There are few mysteries left in life, but the logic behind your Uber rating rising or falling is one of them.
A high rating is cherished to the point that every third person you match with on a dating app will show off their 4.8 or 4.9 rating in their profile, but you’re trying to figure out how yours keeps slipping and slipping.
It probably doesn’t help that you don’t remember a bunch of your trips, having either fallen asleep in the back seat or completely forgotten the entire night in question, let alone the Uber ride.
However, there’s some advice you can commit to memory in an effort to get a perfect five stars next time. Why should you listen to it? Well it comes from an actual Uber driver, for a start – specifically a 4.9-rated female driver, working in Manchester.
Considering how simple some of the steps are, it’s a wonder we’re not all getting full marks every time.
Here are your key tips:
1. Giving your driver the proper location – that means not just relying on the pin on the map, but actually making sure it corresponds to where you actually are – and being ready when they show up are both important, and they’re probably the two things most comfortably within your control.
Get both of these right and you’re already in the driver’s good books – sure, sometimes you’ll be getting picked up from an unfamiliar location but if you know the address (or if you’re getting picked up from your house) this one ought to be a gimme.
2. Another key to upping your rating is sticking to the maximum number of people that legally fit in the car. If you’re thinking “well, obviously”, you’re already one step closer than the rare passengers who try to cram five or six people into a car that only fits four.
3. Furthermore, and this might shock you, arguing with a driver who doesn’t let you break the law might not be the best way to earn yourself a high score.
4. And speaking of arguing with the driver, try not to force your music on them. Drivers will usually be okay handing over the aux cord – and some will even create specially curated playlists for you – but it doesn’t hurt to ask nicely.
5. In fact, good manners in general will get you a long way – that means minding your language and taking care not to slam the door. But drivers often are up for a chat, and many prefer company and a back-and-forth to a silent customer glued to their phone.
A couple of the other tips are common sense for anyone who has been in a regular black cab before – or at least they ought to be.
Cabbies will often refuse to pick you up if you’re stood on the side of the road biting into a kebab, and, while Uber drivers won’t stop you getting in with food, leaving them with a mess to clear up isn’t likely to win you a new fan.
Similarly, backseat driving in a black cab is generally not a good look unless your driver’s visibly lost, so an Uber driver with sat nav at their disposal isn’t likely to take kindly to different directions being shouted from over their shoulder.
And the final tip? It’s a literal tip. You’d chuck in a little extra cash for good service elsewhere, so why not here too?
(Images: Getty)
