BlkGeep said:


> I'm making forty plus an hour, I don't opt into anything. Rating has never been higher. 4.86 on 1200 rides. One thing I might agree on is that if you do something ******ed on surge my rating might intensify for you. Something I might let go would bother me more.


it's not a science just simple math. All this it's bs...nothing is consistent


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## DrJeecheroo

Anything with uber is a science with-in itself.


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## SP311

That is normal because people get upset when they paid more, just drive and I personally when I get a surge request and I start the trip i ask the passenger what route they prefer in that way they feel more comfortable. I get 5 always.


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## Matty760

Its a given that you will receive a low rating on surges... just this past weekend I had 3 surge rides and 1 of them was on 4.1x. A $10 ride ended up being almost $43 with surge. I get my ratings on my email and of my trips taken it said i received all 5 star ratings except for 3, which were for sure the surges people. SO theres nothing you can do about that just remember your rating is off your last 500 rides. Anyways, only thing I can think of is to rate the surge riders a 3 star or lower. you can always say hey your ride was too short for me to make any money on the surge and you took me away from other riders that may have paid more, lol!


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## KMANDERSON

OrlUberOffDriver said:


> True that! This month I've done nothing but surges except a ride to Miami yesterday and my rating have slowly taken a dive.
> RATINGS SHOULD NOT BE GIVEN ON A SURGE!


At these rates they are doing you a favor if they deactivate you for rating our anything else


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