# Three questions



## outback (Sep 7, 2014)

I drive at night and after 10:00pm when a ping comes in I immediately call the pax and ask thee questions.

First Question goes like this " This is your Uber driver Can you verify your location? or Where are you?"

Second Question " Where are you going? or What is your destination?"

Third Question " How many are in your party?"

These three questions will help you weed out undesirable riders, save you time, gas, headache, and protect your rating. The first makes sure the rider has correctly set the pin. This a big problem when people are drinking. A miss set pin is the first red flag of a problem rider. You can cancel or at least know you are going to where the pax really is. When the rider answers the phone try to asses how intoxicated they are. Know what you are driving into. If it doesn't feel right.... cancel. The second question is to determine if the ride is long enough to be worth it. If the pax is drunk and it's a short ride, I cancel, not worth the risk on my rating.
If it's long or an airport run I will proceed with the pick up. Question number three is very important to ask at night when people are partying because riders always try to over load the car. If the pax says they have over four people on the phone I immediately cancel. The driver never wins when riders want to put more than four in an Uberx car. I ask these three questions to every rider after 10:00pm when I get a ping. I have avoided many rating crushing situations by knowing what I am about to pick up. I cancel a lot of rides because drunks usually don't have the right answers to these three questions. Uber on!


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## Brian O (Nov 8, 2014)

Thanks for those tips. That will surely help me as those things are happening constantly. Is there a way to tell what rating each trip gives you?


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## cheerose (Aug 29, 2014)

Would you ask the same/similar questions if you were driving during the day?


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## Shine'ola (Oct 7, 2014)

I ask them all the time, especially when the pickup is 10 minutes or more, sometimes it's only 5 minutes away and they answer …uhhh down the street about 7 blocks, I'm thinking… hmmm $2.40 in 15 minutes on a busy spot…NFW


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## outback (Sep 7, 2014)

[QUOdaytime"cheerose, post: 89469, member: 1611"]Would you ask the same/similar questions if you were driving during the day?[/QUOTE]
No, daytime driving is different. Riders set the pin more accurately and are only drunk during daytime concerts and festivals. These questions are for late night driving where drinking is involved. Most night time problems for Uber drivers lead back drinking as the root cause.


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## outback (Sep 7, 2014)

Brian drive st: 89462 said:


> Thanks for those tips. That will surely help me as those things are happening constantly. Is there a way to tell what rating each trip gives you?


No, Uber knows drivers would be out get riders who low rated them. After the resent dashboard change there is no way to tell what the pax rated you.


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## BlueRooftop (Oct 15, 2014)

outback said:


> I drive at night and after 10:00pm when a ping comes in I immediately call the pax and ask thee questions.
> 
> First Question goes like this " This is your Uber driver Can you verify your location? or Where are you?"
> 
> ...


Fourth question: (heavy breathing in the phone) what...are you...wearing?!


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## UberXTampa (Nov 20, 2014)

I thought 4th question was "Does your mom has big boobs? Just wondering!"


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## BlueRooftop (Oct 15, 2014)

UberXTampa said:


> I thought 4th question was "Does you mom has big boobs? Just wondering!"


Not to be confused with, "are you tired of walking? ....Then RUN!"


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## AMBUDRIVER03 (Jul 1, 2014)

The second one is likely to get you deactivated. This is why Uber has removed the ability to see the destination prior to starting the trip. 

Uber doesn't want you cherry picking fares.


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## outback (Sep 7, 2014)

I doubt it. In never met anyone in my market who has been deactivated. It would take many complains to get deactivated and the people don't seem to Mind these questions. worrying about deactivation is for drivers with low ratings. My rating is high. (4.87)


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## AMBUDRIVER03 (Jul 1, 2014)

outback said:


> I doubt it. In never met anyone in my market who has been deactivated. It would take many complains to get deactivated and the people don't seem to Mind these questions. worrying about deactivation is for drivers with low ratings. My rating is high. (4.87)


So, it only takes a couple passengers to complain to Uber about drivers not picking them up for you to get your warning.

Several drivers have been warned for excessive cancellations (over 10%).

And do you honestly think Uber cares what your rating is prior to deactivating you?

By cancelling the possible short fares and telling others to do the same you're setting a dangerous precedent.

Ask Uber how they feel about contacting the passenger and requesting the destination prior to arrival...


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## outback (Sep 7, 2014)

Ok, I will do as Travis says. I won't ask question number two anymore. Thank buddy!


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## Shine'ola (Oct 7, 2014)

AMBUDRIVER03 said:


> The second one is likely to get you deactivated. This is why Uber has removed the ability to see the destination prior to starting the trip.
> 
> Uber doesn't want you cherry picking fares.


Uber has done this to themselves, the idea of cherry picking would be cut in half if the rates were reasonable, 13 cents a min gets you about $6 an hour, I have done my share of one mile or less UberX rides that take 15 minutes in traffic and I net out about $3 or less BEFORE GAS, if I continued and could only do about 3 of these in an hour&#8230;.do the math, Do I owe it to the public to serve them and Uber while trashing my car and my mind, the NO TIP thing is just like taking a shit on what is already a bad deal, if the $4 minimum ride was $5 and only included 25 cents for safe ride it wouldn't sting as bad, it's ridiculous that a $100 ride has $1 safe and so does a $4 ride


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## Sydney Uber (Apr 15, 2014)

outback said:


> I drive at night and after 10:00pm when a ping comes in I immediately call the pax and ask thee questions.
> 
> First Question goes like this " This is your Uber driver Can you verify your location? or Where are you?"
> 
> ...


