# How much do you really care about your rating?



## reg barclay (Nov 3, 2015)

Okay, let's be honest now. We often say we don't care. But do we really mean it?

How much do you really care about your rating?

Does a one star still bother you a little bit?

Does having a good rating give you at least a small boost of self worth or happiness?

Please share honestly. And don't feel you have to act like a forum tough guy/gal.


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## 25rides7daysaweek (Nov 20, 2017)

Ide like to think I'm doing a good job
When you run into lots of people
some of them are gonna be assholes.


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## Mkang14 (Jun 29, 2019)

I cared more when I first started and 1 star was so 🥺.

I still want a high rating but now it's more meh, just need to be the perfect ant to make up for it.


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## 1.5xorbust (Nov 22, 2017)

I cared less and less about my rating as I accumulated more and more trips.


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## SHalester (Aug 25, 2019)

It's a pride thing, if nothing else. And it does act as a 'report card' of sorts minus revenge ratings and pax who just want a free ride.
once you lose 5.0 it's a bit sad. Still have 5 as a pax, tho; yay me.

4.98 with 2 4s. One I knew about, the 2nd not a clue. Like everything else I think ratings should be a rolling 30 days, not 500 rated trips. AND please let's force the pax to rate as we are as drivers. Forty percent of my pax don't even bother to rate. 

AND I'm one of those who really wants to know why a rating wasn't a 5. The mystery is a killer.


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## MasterAbsher (Oct 16, 2019)

First I care enough to want to maintain a 4.85 so I can keep Diamond. I like the gas rebates that are available at All gas stations when using the Uner Debit Card. Probably got back well over $100 last summer. 

Next, only as a pride issue, I'd like to maintain at least a 4.5. Expectation of maintaining higher on an ongoing basis isnt too real as many Pax are just assholes. I'm currently 4.93.


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## massey (Jul 7, 2018)

as long as i stay above 4.6 
i am ok with it


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## LyftUberFuwabolewa (Feb 7, 2019)

With Uber I have diamond Pro which I really like. It helps me avoid rides I don’t want and maximize my earnings.

Even with Lyft I like having a high rating because it seems like with both companies if you have a higher rating the company is much more likely to side with you in disputes.


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## BadYota (Aug 7, 2019)

If I go below 4.90 I’m gonna be disappointed. There’s people driving around in much worse vehicles and rated way higher than me and given the choice I’m sure they would pick me over them. The harder you try though, the worse it gets.


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## GoldenGoji (Apr 30, 2018)

My only concern is how it affects my ability to work this job. In my experience talking with passengers and reading personal stories about Uber drivers on random places on the net, I found that majority of the passengers don't even care about your rating at all. They can get a 4.7X driver and not be worried that they might have been paired with a "creep". Sometimes, some lady on reddit rants about getting a creepy driver who started hitting on her, and when asked what the rating of the driver was, she had no idea. One time I had a passenger who was interested about what it's like being an Uber driver, so I told him how I'm very picky with the people I pick up and I never accept ride requests from people who are 4.7X and lower. He didn't know the he had a passenger rating and he even asked if drivers had one. People really don't care. They don't care if you're 4.7X or whatever, they only care about being driven to where they want to be and if the price is cheap enough. 

Even before I started doing this job, I did prior research and found out here that it's pointless to worry about ratings because people usually try to scam drivers by giving them low ratings and then trying to get a refund anyway. Some passengers think a 1 Star is "THE BEST" because there are other types of rating systems that exist in this world where 1 is the best and 5 is the worst. It's a valid mistake that people can commit. Of course you'll also get people who either don't care about what rating to give you so they just randomly pick in order to get things over with. 

This is actually the only job I've done where I never truly became conscious about my rating. Normally, may it be school or real work, I'm quite competitive and always try to achieve the best possible results. But in those jobs or situations, there's a clear and fair way that your efficiency and work quality can be quantified. As an Uber driver, the people rating you don't even know what they're doing most of the time. Not everyone is "tech savvy" or aware of modern day concepts when it comes to how things work online or what the common practices on the internet are, no matter how simple the Uber app is. Some don't even have any idea about how payment works. Whenever I get new passengers, they'd ask me how much they're supposed to pay, to which I always tell them that as long as their credit/debit card info's in their account, it's all automatic.

