# The Uber (star) rating system.



## Boston Guber (Aug 24, 2015)

For those who are unfamiliar with Uber,the drivers & the riders rate each other. We must keep a rating as high as possible to keep our position. Under 4.6 gets us deactivated as a driver (canned). Passengers who have low ratings might get a lot of cancelations and driver no shows. If they go real low,they could get suspended or barred from using Uber. It's a screwy system,but it ensures we are safe,friendly,and professional, while abusive,rude,asshat,passengers can't continue to make drivers miserable. The lowest I've seen for a customer rating was 2.0. I think this was an error. I've also seen 3.8 & 4.0. Typically lower riders are usually between 4.2-4.6. Nobody stays 5.0 (perfect 5 star) for long. All trips and ratings are averaged in. For the driver it averages after every 500 trips. I'm not sure how it works for the rider but know it averages out less then the driver. It's a good idea to weed out bad people but it's flawed because nobody is exactly sure how to rate. 5 stars is kind of dumb. 10 stars would make more sense. In order for us to keep driving we must continually get 5 stars,as all 4's or less will eventually keep pulling our overall rating,lower & lower. 5 stars is for a safe,friendly,clean,ride.


----------



## RainbowPlate (Jul 12, 2015)

Boston Guber said:


> We must keep a rating as high as possible to keep our position. Under 4.6 gets us canned.


Employees get canned; contractors get conned.


----------



## Desert Driver (Nov 9, 2014)

Boston Guber said:


> View attachment 13463
> For those who are unfamiliar with Uber,the drivers & the riders rate each other. We must keep a rating as high as possible to keep our position. Under 4.6 gets us deactivated as a driver (canned). Passengers who have low ratings might get a lot of cancelations and driver no shows. If they go real low,they could get suspended or barred from using Uber. It's a screwy system,but it ensures we are safe,friendly,and professional, while abusive,rude,asshat,passengers can't continue to make drivers miserable. The lowest I've seen for a customer rating was 2.0. I think this was an error. I've also seen 3.8 & 4.0. Typically lower riders are usually between 4.2-4.6. Nobody stays 5.0 (perfect 5 star) for long. All trips and ratings are averaged in. For the driver it averages after every 500 trips. I'm not sure how it works for the rider but know it averages out less then the driver. It's a good idea to weed out bad people but it's flawed because nobody is exactly sure how to rate. 5 stars is kind of dumb. 10 stars would make more sense. In order for us to keep driving we must continually get 5 stars,as all 4's or less will eventually keep pulling our overall rating,lower & lower. 5 stars is for a safe,friendly,clean,ride.


This has been discussed to death. First of all, the driver rating system is horribly flawed. In fact, the driver rating system doesn't pass the basic requirements for being statistically valid. The problem you're encountering is that most paxs think that a 4-star rating is a good rating. But in the world of Uber driver rating, a 4-star rating means fire this driver immediately! So, you may consider doing what I have done and this has allowed me to keep my driver rating above 4.95 for the past 8 months. I have this sign on the backs of my front seats.

As an Uber driver, I must keep my driver rating above 4.7 to keep my job. 
Here's is how the driver rating system breaks down:
5 stars = The driver was courteous. The car was clean. I was transported safely.
4 stars = One vote to terminate this driver immediately.
3 stars = Two votes to terminate this driver immediately.
2 stars = Three votes to terminate this driver immediately.
1 star = Four votes to terminate this driver immediately.

I originally posted these signs as an emotional response to a couple really unfair ratings I received and Uber's total lack of regard for its drivers. I eventually got Uber to remove one of the ratings but it took way too long to do so. Meanwhile, I found that the signs were yielding higher overall driver ratings. I don't hand out gum, candy, water, mints, etc., I don't provide phone chargers, I don't let paxs select radio station, and I never wait more than 301 seconds for a pax to show up.


----------



## Boston Guber (Aug 24, 2015)

Desert Driver said:


> This has been discussed to death. First of all, the driver rating system is horribly flawed. In fact, the driver rating system doesn't pass the basic requirements for being statistically valid. The problem you're encountering is that most paxs think that a 4-star rating is a good rating. But in the world of Uber driver rating, a 4-star rating means fire this driver immediately! So, you may consider doing what I have done and this has allowed me to keep my driver rating above 4.95 for the past 8 months. I have this sign on the backs of my front seats.
> 
> As an Uber driver, I must keep my driver rating above 4.7 to keep my job.
> Here's is how the driver rating system breaks down:
> ...


