# How do you let your pax know you have arrived



## Wardell Curry (Jul 9, 2016)

I text them "Hey,it's your uber driver........Am Outside".


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## JWag12787 (Apr 13, 2017)

I let the App do it's job and notify them?
Then after 3 minutes, I send a text like "Hey, It's Jon, your ___ driver. I'm parked ______."
Usually have them in my car by that point though.


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## wk1102 (Dec 25, 2015)

i used to wait 3 minutes.. niw i text at 1 mimute, I hate waiting.


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## Speedracer415 (Jan 8, 2017)

I don't.


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## Jagent (Jan 29, 2017)

I don't. I drive to the pin. They've got 5 minutes to find me. This app isn't rocket science. .. no need for calls or texts.


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## Wardell Curry (Jul 9, 2016)

Jagent said:


> I don't. I drive to the pin. They've got 5 minutes to find me. This app isn't rocket science. .. no need for calls or texts.


I fell you man. But I would get people come outside after 4 minutes and ask how long I was waiting because they didnt realize I was there(Excuses include the app didnt update my position or I didnt see your car). So now I just let them know so when their rating drops because they had me waiting, at least they know it's on them, not me.


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## Atom guy (Jul 27, 2016)

I text immediately upon arrival. Sometimes the app doesn't tell the passenger I've arrived.


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## Wardell Curry (Jul 9, 2016)

I have literally come to the pickup spot and I see the eventual passenger right away. They have my car's make,color, model, license plate and my picture. I have their name and that's it. After 3 minutes they get in realizing I am their Uber and ask why I didnt call to them. Like Im supposed to shout out "Pedro, where are you ?" to everyone I see. All I have is a name. The system is designed for the pax to find the driver, not vice versa.


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## NCHeel (Jan 5, 2017)

I let the app notify them. The rider is given all the information. I get some cheesy name, how many "B"s are there? They have my car info, my picture and I have trade dress in the window. Had a lady stand right beside my car at the hospital for 2 minutes on her phone. I pulled up beside her because her phone was out and she had that where is my ride look. She then decides to tap on my window and ask if I am her Uber. How do I know? You have all the info. It says Uber right there on the window.


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## George McFly (Jan 30, 2017)

If you've ever taken an Uber as a passenger you know how they continually notify you. I never text or call the pax after arriving..shortly after 5 mins I'm gone


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## Uberdriver2710 (Jul 15, 2015)

If they're on the curb, where they should be, (if they respect you at all) you won't need to text/call.


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## Danile...M... (Aug 24, 2016)

Text if not standing there. As soon as text is sent, start 5 minute timer. It time goes off, drive away and cancel.

When I started doing that every time, I have gotten fewer rides that needed to be canceled.


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## Veju (Apr 17, 2017)

I have a generic copy pasta in my notes that I text if no one is outside. Saves me time in sitting there when they decide to surface at the 4 minute mark. "
Hey, this is Xxxxxxx your driver. I'm outside when you're ready. Thanks!"


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## Wardell Curry (Jul 9, 2016)

Danile...M... said:


> Text if not standing there. As soon as text is sent, start 5 minute timer. It time goes off, drive away and cancel.
> 
> When I started doing that every time, I have gotten fewer rides that needed to be canceled.


 I agree. Texting them at least lets them know you are definitely there and most people will come down faster when they see that. Cancelling should be a last resort. I want the pax in my car asap and I find that texting serves that purpose. I could probably get more cancels by showing up, waiting 5 minutes with no text or call, and then cancelling but it probably wouldn't be as profitable. Even min fares are worth more than cancel fees here.


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## SEPA_UberDude (Apr 18, 2017)

If the pax doesn't come to me within a minute I call. If they don't answer the call I text. If I don't get a response to that I wait the obligatory 5 minutes and send another text letting them know I waited for them as long as I could and will be cancelling due to a no-show. I do this to generate time-stamped messages with Uber to cover my butt if the pax tries to claim I'm the no show.

There's been many times when the GPS has sent me to the wrong address or to a parking lot in an apartment complex or shopping center so I give them the benefit of the doubt and call so the pax can let me know where to find them or that they'll come to me, but if they aren't paying attention after calling for a ride and miss my call and text, then that's on them.


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## swingset (Feb 26, 2017)

Only call or text if it's busy with a lot of cars or I had to park somewhere odd because of a traffic/parking situation. Otherwise, the app does its job.


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## mattsabre (Nov 21, 2016)

It's always on the pax. If they are in a location where it's a little tricky to find you then you should text me and tell me where you are. I can't see house numbers or pick people out in crowds.


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## SEPA_UberDude (Apr 18, 2017)

mattsabre said:


> It's always on the pax. If they are in a location where it's a little tricky to find you then you should text me and tell me where you are. I can't see house numbers or pick people out in crowds.


Not always. If they're at a club or restaurant and the street address is on a main street, but the main entrance is in alley chances are neither I nor the pax will know that until I get there. College dorms are another place I find a courtesy call goes a long way toward good will. A lot of colleges have security gates so the GPS might take me the main campus building, but the students are waiting in front of their dorm. In both cases a simple call fixes that without me wasting my time because the app says I'm there, but we're in different locations and can't see each other.

If I get close, I'm going to do what I can within reason to get the pax in my car within 5 minutes rather than waste my time for some meager consolation prize and leave the pax hanging.


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## JimKE (Oct 28, 2016)

I don't usually do anything unless I'm in a location where I'm not sure where they are -- especially large malls. Then I usually call. About half the time, they answer and we figure it out. The other half the time they don't answer and that is a cancel no-show almost always.

The other exception is the obvious one where the pickup is in a gated community and I can't get in. Frequent flyers are always either outside the gate, or they text the code before I get there. The others often get canceled no-show, but that doesn't happen very often.

One thing I've noticed lately, however, is that the app seems to be pretty far behind the curve. I've had several riders who were ready, but didn't realize I was so close. 

In one case, the app said the rider had been notified, but they told me it told them I was 6 minutes away. They weren't making excuses -- they were completely ready to go the second I spoke to them on the phone.


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## Grahamcracker (Nov 2, 2016)

Hi, it's Bombtombilly with Uber. I am here at the pinned location.


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## UberNorthDfw (Nov 22, 2014)

I drive to pin, wait the 5 mins, no call or text, cancel & collect, unless I feel it is a long ride or airport trip.


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## MadTownUberD (Mar 11, 2017)

I text immediately upon arrival: "I am parked outside the door that says 110 by the mopeds", or "I am in the cul-de-sac by State Street Brats", or "I am in the car port in front of the revolving door", etc. This not only puts a time stamp on my arrival but takes away ALL excuses. Then after five minutes I text "I have to leave in one minute. Do you still need a ride?". Last night after I did this I finally got a reply "oh I canceled". Well no she didn't, so I canceled and pocketed the fee.

As others have indicated, it's not always the paxs fault. I have had more than one occasion where the pax said the app wouldn't let them choose the correct address, or it told them I was 5 minutes away when I was sitting right in front of them, etc. I don't think they are lying per se, but they may not completely understand how to use the app effectively.

Some paxs do some really goofy stuff. Once after I sent the "I've arrived" text, the pax went over to a black Lexus and knocked on its window. I was right next to the Lexus with not only my trade dress sticker but my magnetic signs in plain view, and I was standing outside the vehicle and might have even had my Uber polo shirt on. Not sure what else I could have done besides call out, which I think is tacky.


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## Andre Benjamin 6000 (Nov 11, 2016)

Jagent said:


> I don't. I drive to the pin. They've got 5 minutes to find me. This app isn't rocket science. .. no need for calls or texts.


Same.

Any extra's I do require extra compensation & we all know how that goes with Uber.


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## Chauffeur_James (Dec 12, 2014)

Wardell Curry said:


> I have literally come to the pickup spot and I see the eventual passenger right away. They have my car's make,color, model, license plate and my picture. I have their name and that's it. After 3 minutes they get in realizing I am their Uber and ask why I didnt call to them. Like Im supposed to shout out "Pedro, where are you ?" to everyone I see. All I have is a name. The system is designed for the pax to find the driver, not vice versa.


Problem is the app is off a lot of times. Tonight I pulled up and see a few people waiting for Uber's, I even sent a text to let them know I'm here, and a few minutes later a guy comes up and it's my Pax. He apologized because his app said I was still 2 minutes away and he checked his text messages and never even got the text. There is only so much you can do


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## Wardell Curry (Jul 9, 2016)

Gated communities suck. Its like half the people think I will be given the code by the security personnel if I tell them the location and name of the person i am picking up. That's the only reason I could think they arent texting me the code.


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## CrimzonFiasco (Nov 25, 2016)

I go to the pinned location and send a text that I'm there. But it's really for my record so uber can't stiff me for a no show fee.



Wardell Curry said:


> Gated communities suck. Its like half the people think I will be given the code by the security personnel if I tell them the location and name of the person i am picking up. That's the only reason I could think they arent texting me the code.


I hate gates. I always hit I've arrived when i get to one. I'm not waiting 5 mins at the gate and5 at the apt. Most of them wait on the gate code because they want you to call so they have that 2 to3 min buffer to get ready since most pax seem to get ready at the last minute.


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## Scruffy one (Oct 21, 2015)

wk1102 said:


> i used to wait 3 minutes.. niw i text at 1 mimute, I hate waiting.


 not so much because I hate waiting but rather I have been taken advantage of too many times. I may them & if they don't show, I let them
Know I am cancelling trip. Either they come out or, I cancel & let Uber know why.


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## troycarpenter (Mar 3, 2017)

CrimzonFiasco said:


> I hate gates. I always hit I've arrived when i get to one. I'm not waiting 5 mins at the gate and5 at the apt. Most of them wait on the gate code because they want you to call so they have that 2 to3 min buffer to get ready since most pax seem to get ready at the last minute.


Yeah, this morning I got to a gate and hit the notification, then had to text for the gate code. Then I got to the building and texted I was there. It was already 5 minutes since I was at the gate, so gave some extra time at the building. After two minutes the pax texted she was coming out, but after a few more minutes, nothing. Cancelled as a no-show and moved on...total time from when I got to the gate to when I left...15 minutes. I did notice afterwards that it was an Airport run.


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## West81330 (Oct 7, 2016)

Drive to pin, wait five minutes and three seconds, drive away. Can't be bothered calling or texting these people, and an $8 cancelation fee is better to me than a $4.80 minimum fare anyway. Only exception is if it's 1.6x surge or better. Then I'll send a text.


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## wk1102 (Dec 25, 2015)

Scruffy one said:


> not so much because I hate waiting but rather I have been taken advantage of too many times. I may them & if they don't show, I let them
> Know I am cancelling trip. Either they come out or, I cancel & let Uber know why.


It's I hate people disrespecting my time more than the waiting...


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## Cableguynoe (Feb 14, 2017)

Uberdriver2710 said:


> If they're on the curb, where they should be, (if they respect you at all) you won't need to text/call.


Yeah they need to be on the curb, or ready to come out. I don't get people that request an Uber then forget. Would you forget if you were waiting for the bus?
I've taken plenty of Uber rides and I can see where driver is at all times and also get notified.

The only time I text or call them is if I really want the ride, which would mean surge or an XL. Never call for just x.


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## Uberdriver2710 (Jul 15, 2015)

Cableguynoe said:


> Yeah they need to be on the curb, or ready to come out. I don't get people that request an Uber then forget. Would you forget if you were waiting for the bus?
> I've taken plenty of Uber rides and I can see where driver is at all times and also get notified.
> 
> The only time I text or call them is if I really want the ride, which would mean surge or an XL. Never call for just x.


"Curb or cancel" at base


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## Trafficat (Dec 19, 2016)

The app notifies them... then after about 3 mins I text or call. If I text and get no response after the 5 mins are up, I usually try to call.

Private residences during daylight hours, I knock.

If it is a small bar in a boonie town after a 25 min ETA I go inside an search for the guy. I figure it is more likely to be a higher fare.

Residences at night, casinos, popular bars and clubs in urban areas, large hospital campuses, closed gates at gated communities, etc. 5 mins pass and no contact = cancellation fee.


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## Cableguynoe (Feb 14, 2017)

Trafficat said:


> Private residences during daylight hours, I knock.
> 
> If it is a small bar in a boonie town after a 25 min ETA I go inside an search for the guy. I figure it is more likely to be a higher fare.
> .


Wow. I would never do any of these.
I would never knock because many times I arrive at address and pax comes out from across the street. Not sure if they do it on purpose, or they just accept the first address it gives and don't bother changing it since it's close enough.
The bar thing, I would feel kind of silly walking around asking "Are you Mike?"


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## Safe_Driver_4_U (Apr 2, 2017)

Jagent said:


> I don't. I drive to the pin. They've got 5 minutes to find me. This app isn't rocket science. .. no need for calls or texts.


 this is what I am doing now too, if they can't be respectful or smart enough to be curbside at right location I take the 5 min cancel fee and move on I don't want them in my car. The dumb and disrespectful riders are the ones that usually give negative ratings also, my ratings have gone up now that I am more selective. Drive to pin wait 5 then move on


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## MadTownUberD (Mar 11, 2017)

Safe_Driver_4_U said:


> this is what I am doing now too, if they can't be respectful or smart enough to be curbside at right location I take the 5 min cancel fee and move on I don't want them in my car. The dumb and disrespectful riders are the ones that usually give negative ratings also, my ratings have gone up now that I am more selective. Drive to pin wait 5 then move on


That's actually a good point. But in my market it seems like it's often not the rider's fault, and I don't want to piss people off because they might remember my name and the make/model of my vehicle, and I might get them again.

