How harsh/lenient are you when rating drivers?
May 24, 2019, 8:23 am
#16
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 183
Seeing how drivers can get booted for relatively high scores you should be careful what you rate. I'd only give a 1 if I truly believe that person shouldn't be driving Uber. I basically only give 5s, maybe a 4 if they do something rude to me personally.
May 24, 2019, 9:25 am
#17
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: New York
Programs: AA Exp / Marriott Titanium / Hilton Gold / Hyatt Globalist / United Silver
Posts: 958
The only two 1s I ever gave:
"you are my last passenger. want to grab a drink?"
> no. can I get out please?
"please. i had a long day"
> "can i get out please?"
"I don't know many people in this city. it would be great if we can hang out"
> "please let me out"
The other occasion - this driver in Sydney told me he could turn off the Uber and give me a tour of the city.
Made sure both of them got kicked out of the platform.
If you get me from point A to point B, it will be an automatic 5 from me.
"you are my last passenger. want to grab a drink?"
> no. can I get out please?
"please. i had a long day"
> "can i get out please?"
"I don't know many people in this city. it would be great if we can hang out"
> "please let me out"
The other occasion - this driver in Sydney told me he could turn off the Uber and give me a tour of the city.
Made sure both of them got kicked out of the platform.
If you get me from point A to point B, it will be an automatic 5 from me.
May 24, 2019, 9:28 am
#18
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: FW, TX, USA, Earth, Milky Way
Programs: 2008 FT1 Fantasy Football Champion
Posts: 10,584
If you read other threads on FT and other transportation network driver forums (or whatever Uber/Lyft is calling themselves these days), anything under a 5 means you want the driver termed. Neither publish their rating qualifications, but it seems like a driver is likely to be dropped if their rating drops below like 4.7ish.
I know I have commented, here and elsewhere, about the steady erosion of meaningful rating metrics, where anything under the top score is considered a major fail.
I know I have commented, here and elsewhere, about the steady erosion of meaningful rating metrics, where anything under the top score is considered a major fail.
May 24, 2019, 11:21 am
#21
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: DFW
Programs: UA 1K, AA Platinum, Hilton Diamond, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 466
I've done a little driving for Uber and Lyft on the side. I've had fun with it and try to help with luggage, obey traffic laws, have both hands on the steering wheel most of the time, and pretty much only speak when spoken too.
That said, when I'm a passenger I give lower stars for not moving the front seat up when I ride in back. Petty? I also had a driver who had dog hair all over the seat and seemed surprised I didn't want to sit in it. My big pet peeve, again, is not following basic laws. I realize in my city and no one signals. but I recently had a ride where he didn't signal once. He ran multiple "no right turn on red signs" and just rolled through all the stop signs. Holding the phone in your hand with a dash mount is annoying and dangerous too.
That said, when I'm a passenger I give lower stars for not moving the front seat up when I ride in back. Petty? I also had a driver who had dog hair all over the seat and seemed surprised I didn't want to sit in it. My big pet peeve, again, is not following basic laws. I realize in my city and no one signals. but I recently had a ride where he didn't signal once. He ran multiple "no right turn on red signs" and just rolled through all the stop signs. Holding the phone in your hand with a dash mount is annoying and dangerous too.
May 24, 2019, 11:23 am
#22
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 4,374
Extreme hypothetical situation, but please humor me.
You get there, but the driver had a pornography poster draped on the passenger seat. The entire ride, you're asked invasive questions such as the size of your genitalia. Nazi memorabilia are in the car (this actually happened to me once). Upskirt cameras mounted on the floor, which you discover as you are getting out of the car.
Five stars?
You get there, but the driver had a pornography poster draped on the passenger seat. The entire ride, you're asked invasive questions such as the size of your genitalia. Nazi memorabilia are in the car (this actually happened to me once). Upskirt cameras mounted on the floor, which you discover as you are getting out of the car.
Five stars?
