Are is the uber rating determined? Is it a trailing average and over how many rides?

Thanks

Well said.

Living in Asia it isn't expected. Now that there is the option to pay by cash, I've had a driver in Singapore and one in Indonesia talk about a tip. So in effect it is introducing something here that never existed in the first place.

At the same time though, I have asked several drivers in my SE Asia travels if they look at the customer ratings before taking a fare, and non of them do.

It was mentioned somewhere, but the main difference between Lyft and Uber I understand is that drivers for Lyft must give a review prior to seeing what they have earned, whereas for Uber, they "see" tip/no tip and then rate.

A Response from an Uber Driver
 

I drive for both Uber and Lyft. Unfortunately most pax only use a Uber while Lyft is slowly gaining market share. So in my market it's tough to just drive for Lyft.

In the US it's customary to tip for nearly all services, especially and including transportation in cabs. It's second nature to tip your cabbie even though you might be in a filthy car, your driver may or may not use GPS and your offered no amenities.

With uberX you know you'll be in a clean car no older than 8yrs. The driver always uses GPS to take you the most efficient route unless the pax prefers to direct them on their preferred route. You are given the option of what music you prefer. And at the bare minimum most drivers offer phone chargers. But many also offer mints, water, and other items. Some even offer free wifi. You get all this for a third of the price of a cab.

You also don't need to worry about uber drivers taking inefficient routes or hitting red lights to increase the fare. Unlike cabs, uber charges between $0.10-$0.20 a minute; and are paid between $0.75 - $2.00 a mile depending on the market. I can't begin to tell you how many cabs have taken me for a "ride".

And yet most of you here complain about tipping your uber driver. And you're offended if a driver places a sign politely stating tips are appreciated. This is done because Uber misled the public and their customers that tips are included. This blatant misrepresentation of the truth is why they are facing yet another class action lawsuit.

To address your point on the rating system:
The uber corporate line about the rating system is it allows for both drivers and pax to rate their experience. How does a simple sign effect your experience? Especially if the driver shows up on time; in a clean car; and gets you from A to B safely? Given that people have no problems tipping cabbies for fares approx 3x more than an uberX ride, why would a uber driver deserve a 1* for posting a sign that tips are appreciated in a subtle way to say uber has been lying to paxs for so long?

Do you realize that rating a driver anything else than 5* is a black mark against them? A driver can be deactivated for having a 4.7 rating or lower. A 1* could drop a rating from 4.8 to 4.7 with just one rating. Moreover it takes approx twelve 5* ratings to make up for a 4* rating.

Given we use our own cars, offer ammenities you don't get from a cab and uber keeps dropping the fares and increasing the commission to 25%-30% in some markets. Why wouldn't you rate your driver a 5* and give him a tip of at least $5? If you can't rate us with 5* then please don't rate us at all.

Unlike pax, drivers must rate you in order to complete the trip. Your pax rating is critical too. Most experienced and top drivers won't pick up a pax with a rating below 4.7 - 4.6. Especially if the ping is 15 minutes away. Doesn't mean you won't get a ride, but you'll likely end up with a brand new driver or a driver with a low rating. Or you you might be waiting a long time to get a ride.

Low ratings say to us that either the pax doesn't tip, the pax is a puker, obnoxious drunk, or just plain rude and disrespectful. So why should we pick them up?

And yes you will get a lower rating for not tipping! Just as you said you only tip for exceptional service, only exceptional pax will get a 5*. I know some drivers who will rate pax who don't tip a 1-2. Especially if you put the pin in the wrong location and don't answer the phone when we try to find you. Or make drivers wait by not being ready when you make your request. But most drivers will rate you a 4* for not tipping. But remember it takes a lot more for a pax to increase their rating than it does a driver. It's simple math. Number of rides you take divided by your rating for each ride determines your rating.

Finally, many uber drivers are now signed up with Square allowing you to tip via credit card and the receipt will be sent either sms or email whatever you prefer. Some drivers even go to the extent of purchasing the NFC readers to make it even more convienent so all you have to do is swipe your phone. Signs help inform the pax that these options are available to you. Since uber will never add a tip function, drivers do their best to make it convienent to tip. Which allows us to continue to provide you with a better alternative to cabs.