The ones that are truly disrespectful don't make any effort to tell you they are coming out in a couple of minutes etc. I absolutely cancel no show those. But waiting at least five minutes is within the terms of service I believe. I think the recommendation from Uber Help may even be to wait up to ten minutes.


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## DocT (Jul 16, 2015)

The app notifies the pax of my arrival. I sit and wait. Txt msg goes out at 4min. If I don't receive a reply at 5min, I wait another 30 seconds and send out another txt to let the pax know the 5min timer is up and to cancel and request another car. If they don't cancel in the next 30 seconds, I Cancel > No Show, and drive off. If I DO receive a reply, I send another txt, dependent on the pax rating, where I am parked, and a pax circumstance of tardy.


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## Jagent (Jan 29, 2017)

MadTownUberD said:


> That's actually a good point. But in my market it seems like it's often not the rider's fault, and I don't want to piss people off because they might remember my name and the make/model of my vehicle, and I might get them again.
> 
> The ones that are truly disrespectful don't make any effort to tell you they are coming out in a couple of minutes etc. I absolutely cancel no show those. But waiting at least five minutes is within the terms of service I believe. I think the recommendation from Uber Help may even be to wait up to ten minutes.


Don't worry about getting the same pax twice. In 18 months of driving, that only happened to me once. And if I ever canceled on someone, then got them later, I blamed Uber.


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## AllGold (Sep 16, 2016)

I don't normally do anything; I just let the app handle it.

An exception would be if I think the pin might be off, particularly if there is a surge. For example, pulling up to a house at night that is totally dark. Or certain areas where, from experience, Uber tends to screw up the actual pickup location half the time. In that case I will usually wait about a minute, then text something like "I have 123 Main. Is that correct?" They will either respond with "yes, be right out" or tell you where they're really at.


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## UsedToBeAPartner (Sep 19, 2016)

I am not sure why so many drivers waste so much time waiting for their riders. Sitting for 5 minutes praying the won't show up and I will be able to collect $4 make no sense to me. If the rider is not there when I arrive I CALL IMMEDIATELY and let them know I am out front. I used to text but it sometimes took a bit of time to get a response. If the rider does not answer the phone I will send a text and if I get no response in about a minute I cancel the ride and move on. Just sitting there is a complete waste of time.


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## Oscar Levant (Aug 15, 2014)

Jagent said:


> I don't. I drive to the pin. They've got 5 minutes to find me. This app isn't rocket science. .. no need for calls or texts.


For me it is like this: On busy days, I don't. On slow days, I try harder. It depends.


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## Jo3030 (Jan 2, 2016)

No updates at all. I am there. 6 mins later, you aren't out, I'm out. I give myself a 1 min buffer so Lyft & Uber don't BS me w/ my fees.


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## Shea F. Kenny (Jan 3, 2015)

Text immediately if not on curb. Set your msg app to give you a delivery alert. With lyft, I look up the destination addy. If long trip, I'll call. Short trip, I hope they don't show up. LOL


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## Fuzzyelvis (Dec 7, 2014)

Wardell Curry said:


> I agree. Texting them at least lets them know you are definitely there and most people will come down faster when they see that. Cancelling should be a last resort. I want the pax in my car asap and I find that texting serves that purpose. I could probably get more cancels by showing up, waiting 5 minutes with no text or call, and then cancelling but it probably wouldn't be as profitable. Even min fares are worth more than cancel fees here.


Really? Here the cancel fee is $4 and minimum trip $2.44 (for me at 20%, new drivers are at 28%). Unless it's a surge I prefer the cancel.


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

Blow the horn non stop and yell obscenities.


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## BlastedChango (Mar 10, 2017)

Well here the min fare is the same as the cancel fee, so if there is no surge i wait the 5 minutes, i usually text or call them once


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## NapsterSA (Apr 18, 2017)

A couple of blocks before my arrival, I paste into a text msg: "Hi. Watch for a silver Honda SUV". It's a subtle but effective way to make the pax an active participant in the pickup. Also helps at night when there are a gazillion Uber/Lyft drivers around crowded bars.


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## Cableguynoe (Feb 14, 2017)

Shea F. Kenny said:


> With lyft, I look up the destination addy. If long trip, I'll call. Short trip, I hope they don't show up. LOL


Love that about Lyft. Cancelled many rides and drove away thanks to this feature.



NapsterSA said:


> A couple of blocks before my arrival, I paste into a text msg: "Hi. Watch for a silver Honda SUV". It's a subtle but effective way to make the pax an active participant in the pickup. Also helps at night when there are a gazillion Uber/Lyft drivers around crowded bars.


The thing is, they get an alert saying their driver is almost there and another one when you arrive.

I think everyone should take a ride so they know exactly what pax sees. Then you can adjust what you do accordingly. 
At least request a ride and cancel within the 5 minutes.


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## Trafficat (Dec 19, 2016)

Jo3030 said:


> No updates at all. I am there. 6 mins later, you aren't out, I'm out. I give myself a 1 min buffer so Lyft & Uber don't BS me w/ my fees.


I have found that Lyft will not give me the cancellation fee unless I call the rider at least once.



Jagent said:


> Don't worry about getting the same pax twice. In 18 months of driving, that only happened to me once. And if I ever canceled on someone, then got them later, I blamed Uber.


Probably depends on market. I've got repeat passengers many times (maybe 20 times) and I've only been driving for about a third as long. I really like the feature that Lyft has where a 3 star rating or lower means you never get paired again.


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## Jon E (Feb 15, 2017)

SEPA_UberDude said:


> If the pax doesn't come to me within a minute I call. If they don't answer the call I text. If I don't get a response to that I wait the obligatory 5 minutes and send another text letting them know I waited for them as long as I could and will be cancelling due to a no-show. I do this to generate time-stamped messages with Uber to cover my butt if the pax tries to claim I'm the no show.
> 
> There's been many times when the GPS has sent me to the wrong address or to a parking lot in an apartment complex or shopping center so I give them the benefit of the doubt and call so the pax can let me know where to find them or that they'll come to me, but if they aren't paying attention after calling for a ride and miss my call and text, then that's on them.


You don't need those types of time stamps. Time stamp starts when rider is notified. Ends at 5:01 when I cancel. Works every time.

Don't contact pax at all. Drive to Pin. Wait for rider notified indication. Start timer. Don't contact pax. Don't take calls from pax. Ignore texts from pax. Wait 5:01. Cancel. Collect fare.
This is your most profitable fare on whole.

Unless it's surging then I get the pax outta the restroom if need to!!



Wardell Curry said:


> Gated communities suck. Its like half the people think I will be given the code by the security personnel if I tell them the location and name of the person i am picking up. That's the only reason I could think they arent texting me the code.


Wait at gate. Choose to notify pax you are there. Start timer. Wait 5:01. Cancel trip. Collect cancellation fee.



Jo3030 said:


> No updates at all. I am there. 6 mins later, you aren't out, I'm out. I give myself a 1 min buffer so Lyft & Uber don't BS me w/ my fees.


With Uber it's 5:01. Trust me, i do it constantly.


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## Tr4vis Ka1anick (Oct 2, 2016)

I text and call if necessary, depending on the situation. The technology is not perfect. The last perfect person died on the cross. There maybe distractions, noises, the passenger may have stepped away from their phone. For example, I don't bring my phone into the bathroom.

I agree people should be at the door, toes to the curb, at the gate, or gate code given.

Heck, it would make sense for the rider to send the driver a text with a brief description of themselves if conditions warranted.

I empathize with the drivers in busier ruder markets who don't text or call however.


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## Cableguynoe (Feb 14, 2017)

Tr4vis Ka1anick said:


> For example, I don't bring my phone into the bathroom.


Now that's just crazy


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## SEPA_UberDude (Apr 18, 2017)

Jon E said:


> You don't need those types of time stamps. Time stamp starts when rider is notified. Ends at 5:01 when I cancel. Works every time.
> 
> Don't contact pax at all. Drive to Pin. Wait for rider notified indication. Start timer. Don't contact pax. Don't take calls from pax. Ignore texts from pax. Wait 5:01. Cancel. Collect fare.
> This is your most profitable fare on whole....


I suppose different markets may require different tactics. I'm not sure how anyone can make money by waiting 5 minutes and then only getting a cancellation fee out of it, but again, maybe it's a matter of location. The minimum fare ride in my area is $3.37. The most I'll ever make on a cancellation is $3.75. I average over $10 per ride, so for me it's well worth trying to contact the pax or respond to them contacting me if we don't see each other right away instead of cancelling rides the second I know I'll get paid a 38¢ more than minimum fare.


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## LAbDog65 (Nov 29, 2016)

Wardell Curry said:


> I text them "Hey,it's your uber driver........Am Outside".


I usually only call if in a shopping center or large apartment complex. I will also call around the 3-4 min mark to give them a chance before I cancel. Uber doesn't always tell the correct arrival time. I once was sent to a job site with different buildings. Pax did not answer phone. I saw a worker and he said he would get the rider. Turns out Uber told him I was 25 minutes away. Actually I was there in 10 and only that long because of traffic


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## cdm813 (Jan 9, 2017)

If the destination requires me pulling into a driveway of a private residence, I send a message with the address essentially validating the pickup address. I've had times where the pickup address in the app is the wrong house, and the homeowner gets a bit perturbed.


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## Disgusted Driver (Jan 9, 2015)

I find that running past them with just a raincoat on and flashing them works best. 

Seriously though, I arrive, wait a minute and then call. My goal is to get them in the car as fast as possible. At 4:50 I'm slowly idling away, at 5 I cancel as no show.


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## Cableguynoe (Feb 14, 2017)

After 4 minutes I'm already upset and no longer want to give them a ride. Doors are locked at 4 minutes. Sometimes they do run out in time. But at 4:30 I start rolling away and ready for the cancel.


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## PepeLePiu (Feb 3, 2017)

Got my timer set up at 6 minutes.
Send a standardized text @ 2 minutes:
"This is Pepe, your Uber driver, I'm at _______, blue car, hazards on".
Another text @ 5 minutes:
"The ride is now cancelled, thank you for using the service, please request again when you are ready"

If they answer the 1st. text I give him a courtesy extension on the time, otherwise I'm gone by 6. I learned my lesson by not allowing an 1 minute to ensure the collection of the cancel fee.


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## MadTownUberD (Mar 11, 2017)

Here minimum fare is $3.19. Cancellation fee is $3.00. Downtown / campus is usually minimum fare, so if I wanted to teach kids a lesson and not dirty up my car with pax, I should cancel no show more. But sometime people go to the airport, which is at least $7. I rarely cancel no show.


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## Trebor (Apr 22, 2015)

Jagent said:


> I don't. I drive to the pin. They've got 5 minutes to find me. This app isn't rocket science. .. no need for calls or texts.


Not to mention they can see where the car is at all times (should we not be in the "right spot").


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## AllGold (Sep 16, 2016)

In my market, minimum fare pays me $2.16 and the cancel fee pays $3.60.


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## Fuzzyelvis (Dec 7, 2014)

Tr4vis Ka1anick said:


> I don't bring my phone into the bathroom.
> 
> I agree people should be at the door, toes to the curb, at the gate, or gate code given.


I shit BEFORE I order an Uber. So this shouldn't be an issue unless the pax has raging, uncontrolled diarrhea, in which case I don't want them in my car anyhoo!

Order when you are READY TO WALK OUT THE DOOR. Some leeway if the driver is 25 minutes away, but if he is and he's coming he's probably a newbie who'll wait all day anyway.


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## Samson5121 (Dec 15, 2016)

Hey guys don't you hate it when have to type the same text message over and over? well here's a tip that I figured out for the iphone, not sure where to look on android phones. Go to settings, general, keyboard, and then text replacement. This creates shortcut texts. As an example on my phone if I type "wh" it replaces it with "please look around to see which terminal you are at: A,B,C, or D) or if I type "ub" then this message appears "this is your Uber driver, if you are curbside can you text me a landmark that you are standing by" I have about 10 shortcuts built. I have one for FLL and another for Port of Miami, etc. Most of the time I call pax but this helps as well if you driving.


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## Gooberlifturwallet (Feb 18, 2017)

Stop wasting your time and energy people. No text messages nothing. I immediately call them and the five minute clock starts. No answer or voicemail they get five minutes or I roll away where they can't see me. Believe me people get their asses in gear when they know you're not going to sit there like an imbecile waiting on them.


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## SEPA_UberDude (Apr 18, 2017)

Gooberlifturwallet said:


> Stop wasting your time and energy people. No text messages nothing. I immediately call them and the five minute clock starts. No answer or voicemail they get five minutes or I roll away where they can't see me. Believe me people get their asses in gear when they know you're not going to sit there like an imbecile waiting on them.


The only time I'd be wasting would be driving there, waiting 5 minutes and then leaving without a fare. And the energy it takes to contact the pax to make sure I'm in the right place and sometimes finding out they saw me pass their street and let me know I'm sitting outside the wrong address is minimal. I highly doubt I'd be teaching my next pax a lessen by leaving the previous one behind because Google Maps led me to the wrong loop of an apartment complex. If you can make more money by cancelling rides than giving them, good on you. But I can't so I don't when easily avoidable.


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## BoboBig (Mar 1, 2017)

Wardell Curry said:


> I text them "Hey,it's your uber driver........Am Outside".


I don't text or do nothing sometimes I'll call to help some of these morons catch their Uber, but if I do text I will text....Uber has arrived...

They probably think it's a text from Uber headquarters lol...



Grahamcracker said:


> Hi, it's Bombtombilly with Uber. I am here at the pinned location.


