# Took my first Lyft ride as a passenger today...wasn't impressed.



## LUXYRIDE (Jul 5, 2014)

I took my first Lyft today as a passenger. The female driver was not meant for this job. She couldn't find my office (on a very highly driven Providence street and building clearly marked). When I saw her fly by me, I called her and told her that she needed to turn around. She argued that the GPS was telling her to continue down the street. Not disclosing that I am a driver (both Uber and Lyft), I told her she might want to turn around and pick me up at the address I entered. I could see the pin on my phone and it was exactly in front of my office building.

She finally found me. We got into her car and it was dirty. C'mon, can't you take a minute to shake out your car mats every once in awhile? Windows had streaks and fingerprints all over them. She had music on that was a bit loud and she drove like a bat out of hell. When she braked, my purse slid all the way to the other side of the car.

She said she had been driving for about 3 months and loves it. She might want to crack a smile once in a while. I can see now why I have enjoyed great ratings. What I see as normal customer service is a stretch for some drivers.

My friend was not impressed with the rideshare company and was grateful the ride was free.

On our way back from the restaurant we went back to work via a different rideshare company. Night and day. The man was very friendly and welcoming. He asked us what kind of music we preferred. He knew where was going. I know he drives for both rideshare companies (he has a unique name and I saw it on the driver app), and he was very professional. 5 Stars all the way.


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## Crownan (Jul 28, 2014)

As a driver for both Lyft and Uber, I can tell you Uber standards, both in the application process and the vehicle, seem to be a lot higher.

I don't think I had to provide Lyft anything but my DL, whereas Uber required a lot more info for the background check. I mean Lyft didn't even ask for my SS# until I needed to enter it for my W-9 form. And of course, Lyft takes much older vehicles than Uber.

Lyft's philosophy is a personable driver that fists bumps and is a "friend with a ride." It probably seems that your driver failed this low bar. Dirty car isn't acceptable in either service, but an older car is perfectly acceptable for Lyft.

As for music, I think you'll find most Uber drivers either have the music off at the start of the ride, or have a generic work safe station or playlist at a low volume. They will also offer you an AUX cord to plug your phone in play your own tunes. As Lyft is a counter-culture service, you would think this would be standard for Lyft drivers. But, in speaking with other drivers, it does not seem to be the case in my area.

So, I guess your Lyft driver failed both of the minimum requirements for Lyft, and I'm sorry. I think you'll find that drivers that work for both Lyft and Uber will meet your expectations! The only real difference is that if you select a 70% or lower "donation" Lyft driver, you can reduce the recommended fare to that percentage if the driver really disappointed you. If you just want a quality ride without any problems, just take Uber. If you want an OK ride at perhaps a lower rate, take Lyft.


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## Lyft4uDC (Jul 28, 2014)

my first time using any sort of lyft/uber, I had to use them because I had a few items from grocery and it wasn't easy to handle it ll on the bus. so I called lyft. It was clear to me that the lady logged onto the system literally the minute she either woke up or got out of shower because judging the distance of her car to where I was.. it was id say within timeframe give or take 2 minutes. She took over 45 minutes. Not only that, but I had to jaywalk to HER vehicle with my stuff to get a ride.

I really debated giving her at best a 3 star, but knowing that "5 star or fired" mentality, I felt bad and gave her a 5.


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## Crownan (Jul 28, 2014)

I'm normally on the side of drivers about the 5-star or fired argument, but your driver really did earn the 3 or 4 star in my opinion. 45 min wait is not acceptable in any of the ride sharing services.


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## LookyLou (Apr 28, 2014)

LUXYRIDE said:


> I took my first Lyft today as a passenger. The female driver was not meant for this job. She couldn't find my office (on a very highly driven Providence street and building clearly marked). When I saw her fly by me, I called her and told her that she needed to turn around. She argued that the GPS was telling her to continue down the street. Not disclosing that I am a driver (both Uber and Lyft), I told her she might want to turn around and pick me up at the address I entered. I could see the pin on my phone and it was exactly in front of my office building.
> 
> She finally found me. We got into her car and it was dirty. C'mon, can't you take a minute to shake out your car mats every once in awhile? Windows had streaks and fingerprints all over them. She had music on that was a bit loud and she drove like a bat out of hell. When she braked, my purse slid all the way to the other side of the car.
> 
> ...


Sounds about the same as my 1st Lyft earlier this week. It was from the airport to home late at night. I walked across the parking garage and across the street from the airport over a bridge to a light rail pick up parking lot. I did this to make it easier and safer for the driver to pick me up instead of at arrivals at the airport. When he got to my location I watched him make a u-turn and pull up out on the highway instead of pulling into the pick up lot. I ran over to him and we loaded my luggage into the trunk as his car was parked in a traffic lane.

