Should I give this perfectly good Uber driver a 1 star rating?

[Pacolovestacos]

Actually I'm not asking for me but I just read this blog post on a website.

What are your thoughts?

 

[mjkacmom]

I'd rate a 4, I'd base it on service. Who knows if the driver gave him 1 star.

 

[Westcoastwild]

Actually I'm not asking for me but I just read this blog post on a website.

What are your thoughts?

Well...this is why I don't uber or use airbnb. I think the mutual rating system is BS and artificially inflates the ratings all around. I actually have no problem with tipping but I don't agree with people that it's "part of the expense". No. You're paying for a service. You're not a "guest" in an airbnb home or car. You're not a "guest" at a restaurant. It's their job to provide the service to begin with. The cost of the service should cover their overhead. Tips are either to maintain a relationship or to reward excellent service.

So in her case: I would tip that guy if we were talking about a town with few drivers. Just like I would tip the only taxi service in a small town. That's the first. I would tip the guy if he'd been awesome- helped with luggage, interacted with her. That's the second.

But I don't agree that she should not tip based on price. You know the whole point about the different uber services? I think she's full of it. It isn't based on what you spend. The amount may be but whether or not you tip isn't.

Anyway. The only thing drivers/hosts should be able to rate customers on is 1) did they cause damage or unsafe conditions 2) did they pay their bill. Those should be the only criteria. Otherwise the system (as it now) means absolutely nothing. It's retaliatory. As seen in her whole post. The guy got her where she wanted to go. That's like a 3. I realize 3 isn't a good score on uber, but that pretty much should be the average score across the board. instead 5 is probably the average score because people are worried about their own score dropping.

 

[loves to dive]

He didn't say the condition of the car but if the driver got him where he was going in a timely manner, I don't see any reason not to rate him 4 or 5 stars. There is no way of knowing if that was the driver that lowered his rating. My son takes Uber just about every day, we live in a college town so most of the drivers are college students. His trips aren't more than $5 or $6 (smallish town) and he says he never tips. I think he is a platinum member (whatever that means) because he uses them so much. He told me one day his driver was his next door neighbor, he got the message they were on the way, walked out his door, saw the neighbor walking our hers, get in her car and pull into his driveway. He also said she was high as a kite but he didn't give her a bad rating, seeing as how she was his neighbor and all and she did get him where he was going.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Do people tip their taxi driver? That's what Uber is.

But I also don't know why this blogger would give 5 stars for "a perfectly fine ride". What would cause them to give 4 or 3 stars?

 

[Westcoastwild]

He didn't say the condition of the car but if the driver got him where he was going in a timely manner, I don't see any reason not to rate him 4 or 5 stars. There is no way of knowing if that was the driver that lowered his rating. My son takes Uber just about every day, we live in a college town so most of the drivers are college students. His trips aren't more than $5 or $6 (smallish town) and he says he never tips. I think he is a platinum member (whatever that means) because he uses them so much. He told me one day his driver was his next door neighbor, he got the message they were on the way, walked out his door, saw the neighbor walking our hers, get in her car and pull into his driveway. He also said she was high as a kite but he didn't give her a bad rating, seeing as how she was his neighbor and all and she did get him where he was going.

Holy cow. I don't agree with your son on that one. That's a reportable offense and I wouldn't even get in the car. What if she'd hit a kid or wrecked her car? It's not just your son putting himself at risk- by not reporting and by letting her drive, he's putting others at risk.

 

[mnrose]

Tipping in Uber IS confusing. There's no way to tip "in app" and I generally am using Uber because I DON'T have cash on me. If there was the ability to tip in the app, I probably would add a tip, but without cash, exactly how do you tip the Uber driver?

Lyft provides the means to tip in the app.

I DO tip taxi drivers, depending....if it's a short trip, probably not. If it's a longer ride, yes. Mostly just rounding up...e.g., if the ride is 13.56, I'll round it up to an even $15.