Lmao


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## Cableguynoe (Feb 14, 2017)

Samson5121 said:


> Hey guys don't you hate it when have to type the same text message over and over? well here's a tip that I figured out for the iphone, not sure where to look on android phones. Go to settings, general, keyboard, and then text replacement. This creates shortcut texts. As an example on my phone if I type "wh" it replaces it with "please look around to see which terminal you are at: A,B,C, or D) or if I type "ub" then this message appears "this is your Uber driver, if you are curbside can you text me a landmark that you are standing by" I have about 10 shortcuts built. I have one for FLL and another for Port of Miami, etc. Most of the time I call pax but this helps as well if you driving.


Thx for the tip. 
I've done this for my email and usernames so I'm not typing them all the time. 
Never thought of doing it for this


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## Lantawood (Feb 23, 2017)

Very tactful.



PepeLePiu said:


> "The ride is now cancelled, thank you for using the service, please request again when you are ready"


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## Fubernuber (Jan 15, 2017)

I cold call them and tell them to get the flock out of their house before i take the bat out of my trunk and bash their mailbox in with extreme prejudice


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## rotocub (Apr 30, 2016)

There are several factors that determine whether I text or not, but when I do I typically send a text as soon as I arrive...."Your Uber has arrived, black Prius".


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## PepeLePiu (Feb 3, 2017)

Lantawood said:


> Very tactful.


You'll never know when you might get them again. I do avoid a ping on a ride that I just cancelled, drive a few minutes then turn it back on.


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## rotocub (Apr 30, 2016)

PepeLePiu said:


> "The ride is now cancelled, thank you for using the service, please request again when you are ready"


I send a similar text when canceling a no-show....

"Your driver's 5-minute wait period has expired and your trip has been canceled. Please request again when you are ready for pickup and we will pair you with the closest driver. Thank you."


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## Dback2004 (Nov 7, 2015)

MadTownUberD said:


> might have even had my Uber polo shirt on


That's a step of dedication I'll never go to.

I'm part time and usually only driving Friday-Saturday nights. I also use Uber as a pax frequently so I know exactly what notifications the rider gets and they're usually sufficient that as a driver I don't need to text or call unless it's an odd circumstances. I've also never seen the passenger app be off by more than 30 seconds or so on an actual arrival. Once it switched drivers on me so my estimated time to pickup dropped from 12 minutes to 5. But I don't request the ride until I'm ready and then I'm watching the app anyway to know when to leave my front door and walk to the curb. I wish more pax would figure that out!

So my philosophy as a driver is arrive, start 5:01 timer (I've been denied cancel fees at 4:59 but never at 5:01). After 2-3 minutes I might text the pax if I'm feeling generous, but usually not. They always get cancelled at 5:01 unless if it's a high surge or I'm in an area where there's nothing around and I'm pretty sure the destination will be a good fare, then I'll wait longer and be more insistent on trying to find the pax. If I'm in a busy area with lots of cars or the pickup could be an alley or the street I'll text my location upon arrival. If I arrive at a house that's dark or an apartment complex I'm not sure of the building I will usually call instead of text to get the precise location quicker. The timer is still running of course. If a pax calls or texts me first I'll give them the courtesy of answering, at least they're trying to find their driver. But they don't get extra time unless it's a high surge or a likely long fare, etc.

My 80% cut on most of my fares is about $3-4 and my cut on a cancel is $4 so it's usually more profitable to get the cancel than actually do the run. Usually.

I've had many occasions where I've no-showed a ride and then same rider requests me again. Since I'm usually less than a block away by the time they re-request I usually go back. Sometimes I get a fare on top of the cancel fee (I just blame Uber if they say anything) or I get a double cancellation fee. One drunk idiot on a Saturday night at 3:03am actually gave me 3 cancellation fees. I'm pretty sure I saw him stumbling around by the bar's entrance, but he was probably seeing double or triple and couldn't figure out which car I actually was. At that level of intoxication I didn't want to take him anyway 

A couple weekends ago I had a pickup in the RI District. There's two main pickup areas so I texted pax upon arrival which one I was at. No reply, at 5:01 cancelled. Did my next 2 runs and got another request at the district. Used the other pickup area this time and while I'm waiting on my pax this wasted girl comes over and asks if I'm Joe (lets assume my name is Joe) and says she's Jane, my cancellation 20 minutes ago. I just say "no, sorry." My pax gets in and off we go. My next 4 requests to the District Jane is still down there and coming up to me each time "are you Joe?" Look at your phone lady, you were cancelled an hour ago. Perfect example of people who should stick to the bus. Also, if you're drinking and know you're going to need an Uber at the end of the night, shut your phone off at 20% battery and save it for your ride. It really irks me to wait on a pax who finally finds me and says "sorry my phone died"


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## RipCityWezay (May 12, 2017)

The app notifies them

5 minutes and I'm gone 

I do not contact riders via phone.


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## UberEricLong (Oct 28, 2015)

I like to turn on my hazard lights and then flash the headlights while frantically honking the horn. Sometime I will scream out the window too.


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## darkshy77 (Sep 28, 2015)

You Uber is here


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## Bpr2 (Feb 21, 2017)

When I'm near to them, I text that I'm nearby. Has raised the feet to curb to 95% and the pickup process is much quicker now .


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## roadman (Nov 14, 2016)

Wardell Curry said:


> I text them "Hey,it's your uber driver........Am Outside".


No calls or texts.


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## New2This (Dec 27, 2015)

If it's a high (2.0X or higher) boost or surge I will make effort to call. Above 3.0X like at a concert or sporting event I call and keep them on the phone 'to make sure I find you' when it's so I don't lose the surge.

Base rates, which I don't do often, 5:01 & I am outta there


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## SEPA_UberDude (Apr 18, 2017)

rotocub said:


> I send a similar text when canceling a no-show....
> 
> "Your driver's 5-minute wait period has expired and your trip has been canceled. Please request again when you are ready for pickup and we will pair you with the closest driver. Thank you."


This is a really well written text. Since the Text/Caller ID will from be an Uber number it would appear to be from Uber and serve to remind the pax that it's Uber's policy, not the driver being a d*ck for not waiting a couple minutes longer than required.


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## AllGold (Sep 16, 2016)

Dback2004 said:


> Also, if you're drinking and know you're going to need an Uber at the end of the night, shut your phone off at 20% battery and save it for your ride. It really irks me to wait on a pax who finally finds me and says "sorry my phone died"


I have taken people to the bars to BEGIN their night and had them say something to their buddy like "my phone is at 8% or 13%" or whatever. I am always baffled by people who can't keep their phone charged.


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## joffie (Jan 31, 2016)

Depends on the surge.


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## TBone (Jan 19, 2015)

I let the app notify them then call at 5 minutes to verify the address is correct.
If they do not answer I leave. 
For a "technology" company they suck at GPS. Some nights 30-50% of my pickup addresses are wrong.


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## rotocub (Apr 30, 2016)

SEPA_UberDude said:


> This is a really well written text. Since the Text/Caller ID will from be an Uber number it would appear to be from Uber and serve to remind the pax that it's Uber's policy, not the driver being a d*ck for not waiting a couple minutes longer than required.


Thanks. It's nice to be able educate the rider (and make an easy $4) while making it look like Uber is behind it.


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## OverTheBarrell (May 7, 2017)

Wardell Curry said:


> I text them "Hey,it's your uber driver........Am Outside".


Do Cabbies or Taxi's do this?

hmm ... :-/


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## Coffeekeepsmedriving (Oct 2, 2015)

Wardell Curry said:


> I text them "Hey,it's your uber driver........Am Outside".


I Hold the horn down for 20 seconds..



Jagent said:


> I don't. I drive to the pin. They've got 5 minutes to find me. This app isn't rocket science. .. no need for calls or texts.


I let then find me too..Sometimes i hide real good and they still find me..


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## HereNow (Apr 8, 2017)

I just send 'uber' on arrival .. and they understand.


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## BlastedChango (Mar 10, 2017)

TBone said:


> I let the app notify them then call at 5 minutes to verify the address is correct.
> If they do not answer I leave.
> For a "technology" company they suck at GPS. Some nights 30-50% of my pickup addresses are wrong.


Don't underestimate the stupidity of some people, some idiots just can't put their address even if their lives depends on it


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## ng4ever (Feb 16, 2016)

Atom guy said:


> I text immediately upon arrival. Sometimes the app doesn't tell the passenger I've arrived.


Thank you. Uber doesn't always work right. Lyft on the other hand does and that why I use it instead so if the driver doesn't text or call when he is there its ok because the Lyft app automatically text me when the driver is there. Unlike Uber.


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## El Janitor (Feb 22, 2016)

If I don't see them standing outside, I'll text or call, I'm only waiting 5 minutes if I don't hear back from you before your 5 minutes is up I'm gone. The other thing is I once had a passenger who called me while I was on the way to the pickup location. It was an interesting call.
*
My phone rings as I'm 5 minutes away from a pickup location:
Uber Client:*" Did you have breakfast this morning?
*Me:*" Yes I did, I'm almost at your house. I'll be there in 5 minutes"
*Uber Client:*" I see that you're almost here, it shows me where you are on the app, are you sure you don't need a cup of coffee or something? There's a good cafe right around the corner from my house, maybe you want to go get some coffee?"
*Me:"* No that's alright I'm less then 5 minutes away, did you want to cancel, and request another ride?"
*Uber Client*,"I don't need to go for another 30 minutes or so. See I always have problems because of where I live, and if I cancel I won't get to work on time waiting for another driver. There's a good cafe nearby, maybe you need something there, like breakfast or something?"
*Me:*" No I ate breakfast already, I'll be there in 3 minutes, are you sure you don't want me to cancel the ride?"
*Uber Client*:" You sound like a really nice person, and I'm sure you understand my situation, it's hard for me to get an Uber quickly because of where I live, and I don't need to be at work this early, so maybe you could stop somewhere for 20 minutes and then come get me?" *
Me:*"No sorry I can't do that, I'm right around the corner. Let me cancel the ride and you can request another driver......."
*Uber Client*:'' (Furious)"What's wrong with you? Why are you doing this to me?! I need a ride but I'm not ready to go and I don't want to leave so early, I don't have to be there right now, I don't want to cancel because then I'll be late, and I don't like having to wait, why don't you understand what I'm saying?! I was trying to be reasonable, but you.........."
*Me:*" (Hangs up) cancels ride and accepts new ping.


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## Karen Stein (Nov 5, 2016)

It depends.

If it's not obvious where I am, I'll send a text (ie: Small white car at the corner).

If I've already waited 5 minutes I might call, or just text "waiting out front."

Naturally, sometimes I'll text or call even before I arrive. (ie: Need gate code).


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## JDoey (Mar 6, 2017)

Unless it's a big surge I'll drive to the pin and wait. 

If it's a 2.0 or higher I'll text them from the moment I receive the ping, 

"hey it's so-and-so your Uber driver.
I received your request and I'm on my way.

ETA six minutes."


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## Frontier Guy (Dec 27, 2015)

Depends, if I'm doing the late night bar scene, with jacked up traffic, never, if the timer runs out, oh well. If I'm picking up at a residence or business where people are not outside, I'll give them 1:30 on the timer then I call. Most of my work is early AM to late Mornings, I get a lot of people going to work or the airport, it's not always practical for them to be waiting outside, in those cases I'll always call "Hi, this is your driver with Lyft/uber, I'm outside". If I'm not parked where it's readily noticeable (sometimes double parking is not an option), I'll tell them where I'm at, and it gives me an excuse to get out and stretch my legs while I wait for them to come out.


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## MadTownUberD (Mar 11, 2017)

El Janitor said:


> If I don't see them standing outside, I'll text or call, I'm only waiting 5 minutes if I don't hear back from you before your 5 minutes is up I'm gone. The other thing is I once had a passenger who called me while I was on the way to the pickup location. It was an interesting call.
> *
> My phone rings as I'm 5 minutes away from a pickup location:
> Uber Client:*" Did you have breakfast this morning?
> ...


Was the client trying to offer you a free breakfast?


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## El Janitor (Feb 22, 2016)

MadTownUberD said:


> Was the client trying to offer you a free breakfast?


no


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## 105398 (Aug 28, 2016)

El Janitor said:


> it's hard for me to get an Uber quickly because of where I live, and I don't need to be at work this early,


lol this breakfast story is classic.... And he was ONLY going to work? I could understand a little padding if going to the airport or something.


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## El Janitor (Feb 22, 2016)

105398 said:


> lol this breakfast story is classic.... And he was ONLY going to work? I could understand a little padding if going to the airport or something.


No no, I asked if she was offering to eat with me or something, and she wanted me to go sit for 30 minutes *anywhere else*, until she he was ready to go. Just sit and wait because she requested a ride and I was right around the corner when she did, and it usually takes drivers 20 minutes to get to her because she lives up a windy ass canyon road off another well known canyon in between the valley and the Beach where the houses and land are very expensive. So it's basically;" I live in a place thats beautiful and scenic in the mountains, and I either don't own a car, or drive. However I did request UBER, and didn't expect there to be a driver less then 3 miles away. So please please servant go sit somewhere and buy yourself some food, or go shopping or something while I put on my makeup, and do whatever else it is I do before I get ready for work. Because I have no consideration for others, nor do I want to hear about what happens to anyone else in the world besides me."

Yes Mamm I'm just your UBER driver here to serve you as you wish, after all that's the whole point to my existence, to serve you.


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## Tippy711 (Apr 14, 2017)

Yeah I stopped calling or texting about six months ago. I drive to the green circle and the app says rider notified. I start a five minute countdown on my stopwatch app. If they can't find my car by then, and they have all my info, car make and color, license plate number,my name and number then they're screwed.. All I got is a name like "IP" obviously an alias. It didn't say in my contract that I had an obligation to contact them upon arrival.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

Grahamcracker said:


> Hi, it's Bombtombilly with Uber. I am here at the pinned location.