I mean REALLY! How much can a Koala bear!


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## Driver8 (Jul 29, 2014)

outback said:


> [QUOdaytime"cheerose, post: 89469, member: 1611"]Would you ask the same/similar questions if you were driving during the day? \\
> 
> No, daytime driving is different.  Riders set the pin more accurately and are only drunk during daytime concerts and festivals. These questions are for late night driving where drinking is involved. Most night time problems for Uber drivers lead back drinking as the root cause.


Just because riders aren't drunk doesn't mean Uber doesn't screw up their location. Sometimes, it's because the rider's GPS is off by anywhere from 1 street number to a block; sometimes, the app is just screwy. On a typical day, at least 1/4 of my pickups have an incorrect location, so I either call or text and have them verify. Just keep it short and polite. Most daytime passengers are business travelers who use it a lot and know it's not always correct.


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## outback (Sep 7, 2014)

Driver8, you are absolutely right, sometimes the pin being incorrect is not the riders fault. A phone call is good to insure you get the pax and have a good ride to get 5 stars.


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## jeffl (Oct 29, 2014)

How long is it reasonable to wait for a client? I had a 7 minute drive finding the client in a gated community. He came out right away, I asked his name and confirmed he was cool. We then waited 10 minutes for his lady friend. I asked if he was ready and he said shed br right out. 10 minutes on the clock and she's got an open beer. I'm new, didn't want to make trouble and it wound up being a $40 fare...but the open container and 10 minutes of waiting was a little bothersome. What's the protocol? Besides, I think he was brand new with a 5 and probably gave me no rating or a crummy one without knowing any better. Any thoughts?


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## UberDude2 (Nov 19, 2014)

Driver8 said:


> Just because riders aren't drunk doesn't mean Uber doesn't screw up their location. Sometimes, it's because the rider's GPS is off by anywhere from 1 street number to a block; sometimes, the app is just screwy. On a typical day, at least 1/4 of my pickups have an incorrect location, so I either call or text and have them verify. Just keep it short and polite. Most daytime passengers are business travelers who use it a lot and know it's not always correct.


Uber doesn't screw it up, that's the maps program and the GPS setting. In another post that didn't get any replies i suggested Uber display some kind of tutorial or a reminder to the customer that it's up to the PAX to make sure the pin is put in the correct location otherwise there will be delays. Most new users i spoke to are clueless that they can actually move the pin to the proper location.


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## LAuberX (Jun 3, 2014)

jeffl said:


> How long is it reasonable to wait for a client? I had a 7 minute drive finding the client in a gated community. He came out right away, I asked his name and confirmed he was cool. We then waited 10 minutes for his lady friend. I asked if he was ready and he said shed br right out. 10 minutes on the clock and she's got an open beer. I'm new, didn't want to make trouble and it wound up being a $40 fare...but the open container and 10 minutes of waiting was a little bothersome. What's the protocol? Besides, I think he was brand new with a 5 and probably gave me no rating or a crummy one without knowing any better. Any thoughts?


In that case when the first pax gets in the car and tells me we are waiting for only 1 more pax I ask the destination.

Enter destination in Waze and start the ride.

One pax in car, head count and destination known = start the ride.


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## UberDude2 (Nov 19, 2014)

outback said:


> I drive at night and after 10:00pm when a ping comes in I immediately call the pax and ask thee questions.
> 
> First Question goes like this " This is your Uber driver Can you verify your location? or Where are you?"
> 
> ...


...and what do you do if the pax doesn't answer the phone? It sounds like you cancel a lot of rides. In my opinion that doesn't reflect well on Uber, you or your fellow Uber drivers. I'm sure the driver who actually picks them up has to hear about how you never showed up or how you canceled them.


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## Driver8 (Jul 29, 2014)

UberDude2 said:


> Uber doesn't screw it up, that's the maps program and the GPS setting. In another post that didn't get any replies i suggested Uber display some kind of tutorial or a reminder to the customer that it's up to the PAX to make sure the pin is put in the correct location otherwise there will be delays. Most new users i spoke to are clueless that they can actually move the pin to the proper location.


You think the maps program invented itself? I've seen too many instances where Uber gives the address for Hotel A, when Pax is at Hotel B three blocks away. Happens on high internet-traffic days all the time. 98% of my pickups are sober daytime users. 60% are heavy Uber users with 2 or more years of experience with the app and they know its quirks. Then there are people whose GPS - whether it's Uber's, Google's, or another GPS service - always comes through incorrectly. By my estimate from 6 months of driving, fully 35% or more are incorrect locations, and again, we are talking about sober daytime users. If that many sober, business travelers need a tutorial to make sure the pin is in the right place, then Uber is far more complicated than their PR and it's Uber's programming that needs correcting.


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## Driver8 (Jul 29, 2014)

jeffl said:


> How long is it reasonable to wait for a client? I had a 7 minute drive finding the client in a gated community. He came out right away, I asked his name and confirmed he was cool. We then waited 10 minutes for his lady friend. I asked if he was ready and he said shed br right out. 10 minutes on the clock and she's got an open beer. I'm new, didn't want to make trouble and it wound up being a $40 fare...but the open container and 10 minutes of waiting was a little bothersome. What's the protocol? Besides, I think he was brand new with a 5 and probably gave me no rating or a crummy one without knowing any better. Any thoughts?


