# Driving for a week and a rating of 4.73? *PANIC*



## mother1987 (Aug 21, 2016)

Hey all.

I started driving for Uber last Monday, after leaving my 5-day a week job of 3 years about a month ago.

Last week, I drove Uber for about 2.5 days, and definitely made a decent dollar out of it.

I collected a total of 14 passengers, and up until last night, I still had a sterling rating of 5.0. However, yesterday evening, about 20-30 minutes after dropping off my last passenger, I noticed that my rating had suddenly fallen down to 4.7, and then jumped back up to 4.73 about 10 minutes later.

I'm hurt, and somewhat confused (offended?), as to why I have received a bad rating from someone. Everyone seemed happy & content driving with me, no one ever voiced any concerns. Similarly, there are no comments in my feedback section of the Uber app.

Everyone comments about how nice my car is, and that it looks like new, etc. Passengers have helped themselves to the water and chocolates I leave for them in the door pockets, and read through the current newspapers I've stored in the front seat pockets.

What have I done wrong? I'm naturally very nervous about reaching the Uber death zone of 4.6. I feel like a total failure, considering Ive only been driving for a week. Is there any way of seeing how many ratings I have received, and what they were?

To be honest, Im almost too frightened to go out driving again, as I dont want my rating to drop even further.


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## UberReallySucks (Jul 17, 2015)

mother1987 said:


> Hey all.
> 
> I started driving for Uber last Monday, after leaving my 5-day a week job of 3 years about a month ago.
> 
> ...


Don't panic... that is perfectly normal for someone with few rides... and the 4.6 "danger zone" doesn't apply until you have done at least 100 rides.


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## mother1987 (Aug 21, 2016)

Are you sure about the 100 rides part? Where did you find that out?


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## mother1987 (Aug 21, 2016)

But how can my ratings jump from 4.7 to 4.73 within a space of 10 minutes? O.O


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## UberReallySucks (Jul 17, 2015)

mother1987 said:


> Are you sure about the 100 rides part? Where did you find that out?


Yes sure... Uber takes your lifetime average rating based on your last 500 trips.
When you first start and let's say your first rider gives you a 5 then your 2nd gives a 4 for whatever reason... then you are a 4.5 that quickly... Even Uber isn't that stupid to take action against you for that.
Implicitly, they do allow for somewhat of a training period and that's your first 100 rides...and even then they will not take any action against unless it's really BAD


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## steveK2016 (Jul 31, 2016)

How the heck do you even have a 5 star rating? I had a perfect 5 star rating for my first 3 weeks and my rating never went above 4.89. I got dinged with a 1 star that brought me down to 4.79 but have risen back up to 4.88 this past weekend. 56 rated trips, 55 5 stars... I was at least at 46 out of 46 before i got my first 1 star, how's that possible?

One thing I hear people complain about is how some people thing 4 stars is good and that 5 stars i great! So some people won't think twice about giving a 4 star...


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## mother1987 (Aug 21, 2016)

Well, you start off with a 5 star rating, someone (or some people) have since scored me lower, which brought me down to 4.7, and then 4.73 respectively. Do you know who rated you lowly, and why?


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## steveK2016 (Jul 31, 2016)

I had a perfect 5 star rating up until about my 46th 5th star (46 rated trips/46 5 stars) and this is the story of the guy that broke my streak...



> So i arrive at a hotel and as I get there the valet comes to my window and says "he went up to get something from hims room, he'll be down in a minute" so i start my timer. I'm patient, though that may be changing, and I actually waited until the 7 min mark and he comes out. As he gets in, confirms his name and I start the trip he says "Oh wait, I have to get something else real quick" and I'm like really? He jumps out without letting me get another word out and i'm just like... no, hell no, and he was going way outside of the perimeter of downtown and it was a guaranteed weekend. App wouldn't let me cancel right away (App recommended I just finish the trip and deal with issues later with a ticket) so I was just like "screw it I'll wait" and moved my car to the other side of the valet. Decided to try again and it let me end the trip... Needless to say, he gave me a 1 star. I was at a 4.89 and dropped to a 4.79 instantly.