Never say, "I am here". It is a redundancy. It is like texting someone to say that you are alive. There is no purpose in texting that that because if one is texting then, clearly, one cannot be dead. It's the same with "I am here". "Here" means the place where one is currently located. Saying "I am here" is equivalent to saying "I am located at the place where I am currently located". Saying/texting that makes *no sense*.

This is why I will sometimes hang up and cancel on berks who call me and ask, "are you here?".


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## Grahamcracker (Nov 2, 2016)

elelegido said:


> Never say, "I am here". It is a redundancy. It is like texting someone to say that you are alive. There is no purpose in texting that that because if one is texting then, clearly, one cannot be dead. It's the same with "I am here". "Here" means the place where one is currently located. Saying "I am here" is equivalent to saying "I am located at the place where I am currently located". Saying/texting that makes *no sense*.
> 
> This is why I will sometimes hang up and cancel on berks who call me and ask, "are you here?".


Riiight. I think you need a vacation, get laid or something. Yes, what you say makes sense, however you are waaayyy too focused about what a random person says on some forum. In the grand scheme of things, it's truly petty.


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## BlastedChango (Mar 10, 2017)

El Janitor said:


> If I don't see them standing outside, I'll text or call, I'm only waiting 5 minutes if I don't hear back from you before your 5 minutes is up I'm gone. The other thing is I once had a passenger who called me while I was on the way to the pickup location. It was an interesting call.
> *
> My phone rings as I'm 5 minutes away from a pickup location:
> Uber Client:*" Did you have breakfast this morning?
> ...


shit is that for real or my sarcasm detector is not functioning


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## SuzeCB (Oct 30, 2016)

OverTheBarrell said:


> Do Cabbies or Taxi's do this?
> 
> hmm ... :-/


When I dispatched, it was a regular occurrence for drivers to radio back to base telling us that they were there and asking us to call the customer to let them know.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

Grahamcracker said:


> Riiight. I think you need a vacation, get laid or something. Yes, what you say makes sense, however you are waaayyy too focused about what a random person says on some forum. In the grand scheme of things, it's truly petty.


I'm not saying it's not. But don't sell yourself short. You are much more to me than just a random person on a forum. Much more.


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## asriznet (Apr 13, 2017)

Same like others, text immediately upon arriving if it's a busy area where not a good place to park around. use the text timestamp to start my 5min timer and cancel if no response from rider or hit timer. of course i would send the rider a last text saying my reason for cancellation hoping they will not repeat on their future rides.


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## nomad_driver (May 11, 2016)

I turn on my uber signal, it's like the bat signal but ******ier.


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## MadTownUberD (Mar 11, 2017)

nomad_driver said:


> I turn on my uber signal, it's like the bat signal but ******ier.


I actually had a funny guy text me before he got to the pickup location "are you Batman?" to which I replied "no, but I am parked across from Kung Fu Tea.". He then texted me and said "(in a low Batman voice) I'll be right there" or something. The conversation on-trip proceeded in the same vein. His GF seemed amused/cool about it.


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## Grahamcracker (Nov 2, 2016)

elelegido said:


> I'm not saying it's not. But don't sell yourself short. You are much more to me than just a random person on a forum. Much more.


Is this bedroom talk?


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## everythingsuber (Sep 29, 2015)

MadTownUberD said:


> I actually had a funny guy text me before he got to the pickup location "are you Batman?" to which I replied "no, but I am parked across from Kung Fu Tea.". He then texted me and said "(in a low Batman voice) I'll be right there" or something. The conversation on-trip proceeded in the same vein. His GF seemed amused/cool about it.


Have you kept in touch since.


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## Sheep Ant (May 15, 2017)

Start the 5 minute timer and collect fee if they don't arrive. If you're unable to stop at the pin, text the passenger with your location.

Simples.


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## MadTownUberD (Mar 11, 2017)

everythingsuber said:


> Have you kept in touch since.


No we haven't. It was just a goof off conversation because I think we both realized we should have a little fun with an otherwise mundane trip experience.


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## Cableguynoe (Feb 14, 2017)

elelegido said:


> Never say, "I am here". It is a redundancy. It is like texting someone to say that you are alive. There is no purpose in texting that that because if one is texting then, clearly, one cannot be dead. It's the same with "I am here". "Here" means the place where one is currently located. Saying "I am here" is equivalent to saying "I am located at the place where I am currently located". Saying/texting that makes *no sense*.
> 
> This is why I will sometimes hang up and cancel on berks who call me and ask, "are you here?".


You're trying too hard buddy. If you know what they mean when they ask " are you here?" ( And you obviously do), just go with it.

You probably don't have many friends or many conversations for that matter if you're always correcting people for insignificant things like that


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## rickasmith98 (Sep 26, 2016)

swingset said:


> Only call or text if it's busy with a lot of cars or I had to park somewhere odd because of a traffic/parking situation. Otherwise, the app does its job.


Never rely on the app to do it's job. Had so many riders say they didn't know I was there even though my side said "rider has been notified". Thought it was just BS but then a lot of riders kept saying their app had me 5 minutes away when I arrived. It happened too often so while the app works like it's supposed to some of the time, often it doesn.t Someone on here posted texting was the best way because of the way text messages are delivered vs the way the Uber app would send the automatic messages. Plus when folks hear their TEXT tone, they are programmed to look at it, even if the world is falling down around them. So now I have always on my clipboard the simple phrase, "Your Uber has arrived!" The minute I get there I paste and send. You'd be surprised at how much it's cut down my wait time or they text back and say they don't see me and then I can go from there if the navigation or PU location is wrong.

Regarding calling folks, it amazes me how many Uber customers have an old or invalid cell phone connected to their accounts. There is no way a driver can contact them when this is the case. When I mention they need to update it especially for safety reasons, they flippantly say, "I couldn't figure out how!" WTF?


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## MadTownUberD (Mar 11, 2017)

rickasmith98 said:


> Never rely on the app to do it's job. Had so many riders say they didn't know I was there even though my side said "rider has been notified". Thought it was just BS but then a lot of riders kept saying their app had me 5 minutes away when I arrived. It happened too often so while the app works like it's supposed to some of the time, often it doesn.t Someone on here posted texting was the best way because of the way text messages are delivered vs the way the Uber app would send the automatic messages. Plus when folks hear their TEXT tone, they are programmed to look at it, even if the world is falling down around them. So now I have always on my clipboard the simple phrase, "Your Uber has arrived!" The minute I get there I paste and send. You'd be surprised at how much it's cut down my wait time or they text back and say they don't see me and then I can go from there if the navigation or PU location is wrong.


^^^THIS!

I like to use technology as a tool, but I never trust it 100%. The on-trip navigation is frequently horribly wrong as well. Use your brains people...that's why God gave them to you. And while I understand the resistance to do anything extra for minimum wage, that's just not me. I always believe in going above and beyond at whatever job I am doing. That's how you get noticed and what opens doors for you.


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## SurgeWarrior (Jun 18, 2016)

Wardell Curry said:


> I text them "Hey,it's your uber driver........Am Outside".


I let the app notify them that I cancelled after 5 minutes of waiting.


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## rickasmith98 (Sep 26, 2016)

El Janitor said:


> If I don't see them standing outside, I'll text or call, I'm only waiting 5 minutes if I don't hear back from you before your 5 minutes is up I'm gone. The other thing is I once had a passenger who called me while I was on the way to the pickup location. It was an interesting call.
> *
> My phone rings as I'm 5 minutes away from a pickup location:
> Uber Client:*" Did you have breakfast this morning?
> ...


God forbid her ass get to work early! There's the work ethic in this country.


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## Cableguynoe (Feb 14, 2017)

El Janitor said:


> If I don't see them standing outside, I'll text or call, I'm only waiting 5 minutes if I don't hear back from you before your 5 minutes is up I'm gone. The other thing is I once had a passenger who called me while I was on the way to the pickup location. It was an interesting call.
> *
> My phone rings as I'm 5 minutes away from a pickup location:
> Uber Client:*" Did you have breakfast this morning?
> ...


WOW! She doesn't like having to wait but has no problem asking others to wait.

And they wonder why they're alone and have no friends


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## TedInTampa (Apr 5, 2017)

UberNorthDfw said:


> I drive to pin, wait the 5 mins, no call or text, cancel & collect, unless I feel it is a long ride or airport trip.


How do you "feel" the distance before seeing the pax? Type and size of building? Apparent affluency of the area?


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## TedInTampa (Apr 5, 2017)

Saturday, a pax got in, then showed me his Uber app. My eta was 8 minutes. I am not going to rely on that, considering all the other glitches (I still must shut down Waze each time to get the new navigation instructions).

Arrive at a gate, text for gate code, start 5 minute timer. If I don't have the code in 5 minutes....byebye.
Arrive at a large building (mall), I call immediately to get a store name or other landmark.
Pointer in a field, lake, the bay, I call immediately to get the correct address.
Passenger not outside, I call immediately to document the time, start the timer, and let them know I'm at the pickup point. $3.75 for cancel, $3.19 minimum fare... 5:01, I cancel.

If I don't reach the pax by phone, I text because my job is actually to transport, not to collect as many cancels as possible.


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## Cableguynoe (Feb 14, 2017)

TedInTampa said:


> If I don't reach the pax by phone, I text because my job is actually to transport, not to collect as many cancels as possible.


So is a bus drivers, but he aint waiting.

For me, it's not that I want to cancel, but pax's stupidity annoys me sometimes and I chose to no longer give them a ride. I have taken plenty or Uber and lyft rides as a pax and I know how it works. I see driver arriving, I get ready.

The other day I get an XL request. To get 6 people into my vehicle the back seat needs to be pulled forward, which takes a few seconds, more if the pax cant figure it out and I need to get out to do it.

These knuckleheads are standing waiting for me on the sidewalk of a very busy road, where no where to pull over. They see me coming(that part they did good), but they start stepping into the road like they expect me to stop right there and completely block traffic until all 6 get in. I could have stopped about 30 yards up and waited for them, but because they were too stupid to find a better place to stand and wait for me, I canceled and kept driving.


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## MadTownUberD (Mar 11, 2017)

In that sort of situation I always find a safe spot and when they get in I say "sorry, but I didn't want to block traffic". I think some people just have very low situational awareness, or they think we have special privileges.


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## Fuzzyelvis (Dec 7, 2014)

El Janitor said:


> If I don't see them standing outside, I'll text or call, I'm only waiting 5 minutes if I don't hear back from you before your 5 minutes is up I'm gone. The other thing is I once had a passenger who called me while I was on the way to the pickup location. It was an interesting call.
> *
> My phone rings as I'm 5 minutes away from a pickup location:
> Uber Client:*" Did you have breakfast this morning?
> ...


"Sure thing. I'd love some breakfast and a cup of coffee. Text me the address and please buy me eggs, hash browns, and two strips of bacon. Over medium on the eggs please. Bacon extra crispy. Don't worry about the tip. You can just pay for the breakfast and I'll take care of the tip, thank you!"



BlastedChango said:


> shit is that for real or my sarcasm detector is not functioning


NOTHING surprises me with these pax.


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## Cableguynoe (Feb 14, 2017)

MadTownUberD said:


> In that sort of situation I always find a safe spot and when they get in I say "sorry, but I didn't want to block traffic". I think some people just have very low situational awareness, or they think we have special privileges.


Ive done that in the past also. But I've found that they are a bit upset when I just drive past them like that.
To them it would not have been a big deal for me to just stop really fast. So that's why I chose to cancel before the bad rating, since It wasn't just a few car lengths, it was a good 30 yards.


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## UberLaLa (Sep 6, 2015)

"Uber out front. Thanks"

Then I say, _Hey Siri set a five minute timer._


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## dennis09 (Apr 4, 2017)

I have a 0 tolerance policy on this, especially since I usually call every pax right after acceptance to confirm the destination and give an eta to pickup. If they're not in the car 5 minutes after I show up at the ping, it gets cancelled. If they choose a stupid location Ill hit the ping, move up to a suitable pickup location, wait and then cancel. If they want me to wait I say sure, wait my 5 minutes and then cancel.

This may sound a bit excessive, but it's 2017! I've verbally given my eta in the initial call. You can literally SEE my car on the map. The app NOTIFIES you that I've arrived. You have the option to call/text me if you cant find me (Surprise guys they can call you too!) What more do you want? Did you suddenly forget that you requested an Uber? You should be out looking for me not the other way around! If your ride gets cancelled it is solely because YOU screwed up and should probably reevaluate as to not make the same mistake again.

The ONLY exception to this policy is when the pax contacts ME and is honestly having trouble locating my vehicle (maybe I couldn't park at the exact pickup location).


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## Cableguynoe (Feb 14, 2017)

dennis09 said:


> I have a 0 tolerance policy on this, especially since I usually call every pax right after acceptance to confirm the destination and give an eta to pickup. If they're not in the car 5 minutes after I show up at the ping, it gets cancelled. If they choose a stupid location Ill hit the ping, move up to a suitable pickup location, wait and then cancel. If they want me to wait I say sure, wait my 5 minutes and then cancel.
> 
> This may sound a bit excessive, but it's 2017! I've verbally given my eta in the initial call. You can literally SEE my car on the map. The app NOTIFIES you that I've arrived. You have the option to call/text me if you cant find me (Surprise guys they can call you too!) What more do you want? Did you suddenly forget that you requested an Uber? You should be out looking for me not the other way around! If your ride gets cancelled it is solely because YOU screwed up and should probably reevaluate as to not make the same mistake again.
> 
> The ONLY exception to this policy is when the pax contacts ME and is honestly having trouble locating my vehicle (maybe I couldn't park at the exact pickup location).


My kind of driver!


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## dennis09 (Apr 4, 2017)

Cableguynoe said:


> My kind of driver!