His car was a nice newer Mazda 6 but it was very dirty. The widows were filthy. He had been driving for 2 months and his rating was about the same as mine. He didn't even understand how the ratings worked or really know much about the details of the business. He knows to just hang by the airport and mostly make airport pick ups. I see him there on the app all of the time.

It was a little discouraging to know that I keep my car spotless, checking between rides, shaking the mats if needed and touching up the widows and this guy has the same rating I do. I imagine it is due to the fact that he is doing such a high percentage of airport rides and not so much late night bar crowd and PTT work. Who knows.


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## grams777 (Jun 13, 2014)

LookyLou said:


> It was a little discouraging to know that I keep my car spotless, checking between rides, shaking the mats if needed and touching up the widows and this guy has the same rating I do. I imagine it is due to the fact that he is doing such a high percentage of airport rides and not so much late night bar crowd and PTT work. Who knows.


My mentor displayed as a 5.0 rating. I never saw his car on the screen during the busy nights when I was driving. I always wondered where he was. I did finally see his car on the app a couple of times - in the day sitting at the airport. The key to good ratings I guess.


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## LUXYRIDE (Jul 5, 2014)

LookyLou said:


> Sounds about the same as my 1st Lyft earlier this week. It was from the airport to home late at night. I walked across the parking garage and across the street from the airport over a bridge to a light rail pick up parking lot. I did this to make it easier and safer for the driver to pick me up instead of at arrivals at the airport. When he got to my location I watched him make a u-turn and pull up out on the highway instead of pulling into the pick up lot. I ran over to him and we loaded my luggage into the trunk as his car was parked in a traffic lane.
> 
> His car was a nice newer Mazda 6 but it was very dirty. The widows were filthy. He had been driving for 2 months and his rating was about the same as mine. He didn't even understand how the ratings worked or really know much about the details of the business. He knows to just hang by the airport and mostly make airport pick ups. I see him there on the app all of the time.
> 
> It was a little discouraging to know that I keep my car spotless, checking between rides, shaking the mats if needed and touching up the widows and this guy has the same rating I do. I imagine it is due to the fact that he is doing such a high percentage of airport rides and not so much late night bar crowd and PTT work. Who knows.


Ditto!


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## Emmes (Aug 27, 2014)

I have yet to take a ride with Uber or Lyft. You guys are scaring me. lmao


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## OldTownSean (Aug 14, 2014)

Sounds like the OP didn't get me ... passengers wish they could give me a 6 ... lyft, uber, livery, cab ... it doesn't matter...

A+ service


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## UL Driver SF (Aug 29, 2014)

OldTownSean said:


> Sounds like the OP didn't get me ... passengers wish they could give me a 6 ... lyft, uber, livery, cab ... it doesn't matter...
> 
> A+ service


You must wear dentures.


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## grUBBER (Sep 11, 2014)

LUXYRIDE said:


> I took my first Lyft today as a passenger. The female driver was not meant for this job. She couldn't find my office (on a very highly driven Providence street and building clearly marked). When I saw her fly by me, I called her and told her that she needed to turn around. She argued that the GPS was telling her to continue down the street. Not disclosing that I am a driver (both Uber and Lyft), I told her she might want to turn around and pick me up at the address I entered. I could see the pin on my phone and it was exactly in front of my office building.
> 
> She finally found me. We got into her car and it was dirty. C'mon, can't you take a minute to shake out your car mats every once in awhile? Windows had streaks and fingerprints all over them. She had music on that was a bit loud and she drove like a bat out of hell. When she braked, my purse slid all the way to the other side of the car.
> 
> ...


Get the ubersuv next time.

I'm tired of hearing how you take $4 rides just to criticize those drivers.
Do you want clean floor mats? Shake them off before getting in.
Do you want good music? Bring a boombox!

Don't order us ever again !
We don't want you.


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## DieselkW (Jul 21, 2015)

When she braked, your purse slid to the other side of the car? You sure about that? Want to go back and edit?

Did this happen on earth? I only ask because Newton's First Law of Motion states, in part: 
*An object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.*

A hard right turn would slide your purse towards the driver side of the car, but that's not what you wrote.

So tell the others in the Uber marketing department that when you come here to write opposition assassination "stories", you should do so without making silly mistakes that throw your entire story into question.

My Lyft experiences as a rider are very different from yours. I always get a clean car, sometimes leather seats, always a pleasant, safe, and competent driver.



