# Rating tanked, warning issued by Uber. No clue why.



## El Camino (Aug 27, 2017)

So I've been driving for a few weeks, and have done 66 rides total. 31 of my pax rated me, the rest didn't. I keep my car immaculate, am friendly and polite, drive responsibly, engage pax in chit-chat if they want to talk, otherwise I just focus on driving and let them play on their phones. I shower and dress professionally, don't smoke and I use a phone mount. I play NPR quietly on the radio and just started providing phone chargers and free waters, which seem much appreciated.

I also drive for Lyft and have a perfect 5 rating with them.

Then out of the blue I got a 1. Absolutely no clue why. A dozen rides later I got dinged with a 3 and a 4 and suddenly my rating was 4.71. Again, I have NO idea why.

Yesterday I did 12 rides and felt that they all went well. I was absolutely floored when I got home and saw that I had been dinged with another 1 and a 3. My rating tanked to 4.58. I had read here that Uber can/will deactivate you if your rating falls below 4.6. Went to bed worried about this but kept trying to reassure myself that things would be ok. I mean, my Lyft rating is perfect, if I were really doing something wrong you'd think that my Lyft rating would mirror the Uber one.

Woke up this morning to a text from Uber telling me that my rating was low and that this could lead to a temporary or permanent deactivation. I searched all over the help topics for a way to contact Uber and ask if they would tell me WHY the pax had sent the low ratings, and/or anything I could do since I have NO CLUE what I could possibly have done to get these damaging numbers.

Uber's text recommended that I review the driver guidelines, which I did again. I am doing everything they recommend. With absolutely no idea why I'm getting dinged, how am I supposed to "improve"?? Is there any way to discuss this with Uber? Any advice from the forum here?


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## Cableguynoe (Feb 14, 2017)

Don't worry. This has happened to all of us.
Maybe you didn't drive fast enough for them. . Maybe you weren't that interested in what they were doing that night.

Eventually you'll have so many 5 stars that getting an occasional bad rating wont matter.


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## I_Like_Spam (May 10, 2015)

El Camino said:


> Then out of the blue I got a 1. Absolutely no clue why. A dozen rides later I got dinged with a 3 and a 4 and suddenly my rating was 4.71. Again, I have NO idea why.


A lot of passengers have received the word that if they complain to Uber about the driver, Uber can waive the fare or give them comps for future rides.

Uber X is the bargain basement of transportation services, a reputation that will attract those who will do what they have to, in order to save $$.


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## M.209 (Aug 16, 2017)

Chill pill is the solution. Another solution is another and better job. Please sleep well - it is important.


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## MonkeyTOES (Oct 18, 2016)

Pretty sure it's you. When I first started out half the rides I get rated and 1 out of 20 will I get something below 5. Lowest for me was 4.7 and after 500 ratings I am now 4.91 and steady. So you should double check yourself to see what may be the problem.

I don't ever offer water or anything fyi


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## LAbDog65 (Nov 29, 2016)

No, it is probably not you. I had a pax rate me a 1 because I had to detour due to a accident. Like I arranged for the accident. I drive a lot of drunk college kids and they are quick to complain about everything and give you a 1. Once an older guy said you are great,I am giving you a 1 because you are tops in my book. I tried to explain 1 was bad and 5 good but he just didn't get it. I got the 1


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## Trafficat (Dec 19, 2016)

My advice: Turn off NPR for Uber passengers and see if your rating goes up.

NPR is often perceived as a leftist slant by some conservatives, so if you got a conservative rider he may have been offended.

I have personally found that my ratings on Uber have gone up since I adopted a more... quiet... approach to driving. For my Uber rides I play the sound of silence unless someone specificially requests tunes. If my initial attempt to start a conversation by asking them how they are doing at the start of the ride does not cause them to chat, I keep my mouth shut.

It seems to me that this same strategy may have hurt my Lyft ratings. I think Lyft attracts a different sort of person... a more liberal type of person who is more inclined to find you unfriendly if you are shy or reserved.

I have gotten only two 4 star or lower ratings in 3 weeks on Uber, with dozens of 5 star ratings. My Uber rating has gone up from 4.8 to 4.81, and I suspect will hit 4.82 soon. On Lyft about 25% of the passengers rate me less than 5 stars in the same time period dropping my Lyft rating from 4.86 to 4.62


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## KK2929 (Feb 9, 2017)

El Camino said:


> So I've been driving for a few weeks, and have done 66 rides total. 31 of my pax rated me, the rest didn't. I keep my car immaculate, am friendly and polite, drive responsibly, engage pax in chit-chat if they want to talk, otherwise I just focus on driving and let them play on their phones. I shower and dress professionally, don't smoke and I use a phone mount. I play NPR quietly on the radio and just started providing phone chargers and free waters, which seem much appreciated.
> 
> I also drive for Lyft and have a perfect 5 rating.
> 
> ...


Passengers want to listen to soft, neutral music out of the front speakers or no music at all. Uber is notorious for their deactivation of drivers who drop below 4.60 and then they offer their driver an education class @ $50 to help you get a better rating. Personally, since they use a 500 trip average and you are at 66, you have a long way to go. If you have a Green Light center, go and ask what the primary complaints are. You should be concerned, Uber will lock you out of your account without warning. They are impossible to deal with and could care less what you say. If I read this correctly, you have 5 rating below 3.00 out of 66. That is a little high. Put a sign in car explaining that any rating other than 5.00 will lower your rating and you will be deactivated. Tell the paxs - if there is a problem, tell me but, please, dont give a low rating. Most paxs do not understand that the rating must be kept high. Do not ask for a 5 star but word it so they understand how much damage a 1 - 2 - 3 star does. Works wonders.

Frankly, I do not think they should rate us at all. They are getting a cheap ride in a private car for a reasonable price. If they do not like the conditions, let them take a bus !!! Uber can have a monitored phone number for complaints. When the paxs have to talk to a human and explain their fabricated problem, they would not be so eager to cause problems for someone just trying to make a buck.


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## brianboru (Nov 3, 2016)

When I first started my rating fluctuated a lot too. Once you get 500 trips in the inevitable 1's won't have the same impact. The one thing that improved my ratings more than anything else was to change my driving style. I drove pax the way I like to drive. Fast but safe. My rating was down to 4.71. Then it occurred to me that pax don't like fast and I drove accordingly. My rating steadily climbed back up. I am at 4.89 now. I keep waiting for someone to complain that I drive too slow but they don't complain. I will push it if someone mentions they are late otherwise it is grandpa driving. I am convinced going slow made the difference for me.

I also play NPR most of the time. Music when they start repeating the stories.

PS: Drop the water.


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## El Camino (Aug 27, 2017)

Thanks for the input, everyone.

First, thanks for the advice re: NPR. Most of my pax are college students glued to their phones and probably can't even hear the radio. I have been very careful to shut the radio off if there is anything on there (like criticism of Trump) that might offend a passenger. But now I will just not play it at all. Thanks for the tip.

As far as *"Pretty sure it's you"* and *"you should double check yourself to see what may be the problem."* I *DID* that, I have wracked my brain trying to figure out what I could have done wrong and am just coming up with nothing. And again, my Lyft score is perfect, and I don't do anything differently with my Lyft pax.

I am trying not to worry and take a chill pill, as suggested but the truth is, I'm really upset about this. I was really enjoying driving for Uber and the extra income is improving my quality of life. I know I'll still have Lyft, but Uber is a LOT more popular in this college town than Lyft and I'd make a lot less money.

