# Starting the Ride



## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

Lyft mentor said to hit the "arrived" button as soon as I arrive at the pin location. This sends the rider a text to let them know I have arrived and that the ride has started.

I asked the mentor what if the rider dropped the pin incorrectly, in the wrong location. "That won't happen", she said. Wrong! Everyone knows that Lyft riders in the majority don't know how to use the app correctly and will select an incorrect location about 50% of the time.

When I start the trip at an incorrect pin location I often get angry responses from the same customers who were not able to locate themselves correctly using the app.

What do most of you Lyft drivers do? Do you follow the company's own instructions and hit the arrive button / start the trip as soon as you arrive at the pin, or do you wait for or call the passenger?


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## LookyLou (Apr 28, 2014)

I go ahead and hit the arrived button as soon as I get to the pin. Wait 1 minute until the ride starts and then I try calling them if I don't see them or any movement at the address I am at. If they answer and say they are on their way out after confirming that I am at the right place, I will wait for them up to 5 minutes. If when I call there is no answer, I wait another 2-3 minutes and then "cancel - no show" and take the $5.00 cancel fee and move on.

If I call and they are not at the pin location, I ask for their actual location and will go to that location and pick them up if they are understanding and friendly about it. If they start sounding irritated or rude, I wait 2 minutes and "cancel - no show" for the $5.00 and move on. Better to cancel and not give irritated or impatient pax a chance to rate you.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

I didn't know you can cancel a Lyft trip after you have clicked "arrived". All I see is a " drop off" button.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

One time this happened, I got a call from the rider a couple of minutes after I arrived. The idiot says, "I got a text saying that you are here and that the ride has started; neither of which is true".

I then see him from across the street and said, " I can assure you that the ride has started. The meter is running. And you see the white car that you are looking at now? I am in it".

"I want to get picked up from this side of the street"

So I do a U turn and pick the ****** up.

"This isn't fair", he says. " I was looking at your car for the last 2 minutes. Can you restart the meter?"

Me - "No."

So he says nothing more, just gets out and shuts the door.

I click "drop off" and collect a couple of bucks. Another customer served!


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## LookyLou (Apr 28, 2014)

elelegido said:


> One time this happened, I got a call from the rider a couple of minutes after I arrived. The idiot says, "I got a text saying that you are here and that the ride has started; neither of which is true".
> 
> I then see him from across the street and said, " I can assure you that the ride has started. The meter is running. And you see the white car that you are looking at now? I am in it".
> 
> ...


Yes with Lyft you can cancel from the drivers side anytime before the end of a ride. It varies by whether iPhone or Android but there will either be a cancel button or some other button that you can hit that will bring up the option to cancel.

This option is helpful if you ever get rude pax before the ride, after arrival, or even during the ride when you are driving. If someone is disrespectful of you or your car, you can pull over and ask them to request another car. Cancel the ride at this point so that they won't be able to rate you. If you end the ride at any point, the pax can rate you.


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## Former Yellow Driver (Sep 5, 2014)

Have to agree with BOTH of LookyLou's posts. Don't play games with crappy passengers. Toss them out and end the trip or just end the trip before they get in.


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## gemnilocs (Sep 29, 2014)

I always start once it says I've arrived....however I have noticed a few times that the address they the pax gives is a generic location and not their exact location or they are on the opposite side of the street...After a couple of minutes I usually call to find out where they are exactly...if I can I will make a U-turn or drive around the block to their exact location. had one guy get kind flustered with me when I called because the street was blocked off on the side that I was on so he had to walk to me....but so far it's been a good experience.....but boy do you use a lot of gas. lol!


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

Former Yellow Driver said:


> Have to agree with BOTH of LookyLou's posts. Don't play games with crappy passengers. Toss them out and end the trip or just end the trip before they get in.


At the same time though, it is left to the drivers to educate riders on how the app works and how to use it. Neither Lyft nor Uber do, but they should.

Just as new drivers on Uber have to watch training videos before they can use the driver app, so should riders in order to use the rider app. It would prevent a lot of the "I don't know why the app dropped the pin 10 blocks away" etc


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

*The Daily Troll: O'Toole expands SPD overtime review. Lyft getting predatory? John Legere's tech stand-up.*

*http://crosscut.com/2014/10/03/thed...e-news-lyft-rideshare-uber-boeing-john-leger/*


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

chi1cabby said:


> *The Daily Troll: O'Toole expands SPD overtime review. Lyft getting predatory? John Legere's tech stand-up.*
> 
> *http://crosscut.com/2014/10/03/thed...e-news-lyft-rideshare-uber-boeing-john-leger/*


From this article, "passengers are unhappy because [starting the trip when the driver arrives is] a sneaky, backhanded way to charge them more."