10 minutes wait isn't bad but with no tip, a maximum of 4 stars.


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## UberDude2 (Nov 19, 2014)

Driver8 said:


> You think the maps program invented itself? I've seen too many instances where Uber gives the address for Hotel A, when Pax is at Hotel B three blocks away. Happens on high internet-traffic days all the time. 98% of my pickups are sober daytime users. 60% are heavy Uber users with 2 or more years of experience with the app and they know its quirks. Then there are people whose GPS - whether it's Uber's, Google's, or another GPS service - always comes through incorrectly. By my estimate from 6 months of driving, fully 35% or more are incorrect locations, and again, we are talking about sober daytime users. If that many sober, business travelers need a tutorial to make sure the pin is in the right place, then Uber is far more complicated than their PR and it's Uber's programming that needs correcting.


No, the maps program didn't invent itself but neither did Uber which is who you're trying to place the blame. If you open google maps on its on (independent of Uber) most likely your location on the map is not in the correct place, even if you hit that homing button in the bottom corner. My suggestion is to remind the customer to MOVE the pin to the exact location on the map and not to depend on the default setting or GPS setting.


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## LAuberX (Jun 3, 2014)

UberDude2 said:


> ...and what do you do if the pax doesn't answer the phone? It sounds like you cancel a lot of rides. In my opinion that doesn't reflect well on Uber, you or your fellow Uber drivers. I'm sure the driver who actually picks them up has to hear about how you never showed up or how you canceled them.


Time is money. I can't worry about "what if"

the rider knows where and when I will be there, they are the ones in charge.

If the pax does not answer the phone or answer a text what makes you think it is a legit ping?

The pax used a smart phone to place the order, they knew the original eta, why wait more than 5 minutes?


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## Shine'ola (Oct 7, 2014)

I called a guy one day that was 20 minutes away, he said "what the hell, every Uber driver just comes and gets me, I'm just going down the street" So I answered, would you drive 20 minutes across town to take a guy somewhere for $2.40 ? He said no…I said thank you and have a nice day sir


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## AMBUDRIVER03 (Jul 1, 2014)

LAuberX said:


> In that case when the first pax gets in the car and tells me we are waiting for only 1 more pax I ask the destination.
> 
> Enter destination in Waze and start the ride.
> 
> One pax in car, head count and destination known = start the ride.


Pretty much. As soon as I make affirmative contact with the passenger then I start the ride.


Shine'ola said:


> Uber has done this to themselves, the idea of cherry picking would be cut in half if the rates were reasonable, 13 cents a min gets you about $6 an hour, I have done my share of one mile or less UberX rides that take 15 minutes in traffic and I net out about $3 or less BEFORE GAS, if I continued and could only do about 3 of these in an hour&#8230;.do the math, Do I owe it to the public to serve them and Uber while trashing my car and my mind, the NO TIP thing is just like taking a shit on what is already a bad deal, if the $4 minimum ride was $5 and only included 25 cents for safe ride it wouldn't sting as bad, it's ridiculous that a $100 ride has $1 safe and so does a $4 ride


Trust me... I hate the short ones as much as the next guy... Sitting at the airport waiting lot for anywhere from 1 to 3 hours, and then getting a $15, 2 mile, ride - off which Uber takes $3.75.


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## outback (Sep 7, 2014)

UberDude2 said:


> ...and what do you do if the pax doesn't answer the phone? It sounds like you cancel a lot of rides. In my opinion that doesn't reflect well on Uber, you or your fellow Uber drivers. I'm sure the driver who actually picks them up has to hear about how you never showed up or how you canceled them.


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## outback (Sep 7, 2014)

If the Pax doesn't answer the phone that means I'm going to a pick at night with no info on the client. I want to know what I am driving into for safety, time, and money issues. The more you know about the rider before the pick up the better. Remember these questions are for late night pick ups. I find these pax to be the most challenging. Why would pax not answer the phone? It is in thier hand, they just used it to ping you. I have found that an unanswered phone call after a ping is a red flag as to a problem pax at night.


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## Elmoooy (Sep 3, 2014)

outback said:


> If the Pax doesn't answer the phone that means I'm going to a pick at night with no info on the client. I want to know what I am driving into for safety, time, and money issues. The more you know about the rider before the pick up the better. Remember these questions are for late night pick ups. I find these pax to be the most challenging. Why would pax not answer the phone? It is in thier hand, they just used it to ping you. I have found that an unanswered phone call after a ping is a red flag as to a problem pax at night.


What I do now is text the passenger as soon as I get the ping - I drive to location unless they tell me they made a mistake, If i don't hear from the pax, its not my problem. I press arrive and text the passenger "I am here" asap

I always add an extra minute to the time I sent "I am here" For example if I sent it at 8:22pm I will wait 6 minutes, and then press no show at 8:28.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

UberDude2 said:


> ...and what do you do if the pax doesn't answer the phone? It sounds like you cancel a lot of rides. In my opinion that doesn't reflect well on Uber, you or your fellow Uber drivers. I'm sure the driver who actually picks them up has to hear about how you never showed up or how you canceled them.


Yeah. He's letting his fellow drivers down. And he's letting Uber down. But most importantly, he's letting himself down.


