Ridesharing | Society | Life Lessons
10 Ways To Be a 5-Star Ridesharing Passenger: The Dos & Don’ts.
What I learned as a ridesharing driver in Miami while regenerating myself after personal life issues.
While seeking to get back on my feet after a depression struggle, I killed time as a ridesharing driver. It led me to rediscover human nature. I got to interact with the best and the worst of humankind, engage with generous poor people, face greedy rich bastards, visit secluded neighborhoods, transport half-naked men & women, survive rude passengers, encounter charming people, and have the most incongruous conversations. It gave me sharp images of what I wanted–and didn’t want–for the rest of my life.
In the process, I noted how several ridesharing passengers had misconceptions about Uber’s and Lyft’s services and how a few simple actions could make it a better experience for all parties sitting in the car.
I worked for both major ridesharing companies in the USA. I started on the Florida East Coast in the Cocoa Beach area. I was making some money, but I didn’t enjoy the experience. The only steady business in that part of the world was serving cruise ship passengers, and I don’t know why, but for the most part, they weren’t particularly friendly people, and they all wanted to fit three truckloads of suitcases in one car trunk. Furthermore, the procedure to pick up and drop off people at that terminal is severe pain in the you-know-what.
So I moved down the coast and eventually ended up in Miami. After trying my luck in various neighborhoods, I ended up as a regular driver in South Beach. The traffic jams can be annoying, but the rides were usually quite profitable because of frequent surge pricing and because many wealthy South Beach travelers didn’t have any problem spending $100 for a round trip to their favorite shoe store and $200 to join friends at an overpriced nightclub.
I did that for a few months until I was ready to return to my legitimate business career. And here’s what I noted.
In this article, I’m referring to a ridesharing driver as “he” because I am one. Please kindly consider “he” as inclusive of “she” and any other pronoun you want.
1. Keep In Mind: There’s The Word “Sharing” In Ridesharing
What struck me the most when I started as a ridesharing driver was people’s attitude. It seemed to me that many of my passengers were expecting black-car, white-glove service, although they called Uber or Lyft!
The right attitude goes a long way in making the trip more enjoyable. If you didn’t order a luxury executive vehicle, don’t expect one. I can help you with luggage, for instance, but I am not your personal valet.
“Ridesharing” means that I, the driver, have agreed to share my car with you, the passenger, to make it a win-win trip: you save some money (in theory), and I make a little bit of cash. I realize that in some cases, especially during surge pricing, it may feel like you are paying for black-car white-glove service, but keep in mind that I did not receive the formal training these drivers have. I am just an ordinary citizen trying to do my best with the training I got, which is none.
I am “sharing” my car, which means that it is not a full-blown business operation, and your expectations should be aligned with that fact.
2. Keep In Mind: The Driver Doesn’t Know Every Street in Every Town
Following my experience as a ridesharing driver, I developed the utmost respect for traditional taxi drivers. Before the ridesharing apps showed up, whenever I jumped in a cab and gave an address, the driver knew where to go and how to get there. It’s impressive to me! There is an almost infinite number of addresses. Yet, the taxi driver always gets me to the one I gave him. Hats off to them!
Your ridesharing driver is not like that, especially if he does it as a sideline to help pay for the groceries.
The only reason I was able to bring my passengers to the correct destination was that the app gave me GPS directions. Without that, it would have been impossible for me to do that job. And here’s what it means for you.
If you decide to change the destination or add a stop, I may not have a clue where that new address is. Technically speaking, the app will allow me to do what you are asking. I can mark you as dropped anywhere you want. That is not a problem. The problem is that I don’t know where that is!
So… If your driver asks you to enter the new destination or the additional stop in the app, it is so that he can get you there.
This becomes even more of a problem when going outside the area where you were picked up. After a while, I got to know South Beach’s streets pretty well, but if you hire me for a ride to West Palm Beach (yes, that was a very profitable trip), don’t expect me to be familiar with West Palm Beach’s streets and traffic patterns!
3. Please Note: There Is a Tech Company in California With Bad Technology
One of the ridesharing companies likes to call itself a technology company. Well… I’ll let you in on a secret: their GPS navigation app sucks!
It took me a while to realize that I could not trust their app. At that point, I started running Google Maps in addition to the ridesharing app, but that can get problematic sometimes.
I remember a guy I picked up in Aventura. The ridesharing app sent me East on NE 208th St to cross US 1 onto NE 207th St. OK. Well, guess what? You cannot go straight at that intersection. You must turn right. And once you do, the detour to come back to NE 207th Street is quite an adventure. My passenger was mad as hell at me for having gone up that street, but I was simply following the ridesharing app instructions.
I tested Google Maps later on, and Google didn’t send me that way because… You can’t go that way!
I thought about disobeying traffic laws and crossing US 1, but it’s a 6-lane road at that point. You simply can’t.
So… Give your driver a break if the ridesharing app is wrong. As a passenger, you can see the same GPS directions on your own smartphone.
I got a 2-star review on that trip. Why? That passenger should have left a bad review for the app in the app store.
A similar thing happened in Vero Beach. The ridesharing app told me to drive West on 36th St and turn left on US1 after picking up a passenger at Cleveland Clinic. Well… US1 is a fast-moving 5-lane road at that place. I switched to Google Maps and was properly directed to the 37th St intersection, where there are traffic lights.