When I started, I used to clean the car EVERY DAY, and it's multiple times a day! First in the morning before I leave, then later I'd take a break in the afternoon, clean it, wipe the exterior to remove dust and all that, then later again when I get home. Then I felt getting tired, my back and sides started hurting, and a divinely clean car never really resulted in more tips. I stopped being overly obsessive about the car's cleanliness and I started cleaning it just once or twice a week just like a normal person does. No changes at all. It's like nobody really appreciates a super clean car or an average clean car. Giving extra effort in this area only resulted in stress so I let it go. 

My rating in my first few months 2 years ago was 4.95. I got a 1 star, a 2 star, and even a 3 star! That was the time when I was obsessive about the cleanliness of the car. All leather seats, even the floor mats had no dirt on them. I've always been a polite and professional driver. I also always helped with the bags, groceries and all that. So where did those super low ratings come from? Definitely not as a result of my work or the car's presentation. After finishing one year, my rating actually dipped down to 4.94, and then 4.93. Why? I have no idea. There was no point in worrying about it though because I already knew that every driver experiences this kind of injustice, a form of disrespect to their work. Interestingly now on my second year, I'm back to 4.95. What changed?

Indeed, what changed that got me back to 4.95? On my first year, my rating threshold for accepting passengers was 4.75. At that time, I thought these 4.75 people would still behave. Unfortunately, a lot of these 4.75 people had problems ranging from mild to average. Some of them were stinky like an old dying person (or a dead person), others smelled of cigarette smoke, some were extreme backseat drivers where having Google Map on became pointless for the ride, others were so disorganized they kept changing where they wanted to go, others were paranoid about not following the route that their Uber map's saying despite Google Map being clearly the more efficient one, others were unfriendly who wouldn't even say hello to you or answer your questions as you try to make the ride more comfortable for them. Not all of them were bad, but MAJORITY of the UNDESIRABLE passengers I got were in the 4.7X range that I ended up deciding to not pick them up at all. Then later on, I raised my standards again and now I don't pick up passengers who are below 4.83. Right now, at least in my personal experience, people who are 4.83 and above are relatively good passengers. I honestly haven't gotten any of the attitudes or deadly body odor from the 4.7X rides from the 4.83 and above people. I guess one can say that the reason my rating suddenly went back up to 4.95 is that most of my passengers are in a good mood or are of the smarter variety who can actually navigate something as simple as an Uber app, and not somebody who smells like decay with the attitude of a toothless bulldog.


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## DriverMark (Jan 22, 2018)

More of an annoyance than anything. The "retaliatory" ratings especially. My 2 current 1* were both for people who wanted me to wait for them while they shop. One lady I waited 15+ minutes and then Uber added my next ride so I ended her ride. 

It's also odd that down ratings for me seem to come in waves. I had no down ratings all summer until about October/November. Then a slew of them came over! I haven't had a down rating now for 1-2 months.


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## Merc7186 (Jul 8, 2017)

4.93. Honestly, I only check them when I see these threads. I hand out plenty of down ratings but clearly dont get that many in return, thus squashing the Revenge Rating conspiracy theories.


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## reg barclay (Nov 3, 2015)

I definitely cared a lot more at the beginning. I think the shift to caring less is a bit of a survival mechanism.

I try to take the practical approach, that my rating has been well above 4.8 for ages, so the odd downrater makes little difference. But sometimes I still feel a slight pinch when I get a low rating. Although I think it's more the principle of getting downrated when I feel I did things right, rather than the minimal effect the rating has.


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## massey (Jul 7, 2018)

reg barclay said:


> I definitely cared a lot more at the beginning. I think the shift to caring less is a bit of a survival mechanism.
> 
> I try to take the practical approach, that my rating has been well above 4.8 for ages, so the odd downrater makes little difference. But sometimes I still feel a slight pinch when I get a low rating. Although I think it's more the principle of getting downrated when I feel I did things right, rather than the minimal effect the rating has.


 if i know i m going to get down rated 
i make sure , i earn it as well


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## goneubering (Aug 17, 2017)

reg barclay said:


> Okay, let's be honest now. We often say we don't care. But do we really mean it?
> 
> How much do you really care about your rating?
> 
> ...