Finally, I checked, there is no Green Light center in my state.

Is it even possible to contact Uber either by phone or email and get an actual person to discuss this with?

Edited to add that I did three rides today and got a 5, so my rating inched up to 4.59. I will go out tomorrow to drive, hoping to bump it up to over the 4.6 cliff. But I'm beginning to think it's hopeless. Clearly, even one more sub-5 rating will sink me.


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## brianboru (Nov 3, 2016)

El Camino said:


> Thanks for the input, everyone.
> 
> First, thanks for the advice re: NPR. Most of my pax are college students glued to their phones and probably can't even hear the radio. I have been very careful to shut the radio off if there is anything on there (like criticism of Trump) that might offend a passenger. But now I will just not play it at all. Thanks for the tip.
> 
> ...


You didn't mention it was a college town before. I think college students are much more likely to rate low if you are significantly older than they are.


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## I_Like_Spam (May 10, 2015)

El Camino said:


> I will go out tomorrow to drive, hoping to bump it up to over the 4.6 cliff. But I'm beginning to think it's hopeless. Clearly, even one more sub-5 rating will sink me.


Its not "hopeless" at all. Even if you are canned from Uber, there are plenty of other driving jobs out there.

Courtesy vehicles for hotels, car rental places, auto dealers, school buses, hospitals to get elderly patients and poor people to their appointments. If you'd rather do delivery, a thousand pizza and chinese joints needs drivers, as well as drug stores, meals on wheels. Panera Bread is advertising 24/7 for drivers here.


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## brianboru (Nov 3, 2016)

El Camino said:


> Edited to add that I did three rides today and got a 5, so my rating inched up to 4.59. I will go out tomorrow to drive, hoping to bump it up to over the 4.6 cliff. But I'm beginning to think it's hopeless. Clearly, even one more sub-5 rating will sink me.


Uber knows that ratings are more heavily impacted when you just have a few ratings so I wouldn't worry much about your current rating. Just work to get it up. I remembered another item that I changed. At the same time I slowed down I switched to google maps because of problems with the uber gps. I know the uber gps cost me some ratings. So switching to google helped too.


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## El Camino (Aug 27, 2017)

brianboru said:


> You didn't mention it was a college town before. I think college students are much more likely to rate low if you are significantly older than they are.


Hadn't even considered that. I'm in my 50's, so yeah, I'm older than most of their moms.


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## WeDreams (Sep 14, 2017)

1. They want a free ride( uber will not take off bad rating. Lyft will take one off)
2 Never play anything unless they ask. Do you watch the news these days?
3 drive the speed limit(no brake checks, no honking)
4 DONT ever talk about politics( college kids think they know everything these days)
5. Don't lose sleep over it and take some breaks . It's hard on the eyes.


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## ShinyAndChrome (Aug 18, 2017)

Trafficat said:


> My advice: Turn off NPR for Uber passengers and see if your rating goes up.
> 
> NPR is often perceived as a leftist slant by some conservatives, so if you got a conservative rider he may have been offended.
> 
> ...


I listen to fox business but I know well and good enough that as soon as somebody comes to the car it's going off and back to channel 53 on sirius XM, which is chill. If they play the miley cyrus remix of malibu the station changes to kiss 11 (pop garbage). I totally agree turn off NPR. A person who loves NPR will love it. Others will either think you're lame and old, or they will think it's left wing babble. I do listen to it, but I would never presume that a passenger wants to. I have volume on fairly low for the music.



brianboru said:


> When I first started my rating fluctuated a lot too. Once you get 500 trips in the inevitable 1's won't have the same impact. The one thing that improved my ratings more than anything else was to change my driving style. I drove pax the way I like to drive. Fast but safe. My rating was down to 4.71. Then it occurred to me that pax don't like fast and I drove accordingly. My rating steadily climbed back up. I am at 4.89 now. I keep waiting for someone to complain that I drive too slow but they don't complain. I will push it if someone mentions they are late otherwise it is grandpa driving. I am convinced going slow made the difference for me.
> 
> I also play NPR most of the time. Music when they start repeating the stories.
> 
> PS: Drop the water.


Agree! My wife thought I'd be a terrible driver because when it's me of the family I drive like I'm getting away from the police. With pax, I'm gentle, brake early, accelerate slowly, speed 10% at the most. Whatever I think an old lady who's uptight would not have a problem with. After I drop them off it's throttle time.


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## Uberyouber (Jan 16, 2017)

Don't drive for a couple of weeks. It will stop. They tried that with me. Threatened me with deactivation. Didn't login for a while. Never heard from them again. They only harass you when they know you need the money.


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## inthefoot (Aug 9, 2017)

Like everyone has said - no more NPR and no more water.

Say hello. Confirm the destination. Drive.

I'm 4.89 across 800+ rides.

Never given a phone charger or water in my life. A ride is good enough for the little we get paid.


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## Uberdude1021 (Dec 21, 2016)

I don't give out water. I'm not obsessive about cleaning. I wear t shirts a lot. I listen to whatever I want to listen to. I talk if they want to talk. And I've got a 4.94 rating. There is no rhyme or reason for most ratings.


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## 68350 (May 24, 2017)

I have 700 trips on Uber, a few hundred on Lyft. 96% at 5 stars, 3% at 4 stars, and last week out of the blue someone 1-starred me, so now 1% at 1 star. I didn't have any rides that anything out of the ordinary took place. I have to assume some jerk was trying to get a fare credit and made up something to complain about. I couldn't even point to any of the rides that it could have come from, in order to return the 1 star favor. I'm still at 4.93 Uber and 4.94 Lyft. I let it bother me for about 4 hours then just forgot about it. It's pointless, although with your low ride numbers at this point, it's understandable that you are concerned. Kill the NPR. I have several radio stations preset, and will choose among them when I see the pax, before they get in my car. Age is the biggest factor in which station I select. Always keep the volume down especially when they are getting in. You can ask once you start the trip if they are ok with turning it up a bit. 

I'd agree with the comments about Lyft pax, they are generally more inclined to want to chat, and initially were rating me down more than Uber, but oddly my Lyft # is now higher.

I carry drinks for myself only. I'll give up my 12v phone plug if asked, but I don't carry an iphone cord. I've only been asked once or twice for the charger.


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

El Camino said:


> So I've been driving for a few weeks, and have done 66 rides total. 31 of my pax rated me, the rest didn't. I keep my car immaculate, am friendly and polite, drive responsibly, engage pax in chit-chat if they want to talk, otherwise I just focus on driving and let them play on their phones. I shower and dress professionally, don't smoke and I use a phone mount. I play NPR quietly on the radio and just started providing phone chargers and free waters, which seem much appreciated.
> 
> I also drive for Lyft and have a perfect 5 rating.
> 
> ...


Passengers are mentally afflicted 
Usually it is the 3 dollar rides which rate low.
If they keep rating good drivers low
They will end up with what they deserve.



Tr4vis Ka1anick said:


> Hmmm, I wonder if it could be racial?


Ratings ARE RACIST !


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## negeorgia (Feb 1, 2015)

El Camino said:


> Any advice from the forum here?



Stop giving away water. I have a 4.90 from last 500 rated and 9500 trips and have never given away any water. I have over 500 trips rated 1-4 star. I can say I might have deserved 3 of them. That leaves 9000 trips that half are no rating and half are 5 star. All that got me was a pay cut when rates were cut in my market. I can 100% say that it does not matter. You are concerned with 5 low rated trips, I have 500 low rated trips. Just wait til you have 75 5 stars in a row and your rating doesn't improve because they replaced 75 5 stars in a row.