And you're my kind of pax!

I had a couple last week put the ping right at a bus stop. I pulled literally 2 small car lengths up and watched them in the rear view mirror starring at the car, hands on hip, frowning as if they demanded that i pick them up in that exact location. Here in SF that quick stop will get you a multiple hundred $$$ ticket. Hidden ninjas jump out and snap pics before you can even swipe to start the trip.

They tried to be slick and cancelled at 4 minutes 37 seconds. Still got hit with the cancellation fee and i left with a smile. Got another ping a few blocks up from a very respectful woman that was appreciative of the cheap rides we give to the community. Curb to curb service without having to walk between bus stops or wait at stations. And in many cases for the same price or less (2 pax pool). The only thing you have to do is get in the car. It's really not rocket science.


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## LoveTheBlues (Jun 2, 2016)

Uberdriver2710 said:


> If they're on the curb, where they should be, (if they respect you at all) you won't need to text/call.


I text after 1 minute. For those that wait till we pull up to call their waiter over asking for the check, 5 minutes to a no show fee.


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## Uberdriver2710 (Jul 15, 2015)

LoveTheBlues said:


> I text after 1 minute. For those that wait till we pull up to call their waiter over asking for the check, 5 minutes to a no show fee.


You are TOO nice.


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## LoveTheBlues (Jun 2, 2016)

Uberdriver2710 said:


> You are TOO nice.


Yeah, I know; my big heart is my curse!


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## REX HAVOC (Jul 4, 2016)

I use a Megaphone. It's quite effective.


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## Uberdriver2710 (Jul 15, 2015)

LoveTheBlues said:


> Yeah, I know; my big heart is my curse!


Careful, people will take advantage, especially garbage people.


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## AVLien (Mar 4, 2017)

SEPA_UberDude said:


> There's been many times when the GPS has sent me to the wrong address or to a parking lot in an apartment complex or shopping center so I give them the benefit of the doubt...


This is what I don't get about the "5 minutes & gone" crowd.

Once the app actually sent me 2 miles from a pick-up because the streets had similar names. I could have been a jerk & said "well, it's their fault for not catching the understandable mistake anyone could have made".

This was a young couple who had never used Uber before & it was almost a $25 non-surge fare. They probably would have been stuck for hours & also probably never would have used Uber again.

I just can't be the guy who ditches some nice young couple in the sticks. The lack of empathy that some of the stories on the forum exibit makes me wonder why people use Uber at all sometimes.

Anyway, one driver just driving off on everyone after 4.5 minutes won't make everyone else more punctual when hailing a rideshare, it will just reduce the ridership altogether. Give them a little heads up (as you do SEPA_UberDude ).

That's how I feel about it anyway.


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## Steveyoungerthanmontana (Nov 19, 2016)

75% of customers have no problem letting you wait. When I use UBER I watch for the car to get there and I'm outside waiting already. Nope not most people. They don't have a care in the world if you wait.


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## Uberdriver2710 (Jul 15, 2015)

Steveyoungerthanmontana said:


> 75% of customers have no problem letting you wait. When I use UBER I watch for the car to get there and I'm outside waiting already. Nope not most people. They don't have a care in the world if you wait.


Most people are garbage, you don't want them in your car. Odds are, you're not getting five stars, anyway.



AVLien said:


> This is what I don't get about the "5 minutes & gone" crowd.
> 
> Once the app actually sent me 2 miles from a pick-up because the streets had similar names. I could have been a jerk & said "well, it's their fault for not catching the understandable mistake anyone could have made".
> 
> ...


There's always an ant around to give them a ride, you haven't stranded anyone.


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## Cableguynoe (Feb 14, 2017)

AVLien said:


> I just can't be the guy who ditches some nice young couple in the sticks. The lack of empathy that some of the stories on the forum exibit makes me wonder why people use Uber at all sometimes.
> .


 don't try to be a hero. There was life before UBER. They'll be fine.
And this isn't about ditching people to be jerks. Yes, sometimes it will be an honest mistake on the part of pax or app. But most of the time they're just inconsiderate.
Don't be too nice. They'll just take advantage.


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## LoveTheBlues (Jun 2, 2016)

Cableguynoe said:


> don't try to be a hero. There was life before UBER. They'll be fine.
> And this isn't about ditching people to be jerks. Yes, sometimes it will be an honest mistake on the part of pax or app. But most of the time they're just inconsiderate.
> Don't be too nice. They'll just take advantage.


Or be a hero and....

wait with a smile as your passenger buys two more rounds for his buddies and doesn't think of tipping you for waiting 10 minutes
happily drive into the middle of 3X surge because your passenger accidentally pinned the pick-up outside surge zone and then said "oopsies; can you drive 10 minutes for free to get me with no surge?" 
you can hold the young princesses makeup that she waited until you arrived to put on.
help her pick which of the 23 pair of shoes she'll wear today while you wait 
If I believe it's a genuine error I will work with the passenger but we are paid drivers not volunteers. Five minutes is more than enough time to get your s"?t together and get to the car.


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## Uberdriver2710 (Jul 15, 2015)

LoveTheBlues said:


> Or be a hero and....
> 
> wait with a smile as your passenger buys two more rounds for his buddies and doesn't think of tipping you for waiting 10 minutes
> happily drive into the middle of 3X surge because your passenger accidentally pinned the pick-up outside surge zone and then said "oopsies; can you drive 10 minutes for free to get me with no surge?"
> ...


See how far you can walk in 1 minute. I agree, 5 minutes is too much time.


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## MadTownUberD (Mar 11, 2017)

I guess a lot of this strategy depends upon how busy your area is, whether it's surging, and whether the cancellation fee exceeds the minimum fare.


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## Tedgey (Jan 29, 2016)

My goodness but UberDrivers are a jaded miserable lot. Petty and jealous too. Oh and the egos, forget about the egos.


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## dennis09 (Apr 4, 2017)

If you only you had a clue.

Is that you?


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## Tedgey (Jan 29, 2016)

dennis09 said:


> If you only you had a clue.
> 
> Is that you?


This is the saddest picture I've ever seen. Don't get me wrong, the little Vietnamese girl that just got napalm bombed, that was a sad image. I saw the dust covered lady from the world trade center just died she was in her 40s, that's pretty sad too. But this poor bastard, he hung all that crap up there because let's face it, something has gone horribly wrong in his life or he wouldn't be driving a UberCar in the first place. But he tries hard and probably said to himself, if I give away all this garbage, they'll give me 5☆. And then maybe my wife will see that I'm capable of doing something right and she'll be proud of me again. But we all know that's not how the story ends. And that's how come I hate those people so much. Because they know. They know this guy's out there and not even making his car payment. But he's giving crap away to glorify Uber, so that Travis Colonic can molest a teenager in desperate need of a violin teacher. That's a sad picture there man.


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## JuanMoreTime (Jan 25, 2015)

I arrive, and if I don't see them with their toes on the curb waiting for me, I park, wait 2-5 minutes, and collect my fee.

When I'm getting a ride myself, whether it's from a friend, a taxi, or an uber/lyft, I'm waiting outside for them. I expect the same courtesy, especially as the app allows the rider to see how close I am. I'm in Southern California, so it's exceedingly rare that anyone can honestly use poor weather conditions as an excuse.

So, I don't text. They have an app on their phone that tells them where I am, and it's their responsibility to be outside on the curb waiting for me. The only time I'll call is if the pin is in the center of a large building, or otherwise not intuitive.


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## steveophoto (Nov 4, 2014)

I pull up... The app text the rider.... They have 5 minutes... No show = I'm movin on with a fee in my pocket. If they come out and ask me to wait my response is May I start the trip? Yes = me waiting on there dime. No = call back when you are ready Im out with a no show fee in my pocket.


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## MadTownUberD (Mar 11, 2017)

Tedgey said:


> My goodness but UberDrivers are a jaded miserable lot. Petty and jealous too. Oh and the egos, forget about the egos.


I think this applies mostly to the full timers. I think we part timers have more fun with the gig because we're not so stressed about paying bills.


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## dennis09 (Apr 4, 2017)

Tedgey 
Read a few of these when you get a chance:

https://uberpeople.net/threads/canceled-on-a-pax.165651/


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## Veju (Apr 17, 2017)

MadTownUberD said:


> I think this applies mostly to the full timers. I think we part timers have more fun with the gig because we're not so stressed about paying bills.


Weekend warriors have a different set of expectations aNd don't rely on Uber to support us 100%.


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## KekeLo (Aug 26, 2015)

Jagent said:


> I don't. I drive to the pin. They've got 5 minutes to find me. This app isn't rocket science. .. no need for calls or texts.


Exactly!!!



Uberdriver2710 said:


> If they're on the curb, where they should be, (if they respect you at all) you won't need to text/call.


I totally agree.



dennis09 said:


> If you only you had a clue.
> 
> Is that you?


No, that's not Tedgey the DUCK as he would have weed in his car, and a couple of pieces of candy for the munchies.


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## handiacefailure (Mar 12, 2017)

Jagent said:


> I don't. I drive to the pin. They've got 5 minutes to find me. This app isn't rocket science. .. no need for calls or texts.


+1. The app tells them I arrived. If they relied on the app and used the pin as the pick up point they should call and tell me where I am at. If they don't have enough common sense to do that then they deserve to get hit with the cancel fee. They know the make and model number and license of my car and can contact me if they can't find me.


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## Tedgey (Jan 29, 2016)

dennis09 said:


> Tedgey
> Read a few of these when you get a chance:
> 
> https://uberpeople.net/threads/canceled-on-a-pax.165651/


I don't know why this stuff never happens to me


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## Jagent (Jan 29, 2017)

handiacefailure said:


> +1. The app tells them I arrived. If they relied on the app and used the pin as the pick up point they should call and tell me where I am at. If they don't have enough common sense to do that then they deserve to get hit with the cancel fee. They know the make and model number and license of my car and can contact me if they can't find me.


Exactly. I used Uber as a passenger a bunch of times before I ever drove for them. Never once did I need to talk to the driver before he picked me up. If a pax is so stupid they can't figure out the app, they don't deserve a ride.


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## _McUber_ (Jul 27, 2016)

Ready made text: (Hi, your driver is right outside.) Copy and paste and text upon immediate arrival. Stop-Watch is activated to 5 minutes countdown. It has become a routine, I do it without thinking. After 5 minutes, I cancel for no show. If I get a call afterwards, I don't answer. End if transaction. 

It wasn't always like that. I always called and waited until they showed up, be it 5 minutes or 10. Turned out that people are more fetted of $ssholes than I thought. Now it is business as described above.


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## MadTownUberD (Mar 11, 2017)

One of these days I am going to do an experiment and try the "no call/no text/cancel no show" approach and see if I make more money or less money. My hypothesis is that texting before arrival and on arrival speeds up the pick-up process because, among other reasons, it lets the pax know I am Johnny on the spot and serious about the pick-up. Over the course of several hours this could mean a couple/few more trips than I otherwise would have had.

(Of course, like with my tie-wearing/tips experiment, it's hard to separate out variables cleanly/completely)

But again my challenge to all of you no-call/no-texters: what else are you going to do with your time while you sit for five minutes? Day trade stocks? Paint your nails? Memorize Shakespeare? I don't get it. Just like at my day job: if there is something small I can do to streamline a process and thereby make my own life easier, I tend to do it. 

(that said, I do understand the "principle" argument, but again, poor customer service leads to fewer customers eventually)


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## Veju (Apr 17, 2017)

I can get a quick rock off in under 3.


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## Uberdriver2710 (Jul 15, 2015)

MadTownUberD said:


> One of these days I am going to do an experiment and try the "no call/no text/cancel no show" approach and see if I make more money or less money. My hypothesis is that texting before arrival and on arrival speeds up the pick-up process because, among other reasons, it lets the pax know I am Johnny on the spot and serious about the pick-up. Over the course of several hours this could mean a couple/few more trips than I otherwise would have had.
> 
> (Of course, like with my tie-wearing/tips experiment, it's hard to separate out variables cleanly/completely)
> 
> ...


Feel free, to roll out the red carpet for trash.


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## MadTownUberD (Mar 11, 2017)

Uberdriver2710 said:


> Feel free, to roll out the red carpet for trash.


I will!

Do McDonald's employees treat customers like they don't matter? No, they greet everyone politely and serve them quickly. Since we're getting paid about the same as a McDonald's employee, it wouldn't kill us to exert a little effort (beyond blindly following a navigation app) now and then.


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## Uberdriver2710 (Jul 15, 2015)

MadTownUberD said:


> I will!
> 
> Do McDonald's employees treat customers like they don't matter? No, they greet everyone politely and serve them quickly. Since we're getting paid about the same as a McDonald's employee, it wouldn't kill us to exert a little effort (beyond blindly following a navigation app) now and then.


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## dennis09 (Apr 4, 2017)

MadTownUberD said:


> Do McDonald's employees treat customers like they don't matter?


One of the worst examples you could've used. McDonald's is notorious for bad customer service. So my answer is..........drumroll please.......YES.



MadTownUberD said:


> But again my challenge to all of you no-call/no-texters: what else are you going to do with your time while you sit for five minutes? Day trade stocks? Paint your nails? Memorize Shakespeare? I don't get it. Just like at my day job: if there is something small I can do to streamline a process and thereby make my own life easier, I tend to do it.
> 
> (that said, I do understand the "principle" argument, but again, poor customer service leads to fewer customers eventually)


So what's your point? If the pax is going to be late then you'll sit there for 5 minutes whether you contact them or not. Better 5 minutes than 10 or 15. In my market I can collect a quick buck for that 5 minute wait, drive around the block and be on another ping while you're still sitting there painting your nails. Not being a doormat is my way of streamlining the process, and yes, it's that little thing that makes my life easier.