Ratings are basically meaningless. I did notice my rating went up after I stopped caring about it.


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## Wildgoose (Feb 11, 2019)

No accepting pool ride is the best strategy to improve your rating. Leave those downrating uneducated cheap paxhole in the street.


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## reg barclay (Nov 3, 2015)

goneubering said:


> I did notice my rating went up after I stopped caring about it. :smiles:


I think there could be some degree of reverse psychology involved. That when someone is bothered about ratings and trying hard, some pax subconsciously pick up on it and are more likely to downrate. As opposed to just acting naturally.

After the initial newbie phase, we tend to get more confident as well, which I think also boosts ratings.


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## massey (Jul 7, 2018)

reg barclay said:


> I think there could be some degree of reverse psychology involved. That when someone is bothered about ratings and trying too hard, some pax subconsciously pick up on it and are more likely to downrate. As opposed to just acting naturally.
> 
> After the initial newbie phase, we tend to get more confident as well, which I think also boosts ratings.


so many pax have told me that , there are drivers literally begging for 5 stars


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## Mkang14 (Jun 29, 2019)

The "who down rated me" isnt much of a worry. I'm use to some people assuming I'm stuck up until they talk to me. So if they leave with that feeling and give a 4, it is what it is &#129335;‍♀.

I just want my driving to be on point, be nice and maintain a high score. The Nintendo generation (right @reg barclay)


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## Wildgoose (Feb 11, 2019)

Current Rating is not the one that is bothering drivers too much. Getting another down rate is the one that bothers drivers a lot. Because it hurts their prides on their quality service. 
But the important thing is to stay activated, this is the ultimate goal. Please remember that most of deactivation are because of accusation. Not because of low rating. So, we need to figure out a way that could prevent or predict that accusation will happen. Don't love too much your cars ( you will abandon it one day for sure ) and don't try to protect it. Just watch your words. Not talking too much will be the best strategy. Don't vent out your worst experiences with pax even if they ask. Pax would think you had some attitude toward Pax. Never talk about how a pax could do false claim just to get free ride. Current pax would use it on you to find out how it works. Just prevent everything that would lead to make accusation on you. That will bring the nightmare of your deactivation.


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## ANT 7 (Oct 14, 2018)

I've hovered between 4.96 and 4.99 since I started driving. Been at 4.98 for something like a year now.

It is what it is. I don't care too much, I am more concerned about its impact when the algo is making ride decisions when allocating pings.


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## Trafficat (Dec 19, 2016)

I'm at 4.91 and feel pretty comfortable as long as I stay over 4.90. I am staying above 4.85 for the ASU benefit of UberPro.

If they stop covering credits I'm going BLUE and will reject 50% of ride requests and only strive for like 4.75.


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## Jon77 (Dec 6, 2018)

I used to care before I stopped caring.
Nowadays I’ve learned how to stop worrying and love the one star.
If it’s good enough for the great state of Texas it’s good enough for me.


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## Coastal_Cruiser (Oct 1, 2018)

I have always cared. When I first started driving I was highly motivated to give exemplary service. The reason? For years I've been complaining about how bad customer service has gotten. In a restaurant, online, speaking to a customer service rep on the phone, etc. There used to a slogan, "The customer is always right". That mantra has fallen out of favor with so many enterprises.

So when I gave my first Uber ride in 2016, I thought "Holy shit, now it is _me_ rendering the customer service. I had better put my money where my mouth is and give people wonderful, memorable service".

Now in 2020 I still feel exactly the same. It is fun to play the customer service game and make people smile. Little tiny things make such a huge-o difference in a person's day. It's human nature. A silly thing like an Uber ride can set a rider's mood for some time after they leave the car.

However, people being people, god love them, they can be illogical, unreasonable, and unforgiving. So out comes the occasional 1 star for many of us. When I get a 1-star it's important to me to match it to a ride. I want to know if I F'd up, or if the rider was just being illogical, unreasonable, or unforgiving. If it was my mistake I use the 1-star as a cue, a reminder that I am slipping somewhere.... driving too fast, talking too much, etc. In this context 1-stars are a teaching tool.

