I am totally paranoid about my Uber Passenger rating - I've been stuck at 4.88 for the last year - so I don't know if they are updating it. I'll go out of my way to wait outside in the rain so my Uber Driver doesn't have to wait, always try and at least meet up with their level of chattiness, if not necessarily encourage it. Obv be super polite, cheerful, and never, ever make the mistake of asking an UberExpress driver to drop you off anywhere than the designated point.
Still - stuck at 4.88, wondering what I can do better...
What I've always found interesting about Uber is that if you have one bad night in San Francisco, it could adversely affect your ability to get a ride in Bahrain several years later.
Sure big companies create efficiencies, but they also create Orwellian situations like one above.
I doubt one bad night will affect your ability to get a ride, assuming you have a decent amount of other trips “proving” you won’t be a problem, driver or passenger wise.
If you're already at say a 4.2, a 0 could really bring you down if you don't ride a lot.
Also, IIRC drivers can and do reject rides for people at their predetermined threshold. E.g. they will pass on a 4.0 waiting for a 4.5 or above (or whatever the thresholds may be).
But how much? Do I need to tip more if I go unmatched on a pool? Should I have known I wouldn’t be matched at 4AM? If I get continuous matches/delays, can I tip less? Was the driver just pretending to be interested in my life story, so I should tip more because of that? Ahhhh, I liked it the way it was before...
Ludicrous. 15% is customary for restaurant waiters, other than that there is no need to tip. Can give barber a few dollars, doorman a certain amount at Christmas. I prefer a society without tips, and would like to know what something costs up front and know the vendor is providing their service to the best of their ability.
This is a forum for hackers, who are likely to obsess over systems like this. I don’t think it’s indicative of a society-wide focus on Uber passenger ratings.
Use a service that doesn't micromanage its customers. Lyft, taxis, city transportation services. Or just (shocker) get your own vehicle. If you're travelling, rental cars are also an option.
>Use a service that doesn't micromanage its customers
Lyft is still doing the same sort of micromanagement (you just have to jump through more hoops to see your rider rating, just like it used to be for Uber), and arguably has even more holes for drivers to abuse the rating system against riders (AFAIK, Lyft drivers can manage to correlate tips against specific rides, and have a 24 post-ride window to go back and change ratings for riders).
>taxis, city transportation services. Or just (shocker) get your own vehicle. If you're travelling, rental cars are also an option.
These aren't necessarily realistic alternatives in all cases.
In many second or third tier metro areas in the US, Lyft and Uber have completely destroyed the local taxi industry, to the point where taxis simply aren't a resource that can be utilized without booking far in advance, and even then their success rate for pickups is questionable.
As for public transport - not a realistic option for general use outside the largest metro areas in the US, and even many of the largest (e.g. Houston, Phoenix, San Antonio, Dallas) have systems that are nearly useless for those traveling outside of very small portions of the metro area, or aren't commuting into central business districts from suburban transit centers.
'Getting your own vehicle' isn't necessarily economically viable in all cases, or even a usable option for those that face challenges related to driving ability.
And rental cars? Aside from making zero sense for certain urban destinations, employers increasingly require business travelers to utilize rideshare services while traveling for work.
> In many second or third tier metro areas in the US, Lyft and Uber have completely destroyed the local taxi industry, to the point where taxis simply aren't a resource that can be utilized without booking far in advance, and even then their success rate for pickups is questionable.
Anecdotally, In Midtown Atlanta, in 2008; It took a call and 30 minutes to get a taxi to come pick up < a mile away from major hotels. And on the ride back on a 3 mile trip, magically the taxi's credit card machine was broken.
I've personally encountered the same kind of thing in Chicago and Houston outside of the major business districts.
I've recently been living in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I don't think I can recall even seeing a taxi in the area anywhere other than the taxi stand at the Detroit airport over the past 6 months.
If you're travelling, rental cars are also an option.
If you are 21 or older. There are a lot of people in the 18-21 range. And, in the 21-4 range there are often fees associated with that age, which can be significant.[1]
Personally, I don't possess a drivers license - while the DMV would happily grant one my lack of peripheral vision in the left and poor depth perception make me extremely uncomfortable on the road. I rely on public transportation and services like Uber/Lyft/local cabs to get around when I travel as a result.
I'm not particularly fond of traditional taxi services due to a lack of fare transparency and ease of use I expect from "ridesharing" (can we replace this term someday) services, so my rider rating is fairly important to me.
i too don't have one. not because i have any physical problems, it's just that i don't have use for one. i don't have a car and i don't plan on having one -- so why bother?
also, by not having a car (and using public transportation/uber/cabs) i like to think i'm helping the my city a tiny bit by not having yet another car on the street when it's not needed.
Yes, I'm in a medium-sized city in the US. Uber and Lyft operate here, but they don't seem to be as popular as taxi companies (at least, I see far fewer of them than taxis).
I know that two of the largest taxi companies in town have just increased the number of drivers they have.
I'm the same way though I have a 5.0 -- but it's because I don't want to lose it! However, I feel as if I'd care less once my score is no longer "perfect"... It's a similar game to me as working on/keeping credit scores at an ideal number.
I 'm also at 4.88! And has been there for 4 years, never went up or down (at least I haven't noticed it. I don't exactly sweat over it. Only checked when someone asks which is like once per year).
I can imagine 2 things.
1. Actual rating is way lower and uber is hiding it from us.
2. Their system is buggy.
And it never moved by a factor of even 0.01? Since they are probably doing some rounding, it never moved by 0.005?
Maybe it did and by the time I checked it was back at 4.88.
It's interesting that many people in this thread report 4.88 though. I would assume Uber wants to obfuscate recent ratings (eg if you notice when your rating changed, you might pin point the driver and add a case against them if you 're vengeful enough). Maybe it's similar to the number 300 for youtube (where views stop being counted in realtime and they are being grouped + analyzed). Who knows.
Yes you better watch out! Step in dog poop right before entering an Uber and not noticing could get you a negative rating. I hope you don’t have any medical issues which may cause you to have an odor that may cause a negative rating. Or someone hacks your account and you get blacklisted from the ride service. This seems all to balck mirror
Still - stuck at 4.88, wondering what I can do better...