# Ratings



## LizD (Dec 3, 2015)

I don't understand what I'm doing wrong I thrive in customer service and I have seen my rating go down. Now I'm like you ain't happy anyways. Yep, it's made me have an attitude towards this ungrateful riders.


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## xciceroguy (Aug 10, 2015)

Keep your car clean, treat everyone with respect and things should even out. You just can't please some people.


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## BurgerTiime (Jun 22, 2015)

Don't kiss ass, you'll come off fake. Just be yourself and get a feel for when someone wants to talk or not. A lot of passengers like to gather thier thoughts and appreciate a quiet driver. Let them initiate the convo after you welcome them in. Try to drop off as close to door location and always great with a smile. And stop give out 5 stars to non tippers.


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## LizD (Dec 3, 2015)

BurgerTiime said:


> Don't kiss ass, you'll come off fake. Just be yourself and get a feel for when someone wants to talk or not. A lot of passengers like to gather thier thoughts and appreciate a quiet driver. Let them initiate the convo after you welcome them in. Try to drop off as close to door location and always great with a smile. And stop give out 5 stars to non tippers.


I don't kiss ass and I don't talk to them unless they initiate conversation. I do greet them and all that. I'm just like WTF. But, YES you are right on the 5 stars I need to stop that.


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## Coachman (Sep 22, 2015)

So what's your rating that you're so worried about? There was a guy on here last week complaining he was going to be activated and it turned out he was at a 4.8.


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## Jay Dean (Apr 3, 2015)

One thing that worked for me when I was down to a 7.2 now at a 9.2 was I just became interested in their lives, all anyone wants to do is hear about themselves... and in the process I get to learn a thing or two. People rate for a thousand reasons but one good way to boost ratings is just to talk about them, what they do for a living, listen and respond to how they are making the right choices (is it ass kissing?..a little bit but honesty isn't great for ratings) lol

Here is what works for me
Rider gets in car
Me: Hi "name" how's it going
Rider: Good
Me: Good good, then if entered destination say "heading to name?" or if not ask where you heading tonight this morning or this evening. Gives them a feeling your on top of things.

Then feel them out if they talk first

If they don't talk a couple minutes in crack some joke/story (more like a personal story or about a previous rider or something unique that happened as a driver..not a knock knock joke haha), or say something half interesting to not make it awkward so they know your focusing on the road but have time to say something etc that you have not forgot about them.

I cannot tell you how many times I have had the most awesome conversations halfway through a quiet ride!

If they do not continue to talk just drive and act focused on the road, if they talk then the ice should be broken and just talk about them..their life, career, hobbies, if they ask about you then talk about you, but not for too long because all the rider wants is to talk about themselves in the end..its just the mindset they have as a paying customer. Seems to work for me, although my ratings have tanked this week which I think is because I have been stressed about bills but over 6 months doing this method I have had fantastic ratings. Driving is half the job, the rest is just listening to others talk about themselves lol


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## Angela Powe (Dec 3, 2015)

LizD said:


> I don't understand what I'm doing wrong I thrive in customer service and I have seen my rating go down. Now I'm like you ain't happy anyways. Yep, it's made me have an attitude towards this ungrateful riders.


Oh, totally. It's frustrating. My car is clean & is free of any fragrances. If they haven't already jumped in the car, I always open the door for them or help them with any bags or packages. I offer bottled water and mints. I always have an umbrella, tissues, puke bags, phone chargers for iPhones & Androids. I always make sure they're comfortable with the temp and ask them their music preference. And I can tell if they want to chat or if they just want to be left alone, so I go whichever way. And most importantly, I get them where they want to go safely & in a timely manner. On the FEW occasions where my directions got screwed up, I apologize and often end the ride sooner than I should so they don't have to pay for the extra time. Yet, I still have a less than perfect rating. What gives?!


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## TRW (Nov 18, 2015)

Do not worry about having a less than perfect rating, some Pax are just assholes and will give you a 4 or less.


