# Bribed a driver to rate me 4*



## MadTownUberD (Mar 11, 2017)

Well I finally did it. I'm in downtown Madison today for a training seminar and I took a min fare Uber trip to Chipotle on State Street.

I apologized for the short and then I told the driver of my desire to have a less than perfect rating, because some drivers won't pick up 5.00 riders under the assumption they are a noob. He said he had never heard of that, to which I admitted I spend way too much time on the forums. :roflmao:

I watched him give me 4*. I handed him $3 in cash, then gave him 5* and another $3 in the app...I guess I have a soft spot in my heart for 2006 BMW 3-series since I used to drive one.


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## rideshareMN (Jan 25, 2017)

as a driver, I decline 5* PAX unless i'm an affluent suburb and it really is likely to either be a first-timer, or someone who takes long rides into the city/airport, is pleasant and likely tips

as a rider, I can see my bright, shiny 5.0 on Uber (I assume I'm also 5.0 on Lyft, but have no clue how to see my rating); it's tempting to tell some Uber driver to give me a 4*, but then I think why even bother

back to driver perspective, if uber/lyft would include likelihood of a tip (say, tip % for that rider in addition to rating), that would entice me to take lower-rated PAX; quite frankly, at the current rates, I have zero interest in giving a ride to a non-tipper; in fact, I am getting fairly close to asking PAX if they are tippers before they get into my car...an unconvincing response would be a cancel


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## Matt Uterak (Jul 28, 2015)

I’ve never had a problem getting picked up. I take about 5 Uber rides a year. My rider rating is a 5.


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## MadTownUberD (Mar 11, 2017)

Matt Uterak said:


> I've never had a problem getting picked up. I take about 5 Uber rides a year. My rider rating is a 5.


What I can tell you I i am highly impressed when I see a 4.97, 4.98, or 4.99 rated rider. I can't hit Accept fast enough.


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## goneubering (Aug 17, 2017)

MadTownUberD said:


> Well I finally did it. I'm in downtown Madison today for a training seminar and I took a min fare Uber trip to Chipotle on State Street.
> 
> I apologized for the short and then I told the driver of my desire to have a less than perfect rating, because some drivers won't pick up 5.00 riders under the assumption they are a noob. He said he had never heard of that, to which I admitted I spend way too much time on the forums. :roflmao:
> 
> I watched him give me 4*. I handed him $3 in cash, then gave him 5* and another $3 in the app...I guess I have a soft spot in my heart for 2006 BMW 3-series since I used to drive one.


I think the fear of 5 star riders was created on this forum. 

What's your rating now? 4.99?


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## MadTownUberD (Mar 11, 2017)

goneubering said:


> I think the fear of 5 star riders was created on this forum. :wink:
> 
> What's your rating now? 4.99?


Yes! Finally it bumped down to 4.92. Took exactly one week.


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## Z129 (May 30, 2018)

I am a 5 star pax. 
I do not pick up 5 star pax.
I would not pick myself up.
I would be quite angry if a driver dinged my rating.

I am a 21st century Schizoid Man thanks to these ratings.


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## SFOspeedracer (Jun 25, 2019)

MadTownUberD said:


> What I can tell you I i am highly impressed when I see a 4.97, 4.98, or 4.99 rated rider. I can't hit Accept fast enough.


4.97 has always been right on the money ..

usually the peaceful pax ..

on the curb ready to go who says hi, looks at phone casually, then says thank you and tips

usually assume they were dinged only once 3 stars from a driver who had an extreme need to chat

or a rohit who sneezed and accidentally hit 3 * ..

Would make a hell of a lot difference if Uber added their amount of taken trips on their profile similar to our driven trips on driver profile


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## MoneyMitch (Nov 15, 2015)

SFOspeedracer said:


> 4.97 has always been right on the money ..
> 
> usually the peaceful pax ..
> 
> ...


It's amazing that Uber still hasn't figured out something after all of these years of differentiating new PAX from regular PAX.


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## SFOspeedracer (Jun 25, 2019)

MoneyMitch said:


> It's amazing that Uber still hasn't figured out something after all of these years of differentiating new PAX from regular PAX.


There's not enough vet Uber drivers in corporate ..

who would actually know what to implement that would benefit everybody


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## goneubering (Aug 17, 2017)

MadTownUberD said:


> Yes! Finally it bumped down to 4.92. Took exactly one week.


I wonder why it took that long?


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## mellorock (Sep 16, 2018)

MadTownUberD said:


> Well I finally did it. I'm in downtown Madison today for a training seminar and I took a min fare Uber trip to Chipotle on State Street.
> 
> I apologized for the short and then I told the driver of my desire to have a less than perfect rating, because some drivers won't pick up 5.00 riders under the assumption they are a noob. He said he had never heard of that, to which I admitted I spend way too much time on the forums. :roflmao:
> 
> I watched him give me 4*. I handed him $3 in cash, then gave him 5* and another $3 in the app...I guess I have a soft spot in my heart for 2006 BMW 3-series since I used to drive one.


Over thinking it?


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## MadTownUberD (Mar 11, 2017)

goneubering said:


> I wonder why it took that long?