Right, expecting passengers to actually BE at the place they want to be picked up from is, indeed, the work of the devil.


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## cybertec69 (Jul 23, 2014)

I like the Lyft system better than Ubers, where you have to wait 10 minutes to actually start the meter "which I don't", with Lyft once you choose Arrived the meter starts after one minute, on another note, I don't use Lyft anymore until they update their system so I can see what I have earned for the fair I just picked up and dropped off, and the pickup location and drop off location with a job number.


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## UberRey (Sep 1, 2014)

I've never had an unhappy customer. I rarely, if ever, call the pax. Yes, the meter is running.


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## pengduck (Sep 26, 2014)

UberRey said:


> I've never had an unhappy customer. I rarely, if ever, call the pax. Yes, the meter is running.


you obviously don't have the dip shits the rest of us do. my rule is after midnight call before driving. this way I can confirm the address since drunks can't operate the app!!!!!


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

pengduck said:


> you obviously don't have the dip shits the rest of us do. my rule is after midnight call before driving. this way I can confirm the address since drunks can't operate the app!!!!!


Looks like Dallas is a dipshit-free zone. I'd go for that reason alone.


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## UberToTheRescue (Oct 2, 2014)

elelegido said:


> At the same time though, it is left to the drivers to educate riders on how the app works and how to use it. Neither Lyft nor Uber do, but they should.
> 
> Just as new drivers on Uber have to watch training videos before they can use the driver app, so should riders in order to use the rider app. It would prevent a lot of the "I don't know why the app dropped the pin 10 blocks away" etc


Finally someone says something that I have been thinking for the past 2 months. When I show up at your pinned spot, you should be there, if not walking down the stairs. Uber/Lyft the tech companys cannot train their users.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

UberToTheRescue said:


> Finally someone says something that I have been thinking for the past 2 months. When I show up at your pinned spot, you should be there, if not walking down the stairs. Uber/Lyft the tech companys cannot train their users.


They want it to appear that there are no "barriers to use" with their apps. Just download our simple app and you're ready to ride! Anyone can do it, even if you happen to be a moron!"

They don't want the apps to appear complicated in any way, which is understandable, and Lyft does support drivers by allowing trip starts whether or not the passenger is there. Uber's unique approach to driver support does not accommodate this of course. But they would both remove some frustration for passengers and grief for drivers if they did insist on user training.

All they would have to do is modify their apps to show users a nag screen every time the app is opened, reminding them to watch a training video. When they've watched it, a notification is sent to their app so that the nag screen is no longer displayed. Simple.


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## MarkFLL (Oct 2, 2014)

I can see how easy it is to miss-place your pin using this app. If the rider so much as pinches to zoom or moves the screen, the pin is no longer where they really are and has to be re-positioned. What do I know...I'm new and just finished my mentor ride this morning.


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## driveLA (Aug 15, 2014)

I think my rating on lyft suffers a bit cuz these idiots don't know that the fare starts as soon after we hit the arrived button. 

I've actually seen that comment on my weekly summary 4 stars or below portion. And ya the app showed them across the street from where they actually were. 

I had some other idiot put his destination address as his pick up address. And he was mad that I didn't call him and the meter was running. On top of that he was an Uber driver lol. 

You know shits all bad when a driver behaves 10x stupider than a regular pax. The guys friends tipped me generously though cuz they knew the guy was behaving like a ****** so it turned out positive.


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## MarkFLL (Oct 2, 2014)

When you accept the ping to pick up a pax, does the turn-by-turn nav kick in by itself or do you enter the destination if the pax didn't? Sorry...noobie here. I've also heard Lyft uses google maps, correct?


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## Grace A. (Jun 30, 2014)

Mark, you can set your Nav to Google Maps, Waze or Apple Maps (for iPhones). When you get a ping you just hit the arrow to navigate to the address and it launches your navigation program. The nav program is separate so you need to toggle back into Lyft when you get there.


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## MarkFLL (Oct 2, 2014)

Great. Thanks for the info. Grace. Switching apps in Android is a snap. I just checked the settings in the app and it's set for google. The other option was waze.


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## Grace A. (Jun 30, 2014)

It's not hard on the iPhone either. Just double tap the menu button. Some people just suck at using phones.


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## ewxlt (Oct 8, 2014)

I call 50% of the time to save me the hassle of going to an incorrect pin drop. I'd rather have called and not needed to, than the opposite.