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## Shine'ola (Oct 7, 2014)

I think it would be awesome to be "that driver" that picks up the pax , listens to the BS and then "he called you really….well... I guess we do go on a lot of goose chases, short rides making $2.40, no tips, but who needs tips with this kind of income? I just enjoy driving people around safely, awe shucks that's not necessary, but thank you very much, me and my pet goat Hairy will eat tonight"


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## AMBUDRIVER03 (Jul 1, 2014)




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## AMBUDRIVER03 (Jul 1, 2014)

Taken from recent posts in an Uber driver Facebook group


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## Shine'ola (Oct 7, 2014)

oh snap ! hell I canceled 20 in a row in 10 minutes on halloween night bc I was running back downtown to get the SURGE RIDES, there was no surge where I was, I would think that was doing the right thing, mo money fo me, mo money for gUber


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## outback (Sep 7, 2014)

elelegido said:


> Yeah. He's letting his fellow drivers down. And he's letting Uber down. But most importantly, he's letting himself down.


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## Frank Martin (Nov 12, 2014)

Outback, you're a life saver!


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

Can't think of any overused quotes to respond with. A man's _got_ to know his limitations...


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## UberXTampa (Nov 20, 2014)

I just cancelled 4 request from the same person back to back. Person calls, I accept and text where exactly he is. No response. I call him on the phone. No response. I wait a minute hoping he calls or texts and still nothing. But as son as I cancel he requests again. Wtf??!! This repeated 4 times in the same exact sequence until I picked up another customer who told me where they were. 

Question: do I agent dinged because i had to cancel same person back to back 4 times because he wasn't telling me where he was?


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## Sydney Uber (Apr 15, 2014)

elelegido said:


> Yeah. He's letting his fellow drivers down. And he's letting Uber down. But most importantly, he's letting himself down.


Look at it this way. This is Rideshare. You the Driver /owner of the car are going out of your way to share your car. You do not know if the effort you are going to will even be of monetary benefit to you.



outback said:


> If the Pax doesn't answer the phone that means I'm going to a pick at night with no info on the client. I want to know what I am driving into for safety, time, and money issues. The more you know about the rider before the pick up the better. Remember these questions are for late night pick ups. I find these pax to be the most challenging. Why would pax not answer the phone? It is in thier hand, they just used it to ping you. I have found that an unanswered phone call after a ping is a red flag as to a problem pax at night.


By calling ahead and establishing the bonafides of the rider and their location you are helping make this whole circus more sustainable long term. If Riders start seeing missed calls and unanswered text messages from drivers when they've been cancelled, then maybe their errant behaviour will be modified and the lives of future drivers will be much easier.

Keep chasing mirages, and those service bills will need to come out of the money you DIDN'T make.


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## Lidman (Nov 13, 2014)

outback said:


> I drive at night and after 10:00pm when a ping comes in I immediately call the pax and ask thee questions.
> 
> First Question goes like this " This is your Uber driver Can you verify your location? or Where are you?"
> 
> ...


thanks for the headsup.... maybe soon uber will allow the drivers to charge extra for each additional passenger.


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## Lidman (Nov 13, 2014)

UberXTampa said:


> I just cancelled 4 request from the same person back to back. Person calls, I accept and text where exactly he is. No response. I call him on the phone. No response. I wait a minute hoping he calls or texts and still nothing. But as son as I cancel he requests again. Wtf??!! This repeated 4 times in the same exact sequence until I picked up another customer who told me where they were.
> 
> Question: do I agent dinged because i had to cancel same person back to back 4 times because he wasn't telling me where he was?


 based on the scenarios you just gave, that shouldn't have any affect on your acceptance rate.... im not sure exactly where the cutoff is...


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

Sydney Uber said:


> Look at it this way. This is Rideshare. You the Driver /owner of the car are going out of your way to share your car. You do not know if the effort you are going to will even be of monetary benefit to you.


I know, I was being facetious.  Shamelessly poking fun at Uberdude2's post.

I totally agree, phone the pax, find out where they are and what state they're in. Don't know where I am / where I'm going / "What UUPPPPP DUDE!!??" on the other end of the phone = instant cancel.


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## outback (Sep 7, 2014)

I am ok with that.


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## outback (Sep 7, 2014)

Frank Martin said:


> Outback, you're a life saver!


What part of this post helped you most?Frank Martin


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## Sydney Uber (Apr 15, 2014)

[,QUOTE ="Lidman, post: 90607, member: 4744"]thanks for the headsup.... maybe soon uber will allow the drivers to charge extra for each additional passenger.[/QUOTE]

now that would be back to the future!

when i was doing rideshare30 years ago and picking up car loads of backpackers up and down the new south wales coast i used to offer seats at a price in my car. Used to post up flyers at backpackers hostelS and now a days there are plenty of true ride share websites which give the driver the negotiating position that they deserve


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## Sydney Uber (Apr 15, 2014)

elelegido said:


> I know, I was being facetious.  Shamelessly poking fun at Uberdude2's post.
> 
> I totally agree, phone the pax, find out where they are and what state they're in. Don't know where I am / where I'm going / "What UUPPPPP DUDE!!??" on the other end of the phone = instant cancel.


DOH!


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## Frank Martin (Nov 12, 2014)

> What part of this post helped you most?Frank Martin


The entire post, LOL.