So much for being a tech company!
4. Do: Give a 5-Star Rating
In many industries, people who are dissatisfied with a product or service are often more vocal than those pleased with what they got. It’s normal. But here’s the problem for your Uber and Lyft driver: the ridesharing companies don’t care much about the drivers. We are a dime a dozen! And if the driver doesn’t maintain a very high rating (close to 5), he will be dropped like a garbage bag.
So… If unhappy riders leave a bad review and satisfied passengers remain silent, your driver will be in trouble. Therefore, if your ride was OK, give a 5-star review, please! Your driver is most likely struggling to make ends meet. A review costs you nothing.
Tips are a different story. My experience is that most people don’t tip. The most generous tip I got was from a Spanish-speaking maid. She was my passenger from her job in a posh hotel to a ghetto-like neighborhood. I talked with her quite a bit because we were caught in traffic for a while. At the destination, she tendered me a $20 bill as a tip. From what I understood, most drivers were not giving her much consideration because she was “just a maid.” People can be hurtful!
In any case, if you feel like it, please tip. What you are paying in the app is not what your driver gets! But at the very least, leave a 5-star review.
5. Do: When You Request a Pickup, Check Where The Pin Is
I will pick you up where the pin is on the map. It’s that simple! How else could I know where you are? Besides, the GPS navigation will send me exactly where the pin is.
So, please learn to read the map in your app. If you want to be picked up somewhere else, you can move the pin to where you want to be picked up. That’s how we communicate. It’s simple and efficient!
6. Don’t: Make The Pickup or Drop Off Dangerous
On Collins Ave, there’s a popular grocery store with a parking lot in the back. At the back door, there’s an area for picking up and dropping off passengers. Yet, I would regularly have requests for a pickup in the front of the store, where there was no place to stop.
Collins Ave is also the A1A and a bustling street. Not only did these people want me to stop in the middle of a busy traffic lane to pick them up, but they also expected me to get out of the car to help them load the groceries. I guess they didn’t put much value on their life, but… I do!
7. Do: Respect The Laws & Your Driver
I’ve lost count of the number of times I had a group of passengers trying to fit 5 (or more) people in a car sitting four passengers. Or drinking alcohol. Or asking me to do illegal maneuvers.
Your ridesharing driver is doing it to help pay his rent. Yet, you want him to risk getting a fine, losing his driver’s license, or worse. How can you have so little respect for another human being?
The number of seatbelts in my car is the maximum number of people I can carry.
8. Don’t: Eat or Drink
Water is fine. In fact, some ridesharing drivers carry water bottles for passengers in South Florida, especially in the Summer months. Some snacks are also OK if you can eat without leaving the backseat to look like a pigsty.
What is not OK is all the dripping stuff, like an ice cream cone.
Part of my routine as a ridesharing driver included getting my car washed, inside and out, every day. But if you dirty the back seat, how am I gonna clean that up in the middle of South Beach’s rush hour before my next pickup?
I’ll spare you the story of this couple who thought it would be cool for her to caress his sexual parts and make him come on my backseat.
9. Do: Use the Barf Bag
Most ridesharing drivers carry vomit bags. I sure did. After all, I was driving around a party town.
So, if you are drunk, could you please look for such a bag when you get in my car? You may or may not need it, but if you do, you may not have much time to locate it.
And do not ever roll down the window to puke. Your vomit will splash everywhere on the outside and inside of my car. Ridesharing companies have a process by which I can claim an additional fee for the cleanup, but we all know what that means: a 1-star review from you!
So why not make it easy on everybody? Locate and use the barf bag. If you do not see it in the back pocket right in front of you, ask!
The best passengers I had in that regard were those who asked me to pull over when they felt it was about to happen. I appreciated it. Take the barf bag and step out of the car for a minute. That is a 5-star review for you!
10. Do: Respect The Vehicle
Remember the first topic we discussed in this article? It’s called a “ridesharing” service because I am inviting you to share my personal car. It is not a company car. If you damage it, I will be stuck with that damage for a long time. And once there is too much damage, I will start getting bad reviews because of you.
I picked up a young woman one day who put her feet around the headrest of the copilot seat. At first, I didn’t see a problem with that. She had very sexy feet and tantalizing stiletto shoes–a bit like the gal in the picture at the top of this article. But after she left, I realized she also had her feet resting against the back of the front seat at one point. Marks from her stilettos remained there… Forever.
And then, there was that guy with a huge backpack. He refused my help to put it in the trunk. He wanted to keep it with him in the back seat. That thing was about the size of my backseat, and when he left, he scratched my tinted window. That also remained there forever.
There is a lot of talk in the media about dangerous ridesharing drivers and how to protect yourself as a passenger. It’s a valid concern. However, these bad apples do not represent the population of ridesharing drivers out there. And there’s the flip side of things.
Being a good rider makes your current trip a lot more enjoyable. Plus… If there are enough excellent riders out there, you will find that your driver will go the extra mile to accommodate you and the next passenger.
In the comments below, please share with me your best and worst ridesharing experiences–as drivers and riders. Have a good day! Ride safe!
Today, let’s reach out to at least one friend to check out on them before it’s too late.
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“A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.” ~James Keller
I published this story in A Windy Life, a publication on Medium.