Note this response is based on uberX rides. UberSelect and uberXl and those original uber black are a different story. People who choose those cars more often appreciate the drivers more and tip. Even if they don't depending on the market we don't lose money on fares like we do on uberX.

I read this:

Then I saw this:

If Uber drivers feel comfortable rating a passenger harshly for the sole supposed transgression of not tipping, it seems like Uber passengers ought to feel comfortable giving a driver a lesser rating for creating an aura of discomfort about the whole tipping thing.

This statement, in particular, didn't sit well with me, given the disparity between how you wish to be treated as a driver, from a ratings standpoint, and how you will justify rating an otherwise good passenger harshly solely because he or she doesn't tip:

I've never rated a Uber driver less than 5 stars. At the same time, I've yet to tip one of them. Consider my 5 star rating as your tip, if you must. But if you're going to try to damage the rating of your passengers because they don't tip, then you don't have a leg to stand on if your riders damage your rating as a driver because you try to make them feel uncomfortable about not tipping.

Because a driver mentioned how good it's been lately, you felt guilted into tipping him? Here is what's true, no one has the power to make you feel any certain way. You and you alone are 100% responsible for your emotions. I challenge you to ask yourself why you felt guilty?

Guilt is a cognitive or an emotional experience that occurs when a person believes or realizes—accurately or not—that he or she has compromised his or her own standards of conduct or has violated a moral standard and bears significant responsibility for that violation.

So given the definition of guilt, I might suggest your feeling uncomfortable during your ride was because you didn't want to spare a few extra dollars to tip your diver- as such you chose to feel uncomfortable guilt knowing it's just the right thing to do. If it wasn't an uber but a cab you likely would have tipped since it's the norm to tip cabbies.

But instead of taking responsibility for your own emotions, you choose to punish the driver by taking money out of his pocket, wasting his time and gas to drive you to your destination. Because you, and you alone choose to feel uncomfortable because you didn't want to tip even though it's th right thing to do; you chose to feel entitled and blame the driver for your own emotions. How do you sleep at night?

I said some will give a harsh rating of 1-2 especially if a pax is late, puts the pin in the wrong place, etc. But most will rate you a 4 for not tipping.

Why do you believe your entitled to 5* if you don't tip your uber driver? Especially if a driver loses money on your fair because they drove 10 minutes to pick you up for a 3 mile trip? After the commission is taken out, your fare doesn't even cover the cost of gas to pick you up. So you get a 4*. Big deal, you won't be kicked off the platform for a low rating. You just may have to wait longer for a driver to pick you up.

How generous of you. Except 5* doesn't pay my rent.



First off, you sure are giving up a lot of your power to a uber driver. No one has the power to make you feel uncomfortable. You choose to feel uncomfortable.

Second, here is uber's position on rating:
After each trip, riders and drivers are given the opportunity to rate one another based on their trip experience.

The rating system works to make sure that the most respectful riders and drivers are using Uber. Ratings are always reported as averages, and neither riders nor drivers will see the individual rating left for a particular trip. see Uber Help - Ratings

Giving a pax 4* for not tipping isn't damaging a pax rating. But it does express my experience of a pax. Sorry but in my car you don't tip you don't get 5*. As my post stated above a pax rating tells an experienced top driver a lot about them and if it's worth it or not to pick you up. You will get a ride, it just might take longer than a higher rated pax. Or you will get an ignorant newbie or a driver close to deactivation. The only damage you will suffer is not getting a top driver.

Intentionally giving a driver 1* because of a sign could result in a driver being deactivated. Or as a different poster claimed he got his money back because he allowed a driver to make him feel guilty. Seriously!?

If the fact you may get a low rating for not tipping and/or a sign offends you, then please next time take a cab!

Every pax starts off with a 5* rating. After every trip, drivers are required to rate the pax before they can accept their next trip. Your rating then is the sum total of all your ratings divided by the # of rides you've taken.

Welcome to FlyerTalk and thank you for sharing your opinion.

Yes, and this is a point of national shame. Our tipping practices engender fraud and discrimination. I oppose any effort to expand customary tipping.

It's tacky. It usurps Uber's corporate position on tipping.

The whole point of Uber is to be different from cabs. Tipping shrinks that difference. Also, nobody has said a driver deserves 1 star for a sign.