I still don't get it. Even when I got my first rating ever, which was a 5 star, I didn't have 5 star on my profile. Is something wrong with my rating algorithm???


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## mother1987 (Aug 21, 2016)

Hmmm.... Maybe the app has changed? Maybe its different in Melbourne than in Atlanta? Either way, you did a Sterling job, to receive 46 5* ratings in a row. How do you know how many ratings you've received?


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## steveK2016 (Jul 31, 2016)

It says so on the app [Lifetime Trips] | [Rated Trips] | [5 Star Trips]


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## mother1987 (Aug 21, 2016)

This is what my app screen looks like


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## mother1987 (Aug 21, 2016)

It looks different to yours. All I can see on my screen is [Current Rating ] [Requests Accepted] [Trips Cancelled]

Is there a way to change this?


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## ptuberx (Jun 28, 2016)

There is a bug in the app right now. My last 50 trips haven't updated at all. Uber is working to fix the bug, and (sigh) roll our another app update.


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## Ubermom83 (Aug 17, 2016)

I have 50 rides and 28 rated trips 22 five stars my score 4.58 and they sent me an email saying im in risk of deactivation i just started ubering so the 100 rides is not true


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## UberBlackPr1nce (Dec 28, 2014)

Ubermom83 said:


> I have 50 rides and 28 rated trips 22 five stars my score 4.58 and they sent me an email saying im in risk of deactivation i just started ubering so the 100 rides is not true


Doesn't it suck that the 6 negative rating riders trumps the 22 5 star riders. Basically uber is telling you that they don't care about the 22 happy riders only the 6 ungrateful riders.


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## stephan (Aug 25, 2016)

mother1987 said:


> Hey all.
> 
> I started driving for Uber last Monday, after leaving my 5-day a week job of 3 years about a month ago.
> 
> ...


Do not worry ,when I started I had 5 stars, after tow weeks my rating fell to 4.14 , after went to 4.3 4.5 .......now after 400 trips between 4.58 and 4.63 , once I got email your account at risk I said to Uber I don't give a damn if I rider is mind sick or stupid or racist or don't like my car ,by the way I drive a corolla 2002 clean inside but outside doesn't look bad, I don't offer water or anything, I got tow or three comment you need new car ,I said may be a Ferrari? I said you are paying little money and you wanna new car? I said if you pay like what you pay for a cab tqxi then yes I buy a good car, you get what you pay for.if you want good car take uber black, I speak just like this .so they shut up. A d have them 1star. So don't worry you are too nice


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## stephan (Aug 25, 2016)

Been asked them just disactivated it ,I don't give a damn, not worth to drive for uber for 90cents a mile. I really told them. I told them you have to rise the fees to at least 1.7$ a mile. I used to make 600-800$ a week delivering pizza. 40-50 hours a week. Now I'm looking back to find a delivery pizza job much better


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## Jollyrodger (May 12, 2016)

Just hit 2100 trips. 4.87. Top 25% in my area. where's my bonus?


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## Lybert Uft (Jun 5, 2016)

mother1987 said:


> Hey all.
> 
> I started driving for Uber last Monday, after leaving my 5-day a week job of 3 years about a month ago....


Don't worry about it, the ratings fluctuate heavily in the beginning. I had 5*, then 4.68, then it leveled out at a number I now feel comfortable with. And I'd think it'll go up for you too again. You sound like you care about your passengers and like people.

A few thoughts on bad ratings:
• Don't take it personal if you get dinged by passengers and you get a few subpar ratings here and there. You can't avoid it, some passengers had a bad day, they don't like the route Google Maps is taking you, they're mad about the surge or they're in a rush and get stuck in traffic. There are many factors thall get you a four star rating from a PAX and more often than not they have nothing to do with you.
I'm excited about the people I meet and don't mind if they're not all at their best all the time. It happens.
• Some of your PAXs don't know that 4 stars is a bad rating for us. Some of the older passengers think 3 is average, 4 is good and 5 is amazing. But don't sweat it, most of them will give you 5 stars and trying to educate people about "4 stars is bad" gets awkward real fast.
• Don't start the habit of checking your rating screen every 3 or 4 hours. Just look at it every few days to see if everything is still ok. The "earnings" screen is much more important 