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## Angela Powe (Dec 3, 2015)

TRW said:


> Do not worry about having a less than perfect rating, some Pax are just assholes and will give you a 4 or less.


True. I tell ya....people. Lol!


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## radzer0 (Oct 26, 2015)

Sounds like your driving after 10pm. Thats when I get majority of bad ratings unless they are convention drivers.


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## Tyler Durden SF (Nov 26, 2015)

I have a picture taped to the back of the head rests of people who were tied up in my trunk. When passengers ask about them I say...those are people I thought rated me 4 stars and below.

Works like a charm.


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## Hunt to Eat (Nov 19, 2015)

LizD said:


> I don't understand what I'm doing wrong I thrive in customer service and I have seen my rating go down. Now I'm like you ain't happy anyways. Yep, it's made me have an attitude towards this ungrateful riders.


I can help you out here, LizD.

Uber wants us to believe that because our driver ratings are the result of averaging the individual star ratings our paxs give us that it has created a fair and valid driver rating system. The fact of the matter, however, is that nothing could be further from the truth, statistically speaking. The paxs rate drivers on an interval scale. The intervals are 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. There are no partial scores, like 3.5 or 4.8 However, Uber makes driver keep/kill decisions based on an ordinal scale. The problem is, you cannot use interval data to create an ordinal scale. Doing so results in a statistically invalid rating system that produces no meaningful output. And for those who understand statistics, it's basic statistical knowledge that mixing ordinal and interval scales produces no useable results.

In the current rating system, the validity of the score can be described as follows:

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.)

Bottom line, don't fret about your rating. In this flawed system, there is zero difference between a 4.71 and a 5.0 rating. All you have to remember is to keep your rating above 4.7, which isn't at all challenging, and you'll be fine. DO NOT get caught up in meaningless numerical values that have no statistical basis.

Hope this helps.


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

Jay Dean said:


> I was down to a *7.2* now at a *9.2*


What are you taking about...was that a typo?


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## Coachman (Sep 22, 2015)

Hunt to Eat said:


> I can help you out here, LizD.
> 
> Uber wants us to believe that because our driver ratings are the result of averaging the individual star ratings our paxs give us that it has created a fair and valid driver rating system. The fact of the matter, however, is that nothing could be further from the truth, statistically speaking. The paxs rate drivers on an interval scale. The intervals are 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. There are no partial scores, like 3.5 or 4.8 However, Uber makes driver keep/kill decisions based on an ordinal scale. The problem is, you cannot use interval data to create an ordinal scale. Doing so results in a statistically invalid rating system that produces no meaningful output. And for those who understand statistics, it's basic statistical knowledge that mixing ordinal and interval scales produces no useable results.
> 
> ...


This is a bunch of nonsense. It's got nothing to do with mixing interval and ordinal scales. Uber simply takes all your integer ratings and takes the _average_ do determine how riders grade you. That's a perfectly legitimate rating method. If it's not, then you have to explain to the drivers who rate 4.9 why they actually aren't doing anything better than the drivers who rate 4.5. In other words, if there's nothing meaningful about the ratings, then a really awful driver could rate a 4.9, right?


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## Hunt to Eat (Nov 19, 2015)

Coachman said:


> This is a bunch of nonsense. It's got nothing to do with mixing interval and ordinal scales. Uber simply takes all your integer ratings and takes the _average_ do determine how riders grade you. That's a perfectly legitimate rating method. If it's not, then you have to explain to the drivers who rate 4.9 why they actually aren't doing anything better than the drivers who rate 4.5. In other words, if there's nothing meaningful about the ratings, then a really awful driver could rate a 4.9, right?


See, you don't understand Statistics either, which is why you cannot discern interval data sets from ordinal data sets. Uber loves you for that, Coachman, and Travis thanks you deeply.
Thank you for allowing me to clear this up.