Driving is not preschool where everyone wins. Drivers with low ratings deserve to be terminated because they are providing unsatisfactory customer services. I owe it to my fellow passengers to rate drivers fairly, which in my experience breaks down to 80% 5 and 20% 4 and below.

Say I've taken 1 ride for which I received 5 stars. My rating, per your formula, would be 0.2 stars. You may need to review "simple" math.

In reality, ratings from drivers who habitually hand out low stars can be easily discarded; Uber does not assert any rating is a straight-up arithmetic mean.

These setups are unethical because such transactions involve real names and payment card data which Uber had promised riders would be private and secure. Not all passengers are savvy enough to know that tips on Square are wholly separate from the Uber platform.

Welcome to Flyertalk. Quite the first few posts. I think you've identified precisely why this thread exists. If tipping becomes an expected norm -- which is quite contrary to the published position of Uber itself -- then you should expect to see far fewer 5* ratings from pax.

In general, every Uber driver gets 5* from me unless they've done something stupid on the road or if their car is in awful condition. And even then, it takes quite a lot for me to hand out a rating of less than 4*. Like nearly killing me kind of thing.

If your approach to rating pax becomes the norm and people notice, watch out, I think your rating will easily drop well below 4.7*.

One of the major advantages of Uber versus traditional taxis is not having to deal with drivers who pick and choose their fares. Again, you're not really endearing yourself here or portraying Uber in the best light.

Brilliant :rolleyes:

If Uber changes the pax rating to be done before the payment notification to driver then that will solve most of our gripes here over tipping and not tipping.

Welcome denFAC. Since most Uber riders don't tip, it makes sense for them to avoid drivers who only give 5* ratings to those riders who do. Also, if a driver gives lower ratings to riders who take short trips, then riders who take frequent low fare trips would benefit by knowing which drivers do so. Since driver and rider ratings are represented by a single number, drivers can't tell if a low-rated passenger was abusive or simply an elderly passenger that took short trips to the doctor. Similarly, a low-rated driver may be dangerous or one whose low ratings is due to customers who weren't happy with their ratings. As a precaution, it makes sense for drivers to avoid low-rater riders and riders to avoid low-rated drivers whenever possible.

I started giving every driver that wasn't dangerous 5* ratings because I wanted to support them even if I wouldn't want to ride with them again. Since I never make drivers wait, am polite, don't bring food into their car or slam doors, I feel that I should receive a 5* rating almost every time. Over time, I began considering my rating as a customer when deciding how to rate a less than perfect driver. In other words, I evaluate drivers as strictly as they believe others should be. If a driver gives me a 5* rating, I will continue to give 5* ratings unless the driver is unsafe.

If a driver gives me a low rating, like the 2* rating I received for not tipping, then I might consider a very low rating for them as well. If the rest of the ride was flawless, I might still give a good rating. If the driver was less than ideal, then it's possible that I would rate the driver lower than my rating. Although I was hesitant to rate drivers with a less than perfect score, I believe that drivers who give poor ratings to riders for doing things that are permitted, like taking short rides and not tipping should be avoided.

+1 my sentiments exactly

Has anyone taken uber in Europe since the tipping thing came in? One of the best things about using uber is tsa so aren't pricing abroad and not having to take out local currency.

Since most EU countries don't really expect tips I imagine this wouldn't be as big of a deal as stateside. Any field reports out there ?

Thanks

I have a few things I'd like to say re this subject and a few specific posts. I'm not in a position to sit and do this all at once so if I seem to ramble or jump around a bit please excuse it. I'd be happy to clear up any point I try to make but fail to properly.

First I drive for Uber, I like driving most of the time. Id say about 20-25% of my riders tip. The tips really are what makes it profitable enough for me to drive, if the price of gas goes up much more, I'll be driving less because the profit just will not be there.