May 24, 2019, 3:27 pm
#23
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 3,097
I've given less than a 5 exactly once, it was a guy in New Jersey whose car reeked of smoke, who drove like an absolute maniac (I am an aggressive driver and was convinced at three different points on this trip to EWR that we were about to wreck), and who spent the whole trip trying to tell me and my cow-orker about some weird real estate hustle/scam he was in (he wasn't, shockingly, trying to get us to "invest" or anything, he was just making smalltalk).
When I got in the car I should have immediately told him to get lost but we were way out in the burbs and we were already running late for our flights.
May 24, 2019, 4:47 pm
#24
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Grand County, Colorado
Programs: IHG Plat, HH D, UA GS, Perm BonVoyed
Posts: 2,013
In about 100 trips, I've given less than a 5 just a few times.
Most memorable, an Uber in Dania Beach, Florida had hip-hop music on an obscene volume level and the seats in "ghetto lean" no turning down the music, no acknowledgement if I wanted the channel changed etc.
Most memorable, an Uber in Dania Beach, Florida had hip-hop music on an obscene volume level and the seats in "ghetto lean" no turning down the music, no acknowledgement if I wanted the channel changed etc.
May 25, 2019, 2:57 pm
#26
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NYC
Posts: 27,230
So if the music is loud, do you ask them to turn it down first, or automatically ding them on the rating?
Arugably, the former could result in them dinging you on the rating. ("Demanding passenger.")
Of course the proper etiquette would be for the driver to proactively ask if the music volume is too high/low (or seat too far back) and make it clear he wants you to be happy. That's the type of proactive service that gets a hotel 5-stars, why should the bare minimum get 5-stars on Uber?
While I think the ratings system is important in theory, I think it's become kind of meaningless. Maybe it should be "Would you ride with this driver again? Yes/No" which in theory means a higher threshold for a reason to downvote the driver.
Arugably, the former could result in them dinging you on the rating. ("Demanding passenger.")
Of course the proper etiquette would be for the driver to proactively ask if the music volume is too high/low (or seat too far back) and make it clear he wants you to be happy. That's the type of proactive service that gets a hotel 5-stars, why should the bare minimum get 5-stars on Uber?
While I think the ratings system is important in theory, I think it's become kind of meaningless. Maybe it should be "Would you ride with this driver again? Yes/No" which in theory means a higher threshold for a reason to downvote the driver.
May 25, 2019, 8:16 pm
#27
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: DFW, DAL
Programs: AA Lifetime Plat, SWA A-list +
Posts: 1,007
gave a 1* last week but agree most of mine are 5 or not rated. a 1 * was because 1) the car reeked of smoke, despite the no-smoking sign in the car and 2) had a tire issue which had a droning sound. I have given up on UberX. The quality of the cars and the drivers has gone done hill to be on par with the cabs in Dallas, which I was trying to get away from. I have switched to UberBlack and while 3x the money have been very happy with the service.
May 25, 2019, 10:51 pm
#28
Suspended
Join Date: May 2006
Location: HKG
Programs: A3, TK *G; JL JGC; SPG,Hilton Gold
Posts: 9,952
Why would one even rate these tax dodging pirates?
Extremely pleased when they were booted out of Denmark, for failure to comply with current legislation. In the aftermath of that, and following Uber Europe's surrender of driver statistics to the tax authorities, it was discovered that only 3 out of 2000 drivers had reported their income to the tax man. The fines are equal to the taxes owed, resulting in a large handful of drivers ending up with 100K+ USD bills. Serves the leeching .......s right.
Gig economy BS.
Extremely pleased when they were booted out of Denmark, for failure to comply with current legislation. In the aftermath of that, and following Uber Europe's surrender of driver statistics to the tax authorities, it was discovered that only 3 out of 2000 drivers had reported their income to the tax man. The fines are equal to the taxes owed, resulting in a large handful of drivers ending up with 100K+ USD bills. Serves the leeching .......s right.
Gig economy BS.