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## El Camino (Aug 27, 2017)

Tr4vis Ka1anick said:


> Hmmm, I wonder if it could be racial?


I don't think it's a racial thing. I'm a mid-fifties white woman. Most of my pax are young white college students, and about 30 percent of them are middle-eastern students. All have been polite and I've sensed no dissatisfaction with their rides.

I am especially careful with the radio with the middle eastern folks to shut it off if there is any discussion about trump or terrorism. And again, I keep the radio so low that pax can barely hear it. I'd estimate that I only have the radio on maybe 20% of the time.

I will definitely take the advice to stop playing NPR. Thank you all for the advice.

Yesterday was a big college football game and that's the day I got the most recent 1 and 3. No idea if they were mad about the surge pricing and took it out on me or what,


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

El Camino said:


> I don't think it's a racial thing. I'm a mid-fifties white woman. Most of my pax are young white college students, and about 30 percent of them are middle-eastern students. All have been polite and I've sensed no dissatisfaction with their rides. I am especially careful with the radio with the middle eastern folks to shut it off if there is any discussion about trump or terrorism.
> 
> Yesterday was a big college football game and that's the day I got the most recent 1 and 3. No idea if they were mad about the surge pricing and took it out on me or what,


Age Discrimination !



tohunt4me said:


> Age Discrimination !


Dont drive Surge.
Dont drive students
Until your ratings recover.
I specialize in Nights, Drunks, Bar Trade.
Then do airport from 4 am till noon.
Sometimes i must avoid colleges and drunks to recover my ratings.


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## MoreTips (Feb 13, 2017)

inthefoot said:


> Like everyone has said - no more NPR and no more water.
> 
> Say hello. Confirm the destination. Drive.
> 
> ...


Bingo, don't give anything extra and definitely don't act desperate for a 5 star rating. That will look sad to the college crowd and they might rate low just for that.

Stop the NPR for Pax I'd stick to a top 40 station for that crowd.

Good luck and don't worry you will get better with time even if you never figure out what you did wrong. Doing this you'll get better with reading people's vibes. I also believe you should get hundreds of rated rides in before Uber would ever deactivate you, unless you get serious complaints. Keep you head up, Uber needs you more than you need them.


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## El Camino (Aug 27, 2017)

tohunt4me said:


> Age Discrimination !
> 
> Dont drive Surge.
> Dont drive students
> ...


 I only drive in the daytime and go offline at 7 pm. I never chase surges. Most of my riders are students going to and from school. No airport here.


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## Damascus1d (Jan 2, 2017)

after my first week i completed 69 rides with a rating of 4.0 , you are doing much better than I did , i have a very good rating now , i think you will be doing just fine.


El Camino said:


> So I've been driving for a few weeks, and have done 66 rides total. 31 of my pax rated me, the rest didn't. I keep my car immaculate, am friendly and polite, drive responsibly, engage pax in chit-chat if they want to talk, otherwise I just focus on driving and let them play on their phones. I shower and dress professionally, don't smoke and I use a phone mount. I play NPR quietly on the radio and just started providing phone chargers and free waters, which seem much appreciated.
> 
> I also drive for Lyft and have a perfect 5 rating.
> 
> ...


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## reg barclay (Nov 3, 2015)

El Camino said:


> So I've been driving for a few weeks, and have done 66 rides total. 31 of my pax rated me, the rest didn't. I keep my car immaculate, am friendly and polite, drive responsibly, engage pax in chit-chat if they want to talk, otherwise I just focus on driving and let them play on their phones. I shower and dress professionally, don't smoke and I use a phone mount. I play NPR quietly on the radio and just started providing phone chargers and free waters, which seem much appreciated.
> 
> I also drive for Lyft and have a perfect 5 rating.
> 
> ...


With only 31 ratings your rating could change very quickly with a few 5's.

While there is no way to know what an individual passenger will rate you, you can still try to avoid the types of passengers/scenarios which often lead to bad ratings. The most obvious thing to avoid are passengers who themselves have a low rating. Other than that I don't think there are any hard and fast rules as to what to avoid and it might differ from place to place but I think it's possible to develop an instinct as to what passengers and trips have a higher chance of leading to bad ratings. One example I can think of is picking up passengers you just cancelled on (especially if they were charged a cancellation fee). Another thing that happened to me recently was that I went to pick up a passenger who was waiting outside a large building. I drove to the part of the building where the pin was and a minute later I got a call from the passenger asking in a demanding and entitled tone, "where are you?". Back when I started ubering I would probably have driven around the building to get to them but I now know that there's a good chance that such a demanding sounding passenger could blame me for not knowing which part of the building they were waiting at when I first arrived, so in this case I just cancelled the trip. A couple of days later I had a similar scenario where I was waiting by a big apartment complex and the passenger called me in a friendly tone asking if I was having trouble finding their apartment. I explained to them that the address wasn't clear and that I was waiting at the location on the GPS. They seemed very understanding and friendly and gave me the correct address, so in that case I didn't cancel.

Thankfully Uber no longer deactivates driver's accounts for low acceptance rates so you can decline trips you feel have a good chance of being problematic. They still can deactivate accounts for having a high cancellation rate so it's best to save cancellations for times of necessity.


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## Trafficat (Dec 19, 2016)

Uberdude1021 said:


> I don't give out water. I'm not obsessive about cleaning. I wear t shirts a lot. I listen to whatever I want to listen to. I talk if they want to talk. And I've got a 4.94 rating. There is no rhyme or reason for most ratings.


I think some people are just inherently more likeable than others. They could get a job at a new company and become friends with lots of people in days. Those folks are probably the guys that get higher ratings. People just meet these guys and they like them.... probably can't even verbalize why. The way they look? The way they talk? The way they make facial expressions?

No matter the actual words I utter, it seems people find me annoying.


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## MonkeyTOES (Oct 18, 2016)

El Camino said:


> Thanks for the input, everyone.
> 
> First, thanks for the advice re: NPR. Most of my pax are college students glued to their phones and probably can't even hear the radio. I have been very careful to shut the radio off if there is anything on there (like criticism of Trump) that might offend a passenger. But now I will just not play it at all. Thanks for the tip.
> 
> ...


Then probably it's the demographic area you are getting trips. College students are a pain at times and honestly it's 50/50. Even if you are doing everything perfect. Maybe try somewhere far away from college campus and start from there. It sucks in the beginning because your ratings get affected a lot but after that you wouldn't care because your ratings will be steady and 1 star only decreases your rating by 0.01.


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## Coachman (Sep 22, 2015)

I had an Uber driver one time who was a horrible driver. He probably has no clue why he gets low ratings. He also had one of those god-awful air fresheners. I'm sure he thinks the car smells great.


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## LoveUber1 (Jun 8, 2016)

Really just drive and talk with the pax if it seems they want to talk. No water, no gum, no charger. Just drive slow over the bumps on the streets and no harsh or sudden breaking and your ratings will go up. Dont sweat the low ratings. It has happened to all of us


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## Oscar Levant (Aug 15, 2014)

This rating thing is a kind of tyranny. Frankly, I hate this star/rating system, it's like we're nothing more than a frickin' number, placeholders for driverless cars.