But just yesterday after the 1-star experience I posted about here, I changed my expectation level of how many 1 star ratings I wish to carry. Before it was zero. Now it is five. From now on I am ok with carrying up to five 1-star ratings. This still keeps my score at 4.9x. I will still try and match a 1-star to a ride, but I no longer have a goal to reach zero 1-star ratings.

The worry level on this subject instantly unwound.


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## Still Standing (Nov 2, 2017)

Do not dare ask a person to place their grease dripping McDonald’s on floor so it doesn’t drip on your seats .. 1 star.
Do not ask a person to stop their child smashing your side window with an action figure toy.
Do not educate a moron not to book an Uber on a busy hwy or roundabout or bus stop.
Do not educate people about placing bags in boot to avoid potential decapacition .
Then you will have a great rating


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## Amos69 (May 17, 2019)

I always love this discussion.

I care a fair amount because my rating is reflective of both how I perform and who I pick up. I think if I am doing the gig correctly, then I should see few low ratings. I rarely do random pick up's, and I do not pick up from bars or stores or other such locales.

I know my rig always looks no more than a week old and my driving skills are excellent. Things id that might cause someone to downgrade me are Long tripping, as some people are particular, and I do become a little grumpy on days when I pull a few crap rides in a row. That said this is a rare occurrence. Most of my down rates are from Sh!t bird clients who come out of the right doors from time to time.

You cannot eliminate all bad rides but you can mitigate exposure to most of them. When business slows down ( Like right now) I know I lower my standards a little bit and then I always note a drop in my ratings.

ALSO The algorithm takes all your actions into account and ratings are part of that measurement. So Is AR to a lesser extent and CR to a much greater extent.

The more Shared or pool rides you take the more you will be presented with.



Still Standing said:


> Do not dare ask a person to place their grease dripping McDonald's on floor so it doesn't drip on your seats .. 1 star.
> Do not ask a person to stop their child smashing your side window with an action figure toy.
> Do not educate a moron not to book an Uber on a busy hwy or roundabout or bus stop.
> Do not educate people about placing bags in boot to avoid potential decapacition .
> Then you will have a great rating


Or do not accept those pings. Or pull over to a she spot nearby and cancel either with or without a cancel fee.


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## Mkang14 (Jun 29, 2019)

Surprised so many more care then I thought. Maybe because the poll is anonymous 😂. I bet some of them claim not to care in the forum.


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## MadTownUberD (Mar 11, 2017)

I do care. It's like a video game to me. I've tried to stop caring but in my market it's shameful to have anything less than about 4.95 because most people here are really nice.

Yesterday a 4* fell off and I went from 4.96 back up to 4.97. I was excited! Only a few months until the two 1*'s drop off and then I'll be up to 4.99.


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## peteyvavs (Nov 18, 2015)

Do what I did, deactivate both POS scammers.


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## TheDevilisaParttimer (Jan 2, 2019)

reg barclay said:


> Okay, let's be honest now. We often say we don't care. But do we really mean it?
> 
> How much do you really care about your rating?
> 
> ...


I consider 1 stars devil's food


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## BadYota (Aug 7, 2019)

Well I just fell to 4.89 and I could immediately tell my pax were all pretty low rated. Actually got a 4.61 although it was short and he didn’t talk. At this point with the revenge 1 stars I’ll just slowly fade off the platform, not from deactivation. And all my pax are surprised I’m not rated higher. I give out way too many 5 stars that’s gonna change right away


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## mch (Nov 22, 2018)

I don't care until I get a bad rating. Then I do care. It still pisses me off.


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## Mista T (Aug 16, 2017)

The early days: How could I be low rated? What did I do wrong? Which pax was it? I have XXX 5 stars but this one 1* bothers me! WHAT DID I DO WRONG???

After maybe 1,000 rides: I dont care what I get rated, but I like my rating being where it is. I feel better knowing that overall I'm over 4.90. Feels good, even tho each individual rating stopped bothering me.