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## Skyblue6 (Nov 16, 2015)

I honestly feel that women may be rated more harshly


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## Hunt to Eat (Nov 19, 2015)

Skyblue6 said:


> I honestly feel that women may be rated more harshly


I don't know what the data show in terms of gender, but I would not be the least bit surprised if the data supported that notion.


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## Coachman (Sep 22, 2015)

Hunt to Eat said:


> See, you don't understand Statistics either, which is why you cannot discern interval data sets from ordinal data sets. Uber loves you for that, Coachman, and Travis thanks you deeply.
> Thank you for allowing me to clear this up.


I think you'd better stick to lollipops and water pumps.


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## Hunt to Eat (Nov 19, 2015)

Coachman said:


> I think you'd better stick to lollipops and water pumps.


No need to apologize or feel bashful. Lots of people don't understand Stats, which is why so many make the same errors you did up above. It's all good. The malnourished coyote is watching out for all of us and he doesn't mind educating his fellow drivers. That's what we're here for, after all.


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## Altima ATL (Jul 13, 2015)

Jay Dean said:


> I was down to a 7.2 now at a 9.2


Is this some sort of new rating system I have not heard about. Is the 2nd thread today that has mentioned rating over the standard 1-5 rating.

How do you get a 9.2 out of 5 rating?


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## Transportador (Sep 15, 2015)

After a while you have enough trips under your belt, and can see how many trips were rated 5 stars, how many not 5 stars, how many unrated. You can do your own math to see the average rating they show you. The majority, if you are doing a good job and follow all the Uber tips and those presented on these forums (except those that are unethical or aim to pay back the riders), will be 5 stars. They will also show you any reported problems. So for me with 732 total trips, 579 rated, 538 5 stars, only 4 reported problems. The problems had to do with navigation and being on time, 4 out of 732 is great! Ratings will become something you don't worry about. Just keep doing the good job and keep a good attitude, and most of all Have FUN. Cheers!


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## Hunt to Eat (Nov 19, 2015)

Altima ATL said:


> Is this some sort of new rating system I have not heard about. Is the 2nd thread today that has mentioned rating over the standard 1-5 rating.
> 
> How do you get a 9.2 out of 5 rating?


That's one freakin' awesome driver!!! But honestly, I really don't want to know what I'd have to do to earn that rating.


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## Hunt to Eat (Nov 19, 2015)

Transportador said:


> After a while you have enough trips under your belt, and can see how many trips were rated 5 stars, how many not 5 stars, how many unrated. You can do your own math to see the average rating they show you. The majority, if you are doing a good job and follow all the Uber tips and those presented on these forums (except those that are unethical or aim to pay back the riders), will be 5 stars. They will also show you any reported problems. So for me with 732 total trips, 579 rated, 538 5 stars, only 4 reported problems. The problems had to do with navigation and being on time, 4 out of 732 is great! Ratings will become something you don't worry about. Just keep doing the good job and keep a good attitude, and most of all Have FUN. Cheers!


Your words are so true. And even though the rating system doesn't come close to being statistically valid, just do good work and all's well. There is no difference between a 4.7298 and a 5.0 in the current rating system design.


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## Transportador (Sep 15, 2015)

Also, not worrying so much about ratings will help you treat the riders better, which will get you better ratings. It's a circular thing. You won't look at the riders as potential enemies who will rate you low. Everyone will benefit, mostly yourself. Then we can move on to complaining about the real issue = them not tipping, heh heh.


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## Hunt to Eat (Nov 19, 2015)

Transportador said:


> Also, not worrying so much about ratings will help you treat the riders better, which will get you better ratings. It's a circular thing. You won't look at the riders as potential enemies who will rate you low. Everyone will benefit, mostly yourself. Then we can move on to complaining about the real issue = them not tipping, heh heh.


The malnourished coyote likes the way you think. Kudos!


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## Coachman (Sep 22, 2015)

Hunt to Eat said:


> No need to apologize or feel bashful. Lots of people don't understand Stats, which is why so many make the same errors you did up above. It's all good. The malnourished coyote is watching out for all of us and he doesn't mind educating his fellow drivers. That's what we're here for, after all.