How did you make the sign? Constructed of what materials?


----------



## Desert Driver (Nov 9, 2014)

Boston Guber said:


> How did you make the sign? Constructed of what materials?


Simply printed on a laser printer and then placed in a transparent sheet protector. Pinned to the back of the front seats.


----------



## sully05 (Sep 14, 2015)

So Uber will use you rating after 500 rides, so they wont can you prior to that if you have a below 4.6 rating??


----------



## vesolehome (Aug 2, 2015)

I'm fed up with the Uber rating system. I drive part-time and a few days a week. Today I have 3 rides all 5 star and one screw up where a rider pinged me, I drove there, made the mistake of starting the trip when I pulled up and they never came out. The house was empty. It started to feel shady, so I ended the trip. But since I did that, they got to rate me. They did, 1! I'm assuming they were in another house as I've had PAX to that to me before, They place their ping somewhere on the street and walk over to the car. I guess so I don't know where they live...who knows. Anyway, since I don't dive 40-50 rides in 3 days, I know have a lower than normal rating. Very frustrating and fed up. I'm going to give LYFT a try. One of my riders today told me he's had a few Uber drives give him Free rides from LYFT as they are using both and LYFT pays better in my market anyway.


----------



## UberNow (Sep 12, 2015)

Desert Driver said:


> This has been discussed to death. First of all, the driver rating system is horribly flawed. In fact, the driver rating system doesn't pass the basic requirements for being statistically valid. The problem you're encountering is that most paxs think that a 4-star rating is a good rating. But in the world of Uber driver rating, a 4-star rating means fire this driver immediately! So, you may consider doing what I have done and this has allowed me to keep my driver rating above 4.95 for the past 8 months. I have this sign on the backs of my front seats.
> 
> As an Uber driver, I must keep my driver rating above 4.7 to keep my job.
> Here's is how the driver rating system breaks down:
> ...


What do you mean by => the number of votes to terminate this driver immediately?

Do you mean, e.g. if the driver gets a 4 stars from two different riders?


----------



## Desert Driver (Nov 9, 2014)

UberNow said:


> What do you mean by => the number of votes to terminate this driver immediately?
> 
> Do you mean, e.g. if the driver gets a 4 stars from two different riders?


No. Five stars is the only acceptable rating from a pax. Ergo, a four star rating is a vote to terminate the driver. Three stars is the equivalent of two votes to terminate the driver. And so on... Paxs need to be educated on exactly what the star rating system means. That's why I have the signs in my car. And that's also part of the reason I have a 4.96 rating after 1000+ rides.


----------



## UberNow (Sep 12, 2015)

I'm going to start rating all riders 3 stars from now on.


----------



## Desert Driver (Nov 9, 2014)

UberNow said:


> I'm going to start rating all riders 3 stars from now on.


Why's that?


----------



## Earnie Jay (Sep 21, 2015)

How do you know which rider gave less than 5 stars and their reason?


----------



## Avi-ator (Sep 18, 2015)

Earnie Jay said:


> How do you know which rider gave less than 5 stars and their reason?


You don't. What's worse, no feedback from uber either. Best advise I've seen here: go out, be clean, be courteous, be safe, be punctual.


----------



## Digits (Sep 17, 2015)

Desert Driver said:


> As an Uber driver, I must keep my driver rating above 4.7 to keep my job.
> Here's is how the driver rating system breaks down:
> 5 stars = The driver was courteous. The car was clean. I was transported safely.
> 4 stars = One vote to terminate this driver immediately.
> ...


. From what I understand it would take more 1* (4votes) than 4* (just 1 vote) to terminate the driver!! Encouraging riders to give 1* more than 4* if they thought the ride was just a lol short of being perfect ?


----------



## Digits (Sep 17, 2015)

I'm not so bright rider sitting in ur backseat,reading your posted sign in my face..


----------



## UberXTampa (Nov 20, 2014)

UberNow said:


> I'm going to start rating all riders 3 stars from now on.


The KARMA will catch up with you. 
Rate your pax fairly.

Ask Uber to completely remove that fare and all its ratings from your and the pax records as it was a mistake. A trip that never happened. This is the right way of undoing the error.