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## outback (Sep 7, 2014)

Frank Martin said:


> The entire post, LOL.


Some drivers told me question number two is against Uber rules......whatever.


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## Optimus Uber (Oct 7, 2014)

Uber deactivates the older cars. The newer car people they will work with you. They don't want the older cars, they use them when they needed them but are weeding them out.

That's why they have the lease deals, they want newer cars in their fleet, but they don't want to take the risk personally, so they let the drivers be responsible for the capital.


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## Lou W (Oct 26, 2014)

When I pull up and the pax is not there I call them. Soon as they say "I'll be right out" I start the trip. It's only 13¢/min, but at least I'm getting something for those 10 minute wait times.


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## outback (Sep 7, 2014)

[="Lou W, post: 93845, member: 3857"]When I pull up and the pax is not there I call them. Soon as they say "I'll be right out" I start the trip. It's only 13¢/min, but at least I'm getting something for those 10 minute wait times.[/QUOTE

Starting the trip without seeing and talking with the pax is risky. Once you start the trip the rider can rate you, if they get to the car and they are drunken or difficult. You are stuck with them. I never start the trip until I 
Fully know what the pax is like. Sometimes the pax is not worth taking....so I don't.


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## JI Hokie (Nov 29, 2014)

outback said:


> I drive at night and after 10:00pm when a ping comes in I immediately call the pax and ask thee questions.
> 
> First Question goes like this " This is your Uber driver Can you verify your location? or Where are you?"
> 
> ...





outback said:


> I drive at night and after 10:00pm when a ping comes in I immediately call the pax and ask thee questions.
> 
> First Question goes like this " This is your Uber driver Can you verify your location? or Where are you?"
> 
> ...


Excellent advice that I will definitely use.
In my first week I also figured out to have some questions like that ready to copy/paste into a text message to save time.


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## RideshareGuru (Nov 17, 2014)

JI Hokie said:


> Excellent advice that I will definitely use.
> In my first week I also figured out to have some questions like that ready to copy/paste into a text message to save time.


Just a heads up, if they complain to Uber, you're toast.


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## Fauxknight (Aug 12, 2014)

Shine'ola said:


> oh snap ! hell I canceled 20 in a row in 10 minutes on halloween night bc I was running back downtown to get the SURGE RIDES, there was no surge where I was, I would think that was doing the right thing, mo money fo me, mo money for gUber


In the rare case I'm repositioning that far and don't want the fares in my current area then I go offline for a few minutes while I'm in transit. Why were you accepting those fares anyways? I simply wouldn't accept such fares. The only reason I can think of to accept and the cancel on Halloween would be to keep your acceptance rate in the qualifying range for the Halloween guarantee, which if they had to pay out to you means it doesn't matter if you picked up any surge fares or not.


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## outback (Sep 7, 2014)

RideshareGuru, post: 95325, member: 4901"]Just a heads up, if they complain to Uber, you're toast.[/QUOTE]
Bullshit, it takes multiple complains and you get a warning.


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## RideshareGuru (Nov 17, 2014)

outback said:


> RideshareGuru, post: 95325, member: 4901"]Just a heads up, if they complain to Uber, you're toast.


Bullshit, it takes multiple complains and you get a warning.[/QUOTE]
Different markets have different policies, proceed at your own risk, but it is against their corporate policy, and it is actually a breach of contract to cancel after accepting a ride.


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## Shine'ola (Oct 7, 2014)

I accept 15 to 20 min pings in hopes that they want to go to the airport, 25 miles away, but when they say they just want to go to work down the street I cancel, why should I have to take them to work and loose money, I'm not the government funded service


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## RideshareGuru (Nov 17, 2014)

Shine'ola said:


> I accept 15 to 20 min pings in hopes that they want to go to the airport, 25 miles away, but when they say they just want to go to work down the street I cancel, why should I have to take them to work and loose money, I'm not the government funded service


My rule of thumb is to not take any pings more than 5 mins. away. It's just the law of probability, there are many more min. fares out there than airport fares, so chances are you're going a mile or two instead of to the airport. My advice would be to hang out in the flat rate zones during times that people would most often go to the airport, like hotels at 5-10AM.


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## outback (Sep 7, 2014)

RideshareGuru said:


> Bullshit, it takes multiple complains and you get a warning.


Different markets have different policies, proceed at your own risk, but it is against their corporate policy, and it is actually a breach of contract to cancel after accepting a ride.[/QUOTE]


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## outback (Sep 7, 2014)

Breech of contract for cancelling....more bullshit. Most of the time cancelling is part of the Uber platform. Cherry picking is what Uber doesn't want. We are partners, we own our cars, we have right to refuse problem riders.


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## newsboy559 (Oct 14, 2014)

AMBUDRIVER03 said:


> The second one is likely to get you deactivated. This is why Uber has removed the ability to see the destination prior to starting the trip.
> 
> Uber doesn't want you cherry picking fares.


Illegal. As an independent contractor, Uber cannot tell me I cannot cherry pick fares. The bottom line is, we have to protect ourselves and our investments (IE: vehicle). I'm in the business to make money, not have my main business asset damaged or destroyed by high-risk clients.


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## CityGirl (Nov 29, 2014)

outback said:


> Some drivers told me question number two is against Uber rules......whatever.