May 26, 2019, 6:54 am
#29
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: FAT
Posts: 146
I’m pretty lenient. 5 unless something ridiculous happens, although I only ride share about a dozen times a year. I’ve only once given a 1. (At WDW, car smelled like smoke, was a mess inside & the driver was driving ridiculous. Even at midnight 60 in a 30 zone is not ok.)
May 27, 2019, 2:58 am
#30
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Sydney, Australia
Programs: BA Gold, QF Platinum, SQ Silver
Posts: 281
Giving only 4s and 5s makes the whole system meaningless in my eyes (but I’ve been a marketing researcher all my career and rating scales are my bread and butter). And worse- then single outliers in rating have far too big a sway on the average rating.
Worst is that Uber’s discriptors don’t help as they make it sound as if a 4 out of 5 was a total disaster. So, total bs in my eyes and hence this is how I am rating (I bet that at the backend, Uber just adjusts my ratings because the algorithm recognises me as in their eyes ‘harsh’). I also strongly believe it’s an insult to a super friendly helpful driver if he gets the same 5 as an unfriendly smelly dumb driver. Not fair.
5 Friendly but unobstrusive conversation, half way decent English skills, helped with luggage and didn’t fail on the basics. Brownie points for providing minties it water or for particularly pleasant conversations.
4 Friendly enough but either annoying conversation or some other minor issues like horrid music or bad navigation skills.
3 is middle of the scale so got me to my location (in the end) but far from perfect. Smelly car for example of not bothering to help with luggage. Also in this bucket are stupid drivers who do not find the pick up stop, take the wrong route or otherwise are clearly in the wrong job.
2 includes drivers who speed, type messages while driving, miss red lights or get into fights with other drivers. Usually goes hand in hand with a complaint though i know that neither Uber (nor Lyft not Ola) ever care.
1 is the really bad ones- dangerous driving, sexual or otherwise dodgy topics without your consent, homophobia. Instant complaint as well on those.
The other way round, my rating as a passenger is directly correlated to whether I drive by myself or whether I happen to be with my boyfriend. Especially if I then end up with drivers of Middle Eastern background, homophobic votes of 1 or 2 directly hurt my overall rating. And no, we don’t even tend to hold hands even though we have all right to do so. Especially if the driver is of certain ethnic backgrounds, I won’t even go there as we car too often even got homophobic slurs for just sharing a ride.
Worst is that Uber’s discriptors don’t help as they make it sound as if a 4 out of 5 was a total disaster. So, total bs in my eyes and hence this is how I am rating (I bet that at the backend, Uber just adjusts my ratings because the algorithm recognises me as in their eyes ‘harsh’). I also strongly believe it’s an insult to a super friendly helpful driver if he gets the same 5 as an unfriendly smelly dumb driver. Not fair.
5 Friendly but unobstrusive conversation, half way decent English skills, helped with luggage and didn’t fail on the basics. Brownie points for providing minties it water or for particularly pleasant conversations.
4 Friendly enough but either annoying conversation or some other minor issues like horrid music or bad navigation skills.
3 is middle of the scale so got me to my location (in the end) but far from perfect. Smelly car for example of not bothering to help with luggage. Also in this bucket are stupid drivers who do not find the pick up stop, take the wrong route or otherwise are clearly in the wrong job.
2 includes drivers who speed, type messages while driving, miss red lights or get into fights with other drivers. Usually goes hand in hand with a complaint though i know that neither Uber (nor Lyft not Ola) ever care.
1 is the really bad ones- dangerous driving, sexual or otherwise dodgy topics without your consent, homophobia. Instant complaint as well on those.
The other way round, my rating as a passenger is directly correlated to whether I drive by myself or whether I happen to be with my boyfriend. Especially if I then end up with drivers of Middle Eastern background, homophobic votes of 1 or 2 directly hurt my overall rating. And no, we don’t even tend to hold hands even though we have all right to do so. Especially if the driver is of certain ethnic backgrounds, I won’t even go there as we car too often even got homophobic slurs for just sharing a ride.