Uber wonders why morale has tanked, they don't have a clue, it's all about the rating system, but much more than that, the money, we're being screwed now, they are charging riders more but not paying us more and they think we don't notice. I asked someone in the exec level ( found them on linked in and emailed them, and she actually called me. and I asked her why we were being paid so little. her answer was "Uber pays drivers as little as they will accept". That's kind of backwards, most companies charge what customers will pay before going to a competitor. 

Today, I get 88 cents a mile on UberX and 80 cents a mile on pool rides. I drove a taxi in L.A in 1977 and the meter was 80 cents a mile and gas was 75 cents ( or so ) and rent for a one bedroom apartment was about $150. I remember my paycheck ( we were employees ) and it was $170 a week average and I remember making about 75 a week in tips ( more than I make now ). So, $245 per week, which, in todays dollars is what $1000? This was a 6 day 10 hour shift work week and today Im' making $700 if I work that much. So I'm making less but rent has increased tenfold. I could drink all night in a neighborhood bar for $20.


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## goneubering (Aug 17, 2017)

El Camino said:


> So I've been driving for a few weeks, and have done 66 rides total. 31 of my pax rated me, the rest didn't. I keep my car immaculate, am friendly and polite, drive responsibly, engage pax in chit-chat if they want to talk, otherwise I just focus on driving and let them play on their phones. I shower and dress professionally, don't smoke and I use a phone mount. I play NPR quietly on the radio and just started providing phone chargers and free waters, which seem much appreciated.
> 
> I also drive for Lyft and have a perfect 5 rating.
> 
> ...


Don't worry about ratings or take them too personally. I had a 4.3 my first month! That was two years ago. I never got a warning or deactivated. Now I'm a consistent 4.9 or higher.


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## Rockocubs (Jul 31, 2017)

I had a 4.63 after my first 100 ratings. Next 100 ratings were a 4.92 and currently 4.80 overall.
1) I relaxed and quit worrying about ratings.
2) I cleaned my car daily car wash about 3 times weekly.
3) Paid attention to my driving report (Braking, Take offs, speed)
4) Said hello and verified destination and check for any desired route, don't force conversation after initial dialogue.


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## UberLaLa (Sep 6, 2015)

Don't pick up any passengers with a rating lower than 4.7 and watch your ratings go up.


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## 105398 (Aug 28, 2016)

Trafficat said:


> advice: Turn off NPR for Uber passengers and see if your rating goes up.


I agree with this. I listen to NPR every morning, and if driving at night listen to the BBC shows. But when a pax gets in I change it to music. I love NPR but you'll go from something light to a discussion on larvae moths to Trump then abortion. Too unpredictable for potential conversation lol

I use XM Chill, Pandora, or my itunes set from the same style. (it's all downtempo, light EDM, not too dull but not super clubby sounding)

Exception is football games where I'll play the game if driving towards the end of it (especially if people are leaving early from the game) - since almost everyone is interested in the outcome.

No one has every complained, and have received compliments on it too (one guy said he Shazammed half the songs on a long airport ride.)


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## zigo230 (Aug 7, 2017)

My first ride I got a 3-star and comment that vehicle cleanliness was an issue. I realized my kids left some wrappers ans straws on the floor of my minivan that i never picked up. I quickly got the van cleaned and now keep it clean. Since then on 56 rated trips out of 100 I have 56 5-stars. I talk or listen when they feel like talking. When they don't feel like talking i just concentrate on driving. I keep the radio on low volume tuned to the local news/weather/traffic station or light pop music. Occasionally someone asks me to turn the volume up but no one has ever had to ask me to turn it down.


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## prsvshine (Mar 2, 2017)

**** it. just keep driving.


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## Pete Feliciano (Aug 26, 2017)

Subscribe to Sirious XM radio and keep it on cnannel 2 pop station. Most pax will give you a 5 rating. NPR radio is all politics.. NO PAX WANTS TO HEAR POLITICS


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## jfinks (Nov 24, 2016)

LAbDog65 said:


> No, it is probably not you. I had a pax rate me a 1 because I had to detour due to a accident. Like I arranged for the accident. I drive a lot of drunk college kids and they are quick to complain about everything and give you a 1. Once an older guy said you are great,I am giving you a 1 because you are tops in my book. I tried to explain 1 was bad and 5 good but he just didn't get it. I got the 1


LOL give that old fart a 1 back.



68350 said:


> I have 700 trips on Uber, a few hundred on Lyft. 96% at 5 stars, 3% at 4 stars, and last week out of the blue someone 1-starred me, so now 1% at 1 star. I didn't have any rides that anything out of the ordinary took place. I have to assume some jerk was trying to get a fare credit and made up something to complain about. I couldn't even point to any of the rides that it could have come from, in order to return the 1 star favor. I'm still at 4.93 Uber and 4.94 Lyft. I let it bother me for about 4 hours then just forgot about it. It's pointless, although with your low ride numbers at this point, it's understandable that you are concerned. Kill the NPR. I have several radio stations preset, and will choose among them when I see the pax, before they get in my car. Age is the biggest factor in which station I select. Always keep the volume down especially when they are getting in. You can ask once you start the trip if they are ok with turning it up a bit.
> 
> I'd agree with the comments about Lyft pax, they are generally more inclined to want to chat, and initially were rating me down more than Uber, but oddly my Lyft # is now higher.
> 
> I carry drinks for myself only. I'll give up my 12v phone plug if asked, but I don't carry an iphone cord. I've only been asked once or twice for the charger.


Whenever I notice my rating drop because of an undeserved 1 star I retroactively 1 star all riders back to where I think the 1 star came from. Group punishment, sorry, not sorry. lol


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## MHR (Jul 23, 2017)

If you follow some of the advice given in this thread your ratings should recover.

Turn off the NPR. Immediately. 
Stay away from the college or at least during surge.
Watch out for low rated pax.
Don't drive the drunk college kids.
Your female college pax will rate lower than the male college pax. I'm close to your age and I've learned it's because they're entitled, needy, little witches. Not all but most.
Act yourself, don't pander and don't worry what your pax think about you. They can smell fear.
Turn off NPR now.

Once your rating goes up, reevaluate your ride strategy. If your rating doesn't go up then you might need to look closer for the answer.


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## KK2929 (Feb 9, 2017)

On this site, Your location is ??? Living in your car. If that means "sleeping in your car & you have no home" people pick up on that immediately, especially women. People often have read my BIO and know where I was born and raised because of what is shown. 
If your primary paxs are college students, try to do more older pickups.


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## AuxCordBoston (Dec 3, 2016)

El Camino said:


> So I've been driving for a few weeks, and have done 66 rides total. 31 of my pax rated me, the rest didn't. I keep my car immaculate, am friendly and polite, drive responsibly, engage pax in chit-chat if they want to talk, otherwise I just focus on driving and let them play on their phones. I shower and dress professionally, don't smoke and I use a phone mount. I play NPR quietly on the radio and just started providing phone chargers and free waters, which seem much appreciated.
> 
> I also drive for Lyft and have a perfect 5 rating with them.
> 
> ...


Can you post Uber's message to you?


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## shirleyujest (Jul 19, 2015)

I_Like_Spam said:


> A lot of passengers have received the word that if they complain to Uber about the driver, Uber can waive the fare or give them comps for future rides.
> 
> Uber X is the bargain basement of transportation services, a reputation that will attract those who will do what they have to, in order to save $$.