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## MarkFLL (Oct 2, 2014)

ewxlt said:


> I call 50% of the time to save me the hassle of going to an incorrect pin drop. I'd rather have called and not needed to, than the opposite.


I've ready that in other forums as well. Probably a good idea.


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## TheDude (Aug 20, 2014)

Riders inability/unwillingness to pay attention to their pin drop is a result of them receiving zero punishment for it. They know that the burden of correction is on us, and while that remains some riders will continue to give zero phucks. Sadly, unless you are a 70 year old first time iPhone user, setting a gps pin is nearly idiot proof.

Why do people screw it up? Riders know they don't have to care.


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## where's the beef? (Sep 16, 2014)

UberRey said:


> I've never had an unhappy customer. I rarely, if ever, call the pax. Yes, the meter is running.


That running meter may put you in some hot water later, Mr. Sexy...


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## UberXNinja (Jul 12, 2014)

elelegido said:


> I didn't know you can cancel a Lyft trip after you have clicked "arrived". All I see is a " drop off" button.


Tap the X on the top right corner. It will give you the option to cancel.


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## UberXNinja (Jul 12, 2014)

elelegido said:


> What do most of you Lyft drivers do? Do you follow the company's own instructions and hit the arrive button / start the trip as soon as you arrive at the pin, or do you wait for or call the passenger?


I take this on a case by case basis. If when I get to the pin the address matches, I hit ARRIVED immediately. If something is off (the pin or the address), I try to call the pax, especially if it's during the day. If they don't answer, I hit ARRIVED. If they answer, we try to sort it out. And with the late-night drunkies it's not even worth trying to sort things out.

The reason I call is because even the best navigation system can go haywire sometimes. There's a local hotel where Google Maps has drivers just loop around the freeway exits non-stop. It's ridiculous. And there's an apartment complex where Apple Maps directs you to go down a ditch about a mile away (the perfect murder attempt).


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## UberRey (Sep 1, 2014)

where's the beef? said:


> That running meter may put you in some hot water later, Mr. Sexy...


I don't make the meter run, Lyft does. I simply acknowledge that I have arrived at the pin. It is factual.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

UberRey said:


> I don't make the meter run, Lyft does. I simply acknowledge that I have arrived at the pin. It is factual.


And entirely logical, Mr. Spock.


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## UberRey (Sep 1, 2014)

elelegido said:


> And entirely logical, Mr. Spock.


That's SEXY Spock


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## Fredo (Oct 9, 2014)

LookyLou said:


> Yes with Lyft you can cancel from the drivers side anytime before the end of a ride. It varies by whether iPhone or Android but there will either be a cancel button or some other button that you can hit that will bring up the option to cancel.
> 
> This option is helpful if you ever get rude pax before the ride, after arrival, or even during the ride when you are driving. If someone is disrespectful of you or your car, you can pull over and ask them to request another car. Cancel the ride at this point so that they won't be able to rate you. If you end the ride at any point, the pax can rate you.


Thanks

I didn't know you could do that... I've had a few ****** and I wish I had told them to get out and cancel the ride...


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## Damnsammit (Nov 7, 2014)

Former Yellow Driver said:


> Have to agree with BOTH of LookyLou's posts. Don't play games with crappy passengers. Toss them out and end the trip or just end the trip before they get in.


This is something I am definitely going to follow now. I just need to make sure I figure out how to cancel the trip... and then you can charge them a cancellation fee to or what?


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## LookyLou (Apr 28, 2014)

Damnsammit said:


> This is something I am definitely going to follow now. I just need to make sure I figure out how to cancel the trip... and then you can charge them a cancellation fee to or what?


You won't likely get a cancellation fee, but you avoid having any unruly pax rate you. Avoiding the the hassle of dealing with them and not getting rated is worth the loss of income from the ride.


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## tacomaseaguy1972 (Nov 6, 2014)

i figure out if i am in the right spot cause new lyft app asks pax are u sure you wanna drop pin where you are not standing ....takes guesswork outta pindrop....if they say im coming down then i hit arrived if they say give me a minute. then i give them time before hitting arrived if they dont answer...and i am at the pin spot i hit arrived wait the three minutes then charge em if they are way off i give them an option to cancel on there end and ill reroute the 2 miles if i am still closest it will reping me unless they want me to run meter to find them quoting lyft policy completely there choice ...but lyft says i HAVE to hit arrived when i reach the pin


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## Bill Feit (Aug 1, 2014)

Hey all--I just want to provide a note of CAUTION regarding this cancel thing. Recently Lyft started counting your cancels as a not accepted ride so acceptance rate nasty emails come as a result and in SD it does not take many. Recently a SD rep told me they understand there are good reasons to cancel but the nasty email did not get rescinded and they say they cannot manually adjust the acceptance rate. There needs to be more opportunity to provide the reason for cancel--I have cancelled 5 requests the last two weeks that were people at SAN airport who put pin away from terminal....even though it is illegal to pick up without TCP Lyft still counts these cancels against you in acceptance rate...come on Lyft get with the program will you? There also should be a "rider requested cancel" like another app provides and there isn't.