The way I understood it, it's not against Uber rules but they think it will affect your passenger rating to call the passengers and ask where they are going upon accepting the trip. If you are doing it NOT to cherry pick the good rides, but to assess the sobriety of the passenger after 10 p.m., I think it's an honest question that helps you stay safe and provide good service.


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## newsboy559 (Oct 14, 2014)

elelegido said:


> Yeah. He's letting his fellow drivers down. And he's letting Uber down. But most importantly, he's letting himself down.


How is he letting himself down? How is protecting your main business asset letting himself down? He is being a prudent business owner, plain and simple. Anyone who would blindly go into high-risk situations that could lead to losing anywhere from a little to a lot of money is just stupid and deserves to go bankrupt. If anything, Uber should be thankful that they have an operator such as him working for them. Also, to ask someone to drive across town (in traffic) for a $5.00 ($3.60 - expenses = $2.40) fare is just dumb.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

outback said:


> Different markets have different policies, proceed at your own risk, but it is against their corporate policy, and it is actually a breach of contract to cancel after accepting a ride.


But if I arrive at the pickup and see Travis knocking on my window and trying to get in my car, _that's_ a definite cancel, for sure. Exceptions exist for undesirables.


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## AMBUDRIVER03 (Jul 1, 2014)

newsboy559 said:


> Illegal. As an independent contractor, Uber cannot tell me I cannot cherry pick fares. The bottom line is, we have to protect ourselves and our investments (IE: vehicle). I'm in the business to make money, not have my main business asset damaged or destroyed by high-risk clients.


Also as an independent contractor, Uber can tell you, "Thanks, but your services are no longer needed, have a nice day."

I'm not saying we have to like it, but there really isn't much we can do about it currently.


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## outback (Sep 7, 2014)

We are under the threat of deactivation...at anytime for anything.


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## jeffl (Oct 29, 2014)

Driver8 said:


> 10 minutes wait isn't bad but with no tip, a maximum of 4 stars.


I've driven a few hundred rides with a total of 4 tips. Apparently Phx customers thinks it's included. That needs to be fixed. Passengers would not stiff us if they knew there was no tip and they could do it without needing cash. They could easily be prompted through the app- just like cabs in Vegas. Or the Starbucks phone app. Keep it cashless and easy and if they know there's no tip included, we'll all do better and not get tweaked over wasting 10 minutes waiting for someone to finish getting dressed!!!


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## No-tippers-suck (Oct 20, 2014)

I like his idea of asking for the destination.. however if I am nearby I wouldn't mind a $4 fare, if they are nice people they are most welcome for any distance they like to go.. but you're right that you get an idea about the intoxication status but even that can be wrong sometimes.. I rather drive some respectful people when drunk than some idiots while sober.. It's hard to estimate.

I usually don't call because it's just extra time wasted, I check if the rating is around 4 I refuse the trip, if around 4.5 but nearby I usually accept unless it's a fantasy name (usually idiots!) 4.5 and 12 minutes away = NO THANK YOU !

SUGGESTION : 
Asking for their destination is a good idea and if I decided to not pick them up while on the phone with them I would say damn' I just recognize that I need some gas first.. do you want to wait or rather request another car?
They would usually say no problem I pick another driver then.


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## Lidman (Nov 13, 2014)

outback said:


> We are under the threat of deactivation...at anytime for anything.


 That is very true. Two friends of my niece got deactivated within two or three days of signing up. They started up in CedarRapids.


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## UberDude2 (Nov 19, 2014)

elelegido said:


> I know, I was being facetious.  Shamelessly poking fun at Uberdude2's post.
> 
> I totally agree, phone the pax, find out where they are and what state they're in. Don't know where I am / where I'm going / "What UUPPPPP DUDE!!??" on the other end of the phone = instant cancel.


Dude, the Universe is depending on his arrival. He can't just decide not to show up! LOL


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## TeleSki (Dec 4, 2014)

I'm a new driver, so take this for what it's worth. Yeh, the short trips kind of suck, but I think cancelling trips because you aren't going make enough money is kind of BS and affects everybody. I think a big part of what people like Uber for is being able to get a quick, dependable, pick-up. If they aren't going get picked up for a short ride, are they going trust Uber for a longer ride, like when they need to get to the airport? I think it all evens out in the end. If you don't want to drive drunks, don't stay out after 10, or in areas of a lot of bars. Same thing goes for safety. Log-off if you're in a lousy area. On the other hand, Uber does need to up their rates. They could raise them 50%, and do away with surge pricing. I think riders would rather pay more every ride (still cheaper than a taxi), than end up getting stuck with a 4x surge charge. Drivers would be more willing and happy to take shorter rides, and not cancel looking for bigger fish, and still probably come out ahead in the end.