You're wrong about Uber X being the bargain basement of cheap transportation. I drive for both Uber and Lyft and Uber X is a limousine service compared to Lyft. Most of my Lyft passengers are either going to or coming from the inner City of Detroit and just want to save a buck or two. They complain that I'm "goin' out the way" if I follow Waze's maps. They don't get the fact that Waze takes the driver out of the way of traffic jams and other obstructions to driving. I'm so sick of these people, but I bite my tongue. My car is kept immaculate, I pay strict attention to driving and am as courteous and respectful as I can be, and they rate me low simply because they can. I'm considering getting away from Lyft completely and just sticking to Uber.


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## IMMA DRIVER (Jul 6, 2017)

I have a 4.97 rating soon to be 4.98 (4500 rides). I am probably the highest rated driver in my state (not bragging). One thing I haven't heard anyone suggest is to "do everything right". For you, due to the low rating and potential deactivation; everything should matter including; the cleanliness of your car interior, the way you dress, the radio station you choose, the tone of your voice, the volume level, helping with luggage, groceries, etc....
Best suggestion since you're in a college town is to treat everyone like they're your friend. Keep the conversation upbeat and positive. Address them by first name when entering and leaving. 
Remember passengers are rating you according to their experiences with other UBER drivers. So, if you're getting low ratings because you're providing water, but other drivers are providing a clean, friendly, ride with no navigation issues then it's time we get you to the level of everyone else. The #1 thing I hear from pax on why they rate drivers low is navigation issues. Missing turns, not picking them up where they should, not knowing the area well enough, driving too fast, breaking too much, etc....
A couple suggestions: if a pax ever says they know a quicker way... take it and don't question. 
If you ever miss a turn, take the next one and don't mention it...they'll never know. If they do notice; quickly apologize and move on.
Slow wayyyy down when dropping off pax at home to assure you reach the correct address and not bypass it.

My $.02


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## El Camino (Aug 27, 2017)

KK2929 said:


> On this site, Your location is ??? Living in your car. If that means "sleeping in your car & you have no home" people pick up on that immediately, especially women. People often have read my BIO and know where I was born and raised because of what is shown.
> If your primary paxs are college students, try to do more older pickups.


LOL no I don't live in my car. What a bizarre assumption.


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## gizmotheboss (Jul 5, 2017)

Rideshare riders gets rides for next to nothing then they have the nerve to give you a bad rating how dare they


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## excel2345 (Dec 14, 2015)

El Camino said:


> So I've been driving for a few weeks, and have done 66 rides total. 31 of my pax rated me, the rest didn't. I keep my car immaculate, am friendly and polite, drive responsibly, engage pax in chit-chat if they want to talk, otherwise I just focus on driving and let them play on their phones. I shower and dress professionally, don't smoke and I use a phone mount. I play NPR quietly on the radio and just started providing phone chargers and free waters, which seem much appreciated.
> 
> I also drive for Lyft and have a perfect 5 rating with them.
> 
> ...


I Drive early, 3a. I only put on npr if I have a customer that is unpleasant, turn up the heat, put on npr and they are snoozing in minutes until we arrive


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## PrestonT (Feb 15, 2017)

I glanced over the responses, didn't see the obvious response....

Don't accept Pool rides, at least until you have enough ratings to absorb the low ones you'll get driving Pool.


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## swingset (Feb 26, 2017)

Yup, agree on saying no to Pool, just say no. No NPR, play some very quiet, light pop music if anything. If you're chit-chatting, stop it (you're assuming it's not hurting you, but it might be). If you wanna have water or mints, fine, it's neither here nor there. Sure isn't going to hurt your ratings, won't boost them either I suspect. 

Drive, be friendly and courteous, don't pick up low-rating pax and stay away from trouble areas where the entitled PITA customers frequent. Don't slow poke or take needlessly long routes. If that's in any doubt, ask your pax if they have a preference. One of my only 1-stars came from a Google-suggested route that the pax didn't like.

Make sure you don't have heavy cologne, or BO. I hear this from women, especially when they talk about bad Uber experiences. Don't compliment your riders, be neutral. Your friendliness might be read as come-ons.

832 rides, 4.95 rating, working only weekends and campus areas....so if I can keep my rating up that high, it's more about the driver than dumb luck. I've never gotten below 4.9, not even when I was new.


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## DCNewbie17 (Aug 20, 2017)

Trafficat said:


> My advice: Turn off NPR for Uber passengers and see if your rating goes up.
> 
> NPR is often perceived as a leftist slant by some conservatives, so if you got a conservative rider he may have been offended.
> 
> ...


I was going to say precisely this. I think its NPR getting you. Personally, I probably couldn't rate someone a 5 who forced me to listen to Rush Limbaugh while paying fir it. So someone on the other side of the fence was probably annoyed by the programming.


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## Bpr2 (Feb 21, 2017)

El Camino said:


> I only drive in the daytime and go offline at 7 pm. I never chase surges. Most of my riders are students going to and from school. No airport here.


Your student riders&#8230; all 18+ right??


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## El Camino (Aug 27, 2017)

Bpr2 said:


> Your student riders&#8230; all 18+ right??


University students. 95% of my pax. Of those, about 40-50% are young middle-eastern guys. For whatever reason, our university has a large percentage of that demographic.



DCNewbie17 said:


> I was going to say precisely this. I think its NPR getting you. Personally, I probably couldn't rate someone a 5 who forced me to listen to Rush Limbaugh while paying fir it. So someone on the other side of the fence was probably annoyed by the programming.


I really appreciate all the advice about not playing NPR. Have totally stopped that and will look for a pop station to play quietly or just not play the radio at all. Thanks all!

Agree about how I would feel if I got in a ride and the driver was forcing me to listen to Limbaugh. I'd be very temped to rate them low. Don't impose your politics on me.

Today I did Lyft only and did really well, with bonuses and tips I had a great day and got excellent ratings. Things are looking up and I really appreciate the advice I've gotten here on this forum.



swingset said:


> Yup, agree on saying no to Pool, just say no. No NPR, play some very quiet, light pop music if anything. If you're chit-chatting, stop it (you're assuming it's not hurting you, but it might be). If you wanna have water or mints, fine, it's neither here nor there. Sure isn't going to hurt your ratings, won't boost them either I suspect.
> 
> Drive, be friendly and courteous, don't pick up low-rating pax and stay away from trouble areas where the entitled PITA customers frequent. Don't slow poke or take needlessly long routes. If that's in any doubt, ask your pax if they have a preference. One of my only 1-stars came from a Google-suggested route that the pax didn't like.
> 
> Make sure you don't have heavy cologne, or BO. I hear this from women, especially when they talk about bad Uber experiences. Don't compliment your riders, be neutral. Your friendliness might be read as come-ons.


Thanks for the advice. I don't chit chat unless the pax initiates it. If they jump in the front seat, chances are they might want to talk. Otherwise I just say hi, how you doing, then start driving. Most are content to just play on their phones.

I'm female, and shower every day with no perfume, just clean professional clothes and no nasty air fresheners. I febreeze the car at the end of the day and keep it immaculately clean.

I don't think we have pool in my market, not even sure what it is.


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## Fubernuber (Jan 15, 2017)

El Camino said:


> So I've been driving for a few weeks, and have done 66 rides total. 31 of my pax rated me, the rest didn't. I keep my car immaculate, am friendly and polite, drive responsibly, engage pax in chit-chat if they want to talk, otherwise I just focus on driving and let them play on their phones. I shower and dress professionally, don't smoke and I use a phone mount. I play NPR quietly on the radio and just started providing phone chargers and free waters, which seem much appreciated.
> 
> I also drive for Lyft and have a perfect 5 rating with them.
> 
> ...