LookyLou said:


> I see him there on the app all of the time.


You can tell which driver it is on your app? Perhaps we are not using the same app because mine are all the same generic car icon. I can't tell one driver from any other.



Crownan said:


> As a driver for both Lyft and Uber, I can tell you Uber standards, both in the application process and the vehicle, seem to be a lot higher.


It was much more difficult for me to get accepted by Lyft compared to the Uber two emails and a 3 day wait for my "background check" and I was approved.
To get my Lyft app to work, I had to meet with a guy, I had to demonstrate my driving skills to a live person, I had to have my car inspected, the background check took twice as long, and they flagged my registration document that had an error from BMV I hadn't noticed myself. Uber didn't catch the mistake, Lyft made me fix it before approval. Uber still has the picture of the mistaken registration.

From my experience, Lyft (In Indianapolis anyway) is leaps and bounds better for the driver and the passenger.


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## Skinny1 (Sep 24, 2015)

So for 1$ and change a mile.....if that.... Streaks, floor mats dirty ruined your trip? Haha...

I've been a pax few times...never gave a shit just get me to my destination safely. You guys are funny...really.

Wife and I dressed up nicely for a party downtown. The uber on 1.7 surge was pretty clunky. I never thought twice to complain...about it. He got us home to my kids on time, that was my concern. Tipped him $5 and gave 5 stars. Folks its 1/2 the taxi rate...go whine elsewhere imo.


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## MikesUber (Oct 23, 2015)

DieselkW said:


> You can tell which driver it is on your app? Perhaps we are not using the same app because mine are all the same generic car icon. I can't tell one driver from any other





DieselkW said:


> more difficult for me to get accepted by Lyft


Exactly


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## Davetripd (Dec 14, 2015)

DieselkW said:


> When she braked, your purse slid to the other side of the car? You sure about that? Want to go back and edit?
> I
> Did this happen on earth? I only ask because Newton's First Law of Motion states, in part:
> *An object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.*
> ...


LOL not sure if you're serious. Internet forums crack me up: Random internet people using the laws of physics to try and discredit what someone says and using the same sentence to link OP to a conspiracy to "assassinate" the competition.

Anyone else get a kick out of picturing these people furiously investigating the OP's claims then smugly "catching" them in their lie, taking a brave stance against all the Uber shills who are paid heaps of money to come to this site and dare say that Uber's not a terrible gig.

I doubt we are the victims of a dark and sinister Uber PsyOps campaign. The poor guy just had a crappy Lyft ride, it happens.


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## glados (May 23, 2015)

Yeah, I love Uber as a rider. I'll never use Lyft


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## LYFT4PDX (Jan 2, 2016)

I actually just started driving for Lyft a couple months ago here in Portland and still haven't taken any rides as a passenger. However my 6 month pregnant girlfriend uses Lyft almost everyday to go back and forth from work. The other day she called me freaking out because the driver that picked her up lit up a joint in the car while they were driving. She actually had to put me on speaker phone so that I could tell the driver "politely" to pull the f*** over and let her out. I know that it's legal here in OR but seriously, have a little respect for your passengers, especially ones that are pregnant!


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## maui (Dec 22, 2015)

Are you guys crazy? You would take Uber or Lyft? Have you seen the freaks that drive for them? Would you really want to get in a car with me???


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## tiguan (Dec 26, 2015)

LYFT4PDX said:


> I actually just started driving for Lyft a couple months ago here in Portland and still haven't taken any rides as a passenger. However my 6 month pregnant girlfriend uses Lyft almost everyday to go back and forth from work. The other day she called me freaking out because the driver that picked her up lit up a joint in the car while they were driving. She actually had to put me on speaker phone so that I could tell the driver "politely" to pull the f*** over and let her out. I know that it's legal here in OR but seriously, have a little respect for your passengers, especially ones that are pregnant!


I think I know that driver.


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## driveLA (Aug 15, 2014)

People that use lyft or uberx and expect perfection 

Sometimes you're gonna get a decent driver and sometimes not

Really should be using the higher tier services if you're expecting anything more than a ride. take yourselves too seriously


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## maui (Dec 22, 2015)

driveLA said:


> People that use lyft or uberx and expect perfection
> 
> Sometimes you're gonna get a decent driver and sometimes not
> 
> Really should be using the higher tier services if you're expecting anything more than a ride. take yourselves too seriously


True that! Given the UberX out of control expectations, will not be surprised soon to see UberBlacks getting slammed ratings wise... Was not a Bently or A8.


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