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## duggles (Aug 25, 2014)

So I usually hit the Arrive button about a block away, to shave some of that "waiting for pax to come downstairs" time. But I realize they are probably getting charged for that 1/10th or 2/10ths of a mile that I'm still moving, huh? 

Also, I like when Lyft riders complain about PrimeTime. I always say, "oh, is that happening now? The Lyft app doesn't tell drivers if they're in a PrimeTime zone or not until after the ride is completed." Which is true, since their pink zones never accurately reflect what the pax side of the app says.


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## scrurbscrud (Sep 11, 2014)

duggles said:


> So I usually hit the Arrive button about a block away, to shave some of that "waiting for pax to come downstairs" time. But I realize they are probably getting charged for that 1/10th or 2/10ths of a mile that I'm still moving, huh?


Yeah, it's kinda nice seeing 'ride started' on the Lyft app @ the 3 min. mark ain't it? Beats the hell outta Uber's ten minute non paid bullshit time, which I seldom if ever extend. They get 5min., a phone call, then cancel if I don't like their tone.



> Also, I like when Lyft riders complain about PrimeTime. I always say, "oh, is that happening now? The Lyft app doesn't tell drivers if they're in a PrimeTime zone or not until after the ride is completed." Which is true, since their pink zones never accurately reflect what the pax side of the app says.


I say the same thing. "I have no idea with Lyft if it's prime time or not. They don't show us drivers. I just drive." If they piss and moan I tell them that I did hear from an Uber driver at the local coffee stop I just made that Uber was waaaay higher tonight.... Makes 'em feel smarter for only paying double. And they still TIP. Good grief. Why did I diddle around with Uber so long? Oh yeah, it was and still is the 3-5X surges, which I love dearly. Had some 4.5X XL pings Sat. nite. It's almost sexual.


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## duggles (Aug 25, 2014)

scrurbscrud said:


> Why did I diddle around with Uber so long? Oh yeah, it was and still is the 3-5X surges, which I love dearly. Had some 4.5X XL pings Sat. nite. It's almost sexual.


Agreed. And, sadly, in Denver those surges have become fewer and farther between.

Or the 9.8x Halloween surges. Really looking forward to New Years. My girlfriend is not.


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## scrurbscrud (Sep 11, 2014)

duggles said:


> Agreed. And, sadly, in Denver those surges have become fewer and farther between.
> 
> Or the 9.8x Halloween surges. Really looking forward to New Years. My girlfriend is not.


Surges had all but evaporated after Halloween where I drive as well. Hadn't seen ANY til later Sat. eve and into the wee drunk hours of Sun.

Lyft on the other hand has been dishing them out quite frequently since Halloween. 1/2 my Lyft fares on Sat. were prime time. Nearly all of the evening ones were. Daytime driving is just warmup scoping for surges later. If you and other drivers take 'em you know where to find them later when the fish are running.


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## duggles (Aug 25, 2014)

scrurbscrud said:


> Lyft on the other hand has been dishing them out quite frequently since Halloween.


Right? Lyft has been Priming the pump several nights a week, even outside of weekends hours. Meanwhile Uber will have surges only at bar close now.

AND even when Primed a good portion of riders STILL tip.


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## scrurbscrud (Sep 11, 2014)

duggles said:


> Right? Lyft has been Priming the pump several nights a week, even outside of weekends hours. Meanwhile Uber will have surges only at bar close now.
> 
> AND even when Primed a good portion of riders STILL tip.


Methinks there is a little driver gaining in play with Lyft after Uber's Halloween debacle. I've noticed a bunch of new drivers.

I got trolled the other day by a Lyft mentor too! Tracked me down on the street where I was parked from the app! Probably was pissed because I had my Uber trade but not Lyft's. Said my app was on but no Lyft logo. I said 'who the **** are you' followed by 'tough shit.' Last person I want to deal with is a pseudo Lyft POHLEECE officer. Who get's the ticket? Me or Lyft? "Uh, you do." You could just as well tell me not to speed you dumbass. It's my problem, not yours.


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