 

[RedAngie]

Does a passenger HAVE to rate the driver? Will they stop accepting you as a passenger if you continually decline to rate the service?

I hate this rating nonsense many businesses have, especially if anything less than a perfect score is considered a failure.

If this is how it works, I'll gladly pay more for a taxi on the rare occasions I need a ride just to avoid this rating BS.

 

[Pacolovestacos]

I could have sworn that years ago Uber did have in-app tipping but they got rid of it. Can anyone else confirm that?

 

[Praying Colonel]

I could have sworn that years ago Uber did have in-app tipping but they got rid of it. Can anyone else confirm that?

It's never had in-app tipping AFAIK.

I'd rate a driver based on how I think the driver did his job, period.

I started using Uber because I like doing the whole transaction via the app. If it starts being a thing where a cash tip is expected, I'll stop using Uber and use Lyft.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Do people tip their taxi driver? That's what Uber is.

But I also don't know why this blogger would give 5 stars for "a perfectly fine ride". What would cause them to give 4 or 3 stars?

Tecnically other than the taxi version of Uber...Uber isn't a taxi service. In fact that's exactly why they've run into many problems with many cities. They don't want to be considered a taxi service which means they have to abide by rules and laws set up for taxis. They are a ride-sharing company.

 

[amberpi]

I use Uber all the time, and never rate my drivers. Its annoying.

 

[Kitty 34]

I use Uber all the time, and never rate my drivers. Its annoying.

The drivers or the ratings??

 

[amberpi]

The drivers or the ratings??

The ratings. They don't even come up for me anymore

 

[amberpi]

The ratings. They don't even come up for me anymore

Also, haha!

 

[wenrob]

Do people tip their taxi driver? That's what Uber is.

But I also don't know why this blogger would give 5 stars for "a perfectly fine ride". What would cause them to give 4 or 3 stars?

Nope, not the same at all. Taxi drivers are licensed and bonded (at least here they are) with the company they drive for insuring them. Not the case with Uber drivers as far as I know. Pretty much if you have a car and are willing to take people places you can be an Uber driver. http://www.alvia.com/uber-driver-requirements/
Personally I'm going with a cab that has a reputable company backing them.

I do tip my cab driver. It's the norm. Tipping Uber drivers is not the norm and should not be expected. That's the deal they signed up for. That said, I'm from Vegas, I tip everyone so I'd more than likely tip them.

On the subject of rating I'm kind of torn. On one hand if someone can drag my rating down out of spite my instinct is to retaliate in kind. However, that's not the grown up thing to do. On the other hand, there's just no way of knowing if that particular driver caused this person's score to go down. Does he know for a fact ratings are instantaneous? In my experience they're usually not. I'd probably not leave feedback at all.

 

[Vijoge]

I never even thought about checking my rating until I saw this thread. I'm 4.82 but have no idea what it's based on.

 

[Westcoastwild]

Tecnically other than the taxi version of Uber...Uber isn't a taxi service. In fact that's exactly why they've run into many problems with many cities. They don't want to be considered a taxi service which means they have to abide by rules and laws set up for taxis. They are a ride-sharing company.

Yeah, but technically, the independent drivers are the equivalent of taxi drivers working for themselves. It's not true ride sharing.

 

[wenrob]

Yeah, but technically, the independent drivers are the equivalent of taxi drivers working for themselves. It's not true ride sharing.

Legally, that's not what they are. It's also not what they advertise as. They can have their cake or they can eat it but they can't have both.

 

[Westcoastwild]

Legally, that's not what they are. It's also not what they advertise as. They can have their cake or they can eat it but they can't have both.

Right, I agree that's not what they are. They want the benefits of being a taxi with none of the regulation. Although I'd argue that the advertising doesn't match people's perception. Like I said. It's not true ride sharing. People are paying for a service. People are essentially paying for a cheaper version of a taxi. Not a shared service. Not public transit. A taxi service. Name is just semantics.