Loose Cannon

I'm at 4.78 or 4.79. I suppose everyone starts at 5.

Steve Ray

I don't ever rate my passengers based on tip. When I first started driving for Uber back in July, I was told that if a passenger offers a tip, let them know tipping is not necessary. I know passengers are told tipping is not required and feel they should not be rated lower because they didn't do something that Uber told them they didn't have to do.
I picked up I rider today with a 4.41 star rating and she had her Boyfriend/Husband with her. I know it's her Boyfriend that causes the drivers to give her lower ratings because I he started asking me questions (which I have no problem with), but then got mad when I didn't say what he wanting to hear. He also started to cuss me out and swear at me. The actual rider on the account even tried to tell him to stop, but he still wouldn't. I ended up rating them 1 star and reported the account to Uber as well. I've picked up a passenger with a 4.01 star rating a couple months ago and did not have any problems with her, she even tipped me as well.

kb9522

Yeah. That can't be the whole story.

joe_miami

No tipping or reporting an overcharge are sure ways to have one's Uber rating decreased. I was a perfect 5 for my first year as an Uber user, but I started getting 4s after Uber added the tipping option (which I almost never use), and, incredibly, Uber allows drivers to go back and change ratings up to a week later, which can be used as retaliation if, e.g., an overcharge is reported.

alanslegal

Maybe you should catch cabs from now on? The fare is displayed and you pay for the amount when you arrive at your destination .... much simpler.

joe_miami

Really? I thought Uber was supposed to be a "solution" to taxis? Things change quickly, I guess.

kb9522

Or maybe Uber should do something about the rampant bribery and extortion among their drivers.

Blaming the victim is a pretty shady thing to do.

alanslegal

Anyway, if you don't like something about Uber - such as your alleged "rampant bribery and extortion among their drivers", either let Uber know about it with some experience/evidence and if they don't satisfactorily resolve your concern/issue/suggestion - then don't use Uber. Nobody is forcing you to use a service you do not like.

Besides, correct me if I am wrong here, but the OP complained in several threads so I got fed up and kept my response short and concise - wrongly or rightly.

alanslegal

So I pulled up all your comments in this thread and it appears to me that 1. you hate the tipping culture 2. drivers are often late and 3. you do not like the Uber platform because it is based upon extortion or rampant bribery in return for 5*. So my question to you is why bother using Uber then?

Astrophsx

Probably so that they can have something to complain about.

kb9522

I don't any more. I use a limo service or rental car. Sometimes UberEATS because of the AMEX credits, but with the excessive booking fees now, I rarely even use that.

I'm here posting and responding to comments based on my past experiences.

travelleru

Been an Uber User for a fair while now, and noticed that my rating appears to be dropping on every ride now.




My rating has fluctuated over the 4.8 for a long time now, but over my my last few trips it’s dropped to 4.74. I’ve read posts about drivers not picking up passengers who are below 4.7 so this is a little bit worrying.




My reasons for posting is to ask uber drivers why this might be happening?




I am a courteous guy, full of please and thank you’s. I never book a car until I’m where I want to be picked up, so drivers never have to wait for me. Sometimes I have to work in the car, but before I do I always apologise for being “rude” but that I am only being silent as I’m working, but always say please feel free to listen to their radio or whatever. I never eat or drink on the car, and leave it in the same condition as when I leave. When I leave I always make sure to never slam doors, and when getting luggage from the boot/trunk I am careful to never scratch paintwork or damage upholstery.




Its fair to say I go above and beyond to ensure I am an easy, polite passenger. So why is my rating dropping?




is it because there is often a delay in my rating

of drivers? Often when I leave the car I don’t immediately stand on the pavement and rate/tip my driver. I usually get into my house, or the airport terminal, or wherever I am going and when I sit down I tip and rate. I have never given less than a 5 star rating, and always tip (where it’s available).




So drivers - is there something you notice which annoys you about passengers? Apart from rude, or drunk, or demanding passengers? Something which might be a little more subtle that I might unknowingly be doing? Or is it because the tip is not instant?




Thanks in advance.

steve64

TL;DR ...
You sound like the perfect passenger.
So I can only guess that you've had a couple of drivers who feel the default passenger rating is a 4 and only upgrade if you give an instant monetary tip. I feel this is asinine, but that's just my opinion. And it may not have all been your recent trips as the rating is "weighted" to recent trips. And I don't think you have to worry about these minor "hic-cups" in your rating having any effect on your Uber experience.
...