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## JessicaRachelle (Oct 5, 2014)

AMBUDRIVER03 said:


> The second one is likely to get you deactivated. This is why Uber has removed the ability to see the destination prior to starting the trip.
> 
> Uber doesn't want you cherry picking fares.


right, it is frowned upon. however, recently I was part of a driver feedback group, and I mentioned it, and explained the potential for a major inconvenience to the rider and they agreed to address it.
When I get rider who ask me to...ahem..."train" them is I suppose the term....in Ubering, I always tell them the method I learned from a rider who lives in Oakland and works at UCSF on the graveyard shift, and Ubers daily....As soon as I accepted this guy's ping, he called me, and said, "hey, I know it's the middle of the night, and so I'm calling to ask if you are willing to drive a black man into the hood in Oakland".
He told me that he does this as standard procedure every time he Ubers home from work. (anybody else met this guy?) I didn't mind, but he said, sometimes drivers do mind. So he asks.
Anyway I thought it was pretty smart, and so I tell pax that if they have a long trip, or an appt. or need to go to SFO etc., to always call and ask their driver, in case the driver can't or won't. Then they can ping again without wasting their time.
I mean, I would be kinda annoyed if I requested a car, waited up to ten minutes for the driver only to hear they can't take me on my long trip to wherever, and then what if I pinged again, and it happened again? 20 min wasted now. Suck! Make me miss my flight, too, maybe. Baaaad Uber. Waaay not Uber.
Also Uber has pax thinking that all they need to do is enter their destination into the app. The pax don't know that we can't see it until we begin the trip.
It's really not fair the way they do it, you know, what if somebody only Ubers while their kids are in school or something, and has to get them?


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## DriverJ (Sep 1, 2014)

AMBUDRIVER03 said:


> The second one is likely to get you deactivated. This is why Uber has removed the ability to see the destination prior to starting the trip.
> 
> Uber doesn't want you cherry picking fares.


Yeah, I don't ask the destination because I'm sure my hand would uncontrollably reach up and cancel about half the requests.


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## outback (Sep 7, 2014)

I have found alot of experienced riders who have used Uber in big cities, always follow a rider request with a phone call to the driver to verify location and to make sure the driver is coming. These are business men who know how use the Uber system. For the Uber system to work effectively you have to make sure the driver is coming to your CORRECT location. Good riders do thier part to help bring the car to where they are. It is never a good idea to depend on the gps location system in the Uber app, to me it is merely a guide line, and is inaccurate much of the time. A rider who calls and verifies where they are, and helps me locate them for pick up, make me happy.


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## CowboyMC (Aug 26, 2014)

outback said:


> I drive at night and after 10:00pm when a ping comes in I immediately call the pax and ask thee questions.
> 
> First Question goes like this " This is your Uber driver Can you verify your location? or Where are you?"
> 
> ...


Doing all that adds about 5 min to time it takes to reach client.


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## DriverJ (Sep 1, 2014)

CowboyMC said:


> Doing all that adds about 5 min to time it takes to reach client.


Why?


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## UberXTampa (Nov 20, 2014)

It won't add 5 minutes. Most of the time it saves. However, question #2 and #3 must be already answered by anyone ordering a ride and Uber must not allow a request be made if a person doesn't state how many in party and where he is going. But we know, they don't do that and they want us to handle it. We should be dealing with question #1 only ideally. As soon as I get a request, I pick up the phone and verify the address in many cases when address doesn't seem right. this saves me time and wasted resources 90% of the time. A couple customers who enter bad address later turn out to act like a dick as if they have not done anything wrong. Next time, I will not start a trip with a dickish customer. I will ask him out and drive away. One such a-hole rated me low last week. He placed pin in a random place, I managed to pick hm up, but he was a dick from the moment he got in the car. Never admitted to mistake even though I displayed to him on the map where the pin was and where the car actually was sitting -- too far apart.


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## CowboyMC (Aug 26, 2014)

How about a location in the middle of the woods! You bet I called that client first.


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## Realityshark (Sep 22, 2014)

Brian O said:


> Thanks for those tips. That will surely help me as those things are happening constantly. Is there a way to tell what rating each trip gives you?


There is no way to tell what a passenger has rated you. My advise is to totally ignore your rating.


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## outback (Sep 7, 2014)

[QUiTE="CowboyMC, post: 103264, member: 1494"]Doing all that adds about 5 min to time it takes to reach client.[/QUOTE] 
No it doesn't. I am usually heading in the proper direction as I make the call. You are an idiot driving into the unknown late at night. You must be a rookie, newbie, and your opinion is worthless.


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## Realityshark (Sep 22, 2014)

I always call every passenger and ask them three questions.

My three questions:
1. Is this the correct address or are you a ******?
2. Do you plan to tip me or are you a dick?
3. Do you have any drugs you plan to share with me?


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## UberDude2 (Nov 19, 2014)

Realityshark said:


> I always call every passenger and ask them three questions.
> 
> My three questions:
> 1. Is this the correct address or are you a ******?
> ...


Looks like someone is asking the hard hitting questions. Straight to the point. I like your approach!


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## outback (Sep 7, 2014)

Realityshark said:


> I always call every passenger and ask them three questions.
> 
> My three questions:
> 1. Is this the correct address or are you a ******?
> ...


Those are awesome questions! I will adjust my style.


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## DriverJ (Sep 1, 2014)

Realityshark said:


> There is no way to tell what a passenger has rated you. My advise is to totally ignore your rating.


Yep, I quit caring at $1.15/mile. I don't intentionally give bad service, it's still my face and reputation, but if my rating goes to 2.68, I guess Uber will still be getting their money's worth...and then some. Everyone knows the rating system means nothing in the real world. I'd bet a 78 year old stud that only Ubered 90 year old widows from the nursing home to church and back every Sunday morning could probably maintain an extremely high rating, but wouldn't last an hour in the real world. Ratings means squat.

Come to think of it, since Uber has no skin in the game, I'm guessing if I was rated 0.00, driving a 1978 Plymouth Duster with 3 wheels, but still getting rides without killing, beating or raping anyone (forcing deactivation), I'd still be an Uber Road King.


