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- Uber will soon ban passengers with low ratings, the company announced this week.
- The company did not say what minimum riders would need to meet or what infractions might ding them the most.
- In recent months, Business Insider has asked more than two dozen drivers about their biggest pet peeves.
- Here are some simple ways to make sure your rating is as high as possible.
Uber announced this week that it will soon begin kicking passengers with low ratings off of its app.
The company did not disclose any details, but added that the minimum score (on a 1-5 scale) will be calculated on a per-city average, based on rider ratings in specific markets. The policy will apply to Uber Eats and the company’s Jump bikes and scooters as well, a spokesperson said.
Drivers have long been expected to maintain minimum ratings in order to keep working for Uber, and the company’s head of safety brand and initiatives explained in a press release that the goal was to ensure safety and respect for everyone on the platform.
"Respect is a two-way street, and so is accountability," Kate Parker wrote in the announcement. "Drivers have long been expected to meet a minimum rating threshold which can vary city to city. While we expect only a small number of riders to ultimately be impacted by ratings-based deactivations, it’s the right thing to do."
Read more: Uber and Lyft drivers reveal the things you should never do while taking a ride
Concerned your rating might be too low? It’s easy to check.
Uber
To find out your current rating, an average of ratings from your past rides, simply open the Uber app and visit the main menu. The number below your name, is your rating.
If you risk being booted, Uber will warn you first, and give you ample time to rectify your standing, it said. If your score is already shining, keeping it that way should be simple enough. In conversations with more than two dozen Uber drivers, Business Insider has learned some of the most annoying rider behaviours that could get you dinged.
Most importantly, just be polite!
Many passengers, and probably many of the drivers, want to ride in silence. Still, drivers told Business Insider that contact with riders was one of the few human interactions they might have in a shift, given that they have no boss or office.
"I love to drive, but sometimes when I pick up a customer they don’t say hello and just get in and start giving orders," said Dorothy, a driver in the New York City suburbs.
Like many service workers, drivers often bear the brunt of customer service for Uber.
"Do not be rude to the driver," Toni, a driver in New York, said. "Everyone has a bad day, but you are in someone’s personal vehicle."
Don’t slam the door.
Echoing Toni’s point about your ride often being in a driver’s personal vehicle, slamming the door can also be a quick way to get under someone’s skin.
"Far too many people slam my very light doors," Joe, a driver in Phoenix, said.
Even Uber’s CEO agrees. "Don’t slam the door," he said in a recent interview.
"There’s only one thing that really gets under my skin, even if it really shouldn’t, and that’s slamming my door," said Frank, a driver in Palm Springs, California. "It’s probably less than 1% of passengers who I’ll never see again, but it’s still one of those things."
Read more: Uber and Lyft drivers reveal the most annoying things that passengers do during rides
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- Uber says it will soon ban passengers with low ratings
- Uber and Lyft are betting on self-driving cars to become profitable. But that may not happen, new research from MIT suggests.
- Terrifying video shows a Lyft driver being attacked by a passenger, and it highlights a major fear of many drivers
Source: Business Insider – grapier@businessinsider.com (Graham Rapier)