After maybe 7,000 rides: Just doesn't matter. The drivers with 4.65 get as many rides as the drivers with 4.95. The pax with 4.55 ratings get picked up just like the pax with 4.98 ratings.

Now: I'm on the very tail end of this driving crap. I'm fine with telling people that I won't take them to Timbuktu or McDonald's without extra money. If that means 1*, IDGAF. Gimme the money and rate me low if you want, or find another driver.


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## Mash Ghasem (Jan 12, 2020)

It means a great deal to me
It means something, but less than the option above
As long as it doesn't affect my account status I'm fine either way
I couldn't care less
My rating may not affect my _account status_ but it does indeed affect how the algorithm treats me with pings, so, options 3 & 4 are out.

That leaves options 1 & 2, so I would say I fall somewhere in between, leaning closer towards 1.


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## Sconnie (Apr 3, 2018)

As long as I’m a 4.9 something I don’t really care. I’m currently 4.98 for the first time in over a year just because a couple 1 stars fell off. I’ve always been somewhere between 4.95-4.98. I’m more concerned about being in a certain range than my specific rating. The only difference between when I was at 4.95 vs now is I just haven’t had any overly shitty pax lately which is just dumb luck. I’ll eventually be a 4.95 again.


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## IthurstwhenIP (Jan 12, 2018)

I care more on the badges


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## FLKeys (Dec 27, 2018)

I care but not enough to lose any sleep over it.

At first I cared a lot, then I had a PAX sitting in the car say no driver should ever be 5 stars and after my trip I got my first 4 star rating from him. He even tipped in the app. He was just being a jerk.

Then a bout 5-6 weeks later of nothing but 5 stars I got my first 3 star, but hey I probably deserved it as I missed a turn and had to go around the block. Pax was clearly irritated and about 20 minutes later my 3 star appeared.

My first 1 star which was totally undeserved was the changing point for me. Realized the rating system was stupid and there were no standards for giving poor ratings. While I still care some I don't let it bother me any more.


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## mbd (Aug 27, 2018)

reg barclay said:


> Okay, let's be honest now. We often say we don't care. But do we really mean it?
> 
> How much do you really care about your rating?
> 
> ...


Don't really check it, but I get intrigued sometimes , so will do a quick &#128064;&#128513;
$$$ earned on the rides- when $$$$ amount seem to be out of whack,I will check the tips and who gave it.&#128513;


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## Boca Ratman (Jun 6, 2018)

I dont care as long as I'm not .missing out on any benefits or on danger of getting deactivated. My AR will never be 85% and my cancelation rate I try to keep at or under 10% but fail miserably, no pro status for me.



Mash Ghasem said:


> but it does indeed affect how the algorithm treats me with pings, so, options 3 & 4 are out.


Not buying it. 4.5 years of driving, I just don't buy it. I've had great weeks, I've had piss poor weeks. I've been 4.68 I've been 4.98. I see no correlation. It works to Uber's benefit if you believe it, but it's simply not true.

I dont for one second believe rating, ac, or cr have anything to do with the requests you get. I get good and bad rides. Sat in 3 consecutive rides I made 110 in 90 minutes. A 5.0 rated comfort ride, a 4.4X $10 surge ride and then a 4.8x $9.5 comfort ride.

Later sat evening I made another 130 in 4 hours or so.

Why did am I getting these low rated pax? Am I the lowest rated driver available? Doubtful.

Its random, if you do this enough you'll think you see all kinds of patterns in the randomness. You'll be able to make any pattern you want if you do enough rides.
























Do you expected to believe I was the lowest rated driver in downtown west palm beach on a sat evening? Or that a higher rated pax wasn't nearby?

I had a great night Sat night. Better than most nights probably top 10%. Definitely top 10 in the last year or two excluding magic holidays and events.

I'm sure there were people with better ar and cr around me. Higher and lower ratings .


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## BadYota (Aug 7, 2019)

FLKeys said:


> I care but not enough to lose any sleep over it.
> 
> At first I cared a lot, then I had a PAX sitting in the car say no driver should ever be 5 stars and after my trip I got my first 4 star rating from him. He even tipped in the app. He was just being a jerk.
> 
> ...


I've missed a LOT of turns lol! Maybe that's where all my 4 stars came from


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