To avoid retaliation.



mellorock said:


> Over thinking it?


That's what I do.


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## Kodyhead (May 26, 2015)

MadTownUberD said:


> Well I finally did it. I'm in downtown Madison today for a training seminar and I took a min fare Uber trip to Chipotle on State Street.
> 
> I apologized for the short and then I told the driver of my desire to have a less than perfect rating, because some drivers won't pick up 5.00 riders under the assumption they are a noob. He said he had never heard of that, to which I admitted I spend way too much time on the forums. :roflmao:
> 
> I watched him give me 4*. I handed him $3 in cash, then gave him 5* and another $3 in the app...I guess I have a soft spot in my heart for 2006 BMW 3-series since I used to drive one.


How long did it take for the rating to go down?


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## MadTownUberD (Mar 11, 2017)

Kodyhead said:


> How long did it take for the rating to go down?





MadTownUberD said:


> Yes! Finally it bumped down to 4.92. *Took exactly one week.*


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## welikecamping (Nov 27, 2018)

This is good to know. I did not rate a passenger this morning that clearly deserved a 1*, for fear she would retaliate and blow my perfect 4.95. Not gonna happen again.


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## MadTownUberD (Mar 11, 2017)

welikecamping said:


> This is good to know. I did not rate a passenger this morning that clearly deserved a 1*, for fear she would retaliate and blow my perfect 4.95. Not gonna happen again.


Do NOT fear pax retaliation. Rate them honestly. My local FB group peeps are all triggered when I tell them I down rate college students for short trips, even after I tell them it's a business decision.


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## welikecamping (Nov 27, 2018)

Never again.


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## goneubering (Aug 17, 2017)

MadTownUberD said:


> Do NOT fear pax retaliation. Rate them honestly. My local FB group peeps are all triggered when I tell them I down rate college students for short trips, even after I tell them it's a business decision.


I don't get it. Short trips are a fairky large part of this gig. Or do you only downrate college students who take short trips?


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## MadTownUberD (Mar 11, 2017)

goneubering said:


> I don't get it. Short trips are a fairky large part of this gig. Or do you only downrate college students who take short trips?


Where I drive short trips are NOT necessarily a large part of the gig. Without surge or tip I don't prefer them, because they are risky and put a lot of wear and tear on the car, relatively speaking. College students almost never tip (they have money for alcohol and birth control though), and they are often obnoxious.

I down rate people so that other drivers, including myself, have a better basis for deciding whether or not to accept the ping.


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## RideshareUSA (Feb 7, 2019)

MadTownUberD said:


> Well I finally did it. I'm in downtown Madison today for a training seminar and I took a min fare Uber trip to Chipotle on State Street.
> 
> I apologized for the short and then I told the driver of my desire to have a less than perfect rating, because some drivers won't pick up 5.00 riders under the assumption they are a noob. He said he had never heard of that, to which I admitted I spend way too much time on the forums. :roflmao:
> 
> I watched him give me 4*. I handed him $3 in cash, then gave him 5* and another $3 in the app...I guess I have a soft spot in my heart for 2006 BMW 3-series since I used to drive one.


You take this ratings thing, way, waaayyyy too seriously!


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## goneubering (Aug 17, 2017)

MadTownUberD said:


> Where I drive short trips are NOT necessarily a large part of the gig. Without surge or tip I don't prefer them, because they are risky and put a lot of wear and tear on the car, relatively speaking. College students almost never tip (they have money for alcohol and birth control though), and they are often obnoxious.
> 
> I down rate people so that other drivers, including myself, have a better basis for deciding whether or not to accept the ping.


I've given up on ratings. I used to think they mattered but after giving over 4000 rides I've decided they're almost useless. I would still give a one star to any obnoxious rider but I give five stars for well behaved short rides.

Think about if you needed a short ride for some reason and the driver decided to give you one star for distance. I know you wouldn't like it.


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## MadTownUberD (Mar 11, 2017)

goneubering said:


> Think about if you needed a short ride for some reason and the driver decided to give you one star for distance. I know you wouldn't like it.


That's why I always tip in cash, like on the shorties we took Tuesday night.

I don't 1* the college kids, I 4* them. Enough to knock them down a peg. I know they are not going to tip...they never do.


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## goneubering (Aug 17, 2017)

MadTownUberD said:


> That's why I always tip in cash, like on the shorties we took Tuesday night.
> 
> I don't 1* the college kids, I 4* them. Enough to knock them down a peg. I know they are not going to tip...they never do.


I admit I was shocked when a college kid tipped me.


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## MadTownUberD (Mar 11, 2017)

Update!!!

Exactly one week after my wife and I took an Uber, in which I have the dude a $5 cash tip, my rider rating moved up from 4.92 to 4.93. so it takes a week to move up or move down, unless of course there are a ton of trips in a week (I'm assuming).


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## EM1 (Apr 28, 2019)

It seems riders can rate you hours or days later after the ride? I rated a rider 1-star for bringing a yappy *****y menopause dog in my car w/o prior notice (non service-related dog). I believe she LATER rated me 1-star then as retaliation. Shoulda kicked both *****es to the curb.


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