I do not agree with rating a rider poorly because they dont tip, on a normal ride, point a to point b. If I pick you up at a grocery store, load your huge cart of groceries into my car drive you home and then unload and carry them up your driveway to the house, yeah, i expect a tip, a nice tip. That isn't what i consider my job. I'll rate poorly for a small tip in that case. I loaded and unloaded and carried the suff up your driveway. Its happed to me, twice. No tip either time, once not even a thank you. Im not talking 2 bags of groceries, it was a trunk full. Other times i expect a tip would include extra stops with a wait. I've waited for people to cash checks, waited in drive throughs for 20 minutes on a busy Saturday night, made stops ant multiple stores. Time is money, .11cents a minute is not compensation. A taxi gets $30-$45/hr to wait, I get $6-$9 depending on the market. Ill rate poorly for no tip if you keep me waiting without compensation via a tip. There are a few other times I'd expect a tip. loading /unloading luggage, or a long trip away from my home area. Contrary to popular belief, a long trip isnt really profitable because I now have to drive back, I went from making a dollar a mile to 50cents a mile. I would ding your rating for the luggage, the long trip probably not unless i felt lile you understood that its a losing ride for me and still stiffed.

I'd never put a sign up, i personally find it a bit tacky but i can not fault a driver for doing so. I would never, ever go on and on hinting for a tip. If Im asked about tipping ill be honest, when i am asked about how the pay is, I mwntion tipping. Yes, people every day, strangers in my car ask me how much money i make. My answer always, i get about x% and if tips are good i make good money, when tips are lean its not very profitable. I feel more than justified in my answer because a) its the truth and b) a stranger asked me about my income.

I cant figure out how to quote multi posts. This would make more sense if i could im sorry.

The driver that posted that she rates low simply because of not tipping. As a driver I have a huge problem with this. It is wrong on so many levels. Then to come into a forum comprised mostly of riders and threaten bad ratings of not tipped obviously not the brightest. We dont all have this practice, I suspect most do not.


You have to know how arrogant of a company Uber is, they used to tell riders the tip is included. This was a complete and total lie! The way they fixed this was to purposely be vauge about tipping, and now say tipping in not expected. Uber is being sued by drivers in several states and tipping is one of the points of contention. I find it insulting that Uber speaks for me on my expectations and extremely arrogant on their behalf. In the proposed settlement of one lawsuit is that Uber make it policy to allow drivers to put up a sign soliciting tips.

Think about this, its part of the settlement to make it policy to allow drivers to solicite tips. On the same day this was announced Uber changed the wording to you the customer to say tipping is not expected, THE SAME DAY. How does that sense? Its my belief that it is simple arrogance and greed that stops Uber from endorsing tipping. Uber isn't very driver friendly, nothing they do is to benefit the drivers. Uber would make no money with a tipping feature in the app, so its not going to happen.

I dont offer water or mints, i do not understand why a rider would expect this, perhaps on a more expensive platform but not on uber x. In my mind, that is just ridiculous. Ill let you charge your phone, i do have various cables. I'm always polite i try to be as efficient as possible and my car is clean and i drove safely. That's what I offer. My rating is good and i have many more positive feedback remarks than complaints. Almost 1000 rides, 4.93, 1 complaint and a few dozen compliments so im doing something right.

I do have more to add but im on a phone and frankly its a pain in the fear.

Look its like this, if you are an uber customer you're getting an exceptional value on non surge rides. The driver isnt making much money on your trip. If you appreciate the ride 2-5 bucks would be a wonderful way of saying thanks and making his day profitable. You would still be receiving an exceptional value, it wouldnt tale that much effort to have a few bucks in cash. If you dont have cash you dont have cash no big deal. Drivers are just trying to make a living , some its a fulltime gig, some a part time but we all do it for the money.

I dont understand the contempt some have against tipping a driver, we want to work, I'd rather uber raised fares 50% and said no tipping but they won't. Orlando, Fl .65cents /mile. LA 95, Detroit, .70 Miami, .85. There is no profit, its more like a loan against the value of the drivers car. L

Part of the proposed settlement to a class action lawsuit is that Uber males it policy to allow signs soliciting tips.

I'm not sure what im missing, how did you get .2 as an average? 1 ride 5 stars, 5/1=5.

Lets say i have 4 rides. 5,5, 5, 5 my average is obviously 5. Then my 5th ride, I have too much to drink or, I dont have cash and FAC is my driver. I get a 2. I have a total of 22 stars in 5 trips. 22/5=4.4.

Or did fac word it wrong, I'm not seeing her post now.
Your rating is average amount of stars received.
Total stars/trips= rating.