[Stevie The magic Unicorn]

So here in Orlandoish it’s entirely permissible to ask any customer to pay for their cab ride up front.

Then deny them service if they can’t...

We can’t “lock in” customers in case your wondering.

So I have a list of mental “warning signs” of when to make people pay up front.

1 Picking up from 711, wawa Ect.
2 abnormally long distance trip.
3 origination or destination or the fare is a bad neighborhood.
4. A passenger says “I would never rip off a cab driver”
5. Vague destination
6. Anything near UCF (either end)
7. Being accused of being racist

Yesterday afternoon I had a customer... he hit every single checkbox on my list.

Pickup 711 (kinda near UCF
Dude wants to go over 12 miles.. he’s vague with his destination. Silverstar road/hiawasee rd. (The hood)

since your going a long distance I’ll knock a little off the price for you. We can have dispatch do an estimate and l knock a couple bucks off the min range as long as you pay up front now.


(Reducing the fare is an olive branch that makes me seem like a nice guy, 99% of the time the people who live in the hood will happily take a discount in exchange for a paying up front)

“Don’t be racist bro. I would never do that to you. Please just take me I promise I’ll pay you back tomorrow.”

And there’s the last 2 warning signs....

I offer a discount for paying in advance and he accuses me of being racist...


The way I do it.... most people in the hood think i’m being a cool guy and knocking a little off the price in exchange for not running the meter.

People get in the car and some have no idea why a lot of the drivers do this.

Some are relieved when they are on a shoestring budget and they know what their ride is going to run them.

Some people get right in the car and tell me they only have $X to get to Their destination.

I always consider it and more often than not I’ll take them up on their offer if it’s reasonably close


This guy?

GTFO!


I wasted my 10 minutes driving to his pickup, but it was much better than taking him all the way there. (Most of it was down a toll road)

 

[Another Uber Driver]

8.. The customer asks for a cigaret. Every customer that ever has asked me for a cigaret, even after I had given up smoking, has proved to be trouble.

 

[KD_LA]

9. Pax is in front of Walmart with 2 heaping full shopping carts.

 

[Stevie The magic Unicorn]

9. Pax is in front of Walmart with 2 heaping full shopping carts.

If they don't pay the trunk doesn't open...

 

[swathdiver]

While I'm new to driving for Uber, have not had a single instance of no prior destination established once the trip was started.

 

[Another Uber Driver]

If they don't pay the trunk doesn't open...

One thing that I always have found curious about the cab business in this area is that in the suburbs, the groceries do not pay; in the City, they do. We hated short trips in the suburbs. In the City, it is what you want. This was true under the Zone System and has persisted into the meter era.

Given the rate structure here, the cab is less expensive or about the same for the short to mediocre trips, while the TNC car is less expensive for the longer. Mind you, this is on base rates. Further, keep in mind that what the customer pays to Uber is far more than what Uber pays to the driver.

I do not see that many groceries on UberX or Lyft, even when I am working the suburbs. If I do get groceries, it is usually one person with one or two bags. I can not recall one where there was one person and more than five bags on UberX or Lyft. I have had perhaps one or two mothers with several children and cartloads of the week's grocery shopping on UberX or Lyft.

I have had more than a few of the above on the cab.

 

[JimKE]

What's wrong with UCF? Just college kids?

It's not in the hood, or even close -- is it? (Not familiar with Orlando)

 

[Stevie The magic Unicorn]

What's wrong with UCF? Just college kids?

It's not in the hood, or even close -- is it? (Not familiar with Orlando)

College kids have been a bulk of my runners for pretty much ever.

Particularly in taxi fares when I get flagged down by the clubs late night.

It's like $26 on Uberx to get from downtown by
the clubs to UCF and like $45-$55 on taxi.

So $26 at ORLANDO uberx rates... not a short trip at all.

So it's the right combination of drunken idiots who think they are invincible and pretty high cab fares. There's also a gazillion redlights near the university to jump out at.

99% of the time when I explain to UCF kids that I have issues with ucf kids running on the cab fare they get it.

Campus I do $50 flat near campus it depends on the Mileage.

 

[JimKE]

College kids have been a bulk of my runners for pretty much ever.

Particularly in taxi fares when I get flagged down by the clubs late night.

It's like $26 on Uberx to get from downtown by
the clubs to UCF and like $45-$55 on taxi.

So $26 at ORLANDO uberx rates... not a short trip at all.

So it's the right combination of drunken idiots who think they are invincible and pretty high cab fares. There's also a gazillion redlights near the university to jump out at.

99% of the time when I explain to UCF kids that I have issues with ucf kids running on the cab fare they get it.

Campus I do $50 flat near campus it depends on the Mileage.

OK, thanks.

Glad to see you "back in the saddle!"

 

[Ubereater]

Getting in a cab and first thing is trying to shake my hand before even telling where they are going.. that's another one.
20 years of Fri/Sat nights of cabbing..

 

[Stevie The magic Unicorn]

Getting in a cab and first thing is trying to shake my hand before even telling where they are going.. that's another one.
20 years of Fri/Sat nights of cabbing..

I'm not a big hand shaker,

It gets super awkward when they try to shake my hoof.

And i don't work Friday/Saturday nights. Been a long time since I have, Not planning on going back to that mess. If it wasn't for testing Uber taxi I would have gone home way earlier last Friday.