Sometimes too much knowledge can be problematical. I won't hold it against you. But Uber drivers are judged exactly the same way athletes and game contestants have been judged for ages. An _average_ score. You under the statistical meaning of _average_, yes?

If it works for Dancing with the Stars, it works for me!


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## Hunt to Eat (Nov 19, 2015)

Coachman said:


> Sometimes too much knowledge can be problematical. I won't hold it against you. But Uber drivers are judged exactly the same way athletes and game contestants have been judged for ages. An _average_ score. You under the statistical meaning of _average_, yes?
> 
> If it works for Dancing with the Stars, it works for me!


Yeah, see you're just not getting this. Again, don't be ashamed about that. On DTS, scores are not averaged. They are summed. Yes, I do understand averaging (also known as the arithmetic mean or statistical mean.) Likewise, I hope you understand summing to total score. If not, I will be happy to explain the difference. See, the scores proffered by Carrie Ann, Bruno, and Julianne (recent season) and summed, not averaged. (And in a larger sample size we could find the statistical mode and median, too.)

See, I studied a lot of Stats in both my undergrad and graduate programs and I do a lot of statistical analysis for projects and research I am contracted for, so this stuff is pretty much second nature to me today. Although I was none too crazy about taking Stats during my first semester, eventually it clicked and I really got into it. I ended up becoming a tutor to my classmates.

If there's anything else I can clarify for you, please don't hesitate to ask. I enjoy educating my fellow U/L brethren when they're open to enlightenment.


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

Altima ATL said:


> Is this some sort of new rating system I have not heard about. Is the 2nd thread today that has mentioned rating over the standard 1-5 rating.
> 
> How do you get a 9.2 out of 5 rating?


Here's the other thread by Coffeekeepsmedriving:
*Uber Is getting rid of it's veteran drivers to get 25% of the fare!*



Coffeekeepsmedriving said:


> I has 1,300 riders and 7.6 ratings.


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## Coachman (Sep 22, 2015)

So you acknowledge that Uber driver scores simply represent the statistical mean of the ratings they've received, yes? And not some bizarre mish-mash of interval and ordinal data?

Or are you now going to tell me how the statistical mean is statistically meaningless?


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

Hunt to Eat said:


> The problem is, you cannot use interval data to create an ordinal scale. Doing so results in a statistically invalid rating system that produces no meaningful output.


You know DD, umm I mean Hunt to Eat, I'd brought your proposition of Uber's Rating System being statistically invalid to Josh Dzieza, who wrote the most in depth article on the subject:
*The Rating Game | How Uber and its peers turned us into horrible bosses*

But Josh didn't even mention the spurious statistical basis of Uber's Rating System.

I think a better tact is to highlight the inherently unfair & arbitrary way that Uber implements the Rating System:
*The Tyranny Of Uber's Rating System | An Attempt At Changing It*


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## Coachman (Sep 22, 2015)

chi1cabby said:


> I think a better tact is to highlight the inherently unfair & arbitrary way that Uber implements the Rating System...


It's funny, none of the members here who have 4.9 ratings thing the system is unfair or arbitrary. For some odd reason they believe they actually earned those ratings.


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

Coachman said:


> It's funny, none of the members here who have 4.9 ratings thing the system is unfair or arbitrary.


No actually it's not funny.
Uber's Rating System is inherently unfair & arbitrary.
Please read the thread in detail before you reply:
*The Tyranny Of Uber's Rating System | An Attempt At Changing It*


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## Tyler Durden SF (Nov 26, 2015)

Coachman said:


> I think you'd better stick to lollipops and water pumps.


That's code for something right there.


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## Tyler Durden SF (Nov 26, 2015)

Coachman said:


> It's funny, none of the members here who have 4.9 ratings thing the system is unfair or arbitrary. For some odd reason they believe they actually earned those ratings.


I did. Blackmail is a lot of work who ya do it properly.