Full answer....
Well, I can't respond specifically to your question since I'm a USA driver.
I will say that (in the USA) drivers must rate the passenger before they can receive their next ride request. It is literally, "goodbye" to you, swipe COMPLETE TRIP on my Uber Driver App, then swipe COMPLETE RATING which defaults to a "5". In other words ... "goodbye" swipe, swipe ... and you have a 5 star rating before you enter the door of your destination. So as far as a tip (via the app), I'm clueless at that point. Granted, drivers (and I assume passengers ??) can call Uber Support to change a rating (obviously, after the fact). But to monitor tips and go back thru this process would be a major pain.

I retired early (at age 58) and drive for Uber only as a supplement. Which means I typically only drive one day a week. Several days without driving, I have seen my rating change ... add tips being added. Once I even had an automated deposit into my checking account (we're paid weekly via direct deposit) in a week when I had zero driving. I found it to be a tip from a trip of the previous week. The point being, I've heard (and now believe) that passengers are reminded to rate (and tip) before requesting their next ride. It's not immediate like the driver's (essential) requirement to rate asap.

I will say that a driver's rating is based only on the last 500 (rated ??) rides.
I don't know if this applies to passenger ratings, but it does make sense. Perhaps you've recently (from bad luck if nothing else) have received a few "bad apple" ratings. Initially, they may not have mattered much in your overall rating ... but as older 5 Star rides "fell off", it resulting in a continuing lowering of your "last 500" average.

I will say that the passenger's rating isn't as important (to Uber) as the driver's rating.
Uber can (and will) deactivate a driver if their average drops below 4.6 (maybe that cutoff is market specific).
I don't think Uber will cancel a passenger's account on ratings alone. As a driver, when I get a ride request, all I know is how far away you are (in Uber estimated minutes) and your rating. So I have very little info to base my "accept/decline" decision on (and if I don't "accept" within about 10 seconds, it defaults to a "decline" which is a minor mark against me for future requests). Most drivers have a "minimum rating" in their mind and plan to decline any ride requests below it. And in reality, many of my ride request come in while I'm nearing my current passenger's destination ... I don't have the time to "study" the request, so I "accept" it. All this to say that a lower passenger rating is not as arbitrary as a lower driver rating. You may have a rating of "2" and Uber will still accept you, though you may have to wait longer for a driver who will agree to take you (without knowing where you're going).

So from the Ubers view, a driver being rated 4 or lower is considered a "FAIL".
A passenger can be rated anything, it's up to the driver to decide if they want the $$$ or not. If a driver declines, Uber keeps pinging drivers until they get an "accept". Uber earns their $$$ either way, so a passenger has to be really bad (violate Terms & Conditions) before the passenger gets "fired" from Uber. The passenger's rating is almost moot (except if I rate you low, Uber will not in the future assign me to you again ... or so I've heard).

My personal thought is that all of my passengers are a 5 by default.
I've only had one who I though of rating as a 4 .... his pick-up location was off a bit, his drop off address was 4 blocks off (transposed numerals) and he reeked of alcohol & tobacco (which leaves me concerned that my next passenger will down rate me for the lingering smell).
But you know what ?? ... it was a busy night in a busy area so I was "goodbye...swipe...swipe" and within seconds of drop-off, he had his 5 star and I was available for my next fare. Who knows if/when and what he will rate me. I will never know.

All of my passengers (as in 100% of anybody taking an "uber" in my car) have been rated as 5 Star.
I, as a diver, have a very high rating, close to 5 Stars (always have been 4.9 or higher) . But only about 20% of my riders have taken the time to rate me. I'm only a couple of bad ratings away from (potentially) being deactivated (this is supposed to motivate me how ???). And many riders think of their rating (to the driver) of 4 as being "above average", not as the "FAIL" that Uber will interpret it as. The system is not fair.
I heard that to address this "unfair" issue that Uber now requires drivers and riders trying to issue a rating of 4 or below to click a generic reason as to why.

cestmoi123

One thing I've noticed recently - in NYC, drivers are no longer rating Uber Pool passengers. Pax still rate the drivers, but no passenger ratings. Wonder if Uber saw consistently lower ratings from Pool, and decided it wasn't worth it/helpful. Also, other pax would see the driver rating the person who just got out of the car, so maybe that had something to do with it.

Points Scrounger

Not long ago on an Uberpool ride, the driver remarked with some surprise, "Wow, you guys both have perfect 5.0 ratings!" I always rate drivers; it's possible I gave a 4 once, but otherwise all fives, including the older woman whose trip felt like a scene from Mr. Magoo! In that case, I received an unsolicited apology from Uber as the arrival time significantly exceeded their estimate.