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## MadTownUberD (Mar 11, 2017)

dennis09 said:


> So what's your point? If the pax is going to be late then you'll sit there for 5 minutes whether you contact them or not. Better 5 minutes than 10 or 15. In my market I can collect a quick buck for that 5 minute wait, drive around the block and be on another ping while you're still sitting there painting your nails.


We're both waiting the same amount of time (5-6 minutes), because I will also cancel. It's been stated on here before: sending a text lets everyone know you at least made a good faith effort to pick up within the 5 minute window.

To me it sounds like you WANT to have no contact with the pax so you don't feel bad about canceling and moving on to the next one. It's true, when they say "I'll be down in a minute" it's harder to cancel than someone you've never had contact with.

I will do the experiment next time I am in a likely minimum fare place/time and let you know how it turns out. Likely larger fare scenarios, with fewer pings, it doesn't make a lot of sense to collect the fee.


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## Maven (Feb 9, 2017)

It is insulting to be taken for granted. If the PAX is not waiting by curbside then I make a "subtle" entrance that cannot be ignored.










I used to drive uberChooChoo, but I had a tiny problem just one time ...


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## Uberdriver2710 (Jul 15, 2015)

Maven said:


> It is insulting to be taken for granted. If the PAX is not waiting by curbside then I make a "subtle" entrance that cannot be ignored.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


He he...I may grab a bag of rocks for the car, to throw through windows.


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## LoveTheBlues (Jun 2, 2016)

Tedgey said:


> My goodness but UberDrivers are a jaded miserable lot. Petty and jealous too. Oh and the egos, forget about the egos.


Some perhaps. Others just focused on the reality that time is money in this biz. Once they are in my car I (like many other ornery bastards on here) am all about providing a safe and pleasant experience. Just don't expect me to be a doormat and let people take money from my pocket because they want me to sit around and wait for free. 
By the way, I text and attempt communication during the 5 minute wait but at the end of the 5 I'm off to another paying customer who needs me and respects my time as well as their own.


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## dennis09 (Apr 4, 2017)

MadTownUberD said:


> To me it sounds like you WANT to have no contact with the pax so you don't feel bad about canceling and moving on to the next one. It's true, when they say "I'll be down in a minute" it's harder to cancel than someone you've never had contact with.


You missed my post where I CALL (even better than your text suggstion) every pax after accepting to confirm the destination and give an eta. Obviously I have no problem contacting pax. However, I do have a problem with people that treat drivers as though we're personal servants with no choice but to cater to their every need.

Don't get me wrong, I am a very polite. One of the nicest guys you could ever meet and holding a steady 4.96. But my niceness is exactly why I have to be on guard, because people will readily take advantage of a yes man. Like most of us I found out the hard way that people care about themselves more than they'll ever care about you.

And besides, i'm not the one trying to bend the rules. I just follow them. Re: Ubers policy.


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## Cableguynoe (Feb 14, 2017)

Jagent said:


> Exactly. I used Uber as a passenger a bunch of times before I ever drove for them. Never once did I need to talk to the driver before he picked me up. If a pax is so stupid they can't figure out the app, they don't deserve a ride.


This is exactly why I don't feel a need to call or text. I use Uber quite frequently to this day as a pax. While I'm sure that I'm more considerate now that I'm a driver, even before I never once had to contact my driver, or my driver contact me. To be honest, I probably didn't even know it was an option.

The Uber or Lyft app has never failed me in probably dozens of rides. Lyft sends a text message that driver has arrived, and Uber you get a notification that driver is arriving, and another that driver has arrived. If pax put their phone down to do something else, then they weren't ready for the ride.


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## dennis09 (Apr 4, 2017)

Cableguynoe said:


> This is exactly why I don't feel a need to call or text. I use Uber quite frequently to this day as a pax. While I'm sure that I'm more considerate now that I'm a driver, even before I never once had to contact my driver, or my driver contact me. To be honest, I probably didn't even know it was an option.
> 
> The Uber or Lyft app has never failed me in probably dozens of rides. Lyft sends a text message that driver has arrived, and Uber you get a notification that driver is arriving, and another that driver has arrived. If pax put their phone down to do something else, then they weren't ready for the ride.
> 
> View attachment 120717


Imagine something like that sent to the drivers:

"Congrats, you've arrived at the pickup location. Look for Ms. Pink. She may be still shopping but we're pretty sure she's somewhere within a 3 block radius."


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## BoboBig (Mar 1, 2017)

Honk!

Wait 1:30 for pools and whatever for X then roll off if they don't come out..


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## SuzeCB (Oct 30, 2016)

Cableguynoe said:


> don't try to be a hero.


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## Uberglenn (Jan 18, 2017)

I usually open my window and scream as loud as I can


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## iPHX (Jun 7, 2016)

How do you let your pax know you have arrived? Well, if there not there - with a $5 no-show fee...


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## MadTownUberD (Mar 11, 2017)

dennis09 said:


> ... and give an eta.


So I changed up my introductory text this morning and instead of saying "I'll be there as soon as I can" I said "I'll be there in about X minutes". Only one out of my six pick ups was not "toes-on-curb", and that guy said he misplaced his wallet. So I like the eta in the text..it seems to encourage the pax to be ready. Of course it could have been that people were in a rush to get to work etc., and of course the late night drunk crowd is way different.


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## BabyBoomer (Feb 28, 2017)

...after you have been Ubering for a while, you realise that passengers know that they should be ready ...just like I always am (and most people on this forum). A phone call often means unnecessary drama / hassle / miscommunication etc. They need to get their address right. 

I have waited outside a small house while the wife looked at me and then looked back at the local game of footy that was finishing in 4 min on the telly. I know, because I was listening to the game on the radio.

It is genuinely my privilege to teach them a lesson in how to not be rude ...and drive away. 

If I'm outside a shopping center I'll give them a call, if I'm outside a house I drive to the pin and remain silent for 5 minutes ...and then I'm gone. Best education they will receive and doing the ride-share industry a favour.

Def not wasting time sending texts ...busy enough thanks -Uber does all that for free.

BB


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## thepanttherlady (Nov 3, 2016)

If I'm where the pin was dropped then I don't. If I have to park a little bit up the street or just shy of the pin drop I'll send a quick text.


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## Georgie Jung (Mar 9, 2017)

I'm nicer than all of you guys. I wait an average of 7 minutes before they get the following message. 

"Hi, this is your requested Uber and I have arrived at your requested address." 

After that I cancel that shit and ride off. Keep in mind if you cancel there is a chance the same pax will request another Uber and you could get called back to the same pax; if you do, I highly advise you not to pick them up because you're gonna get rated a 1 ⭐.... 

For me it don't matter if I get a tip or if you're nice and respectful all pax get a 1 star ⭐ from me. For me to give you 5 stars ⭐ you have to earn it. The reason is the pax has the power to rate me the same way for no reason. ✌


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## Maven (Feb 9, 2017)

Uberglenn said:


> I usually open my window and scream as loud as I can


Why ruin your voice when there is an inexpensive technological solution?







iPHX said:


> How do you let your pax know you have arrived? Well, if there not there - with a $5 no-show fee...


Actions that speak louder that words, or screams, or even alarm horns


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## thepanttherlady (Nov 3, 2016)

Cableguynoe said:


> Love that about Lyft. Cancelled many rides and drove away thanks to this feature.
> 
> The thing is, they get an alert saying their driver is almost there and another one when you arrive.
> 
> ...


There have been many times as a pax myself that the app has told me the driver is X minutes away but I could tell by looking at the map where their car is that they were *much* closer than that and headed out the door. Was able to show several drivers that the app still had them at 6-8 minutes away as I was getting into the car. Problem is many pax just don't value the driver's time to pay attention or even care.



Jon E said:


> You don't need those types of time stamps. Time stamp starts when rider is notified. Ends at 5:01 when I cancel. Works every time.
> 
> Don't contact pax at all. Drive to Pin. Wait for rider notified indication. Start timer. Don't contact pax. Don't take calls from pax. Ignore texts from pax. Wait 5:01. Cancel. Collect fare.
> This is your most profitable fare on whole.
> ...


I take a screen shot of my car versus the pin just to document arrival time and that I was at the pickup location in the event the pax states I never showed up. Other than that, I don't time stamp anything.


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## Chillyz12 (Sep 30, 2015)

I send this roughly 1 min befor i arive

(UberX) Max riders 4!!! 
Light Blue SUV
Flashers are on.

Set my timer and wait,,


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## Mikedamirault (Jun 22, 2016)

I don't do anything, I pull up, wait my 5mins, then cancel, it's up to the pax to find me, no matter how busy the location is

If the pax really wants the ride, they have multiple ways to find me, why should I give the effort to find them?

When I (we, as drivers) arrive, a notification is sent automatically via the app saying I (we) am there, if the app doesn't register that we are there, I manually slide the "arrived" slider, which in turn sends the notification, the pax gets an ETA, an arrival notification text, our mug pic, our LP#(vanity in my case), a pic of our car type, our name, and to top it off, I have trade dress, it's not that hard to spot me in a crowd

In the case I don't stick out like a sore thumb, they did request using a smartphone, key word here "phone", the rider app does give them access to contact their driver, they could, well idk, perhaps call? Maybe even text? Maybe I'm just crazy in believing that, I do answer all pax calls and read all pax texts while online unless I am unable to

If in 5mins, there is no call, no text, and no-show, that tells me that the ride is a no-want, cancel and receive my $3.75

If, say I have a pickup at a bar, I wait the 5mins and my pax would rather sit and shoot the breeze on my time, they aren't worth my time waiting, they should have closed their tab and walked out the front door before even thinking of requesting an Uber

If, say I have been waiting in queue at the airport, get a ping, drive to Rideshare pickup and pax is still on plane (taxiing to gate), still at gate or at baggage claim, and don't bother to call or text to say where they are at, they aren't worth my time, cancel as no-show, get my $3.75 and back to staging lot

It's not that hard, finish whatever you are doing, request Uber, track driver, read info (Name, car make/model, LP#, driver mug), look for driver when notification comes in (using said info), confirm driver, get in car, start trip and go, in the case driver can't be found, call driver and confirm location

I once had a pax (that wasn't mine) get into my car and had a driver mismatch (obviously), shows me their phone and goes "This isn't you?", the mug looked NOTHING like me, the car was obviously not mine (I have a Toyota Prius, I think the car listed was a Chevy, different color at that), and the LP# was definitely not mine (I have a vanity plate, the listed LP# was a standard state [Ohio] issued "ABC 1234" format plate), I was thinking "Are you blind?"

If pax just pay attention, are ready before requesting and call/text when they have an issue getting to you, there should be no issue for them getting to you in one minute let alone 5

If you have to call/text your pax to tell them you arrived, they either...

1. Are ignoring the tracking
2. Are ignoring the notification text
3. Are just completely ignoring their phone (talking with friends, butt requested, etc.)
4. Aren't even ready to leave (still need to pack, still haven't closed their tab, etc.)
5. Have no idea what they are doing
6. Any combination of 1-5

In my experience, calling/texting doesn't make them come out any faster, they just make up an excuse for why they are taking so long and ask you to wait longer promising they will be out soon, or that they are caught up in something and to just to cancel anyway (had that happen to me at the airport, waited passed the 5mins, crossing guard comes up to me and says I have been there for too long and I need to call my pax or get moving, I call pax and she had to report lost baggage, I had to cancel anyway)


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## Guapcollecta (Apr 11, 2017)

I never call pool riders. Instead I watch the countdown clock. My finger hovers over the cancellation button and the very second I can cancel and get the money, I do! As far as uberX. I call relentlessly as soon as I pull up sometimes I call 3 or 4 times if they don't answer I cancel and I'm out! I just wait long enough to get the fees and I'm out! One thing I have noticed though is that sometimes when you're dealing with tourists from other countries they don't have cellular service in Miami they just use the hotel Wi-Fi so if you call them the phone will sound like it's ringing, but their phone is not ringing. (It also stops ringing after three or four rings like if they hung up on you or something) So I give them a couple minutes. But only enough to get that cancellation fee baby! It's their money they should take the initiative of calling. They have more of our information that we have theirs.


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## lesh11 (Jan 4, 2017)

MadTownUberD said:


> (Of course, like with my tie-wearing/tips experiment, it's hard to separate out variables cleanly/completely)


How did that work for you. I did a similar experiment. I found no correlation to tips. I did find that wearing a bow tie greatly increases the percentage of passengers who leave a rating. A straight tie had no effect. Suspenders also had no effect.

As an added bonus, I now know how to tie a bow tie.


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## rotocub (Apr 30, 2016)

Smart drivers understand there are many factors that weigh into Uber/Lyft pickups and how each one is handled. Despite what you read on here, there is no right or wrong way that applies to all pickups/cancellations. Anyone who thinks otherwise is probably costing themselves money in the long run.

Personally, if it's a pickup where I can reasonably expect short ride or sketchy riders, I'm trigger happy with the no-show button, but at other times I'm more inclined to make some extra effort to get the rider in my car. 

Glad I didn't get trigger-happy a couple days ago when a rider wasn't where I expected her to be. It turned out to be a long ride out of the city. I negotiated an extra $50 to cover my deadhead back to town for a net of $130 for roughly 3.5 hours work. If only I could find just one of those every day.


