It's a little-known secret of the major US rideshare companies, Uber and Lyft, but it's super-easy to make sure you're not paired with a particular driver (or passenger) again. All it takes is to rate them 3 stars or fewer. That's right, what most of us would consider "average" they consider as "I never want to be paired with this person again." As a driver, I can rate a passenger as 3 stars and I never have to worry about being paired with that passenger again. (I've only done this once.) Even if I'm the closest driver to them and I'm headed in the direction they want to go, I won't be paired with them again. I've only had one passenger give me a 3-star rating and I have no idea what I did wrong during their ride. Unfortunately, comments are not required with ratings from passengers, so if no comments are left, drivers have no way of knowing what happened. As a driver, if I rate anyone as 4 stars or fewer, I have to indicate why the ride was less than perfect.
In the case of the 3-star rating that I gave, the low rating had nothing to do with the passenger but had everything to do with her husband. I had picked up the passenger twice before and never had any issue with her. She was polite and friendly. On the third ride, however, her husband came with her and he was quite drunk and belligerent. Most couples will sit in the back together, or the man will sit in the front by me while the woman sits in the back. On this ride, the wife sat in the front and the husband sat in the back. He went on the attack the moment he got in the car, belittling her and mumbling about my driving. When we reached the first stop on their trip, I canceled the rest of the ride, gave the 3-star rating, and drove off. I explained to the wife that I was canceling the trip and they would need to hail another driver to take them the rest of the way. The wife apologized for her husband's behavior, but I never wanted to be paired with her again at the risk of being paired with him again.
Many drivers will not pick up passengers rated below 4.8, figuring passengers with low ratings have done something to deserve it. Since ratings are averages, it doesn't take much to drop from a perfect 5.0 and it can be difficult to rebuild a good rating after receiving a few low ratings. I think one of my future posts will be tips on how to be the perfect passenger. Until then, happy journeys to you.
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