If you are white then black riders will ding you. If you are black then white riders will ding you. If you are in between then everyone will ding you. If you smell, if you drive slow, drive fast....


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## surlywynch (Jun 22, 2017)

El Camino said:


> LOL no I don't live in my car. What a bizarre assumption.


Not a bizarre assumption. You actually have that listed in your profile, here. You could avoid such assumptions by putting your location in your user profile, and you might even get better local information from other drivers that know more about your market.


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## george manousaridis (Jan 27, 2017)

Members,this is rubbish,my wife got an Uber the other day and yes 4.3 rated driver only been on job for a month and hes still driving.Go figure what is what.This driver is driving still,after a month of bad reviews


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## Bpr2 (Feb 21, 2017)

george manousaridis said:


> Members,this is rubbish,my wife got an Uber the other day and yes 4.3 rated driver only been on job for a month and hes still driving.Go figure what is what


Usually uber gives a honeymoon period. A month is part of it.


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## george manousaridis (Jan 27, 2017)

Bpr2 said:


> Usually uber gives a honeymoon period. A month is part of it.


not that bad of a rating,lol,but anyway me and the wife gave him a 5 star ,fell sorry for him


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## KK2929 (Feb 9, 2017)

surlywynch said:


> Not a bizarre assumption. You actually have that listed in your profile, here. You could avoid such assumptions by putting your location in your user profile, and you might even get better local information from other drivers that know more about your market.


El Camino is , also, female, which is not stated. Seems to want to travel incognito.


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## george manousaridis (Jan 27, 2017)

KK2929 said:


> El Camino is , also, female, which is not stated. Seems to want to travel incognito.


i go all around,the point is anywhere you travel around there will always be low rated drivers.so policies might be different in the local areas.Good to read what is happening in the other side of the world.


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## Bpr2 (Feb 21, 2017)

george manousaridis said:


> not that bad of a rating,lol,but anyway me and the wife gave him a 5 star ,fell sorry for him


True. Unless his first couple riders gave 2 or 3. Without many 5* those would hurt huge the first month or so.


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## Uber Crack (Jul 19, 2017)

Your rating will steadily increase with more rides to fix the ratio. It sounds like you're doing everything right.


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## Dreamcrusher (May 24, 2017)

You play NPR in the background.. This is why. If I was a passenger and heard that BS in the background I would give you a bad rating too.


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## El Camino (Aug 27, 2017)

Dreamcrusher said:


> You play NPR in the background.. This is why. If I was a passenger and heard that BS in the background I would give you a bad rating too.


Not anymore.


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## Michael1230nj (Jun 23, 2017)

Stop buying that Cheap Water at the Dollar Store! Passengers prefer Perrier. Also NPR is fine but make sure it's not Prarie Home Companion!!


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## empresstabitha (Aug 25, 2016)

El Camino said:


> So I've been driving for a few weeks, and have done 66 rides total. 31 of my pax rated me, the rest didn't. I keep my car immaculate, am friendly and polite, drive responsibly, engage pax in chit-chat if they want to talk, otherwise I just focus on driving and let them play on their phones. I shower and dress professionally, don't smoke and I use a phone mount. I play NPR quietly on the radio and just started providing phone chargers and free waters, which seem much appreciated.
> 
> I also drive for Lyft and have a perfect 5 rating with them.
> 
> ...


Stop giving water. Your rating will go up. And no NPR the news is depressing. Or wear headphones and listen to it


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

LoveUber1 said:


> Really just drive and talk with the pax if it seems they want to talk. No water, no gum, no charger. Just drive slow over the bumps on the streets and no harsh or sudden breaking and your ratings will go up. Dont sweat the low ratings. It has happened to all of us


But i LIKE to watch them bounce off the roof in the rear view!
Besides, more pothole than road.
If you go too slow you get stuck.

And remember
Treat these bus riders as the inferior beings which THEY ARE.
Make them realize they are lucky to be in Your presence
Your car.

If you allow a dog to eat on the table
He too will believe he is your Equal.
( Uber Ratings Allow the Dogs to growl at you at your plate.Swat them off the table!)

Remind them which way is up.

We had NONE of these Problems 4 RATE CUTS AGO !

LOWER RATES MEAN MORE LOW LIFES !


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## NoPooPool (Aug 18, 2017)

MonkeyTOES said:


> Then probably it's the demographic area you are getting trips. College students are a pain at times and honestly it's 50/50. Even if you are doing everything perfect. Maybe try somewhere far away from college campus and start from there. It sucks in the beginning because your ratings get affected a lot but after that you wouldn't care because your ratings will be steady and 1 star only decreases your rating by 0.1.


No, you mean 0.01, not 0.1



tohunt4me said:


> But i LIKE to watch them bounce off the roof in the rear view!
> Besides, more pothole than road.
> If you go too slow you get stuck.
> 
> ...


How true is that? 100% spot on, LOWER RATES MEAN MORE LOWLIFES


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## freeFromUber (Mar 1, 2016)

El Camino said:


> So I've been driving for a few weeks, and have done 66 rides total. 31 of my pax rated me, the rest didn't. I keep my car immaculate, am friendly and polite, drive responsibly, engage pax in chit-chat if they want to talk, otherwise I just focus on driving and let them play on their phones. I shower and dress professionally, don't smoke and I use a phone mount. I play NPR quietly on the radio and just started providing phone chargers and free waters, which seem much appreciated.
> 
> I also drive for Lyft and have a perfect 5 rating with them.
> 
> ...


Maybe you were driving in "Newark"


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## Damascus1d (Jan 2, 2017)

AuxCordBoston said:


> Can you post Uber's message to you?


4.58 is a good rating for the first 3 weeks



Fubernuber said:


> If you are white then black riders will ding you. If you are black then white riders will ding you. If you are in between then everyone will ding you. If you smell, if you drive slow, drive fast....


Yes if you smell or drive fast


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## Irishjohn831 (Aug 11, 2017)

Monday's I have gotten a couple of 3 or 4 star ratings. I used to go nuts, then I just relaxed. 

One thing that I don't understand, but customers, especially females, appreciate. 

I just reach back and open the door for people to get in, confirm their name, good morning or hello, confirm address and their ready to roll, and we go. 

I also bought the NY post and daily news one day to read and just put it in my back seat pocket. You will be fine, relax and the simple, obvious things are a good assist.


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## Immortal (Apr 4, 2017)

UberLaLa said:


> Don't pick up any passengers with a rating lower than 4.7 and watch your ratings go up.


Agreed. I'm at 4.91 over 2400 trips. I don't take anything below 4.6. If you pick up garbage, you'll get treated like garbage in return.


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## Normanite (Jun 28, 2017)

68350 said:


> I have 700 trips on Uber, a few hundred on Lyft. 96% at 5 stars, 3% at 4 stars, and last week out of the blue someone 1-starred me, so now 1% at 1 star. I didn't have any rides that anything out of the ordinary took place. I have to assume some jerk was trying to get a fare credit and made up something to complain about. I couldn't even point to any of the rides that it could have come from, in order to return the 1 star favor. I'm still at 4.93 Uber and 4.94 Lyft. I let it bother me for about 4 hours then just forgot about it. It's pointless, although with your low ride numbers at this point, it's understandable that you are concerned. Kill the NPR. I have several radio stations preset, and will choose among them when I see the pax, before they get in my car. Age is the biggest factor in which station I select. Always keep the volume down especially when they are getting in. You can ask once you start the trip if they are ok with turning it up a bit.
> 
> I'd agree with the comments about Lyft pax, they are generally more inclined to want to chat, and initially were rating me down more than Uber, but oddly my Lyft # is now higher.
> 
> I carry drinks for myself only. I'll give up my 12v phone plug if asked, but I don't carry an iphone cord. I've only been asked once or twice for the charger.