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## Cableguynoe (Feb 14, 2017)

rotocub said:


> Smart drivers understand there are many factors that weigh into Uber/Lyft pickups and how each one is handled. Despite what you read on here, there is no right or wrong way that applies to all pickups/cancellations. Anyone who thinks otherwise is probably costing themselves money in the long run.
> 
> Personally, if it's a pickup where I can reasonably expect short ride or sketchy riders, I'm trigger happy with the no-show button, but at other times I'm more inclined to make some extra effort to get the rider in my car.
> 
> Glad I didn't get trigger-happy a couple days ago when a rider wasn't where I expected her to be. It turned out to be a long ride out of the city. I negotiated an extra $50 to cover my deadhead back to town for a net of $130 for roughly 3.5 hours work. If only I could find just one of those every day.


How did you negotiate? Did you say you would need more? Or they offered when you wanted to cancel?

I've cancelled a few long rides that I wouldn't have minded doing if they pax would have slipped me at least a 20


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## rotocub (Apr 30, 2016)

Cableguynoe said:


> How did you negotiate? Did you say you would need more? Or they offered when you wanted to cancel?
> 
> I've cancelled a few long rides that I wouldn't have minded doing if they pax would have slipped me at least a 20


When I see it's a long trip, I tell them I will be happy to take them, but due to the return trip down time, I will need some extra cash to make the trip cost effective for me. I then pull out the laminated page I carry that lists larger towns/cities outside of the area and "my fee" to cover the return drive from each of the cities. I find the city closest to their destination and give them my price. So far I've never had a refusal.

The page states at the bottom.....

"*Fee covers the time and distance required for your driver to return to an area that offers the ability to receive more trip requests within the driver's local Uber/Lyft region."

I figure if it looks more "official" and well-thought-out, I have a better chance to have them accept my terms as opposed to me just throwing some random numbers at them off the top of my head.


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## TedInTampa (Apr 5, 2017)

Georgie Jung said:


> For me it don't matter if I get a tip or if you're nice and respectful all pax get a 1 star ⭐ from me. For me to give you 5 stars ⭐ you have to earn it. The reason is the pax has the power to rate me the same way for no reason. ✌


1 star means you want Uber to never match again...If you 1 star everyone, you are forcing yourself into retirement.

$1 is a 5⭐ from me. Never given less than 5 to anyone who gave me cash.


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## corniilius (Jan 27, 2017)

Wait til the fourth minute, sent a text then leave if they don't show up. If they ended up entering the wrong address, I cancel after the five minute mark to at least collect the cancellation fee. Time is money and I don't have time to play "Find the dumbass."


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## Maven (Feb 9, 2017)

Lots of creative ways to maximize cancellation fees. Even assuming that they all work, I still have a few questions:

Aren't you losing many more profitable (longer) trips that would pay better per hour?
Aren't you losing any surges or do you cancel less if there is a surge?

Assuming that you get cancellation fees for every incoming request, what is your actual recorded "best" earning per hour? How does it compare to your average earnings per hour with this method. Finally, how does it compare to similar time periods when you do not cancel?
I figure "best" is one cancellation every 10 minutes, or $22.50 per hour ($3.75 x 6), not bad, but not great. "Average" is one cancellation every 15 minutes, or $15 ($3.75 x 4) per hour. Of course, there are many "below average" periods that may "balance things out". I'd rather have one long trip, where I am driving continuously for an hour or more and earning for the entire time. No waiting for the next ping. No driving to the next pickup without pay.

*Please reply with your real-world experiences.*


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## Gooberlifturwallet (Feb 18, 2017)

You have to love these people who keep claiming you can make $20 or more per hour. Maybe if you are in Manhattan or Beverly Hills and you have a black car but in the real world like in this town you are not going to take home minimum wage. You will average around $10 an hour and your expenses come out of that. This nonsense just paid my basic bills the car payment and my Commercial Insurance that nobody else carries. Better safe than sorry.


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## Telsa34 (May 7, 2017)

For those of you that don't know with the latest update to the drivers app once you have arrived it automatically starts a timer and after five minutes it says that you can cancel if they're not there I think that is really neat. I normally will text them and say that I'm arrived I'm not calling them.


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## dennis09 (Apr 4, 2017)

Maven said:


> Lots of creative ways to maximize cancellation fees. Even assuming that they all work, I still have a few questions:
> 
> Aren't you losing many more profitable (longer trips) that would pay better per hour?
> Aren't you losing any surges or do you cancel less if there is a surge?
> ...


This is not a "method" and noones trying to "maximize cancellation fees". And one cancellation every 10 minutes??? If you're cancelling every single trip then it sounds like you're scamming and due for deactivation.

Also, what do you mean by "assuming they all work"? It works every time pax is late, no assumptions necessary. Wait your 5 minutes, cancel and a fee suddenly appears in your account. That's my real world experience and it's not rocket science bro.



Gooberlifturwallet said:


> You have to love these people who keep claiming you can make $20 or more per hour.


I haven't seen anyone claim that in this thread, but it's nice to know you love me.  I work in SF and I'm very picky about the trips I take and the times that I work.


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## Jon E (Feb 15, 2017)

Maven said:


> Lots of creative ways to maximize cancellation fees. Even assuming that they all work, I still have a few questions:
> 
> Aren't you losing many more profitable (longer) trips that would pay better per hour?
> Aren't you losing any surges or do you cancel less if there is a surge?
> ...


1. Possible longer trips. In general a $4 cancellation fee is more profitable than my average trip. May have cancelled a real good trip but better than 80/20 it was a trip under $10. I average less than $10 per trip in my market when it's not surging. So chances are 80% my trip is less than $10. My minimum trip accounts for almost 40% of my rides.
2. During high surge I'll drag pax outta a bar instead of cancelling!!! I only cancel during surge if I can't find in 2 minutes in the bars areas where there are 100 people looking for a ride. Don't get cancellation fee but I don't want to miss a surge by wasting 5 minutes for a possible no show.
3. Best night I made $44 in cancellation fees. 11 cancellations. None were surges. So $44 for 55 minutes of wait time. Of course no adding in drive to ping time. 
Can't look at this job as $/Hr amigo. It's a business so it needs only profit/loss matters. Cancelation trips cost no gas and no depreciation.
So in your $22.50 example above, your expenses are so much less than if you ran those 6 trips. My minimum trip is $3.40 and my cancelation fee is $4.

Unless its a high surge, the cancellation fee trip is the most profitable trip. Assumption you're not driving long distances to ping.

Hope I was specific enough!!!


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## BabyBoomer (Feb 28, 2017)

Last night I had a drunk couple taking forever to say goodbye to friends beside my car. Got to 6 minutes and I drove away with them yelling at me. 

Another lady glanced at me from behind a fence and then disappeared. I drove away at 5:30 mins. 

This teaching people manners is hard work. 

I'll probably get a complaint or two. 

Too bad.

Cheers,

BB


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## Cableguynoe (Feb 14, 2017)

BabyBoomer said:


> Last night I had a drunk couple taking forever to say goodbye to friends beside my car. Got to 6 minutes and I drove away with them yelling at me.
> 
> BB


I've been about 30 second from doing that. I was ready! Wish they had took a little longer 

4 and a half minutes is still rude


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## Fuzzyelvis (Dec 7, 2014)

dennis09 said:


> And you're my kind of pax!
> 
> I had a couple last week put the ping right at a bus stop. I pulled literally 2 small car lengths up and watched them in the rear view mirror starring at the car, hands on hip, frowning as if they demanded that i pick them up in that exact location. Here in SF that quick stop will get you a multiple hundred $$$ ticket. Hidden ninjas jump out and snap pics before you can even swipe to start the trip.
> 
> They tried to be slick and cancelled at 4 minutes 37 seconds. Still got hit with the cancellation fee and i left with a smile. Got another ping a few blocks up from a very respectful woman that was appreciative of the cheap rides we give to the community. Curb to curb service without having to walk between bus stops or wait at stations. And in many cases for the same price or less (2 pax pool). The only thing you have to do is get in the car. It's really not rocket science.


I had a pax at a busy intersection the other day. As I was approaching the stop sign I was set to make a left as his pin was on what would be my right side once I made the left turn. Stopped, had blinker on about to make the turn. There was a cop behind me.

A guy walks up as if to get in. I changed my blinker to right turn figuring it was my pax and I'd stop around the corner, out of the traffic (that road had 2 lanes each way, mine had one, so you couldn't go around me (including the cop).

I pointed to the right to indicate I'd stop there. Pax starts banging on my window as I slowly pull away around the corner.

I know 9 times out of 10 the cop would let it go. But what if I get the hardass who had a fight with his wife that morning? Why on earth would you expect someone to stop, blocking the road, with a cop behind them? And then start banging on their window?

I rolled down the window, told the pax it was unreasonable to expect me to stop at a stop sign, especially with a police officer in the car behind me. Also that I had indicated where I was going and he clearly understood, Plus his pin wasn't in the correct place to start with. Then I told him I don't pick up anybody who starts knocking on my window and I drove away.

The knocking on my window was what really pissed me off. I would never dream of doing that to somebody else's car.


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## Cableguynoe (Feb 14, 2017)

Fuzzyelvis said:


> The knocking on my window was what really pissed me off. I would never dream of doing that to somebody else's car.


Me neither. I usually pick up my shirt and put my big gut up against their window.


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## Fuzzyelvis (Dec 7, 2014)

MadTownUberD said:


> We're both waiting the same amount of time (5-6 minutes), because I will also cancel. It's been stated on here before: sending a text lets everyone know you at least made a good faith effort to pick up within the 5 minute window.
> 
> To me it sounds like you WANT to have no contact with the pax so you don't feel bad about canceling and moving on to the next one. It's true, when they say "I'll be down in a minute" it's harder to cancel than someone you've never had contact with.
> 
> I will do the experiment next time I am in a likely minimum fare place/time and let you know how it turns out. Likely larger fare scenarios, with fewer pings, it doesn't make a lot of sense to collect the fee.


Who cares about your "good faith effort"? Do you get paid extra for that? I don't.

I would prefer to have no contact with any of these pax but that's beside the point. However I don't have a problem at all canceling on someone I've talked to if they make me wait.

Yes it does depend on the likelihood of a good trip. If it's a 5.0 surge I will chase those suckers down. I'll have them on the phone the whole time so they don't cancel on me. Also if it's out in the suburbs and there's a chance it's a good fare into town where I'm going anyway then I'm more likely to wait. However, in that case after 4 minutes I'll probably call to let them know I'm there and find out where they're going. What I do at that point depends on how long the trip is.

Minimum trip for me is $2.44. That's for up to about a mile and a half. In town that could easily take me 6 or 7 minutes to drive and drop them off. I get $4 for the cancel fee. Many, many trips are minimums or close to it. To make $4 I have to drive 3 or 4 miles. A $4 trip that I drive can easily take 10 minutes or more.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

Trumpet fanfare.


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## Fuzzyelvis (Dec 7, 2014)

Maven said:


> Lots of creative ways to maximize cancellation fees. Even assuming that they all work, I still have a few questions:
> 
> Aren't you losing many more profitable (longer) trips that would pay better per hour?
> Aren't you losing any surges or do you cancel less if there is a surge?
> ...


1. No. When I cancel I immediately check to see where the ride would've been going. About 80% of the time it is less than or close to the cancel fee. Even if it's a little more it's usually a dollar or two more and the time involved in the extra miles are of course not worth it. If it turns out it would've been a really good ride which is extremely uncommon then I will accept it if I get pinged again. I just blame the cancel on uber. In three years I can literally count on one hand the number of times that has happened.

2. If it's surging, as I stated before, that is a whole different ballgame. I once chased down somebody who was going 25 miles and at a 5.0 times surge. He was 2 miles from the pin and pretty drunk. I kept him on the phone and picked him up and took the $147 trip. This was actually before rate cuts and before Uber gave an upfront fare. Those trips are very uncommon these days. It also depends on what the surge is doing. If it's still going up I'm more likely to cancel but if it's going down I will probably try to find the pax.

3. I can't answer that because it's obviously impossible to cancel on every trip. But I can say that the 20 minutes that I end up spending waiting and picking somebody up often is far less profitable than the 20 minutes that I get two cancel fees out of.clearly if I was able to cancel every five minutes with no break I would make a lot more money than with most of the trips. Certainly at base rates.


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## UberL33t (Oct 27, 2016)

I send this... I get a good response rate too.. has been quite the time saver.



> Hello, this is (my name), your Uber driver. I am on my way. Please reply to this message if there is any info that will assist me in finding you... (gate code, bldg/apt #, business name, etc.)
> 
> Note: For both of our safety and security, Video/Audio surveillance is in use and footage is saved remotely off-site.
> 
> Thank you very much for using Uber and I'll see you very soon!


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## Wardell Curry (Jul 9, 2016)

MadTownUberD said:


> I text immediately upon arrival: "I am parked outside the door that says 110 by the mopeds", or "I am in the cul-de-sac by State Street Brats", or "I am in the car port in front of the revolving door", etc. This not only puts a time stamp on my arrival but takes away ALL excuses. Then after five minutes I text "I have to leave in one minute. Do you still need a ride?". Last night after I did this I finally got a reply "oh I canceled". Well no she didn't, so I canceled and pocketed the fee.
> 
> As others have indicated, it's not always the paxs fault. I have had more than one occasion where the pax said the app wouldn't let them choose the correct address, or it told them I was 5 minutes away when I was sitting right in front of them, etc. I don't think they are lying per se, but they may not completely understand how to use the app effectively.
> 
> Some paxs do some really goofy stuff. Once after I sent the "I've arrived" text, the pax went over to a black Lexus and knocked on its window. I was right next to the Lexus with not only my trade dress sticker but my magnetic signs in plain view, and I was standing outside the vehicle and might have even had my Uber polo shirt on. Not sure what else I could have done besides call out, which I think is tacky.


The pax was hoping his ride was a black lexus.