----------



## UberMeansSuper (Aug 3, 2015)

vesolehome said:


> I drove there, made the mistake of starting the trip when I pulled up and they never came out. The house was empty. It started to feel shady, so I ended the trip. But since I did that, they got to rate me. They did, 1!


Never start a trip without pax in the car or without their consent.
In addition to the scenario you describe here, you can also end up getting a Clown Car request (more than the limit your car can fit [for UberX, 4]), so, again, you'll give them all the more reason to 1 ★ you.

We all hate the Star System. Try not to worry about it too much, but also don't give a reason for the asshat pax to use it against you.


----------



## vesolehome (Aug 2, 2015)

I've got to get over the whole rating system. It's stupid! Seems with Uner treating their "partners" so poorly it'll catch up to them. Once the quality of driver goes to sub standard, they'll have all kinds of problems. Let the unemployable and inbreed hillbillies be the only ones who will drive for Uber. Then they will adjust their structure to be "partner" friendly.


----------



## Corny (Jun 1, 2015)

Boston Guber said:


> View attachment 13463
> For those who are unfamiliar with Uber,the drivers & the riders rate each other. We must keep a rating as high as possible to keep our position. Under 4.6 gets us deactivated as a driver (canned). Passengers who have low ratings might get a lot of cancelations and driver no shows. If they go real low,they could get suspended or barred from using Uber. It's a screwy system,but it ensures we are safe,friendly,and professional, while abusive,rude,asshat,passengers can't continue to make drivers miserable. The lowest I've seen for a customer rating was 2.0. I think this was an error. I've also seen 3.8 & 4.0. Typically lower riders are usually between 4.2-4.6. Nobody stays 5.0 (perfect 5 star) for long. All trips and ratings are averaged in. For the driver it averages after every 500 trips. I'm not sure how it works for the rider but know it averages out less then the driver. It's a good idea to weed out bad people but it's flawed because nobody is exactly sure how to rate. 5 stars is kind of dumb. 10 stars would make more sense. In order for us to keep driving we must continually get 5 stars,as all 4's or less will eventually keep pulling our overall rating,lower & lower. 5 stars is for a safe,friendly,clean,ride.


Overall I like the rating system - it gets rid of bad drivers and jerks quickly and leaves the good drivers on the road. Yes, I have occasionally gotten a strange review and occasionally I think some passenger must just be the kind of person for whom no one would ever be a 5 star driver, but overall the rating system is consistent with my performance and I think the drivers who do get the good marks deserve them and can put up with a few weird reviews. Most of my riders give everyone 5 stars. If they tell me of a 1 star review, the driver deserved to be terminated (like the driver who asked a female rider if he could follow her in). Good riddance.


----------



## Desert Driver (Nov 9, 2014)

Corny said:


> Overall I like the rating system - it gets rid of bad drivers and jerks quickly and leaves the good drivers on the road. Yes, I have occasionally gotten a strange review and occasionally I think some passenger must just be the kind of person for whom no one would ever be a 5 star driver, but overall the rating system is consistent with my performance and I think the drivers who do get the good marks deserve them and can put up with a few weird reviews. Most of my riders give everyone 5 stars. If they tell me of a 1 star review, the driver deserved to be terminated (like the driver who asked a female rider if he could follow her in). Good riddance.


But the problem here is that the driver rating system is not statistically valid. Ask any first year Stats student. You simply cannot take interval data and magically turn it into an ordinal scale. And that's what Uber does with it's rating system.

Think of it this way...

Imagine receiving a message from Uber on your weekly summary that said, "Uber Partner, your driving rating score last week was lollipop. Two weeks ago your driving rating score was water pump. Congratulations! You are a valued Partner. Keep up the good work and Uber on!

See the problem here? The data point lollipop has nothing to do with and possesses no relationship to the data point water pump. Ergo, those two driver rating scores have precisely zero meaning. And this is exactly what happens when interval data (pax ratings of drivers) are used to create an ordinal scale (Uber's keep/kill threshold of 4.6.)


----------



## UberNow (Sep 12, 2015)

Desert Driver said:


> Why's that?


On the scale of 1 to 5, 3 is average. No rider is perfect to deserve a 5.

During the Funrides I don't get to see riders' rating because I have to accept all riders. Riders can see my rating even though they ride for free and now only $4.99


----------