I've done over 1,000 rides. NPR has never led to poor ratings.

Keep an eye on who you're picking up and what happens to your ratings afterwards. It's that simple.


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## sarrajo888 (Sep 9, 2017)

El Camino said:


> Thanks for the input, everyone.
> 
> First, thanks for the advice re: NPR. Most of my pax are college students glued to their phones and probably can't even hear the radio. I have been very careful to shut the radio off if there is anything on there (like criticism of Trump) that might offend a passenger. But now I will just not play it at all. Thanks for the tip.
> 
> ...


Are you giving all pax 5 stars? If not they will retaliate with 1 star. If a driver dings my rating as a rider, I don't care how good you were as a driver...sorry 1 star. Riders check their rating now before and after each ride so that might be why.


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## El Camino (Aug 27, 2017)

sarrajo888 said:


> Are you giving all pax 5 stars? If not they will retaliate with 1 star. If a driver dings my rating as a rider, I don't care how good you were as a driver...sorry 1 star. Riders check their rating now before and after each ride so that might be why.


Yes, no reason not to either. All of my pax have been fine. 66 rides, 66 5-stars to my pax.


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## NoPooPool (Aug 18, 2017)

Immortal said:


> Agreed. I'm at 4.91 over 2400 trips. I don't take anything below 4.6. If you pick up garbage, you'll get treated like garbage in return.[/QUOT





Immortal said:


> Agreed. I'm at 4.91 over 2400 trips. I don't take anything below 4.6. If you pick up garbage, you'll get treated like garbage in return.


Sounds great in theory, but did anybody ever tell you we do not have the luxury of seeing the PAX ratings in the Chicago market.


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## Immortal (Apr 4, 2017)

NoPooPool said:


> Sounds great in theory, but did anybody ever tell you we do not have the luxury of seeing the PAX ratings in the Chicago market.


Well that pretty much sucks.


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## czervik7 (Oct 16, 2015)

It's difficult to get a 1 rating. It happens rarely. About a year ago I started putting an iPad in my van with weather forecasts, sports scores, things happening in the city and some info on designated pickup points after ball games and concerts. I also have a funny screen that solicits 5-star ratings and another that solicits tips. Both have worked very well. I have a 4.93 rating on Uber.

Personally, I think they should throw out the last couple of bad ratings, especially if over 95% of your ratings are 5's. I have over 2,000 rides.


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

Damascus1d said:


> 4.58 is a good rating for the first 3 weeks
> 
> Yes if you smell or drive fast


What is a fast smell ?
Im sure ive smelled it before . . .



El Camino said:


> So I've been driving for a few weeks, and have done 66 rides total. 31 of my pax rated me, the rest didn't. I keep my car immaculate, am friendly and polite, drive responsibly, engage pax in chit-chat if they want to talk, otherwise I just focus on driving and let them play on their phones. I shower and dress professionally, don't smoke and I use a phone mount. I play NPR quietly on the radio and just started providing phone chargers and free waters, which seem much appreciated.
> 
> I also drive for Lyft and have a perfect 5 rating with them.
> 
> ...


Nervous drivers jump at Uber command easier.
Just like Starving Drivers.

You do realize what type of " company" you are working for ?



I_Like_Spam said:


> A lot of passengers have received the word that if they complain to Uber about the driver, Uber can waive the fare or give them comps for future rides.
> 
> Uber X is the bargain basement of transportation services, a reputation that will attract those who will do what they have to, in order to save $$.


Bus riders looking for a free ride.

LOWER RATES MEAN LOW LIFES !

Thanks Uber !



LAbDog65 said:


> No, it is probably not you. I had a pax rate me a 1 because I had to detour due to a accident. Like I arranged for the accident. I drive a lot of drunk college kids and they are quick to complain about everything and give you a 1. Once an older guy said you are great,I am giving you a 1 because you are tops in my book. I tried to explain 1 was bad and 5 good but he just didn't get it. I got the 1


Youre number 1!



Trafficat said:


> My advice: Turn off NPR for Uber passengers and see if your rating goes up.
> 
> NPR is often perceived as a leftist slant by some conservatives, so if you got a conservative rider he may have been offended.
> 
> ...


After 14 hours in the car
If i feel like talking
Theyre going to talk dammitt !

And if not
Theyre going to Listen.


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## I_Like_Spam (May 10, 2015)

tohunt4me said:


> Bus riders looking for a free ride.
> 
> LOWER RATES MEAN LOW LIFES !
> 
> ...


Uber might technically be might more expensive than a city bus for 1 or 2 riders.

However, if you complain to the city bus authority about your driver, they aren't going to comp you.


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

Pete Feliciano said:


> Subscribe to Sirious XM radio and keep it on cnannel 2 pop station. Most pax will give you a 5 rating. NPR radio is all politics.. NO PAX WANTS TO HEAR POLITICS


Ive got XM. FOR ME. TRAPPED IN CAR 14 HOUR SHIFTS WITH 2 HOUR COMMUTE ROUND TRIP.
Modern radio does 20 minutes commercials then 3 songs.
Was wearing out tuning controls.

I play the 70's on 7.
Kids that werent born yet know all the words. Amazes me. They will sit in car untill song finishes after arriving. They love it.
Of course i have been to concerts for all of the bands. Lot of stories if needed.



I_Like_Spam said:


> Uber might technically be might more expensive than a city bus for 1 or 2 riders.
> 
> However, if you complain to the city bus authority about your driver, they aren't going to comp you.


A bus driver can ban passengers and make it stick.


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## Trafficat (Dec 19, 2016)

El Camino said:


> LOL no I don't live in my car. What a bizarre assumption.


Not that bizarre of an assumption. There are members of this board that do.

I don't live in my car, but I couldn't likely afford rent in my town if I paid full price. I get the family discount. And I still sleep in my car most of the time because I'm too far from home most of the time and driving long shifts quite often. I don't even own a bed, unless a pile of blankets counts. I've only had one pax accuse me of living in my car so far.


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

I_Like_Spam said:


> Uber might technically be might more expensive than a city bus for 1 or 2 riders.
> 
> However, if you complain to the city bus authority about your driver, they aren't going to comp you.


Whens the last time a bus driver was Deactivated on A Groundless Complaint by a Vindictive Passenger ???


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## sharknado523 (Mar 14, 2017)

El Camino said:


> So I've been driving for a few weeks, and have done 66 rides total. 31 of my pax rated me, the rest didn't. I keep my car immaculate, am friendly and polite, drive responsibly, engage pax in chit-chat if they want to talk, otherwise I just focus on driving and let them play on their phones. I shower and dress professionally, don't smoke and I use a phone mount. I play NPR quietly on the radio and just started providing phone chargers and free waters, which seem much appreciated.