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## Pig Pen (Feb 8, 2017)

I don't text them anymore. It's ubers passengers, their job to notify them. They have the timer in the app, as do I, it tells them and me when it's time to go and collect the cancel fee. I'm not here to spoon feed children. These are adults, they need to be responsible for getting to the car in a timely manner.


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## KINGOFTHENORTH (Jul 9, 2016)

Jagent said:


> I don't. I drive to the pin. They've got 5 minutes to find me. This app isn't rocket science. .. no need for calls or texts.


Sometimes I use to change my location to the pick up spot ignore all texts and calls from them, than cancel after 5 minutes. I did this 20ish times, never recieved an email or anything from uber about it.



TedInTampa said:


> 1 star means you want Uber to never match again...If you 1 star everyone, you are forcing yourself into retirement.
> 
> $1 is a 5⭐ from me. Never given less than 5 to anyone who gave me cash.


That is not true. The one time I gave someone 1 star 3 times in a day(they never tipped and were annoying, I only accepted them three times becuase they said I was there first uber so I wanted to make sure they had a really low ratting.
Whenever someone said they are giving me 5 stars(without a tip) I would always give them 1 star. And sometimes I would flat out tell them I didnt care about stars depending on my mood.


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## Cableguynoe (Feb 14, 2017)

KINGOFTHENORTH said:


> That is not true. The one time I gave someone 1 star 3 times in a day(they never tipped and were annoying, I only accepted them three times becuase they said I was there first uber so I wanted to make sure they had a really low ratting.


Maybe it's not instant?

But that is freakin AWESOME! Their first 3 uber rides were all 1 stars hahahaha.
You are my new hero on these forums!


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## Veju (Apr 17, 2017)

Select rides I will text/call but I'm cancelling on x lately after 5.


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## Steve appleby (May 30, 2015)

I do nothing, if im in a good mood ill text them uber is here. but that's it. 5 and 5


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## MadTownUberD (Mar 11, 2017)

You guys would have been proud of me tonight. I did the "modified dennis09" method. That is to say, I texted them right after accepting the ping and say "I'll be at or near your pin in about X minutes" (dennis09 calls). Then I wait at the pin with no further contact unless they reach out to me. 

I had two cancel - no show's tonight. One was at the airport. The guy apparently ordered the Uber immediately after his plane touched down (which he implied in his text), expecting it to take 15 minutes (my interpretation). Well I was there in 3 minutes and he was still taxiing/deplaning. So I canceled at six minutes and took my place back in the queue as #1.

The other one was someone at a coffee shop downtown with a ton of construction. I couldn't stop on the main street so I stopped on a side street which also borders the coffee shop. She made no attempt to contact me or find me so I canceled at 6 min.


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## d0n (Oct 16, 2016)

I have a nice sound system so I play this at max vol as I aproach with my windows open.


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## Jdemonto (Aug 10, 2015)

I have key board short cuts like

This is your driver Jason I'm out front
I wait and cancel after 5 min

If I havetime invested in the drive like 10-15 min I will call after 3 min

I also use the short cuts for airport pick ups to let them know where I am heading for instance:

Hi this is your driver Jason I'm headed to T4 rideshare 1 outer curb


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## Bob fox (May 18, 2016)

holy crap/ none of you call ahead? Its been several thousand rides and I still call ahead nearly every single ride. The only time I dont is when Im too close for it to actually be a heads up call. I call ahead at 3 minutes before waze says I'll be there, tell them "I'll be there in two minutes, just a heads up." I'm always a bit faster than the map. It saves waiting 3 minutes ON ALMOST every ride. hmmm (3 mins) X (6,ooo rides) = 18,ooo minutes = 300 hours. 300 hours or about $11,000 ... and 300 fewer hours double parked in SF dodging crackheads, crackh00rz, and almost getting hit by cars by being parked in the street so I can wait for 800,000 people to put on their makeup.


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## Fuzzyelvis (Dec 7, 2014)

Bob fox said:


> holy crap/ none of you call ahead? Its been several thousand rides and I still call ahead nearly every single ride. The only time I dont is when Im too close for it to actually be a heads up call. I call ahead at 3 minutes before waze says I'll be there, tell them "I'll be there in two minutes, just a heads up." I'm always a bit faster than the map. It saves waiting 3 minutes ON ALMOST every ride. hmmm (3 mins) X (6,ooo rides) = 18,ooo minutes = 300 hours. 300 hours or about $11,000 ... and 300 fewer hours double parked in SF dodging crackheads, crackh00rz, and almost getting hit by cars by being parked in the street so I can wait for 800,000 people to put on their makeup.


$11,000 for 300 hours is $36.67 per hour. How do you figure that?


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## ChortlingCrison (Mar 30, 2016)

Fuzzyelvis said:


> $11,000 for 300 hours is $36.67 per hour. How do you figure that?


Perhaps if Lou Costello were still alive he could crunch those numbers. Just like he did with 7 x 13 = 28


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## Jdemonto (Aug 10, 2015)

Bob fox said:


> holy crap/ none of you call ahead? Its been several thousand rides and I still call ahead nearly every single ride. The only time I dont is when Im too close for it to actually be a heads up call. I call ahead at 3 minutes before waze says I'll be there, tell them "I'll be there in two minutes, just a heads up." I'm always a bit faster than the map. It saves waiting 3 minutes ON ALMOST every ride. hmmm (3 mins) X (6,ooo rides) = 18,ooo minutes = 300 hours. 300 hours or about $11,000 ... and 300 fewer hours double parked in SF dodging crackheads, crackh00rz, and almost getting hit by cars by being parked in the street so I can wait for 800,000 people to put on their makeup.


No pax don't like it when you call, I know I wouldn't. The pax app shows exactly where the car is, most of the time.


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## MadTownUberD (Mar 11, 2017)

Jdemonto said:


> No pax don't like it when you call, I know I wouldn't. The pax app shows exactly where the car is, most of the time.


Agreed. A text is less intrusive.


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## Cableguynoe (Feb 14, 2017)

Jdemonto said:


> No pax don't like it when you call, I know I wouldn't. The pax app shows exactly where the car is, most of the time.





MadTownUberD said:


> Agreed. A text is less intrusive.


]

Agreed. A few weeks ago I was out with friends and when we were ready to go, I requested my ride. Almost immediately after he accepts my phone rings.
This bugged the hell out of me. I am still talking with my friends. I don't need to speak to anyone right now.
I didn't answer. He calls again. A few minutes later I look at app to see if it's time to go outside, and he's not moving.

So screw it, I requested a Lyft ride. I made him cancel. Chump probably wanted to know where I was going. Missed out on a good fare and a tip. I don't like receiving phone calls and will not do it either for same reason.

Hours later I saw he left me a voice mail saying he was having car troubles and that *I* would have to cancel LOL. Didn't quite work out the way he hoped.


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## MadTownUberD (Mar 11, 2017)

Plus all the millennials who comprise a huge portion of my client base are way into texting anyhow. They use abbreviations like "AF" in verbal conversations, lol.


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## Jdemonto (Aug 10, 2015)

I had one driver pick me at the house and I saw he had a low rating of 4.64. I was preparing myself for a rough ride! As soon as he arrived he honked and I won't lie it seemed abraisive, I didn't like it. Guy was nice and the ride was nice. I think his honking killed his rating! I left that in the comments hopefully he stops


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## Wardell Curry (Jul 9, 2016)

Jdemonto said:


> I had one driver pick me at the house and I saw he had a low rating of 4.64. I was preparing myself for a rough ride! As soon as he arrived he honked and I won't lie it seemed abraisive, I didn't like it. Guy was nice and the ride was nice. I think his honking killed his rating! I left that in the comments hopefully he stops


Sometimes at night, I flash my highbeams when I arrive and I think I see my pax to signal that I am there instead of texting. Would anyone be offended by that?


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## cdm813 (Jan 9, 2017)

No initial communication but after three minutes I text (and auto-4* rating max).


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## Cableguynoe (Feb 14, 2017)

cdm813 said:


> after three minutes I text (and auto-4* rating max).


If they have the decency to say "sorry to make you wait", which they often do, I don't hold it against them.
But many are so inconsiderate of others time, that they don't even realize they're doing anything wrong.


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## Jdemonto (Aug 10, 2015)

Wardell Curry said:


> Sometimes at night, I flash my highbeams when I arrive and I think I see my pax to signal that I am there instead of texting. Would anyone be offended by that?


It's not a matter of being offended. I wasn't offended when the driver honked, it actually shocked me! Seemed abraisive a text is more appreciated. I have the app I know when the car arrives. If someone makes you wait 5 min they really shouldn't have ordered the car until they are ready. I am sure after a few $5 charges they will "get it".

If you flashed your lights when I am home I wouldn't know anyways!


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## cdm813 (Jan 9, 2017)

Cableguynoe said:


> If they have the decency to say "sorry to make you wait", which they often do, I don't hold it against them.
> But many are so inconsiderate of others time, that they don't even realize they're doing anything wrong.


"Sorry I'm giving you 4*." Goes both ways.


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## Jdemonto (Aug 10, 2015)

cdm813 said:


> "Sorry I'm giving you 4*." Goes both ways.


I have said that before to that same response and if the pax has friends it's like "hey man, the driver can rate you too"

A look of disbelief insues...


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## Wardell Curry (Jul 9, 2016)

cdm813 said:


> No initial communication but after three minutes I text (and auto-4* rating max).


Im starting them at 4 stars after 4 minutes and deduct an additional star every 2 minutes if I end up not cancelling


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## Brannens (Feb 8, 2016)

Wardell Curry said:


> I fell you man. But I would get people come outside after 4 minutes and ask how long I was waiting because they didnt realize I was there(Excuses include the app didnt update my position or I didnt see your car). So now I just let them know so when their rating drops because they had me waiting, at least they know it's on them, not me.


I have had people in my car as I'm accepting and the passenger app still telling them I'm 3 to 4 minutes away. And also with the drop pin in the Miami area it usually puts the passenger a block or 2 off


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## El Cemento (Apr 25, 2017)

I will always answer the passenger call. I don't care for it, but my first week a gentleman called right away and he was in a Faraway location, and he wanted to know if I would take them 3 hours away. I had just started my day and it was great news. Took me 12 minutes to get to him and my guess is he would have canceled right away and ping somebody else had I not communicated. At least that's what I would have done as a passenger. Communication is King in life, and if the passenger is trying to communicate with me I'm going to give him a shake. But I'm still running that 5 minute timer every single time.


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## TedInTampa (Apr 5, 2017)

After reading this thread, I pulled to a house, started my timer and wondered how far it would be. 5 minutes later I hit cancel...phone rings...rider no show. Answer...no one there...it was 1-2 miles. Made .56 more by cancelling. Had to ignore the next ping, it was them rerequesting. Was thingies of this thread the whole time.

Later, I called, saw my pax answer. He waved, I waved, he took 4 minutes to finish his conversation. Almost went to the end of the parking lot to cancel...but was glad I did not. 25 mile trip.


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## george_lol (Apr 4, 2017)

Wardell Curry said:


> Gated communities suck. Its like half the people think I will be given the code by the security personnel if I tell them the location and name of the person i am picking up. That's the only reason I could think they arent texting me the code.


Gated communities are usually a problem along with ungated multi- building complexes that have winding streets. I often find the pin drop wrong or the buildings don't have street numbers on them in any kind of obvious place or have a building # instead. I've also been taken to back entrance gates or gates that are chain locked, lol. I find all too often people don't realize they are hard to find and hardly ever are waiting outside. The nav for those complexes is usually unreliable so I often have to call. I was at a complex this morning where the inside signage gave the wrong directions, lol.


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## 68350 (May 24, 2017)

I will usually text after a minute or 2 wait time. Today I was about to text when the pax walked out of the house. She apologized for my wait, and explained that her app showed I was still sitting at an intersection, 4 min away. She showed it to me too. Uber glitch, GPS/phone glitch??? Anyway, I'm never in such a rush that I won't give an extra minute or 2 of my time. In this case, it was a nice easy $20 freeway ride with a hot recently divorced lawyer...


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## Duro (Dec 22, 2016)

Wardell Curry said:


> I text them "Hey,it's your uber driver........Am Outside".


The app notifies PAX when we arrive. Why be redundant....then if your cancellation rate is low, do nothing for 5 mins then cancel...if you feel like it's a possible good ride, ping them after 3-4 minutes. AND, avoid calling at all costs.


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## Bob fox (May 18, 2016)

Fuzzyelvis said:


> $11,000 for 300 hours is $36.67 per hour. How do you figure that?


Is 37 a lot?



Jdemonto said:


> No pax don't like it when you call, I know I wouldn't. The pax app shows exactly where the car is, most of the time.


I call ahead and average 4.95*, over 5,000 rides.



Jdemonto said:


> No pax don't like it when you call, I know I wouldn't. The pax app shows exactly where the car is, most of the time.


Many many times they say thank you on the phone before can even hang up. Maybe they just like my voice.


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## Joseph Torti (May 18, 2017)

tohunt4me said:


> Blow the horn non stop and yell obscenities.


ohh I wish we could do that. LOL


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## lyftuberandhopefullyjuno (Nov 3, 2016)

after a couple minutes i text, at 4 minutes i call, at 5 minutes and 1 second i cancel


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## driverx.nj (May 15, 2017)

I give them 4 minutes, then I call to make sure they know I am there, if no answer then 3 more minutes and I am OUT.

Today, I called one rider and they said give them 5 minutes and they would be out. The customer was sending two workers home, he came out and gave me a Twenty for waiting and they the PAX's would be right out. PAX's came out a couple of minutes later, took them to their destination and All was Good with the WORLD today, tomorrow can be another thing.

I believe in giving them a chance, if they go past the 5 minutes but make it to the car before the 8 minute mark and DON'T TIP. 4 Stars or Less since they don't deserve 5.


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