[Steve B.]

I am in the Columbia, SC market and all of my business is centered pretty much for the students of USC and trips from the dorm to a bar... My vehicle is as clean as could be and I am as nice as I could be with greeting them and asking if they would like the AC on or off, and so on

These are mainly college girls in the 18 to 22 year old range and my rating is 3.63 right now after 11 trips... I know the more trips the less your rating takes a hit, but what can anyone suggest to help me here to get ratings I deserve??

Any ideas or past experiences with this clientele? I want to stay a driver and I am in fear of my rating... I can not tell who posted what rating so I can not go over what trip I did badly and how to improve it

Help.....

 

[Teksaz]

Leave the ****ed up Millennials to the more desperate and try something different. You'll be glad you did.

Work the morning shift and take nice people to work. 5*'s

 

[Disgusted Driver]

That crowd can be tough, I know, I get them a lot and occasionally get the random 1 or 3. Nothing to be done about it aside from avoiding them. At this point however, you have so few ratings that it's not clear if there is even a trend. It could be a 1, a 4 and a couple of 5's, not enough data yet.

 

[TimFromMA]

If I know I'm getting a 1*, you better believe I'll earn it.

 

[Renaldow]

Find a new crowd. The easy/quick $$ is tempting, but the pain of getting it isn't. I'd start just giving all millenials a 1*. That won't help your rating, but maybe it will make you feel better as you watch yours go down. Start doing mornings, airports, train stations, etc and build up a decent rating. Then dip into the 'college fund' when necessary and your rating won't take that big of a hit.

 

[UberMeansSuper]

college fund

That's a great name for the college pax!

 

[Courtney2010]

I am in the Columbia, SC market and all of my business is centered pretty much for the students of USC and trips from the dorm to a bar... My vehicle is as clean as could be and I am as nice as I could be with greeting them and asking if they would like the AC on or off, and so on

These are mainly college girls in the 18 to 22 year old range and my rating is 3.63 right now after 11 trips... I know the more trips the less your rating takes a hit, but what can anyone suggest to help me here to get ratings I deserve??

Any ideas or past experiences with this clientele? I want to stay a driver and I am in fear of my rating... I can not tell who posted what rating so I can not go over what trip I did badly and how to improve it

Help.....

I am in the Columbia, SC market and all of my business is centered pretty much for the students of USC and trips from the dorm to a bar... My vehicle is as clean as could be and I am as nice as I could be with greeting them and asking if they would like the AC on or off, and so on

These are mainly college girls in the 18 to 22 year old range and my rating is 3.63 right now after 11 trips... I know the more trips the less your rating takes a hit, but what can anyone suggest to help me here to get ratings I deserve??

Any ideas or past experiences with this clientele? I want to stay a driver and I am in fear of my rating... I can not tell who posted what rating so I can not go over what trip I did badly and how to improve it

Help.....

You have to drive in different areas for a bit to get your rating up and then a couple of dings won't kill you. People going to or leaving work tend to be good and they mostly understand the uber system and that low ratings are really for truly horrible rides.

My rating goes down a bit every time I drive in an area with college students but I have about 250 rides in so the effect is minimal. The good news is that with only 11 rides in , your rating can go back up as fast as it went down.

Don't worry you will improve your rating eventually and they will grow up and discover what it is like to work for a living.

 

[Vegas Dave]

I am in the Columbia, SC market and all of my business is centered pretty much for the students of USC and trips from the dorm to a bar... My vehicle is as clean as could be and I am as nice as I could be with greeting them and asking if they would like the AC on or off, and so on

These are mainly college girls in the 18 to 22 year old range and my rating is 3.63 right now after 11 trips... I know the more trips the less your rating takes a hit, but what can anyone suggest to help me here to get ratings I deserve??

Any ideas or past experiences with this clientele? I want to stay a driver and I am in fear of my rating... I can not tell who posted what rating so I can not go over what trip I did badly and how to improve it

Help.....

 

[Vegas Dave]

Everyone that replied to you, is right on. Most college kids have no clue as to how the rating system works, nor do they care and you need to know this when they get in. I get the same ratings from them, but I don't let them walk all over me, I stay focused on the ride, I'm always polite, and I always stay away from the late night drinking crowd, you just can't win, they all seem to think that a 1 or 2 star rating is good.

 

[Dash]

I am in the Columbia, SC market and all of my business is centered pretty much for the students of USC and trips from the dorm to a bar... My vehicle is as clean as could be and I am as nice as I could be with greeting them and asking if they would like the AC on or off, and so on

These are mainly college girls in the 18 to 22 year old range and my rating is 3.63 right now after 11 trips... I know the more trips the less your rating takes a hit, but what can anyone suggest to help me here to get ratings I deserve??

Any ideas or past experiences with this clientele? I want to stay a driver and I am in fear of my rating... I can not tell who posted what rating so I can not go over what trip I did badly and how to improve it

Help.....

Well do the best you can get mints, ask what music they would like to hear and hold a conversation if you don't already. I also carry water and juice (tax write-offs) to offer as Florida is hot.

 

[BostonBarry]

Old lesson from my jobs in sales and customer service, ask for the 5. I show the pax I am rating them 5 (if they deserved it, most do) and if they don't immediately say they are rating me 5 (most say so immediately) then I say something along the lines of "I hope your ride was 5 stars". The real problem with judging your rating this soon is that not all riders will give a rating, so one low rating can be a huge hit if you're not getting any positive ratings. My method helps to remind the pax who did like my service to rate me and not forget.