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## pickle_breath (Dec 2, 2015)

Skyblue6 said:


> I honestly feel that women may be rated more harshly


I just started driving last week. I've made 24 trips. I had a perfect 5 star rating from 18 customers until yesterday my rating went down to a 4.89 (some pax, not even sure which one, gave me a 3). It pissed me off. I'm a straight A student and perfectionist, I don't care if these ratings are borderline irrelevant, I want my perfect 5 star rating back and now it is gone forever. LOL. However, now that I'm getting the hang of it more, I've noticed my "kiss assness" level has gone down a bit, that may be why. We will see how the rest of the week goes.


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## Jay Dean (Apr 3, 2015)

Altima ATL said:


> Is this some sort of new rating system I have not heard about. Is the 2nd thread today that has mentioned rating over the standard 1-5 rating.
> 
> How do you get a 9.2 out of 5 rating?


4.72 4.92 ...eh I the decimal is out of place but clearly that is what I meant. Would you of thought there was a 3.72 to a 3.92 somewhere in there lol?

There isn't even a discussion if it falls below a 4 so the focus goes on the points that follow, which is what I and the other dude made the mistake in typying..so yeah a typo in the extra decimal but how could anyone think the rating would go past a 5 lol Now that shit is funny


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## Amsoil Uber Connect (Jan 14, 2015)

If you find out they are new. Educate them about driver ratings. 4.6 we get deact. So anything less than 5 is a fail. Even the media has written about it. Is what I tell the newbies.

My 500 trip finally is back to 4.75 where it has been for months. Its still hard to believe my 7 day is 5.0 after 42 trips. But this will prob change tomorrow.


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## Uber BMX (Dec 6, 2015)

I totally understand the flawed system. Ive been a 4.94 to 4.96 driver and I got scammed last week by a woman who overhead and apparently was watching the pax request her ride and waited out in the parking lot. I pulled in she saw the U in the window said she was pax. got on our way next thing I know ride cancels. I ask her about it come to find out she admitted to eavesdropping and stealing the ride. Got email from them today threatening deactivation cuz somehow ive gone down to a 4.6. Go figure.


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## Silverado15 (Sep 16, 2015)

Imo some people put way to much into this.....we are not getting rich here water no mints no open door no clean car yes safely driven trip yes and good conversation when needed the good rating will out way the lower ones.


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## Hunt to Eat (Nov 19, 2015)

Coachman said:


> It's funny, none of the members here who have 4.9 ratings thing the system is unfair or arbitrary. For some odd reason they believe they actually earned those ratings.


I have had a 4.96 rating for the past six months and I currently hold that value, but I take no pride in it because I understand the value is meaningless. Sure, if people ask I'll tell them, but it's a little like kissing your cousin. Yes, I'm an excellent driver and I deliver top-notch customer service. That doesn't change the fact that the rating system is statistically invalid.


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## Hunt to Eat (Nov 19, 2015)

Coachman said:


> So you acknowledge that Uber driver scores simply represent the statistical mean of the ratings they've received, yes? And not some bizarre mish-mash of interval and ordinal data?
> 
> Or are you now going to tell me how the statistical mean is statistically meaningless?


Tell you what, Coach, I'll be happy to continue to enlighten you about statistical validity, but you have to put in some effort, too. Please take a few days to learn all you can about interval versus ordinal data. (HINT: Wikipedia is only a starting point.) Then when you have that down, read up on statistical design. When you have those basic tools well understood, let's come back to this topic. Your lack of education and grasp of the topic is painfully clear and I truly do want to help you, but you have to put in some effort just as I have. Deal? I applaud your interest in the topic, but you really need to formalize your grasp of the subject matter. By the way, understanding interval and ordinal data is not, as you say, "mish-mash." Understanding the type of data we're working with is key to valid statistical design. Yes, it's difficult at first, but like any mathematical endeavour, there comes a point where it all clicks. If you're willing to put in the effort, I think we can get you there.


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