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## DriverJ (Sep 1, 2014)

Realityshark said:


> I always call every passenger and ask them three questions.
> 
> My three questions:
> 1. Is this the correct address or are you a ******?
> ...


Dude, I was almost becoming bitter and not liking the whole Uber experience, but you've given me joy and a reason to Uber On!

Oh, you forgot the most important question of all. For the sexy sounding girls with names like Jennifer, Stacey, and Ashley, you should always ask their cup size. Wilma, Matilda, and Hazel, not usually so important. The ones with big **** really like it. They're usually flattered. The flat-chested girls, not so much, but they don't really matter. Unless they answer 'Yes' to question (2.) above. Then I tell them how sexy I think small boobs are.


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## UberDude2 (Nov 19, 2014)

DriverJ said:


> Dude, I was almost becoming bitter and not liking the whole Uber experience, but you've given me joy and a reason to Uber On!
> 
> Oh, you forgot the most important question of all. For the sexy sounding girls with names like Jennifer, Stacey, and Ashley, you should always ask their cup size. Wilma, Matilda, and Hazel, not usually so important. The ones with big **** really like it. They're usually flattered. The flat-chested girls, not so much, but they don't really matter. Unless they answer 'Yes' to question (2.) above. Then I tell them how sexy I think small boobs are.


_"For the sexy sounding girls with names like Jennifer, Stacey, and Ashley, you should always ask their cup size"_

I resent that, my 3 daughters are named Jennifer, Stacey and Ashley and i wouldn't want a stranger asking their cup size!


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## DriverJ (Sep 1, 2014)

UberDude2 said:


> _"For the sexy sounding girls with names like Jennifer, Stacey, and Ashley, you should always ask their cup size"_
> 
> I resent that, my 3 daughters are named Jennifer, Stacey and Ashley and i wouldn't want a stranger asking their cup size!


Mmm, what's your wife's name......and cup size? Might save me a phone call.


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## UberDude2 (Nov 19, 2014)

DriverJ said:


> Mmm, what's your wife's name......and cup size? Might save me a phone call.


LOL, you're lucky i'm in between marriages at the moment. How else would i have time to waste Ubering?


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## UberXTampa (Nov 20, 2014)

Realityshark said:


> I always call every passenger and ask them three questions.
> 
> My three questions:
> 1. Is this the correct address or are you a ******?
> ...


I will use these 3 questions to build up for my real question #4: "does your mom have big boobs? just wondering!"


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## Realityshark (Sep 22, 2014)

UberXTampa said:


> I just cancelled 4 request from the same person back to back. Person calls, I accept and text where exactly he is. No response. I call him on the phone. No response. I wait a minute hoping he calls or texts and still nothing. But as son as I cancel he requests again. Wtf??!! This repeated 4 times in the same exact sequence until I picked up another customer who told me where they were.
> 
> Question: do I agent dinged because i had to cancel same person back to back 4 times because he wasn't telling me where he was?


You might try texting. Keep in mind that there are many people who wont answer calls from numbers they don't recognize.


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## Nick781 (Dec 7, 2014)

I've cancelled about 30-40% percent of all my fares this past two weeks. No warning by Uber. Half were complicated locations, and probably GPS screwing me. My rating is 4.85


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## DriverJ (Sep 1, 2014)

Nick781 said:


> I've cancelled about 30-40% percent of all my fares this past two weeks. No warning by Uber. Half were complicated locations, and probably GPS screwing me. My rating is 4.85


Much better than Uber's rating.


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## No-tippers-suck (Oct 20, 2014)

UberXTampa said:


> I just cancelled 4 request from the same person back to back. Person calls, I accept and text where exactly he is. No response. I call him on the phone. No response. I wait a minute hoping he calls or texts and still nothing. But as son as I cancel he requests again. Wtf??!! This repeated 4 times in the same exact sequence until I picked up another customer who told me where they were.
> 
> Question: do I agent dinged because i had to cancel same person back to back 4 times because he wasn't telling me where he was?


I very first started with Sidecar (now I didn't send them my vehicle exam, so I'm out there gladly)
With Sidecar I had the same but even worse !
Pax can choose a certain driver so if somebody is bored they will request and cancel you dozen times in a row.
Lyft and Uber at least are little different (closest car bla bla bla..) someone else gotta deal with that guy.. lol..

I do not miss Sidecar at all !


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## Driver8 (Jul 29, 2014)

outback said:


> If the Pax doesn't answer the phone that means I'm going to a pick at night with no info on the client. I want to know what I am driving into for safety, time, and money issues. The more you know about the rider before the pick up the better. Remember these questions are for late night pick ups. I find these pax to be the most challenging. Why would pax not answer the phone? It is in thier hand, they just used it to ping you. I have found that an unanswered phone call after a ping is a red flag as to a problem pax at night.


Anytime of day, also.


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## Johnny 99 (Dec 17, 2014)

outback said:


> I drive at night and after 10:00pm when a ping comes in I immediately call the pax and ask thee questions.
> 
> First Question goes like this " This is your Uber driver Can you verify your location? or Where are you?"
> 
> ...


 Great tips; after the last group of drunk PAX wanted to try and fit 5 people in my maximum 4 person car, I started calling at night to ask that question. I really like the idea of verifying the pin; yesterday the pin was off 3 miles from where my customer was. Thanks for the post!


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