 

[rtaatl]

Unfortunately it's Columbia, a small market where most of your riders are going to be the college kids. Don't think there are many other options except to drive in the daytime when people are more civilized. Business would suck, but it should get the rating up.

 

[Courtney2010]

Old lesson from my jobs in sales and customer service, ask for the 5. I show the pax I am rating them 5 (if they deserved it, most do) and if they don't immediately say they are rating me 5 (most say so immediately) then I say something along the lines of "I hope your ride was 5 stars". The real problem with judging your rating this soon is that not all riders will give a rating, so one low rating can be a huge hit if you're not getting any positive ratings. My method helps to remind the pax who did like my service to rate me and not forget.

I always wondered if I should ask my pax to rate me a five. Does it work for you? What is your rating?

 

[BostonBarry]

4,94 down from 4.99 last week, average 60-70 rides/week. 60 five star ratings last week, 2 four and below. No comments on my low rating but pretty certain it was a GPS hater (didn't like the suggested route) and a over-capacity "You need to order Plus for 5 or 6 passengers, I am only insured for 4". So no big deal. I forget how long Uber ratings are kept, but Lyft is only the last 100 rides.

As with any sales/customer service deal it is all about wording. Obviously you don't want to say "Please give me 5 stars!". But a "I'm rating you 5 starts, hope you feel the same" or "I hope I gave you a 5 star ride" etc are good ways to go about it.

 

[Courtney2010]

4,94 down from 4.99 last week, average 60-70 rides/week. 60 five star ratings last week, 2 four and below. No comments on my low rating but pretty certain it was a GPS hater (didn't like the suggested route) and a over-capacity "You need to order Plus for 5 or 6 passengers, I am only insured for 4". So no big deal. I forget how long Uber ratings are kept, but Lyft is only the last 100 rides.

As with any sales/customer service deal it is all about wording. Obviously you don't want to say "Please give me 5 stars!". But a "I'm rating you 5 starts, hope you feel the same" or "I hope I gave you a 5 star ride" etc are good ways to go about it.

Thanks for the reply maybe I will try that. I just feel awkward mentioning it. You make a good point though.

 

[Teksaz]

I think asking sounds needy. Trust what you do and engage the pax if at all possible. I've had so many pax say before getting out of my car, "Great convo man". You know a 5* is coming from them. The antisocial personality freaks are the ones that will rate you low and they're really easy to read if you're a social person. Go ahead and rate them a 2*'s so you don't have to **** with them again.

 

[Dash]

I am in the Columbia, SC market and all of my business is centered pretty much for the students of USC and trips from the dorm to a bar... My vehicle is as clean as could be and I am as nice as I could be with greeting them and asking if they would like the AC on or off, and so on

These are mainly college girls in the 18 to 22 year old range and my rating is 3.63 right now after 11 trips... I know the more trips the less your rating takes a hit, but what can anyone suggest to help me here to get ratings I deserve??

Any ideas or past experiences with this clientele? I want to stay a driver and I am in fear of my rating... I can not tell who posted what rating so I can not go over what trip I did badly and how to improve it

Help.....

Great advice I will definitely consider implementing that into my strategy. Thank you

 

[Steve B.]

Update.... just got back from 4 more completed trips and now I am sitting at a 3.9 rating..

First off... I really like doing this BUT I really do not see myself staying while not making any money and dealing with disrespect from the stuck up college girls who think they own you!

I went shopping yesterday and bought water bottles and a boatload of candy for the customers today.... they all took to it like flies to raw meat... What did it get me?? en I cleaned the back seat between trips I found water bottles shoved under seats, countless wrappers on the floor, and someones chewed up starburst on my third row seat

The only action in the Columbia, SC market is i ad aroud the campus of USC..... and I am not dealing with this abuse

 

[Steve B.]

Update.... I log in this morning to my Uber Account and now magicly I am at a 4.86 rating now.... No complaining, I will take it!!

I guess the candy and water bottles worked.... everyone seemed VERY VERY surprised and happy I have to say

 

[madUber74]

Update.... I log in this morning to my Uber Account and now magicly I am at a 4.86 rating now.... No complaining, I will take it!!

I guess the candy and water bottles worked.... everyone seemed VERY VERY surprised and happy I have to say

Couple of random points, from a dude that also works a smallish state capital/large university town...

- Don't sweat your rating. Unless you actually start getting real warnings from Uber (the weekly summary warnings don't count) it's meaninglessness. Your overall rating is on last 500 rides so once you rack up that many and more, the random 1s and 2s don't do much to dent it.
- Ditch the gum, candy, water, and mints. Just more stuff for you to clean up
- If you have the opportunity, figure out when to drive during the day. Not sure how the SC campus is setup but the UW-Madison campus here is big enough to be a real haul from one end to the other. This means students are apt to Uber during the day in a pinch or too lazy or don't want to wait for the bus. Weekdays from noon on are actually not too bad here. Riders much more pleasant during daylight. Plus you're generally in less competition with other drivers
- Focus on getting people out to the bars only. Return trips at bar time, though more lucrative and sometimes attached to nice surges, come with a risk. Namingly low ratings, puke, etc. Same goes for any festivals, concerts, where there is common over-consumption of alcohol going on.
- For non-campus business, your statehouse area might be a decent area to explore. Also good is to look at where there are pockets of hotels in town. These can be decent places to hang out near early evening. I've found there's often business travelers looking to go out to dinner or bars from 5:30-8p on weeknights. These are usually good fares that often tip