A few thoughts on good ratings:
• It IS a good idea to care about keeping your ratings up. I'm not saying you should take them personal, I'm saying: It is smart to keep the ratings as high as you comfortably can. For the simple reason that IF you get dinged by a few passengers in a row, you have a "safety net" of better ratings to buffer the worse ratings from the passengers.
• Drop the water, chocolate, news papers etc. You don't need them for a good rating. You just need to get the passenger safely to her location, drive smoothly, check with your gut if they want to talk or not (by simply starting a conversation -how's your day, it's warm, how do you like this neighborhood, how was dinner etc.- and then seeing if after the first few sentences THEY continue the conversation) and if they don't want to talk, leave them alone, check if the temperature in the car is ok, don't ***** about traffic, other passengers or Uber. That's just basic professional courtesy and should absolutely do it.
• Don't get sucked up into the forum's negative mindset of Cancel this, kick out passenger than and constantly rating them 1* if they just wish the radio off or the windows open. They're your customers, treat them well, and they'll do the same.

Hope it helps! Keep it up and get out there.

PS: One thing about the first few weeks: Not getting lost is more important than having a good conversation with passengers. It can be hard in the first 300 rides to not get distracted when the conversation gets interesting. Just do this: If you're feeling that your focus is being drawn away from the route/freeway changes, just put the conversation on hold "Just onnnne, second. I just need to get this right" focus on the road, then when the route gets easier again (7 miles straight on FWY xyz) continue the conversation.


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## unPat (Jul 20, 2016)

Ratings are scary at first. I have 400+ trips in 1.5 months. The first 10 rides it was 5 . Then at 100 it settle down 4.71. Then it went upto 4.74 then 4.73, 4.72 and now I am at 4.81.
I remember 3 1 star rides. I picked up wrong passenger and dropped them at the airport . My first ride I didn't had a mount and I missed an exit . 
Then the other one was a morning rush hour trip when I changed lane like 100 times . 
But now I am a defensive driver . I drive 5 miles below the speed limit and stay on one lane . Also I clean vaccum my car every day . You can buy one by armoroil for $20 at Walmart . I always open 2 little tree every other day . One on the front and one on the passenger side . 
I strictly stick to pop hits or soft rock . No rock , r and b and hip hop , talk show. 
But apart from that I never talk about 5 stars or stars . In the beginning I used to ask for stars indirectly . That's when I took a hit .

But keep your car nice , clean . The stars will come .


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## stephan (Aug 25, 2016)

U can only drive part time , you have to get a real job . That's what I'm doing, uber used to be good when the fees were 1.78$ a mile plus cancellation fees were $10. The fees are 1/2 comparing to last year or tow years ago. When you made 800$ now it's just 400$ ect.... uber low the fees to get more ride fees, the rider fee $1.7 uber take it plus the 20-25% which is when you drive some body for 3 miles, uber charged them 5.7 $ or 6$ , you get only $3 which is uber take 50% Not 25 , wake up guys, most ride are short ,so uber take more than 25 percent all the time , except if you drive for over 10 miles , other wise uber fees are between 50 % and 35 % all the time . Well that's why I don't get a damn if rider is bad I get them of the car .I still make 400-500$ but after the gaz 340-400 $ but to me not worth it ,I drove a lot of mileages to make this money which I drove half of these milages delivering pizza last year but i made double money.uber is a joke .


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## stephan (Aug 25, 2016)

I never missed a,turn ,I do listen to my music ,show own whatever I want. This is my car ,Listen If you don't need like go get a cab or taxi. And ask him turn the music or any bullshit, you pay more than double and your face down, but with uber you want to see screw the driver ? Uber already screw us, I'm 6.63,
And yes I got many 1 stars from at least 15 riders haha, why because they week shit and I shit them back and drop them off the car .and I remember some I insulted them ...


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## stephan (Aug 25, 2016)

You respect me I respect you ,you talk shit or you showing you own me, like you giving me orders, I shit you back and drop you .


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