As a passenger (and driver) I would find it odd if a driver were listening to NPR. What if I'm going out to dinner with my friends and I'm stuck listening to 14 minutes of talk about North Korea? I find that stuff interesting, sometimes, but most people will not. Stick to a pop station. I have SiriusXM in the car and typically stick with Hits One, but for some passengers of certain demographics I will switch to "The Heat" (people of color [hey, I get tons of kudos on Lyft for awesome music and most of my passengers there are people of color - don't judge]), "The Spectrum" (white women over 40), "Classic Vinyl" (white men of a certain age / demeanor)" or the occasional switch to Classic Rewind or a country station. Don't do talk radio. Plus, it's weird to chat with your driver while listening to talk radio. Two conversations simultaneously.

I don't know if that's the source of your bad ratings but some people who lean right might one-star you out of spite like someone else mentioned earlier.

And don't give out free water. If I can't do something well, I don't do it. Giving out warm water that's been in my car all day is hardly an "amenity."


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## Irishjohn831 (Aug 11, 2017)

One other thing, if a passenger has real low rating, don’t accept it. 

I would say 4.6 and below without driving acceptance rate too high


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

Irishjohn831 said:


> One other thing, if a passenger has real low rating, don't accept it.
> 
> I would say 4.6 and below without driving acceptance rate too high


Ive had mixed results with low rated passengers.some were very likeable.
I dont mind stopping at stores on their way home.


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## SaltyUber (Jun 21, 2016)

Ditch the national propaganda radio and you should be good... Quiet jazz works fine unless requested otherwise


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## canyon (Dec 22, 2015)

El Camino said:


> So I've been driving for a few weeks, and have done 66 rides total. 31 of my pax rated me, the rest didn't. I keep my car immaculate, am friendly and polite, drive responsibly, engage pax in chit-chat if they want to talk, otherwise I just focus on driving and let them play on their phones. I shower and dress professionally, don't smoke and I use a phone mount. I play NPR quietly on the radio and just started providing phone chargers and free waters, which seem much appreciated.
> d
> I also drive for Lyft and have a perfect 5 rating with them.
> 
> ...


 Well obviously this isn't for you and yes you will be deactivated in 30 days if you don't bring it up. But then again that's one less driver to compete with.


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## tone17 (Sep 9, 2016)

Pax ratings are F'd up. A few weeks ago on Lyft, my weekly summary said 15 5 stars and 1 less than 5. The comment was, "Seat was uncomfortable." In 1000 rides never has someone mentioned my seats being uncomfortable, and it is something that is out of my control. Just blow the BS off and get back to work.


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## freddieman (Oct 24, 2016)

El Camino said:


> So I've been driving for a few weeks, and have done 66 rides total. 31 of my pax rated me, the rest didn't. I keep my car immaculate, am friendly and polite, drive responsibly, engage pax in chit-chat if they want to talk, otherwise I just focus on driving and let them play on their phones. I shower and dress professionally, don't smoke and I use a phone mount. I play NPR quietly on the radio and just started providing phone chargers and free waters, which seem much appreciated.
> 
> I also drive for Lyft and have a perfect 5 rating with them.
> 
> ...


U need to find an older crowd of pax. Youngings will ding ur score.


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## Shakur (Jan 8, 2017)

I play uncensored rap mostly and went from 4.8 to 4.75


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## LuisEnrikee (Mar 31, 2016)

I on the other hand do none and am none of the things you listed , and I have a 4.88 rating , and I don't care if it goes down .
You're definitely doing something wrong .


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## Honey Badger (Oct 1, 2016)

I would rate you a 1 if I had to listen to NPR. Try some classical music it relaxes people.


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## Kawiz03 (Dec 20, 2015)

El Camino said:


> So I've been driving for a few weeks, and have done 66 rides total. 31 of my pax rated me, the rest didn't. I keep my car immaculate, am friendly and polite, drive responsibly, engage pax in chit-chat if they want to talk, otherwise I just focus on driving and let them play on their phones. I shower and dress professionally, don't smoke and I use a phone mount. I play NPR quietly on the radio and just started providing phone chargers and free waters, which seem much appreciated.
> 
> I also drive for Lyft and have a perfect 5 rating with them.
> 
> ...


Did you provide a warm towel, fresh ice cold fiji water and the cavier that we all pick up weekly at the Greenlight Hub?? Once I did that my ratings went from 4.7 to 4.9...trust me 70% of the time it works everytime!


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## El Camino (Aug 27, 2017)

Update: Have done 14 more rides since my original post. Eight pax rated, all 5-stars. Rating is climbing steadily, so things seem to be working out. The only thing I've changed is the radio station. Now I either quietly play pop or classic rock, or no radio at all. Thanks for the advice, everyone!


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## SuzeCB (Oct 30, 2016)

SaltyUber said:


> Ditch the national propaganda radio and you should be good... Quiet jazz works fine unless requested otherwise


Jazz, unless it's swing, puts me to sleep. Not good when Ubering.


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## sharknado523 (Mar 14, 2017)

El Camino said:


> Update: Have done 14 more rides since my original post. Eight pax rated, all 5-stars. Rating is climbing steadily, so things seem to be working out. The only thing I've changed is the radio station. Now I either quietly play pop or classic rock, or no radio at all. Thanks for the advice, everyone!


Glad it worked out. It was helpful that you provided detail, as it helped other drivers make good suggestions.


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## ibeam23 (Mar 9, 2017)

I play a custom tuned Pandora station of 60s and 70s R&B - Ray Charles, Otis Reading, Barry White, Al Green, James Brown. It's on very low and 90% in front speakers. I get a lot of compliments on it. 

At pickup say hello, confirm drop off, and says something generic like "How's the day treating you?" At that point you'll know if they want to chat or not. Never force a pax to talk. 

No water, mints, etc. 

Don't accept pings from pax rated under 4.5. 

I keep a laminated "About Your Diver/Uber Facts" sheet in the back. Short bio about me and I also explain how any rating under a 5 Über considers a failure.

Don't sweat low ratings too much. Some pax just rate low for a variety of things; they don't like your music, your driving style, or the color of your skin. Some give 1s so they can try and get comp rides from Über.

Try driving at different hours and/or different locations. In my experience certain areas will produce lower ratings. I avoid those areas. Also avoid talking politics. 

I've got over 1100 rides in and am currently rated at 4.93. I'll occasionally get a 3 or a 4 but don't worry about them. The more rides you get in the more your rating will balance out.


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## l3th4l (Apr 26, 2017)

If you're using uber navigation, stop. right ****ing now. stop.

Switch to Google Maps or Waze.

Make sure your car is clean. No trash, nothing on the floor like dirt, nothing. Clean it up.

Car mount - Get a magnetic one similar to this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N8W7IJB/?tag=ubne0c-20

Try and figure out if people want to talk or silence.


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## mick511 (May 1, 2016)

El Camino said:


> So I've been driving for a few weeks, and have done 66 rides total. 31 of my pax rated me, the rest didn't. I keep my car immaculate, am friendly and polite, drive responsibly, engage pax in chit-chat if they want to talk, otherwise I just focus on driving and let them play on their phones. I shower and dress professionally, don't smoke and I use a phone mount. I play NPR quietly on the radio and just started providing phone chargers and free waters, which seem much appreciated.
> 
> I also drive for Lyft and have a perfect 5 rating with them.
> 
> ...


Did you do a lot of pools?


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## El Camino (Aug 27, 2017)

mick511 said:


> Did you do a lot of pools?


Nope, never done one. Not sure if that's even an option in my market. What do pool request pings look like compared to regular Uberx ones?


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