[Subaru_X]

Congrats Kinchy on your first weekend driving!

Make sure you take some of the posts on this forum with a pinch of salt - there are some bitter cab drivers floating around as well as some general whingers. Haters gonna hate haha..

Surge has become so common in Prahran/South Yarra that many riders are accustomed to it. Keep in mind that some riders are unaware, having blindly tapped through the warnings. What I do to reduce the risk of 1* due to surge, is make sure that before swiping to begin the trip, I turn to look at the rider and politely say "before I begin the trip, are you aware that this is a surge fare?". Most of the time they are cool with it and they appreciate the consideration given.

About three-quarters of riders are females. The reasons are various:

• She feels safer knowing that the route/driver/vehicle etc are all trackable
• She likes the certainty of a car being on the way along with an ETA (as opposed to taxis which may never arrive)
• She likes the all-round convenience and speed of service
• She has had more than one experience standing in skimpy evening dress on a freezing street corner in the rain, trying to flag down taxis for ages, when one finally stops refuses and drives away because he is "not going in that direction", eventually finding themselves feeling very vulnerable in a stinking battered non-roadworthy bomb of a vehicle with a leering cabbie with strong BO, who tries to cheat her by taking the long route at best, or at worst asks for sex as payment or even attempts to sexually assault her.

Keep in mind that your currently high rating will go down. This is because some riders one-star every Uber that isn't a Porsche Cayenne. With a clean & comfortable car, smooth driving, and a positive manner, you can maintain 4.7 - 4.9. Keep water bottles in the glove box and offer them to people who ask, on any long trips, and to anyone that obviously needs water. Skip the mints and keep chupa-chups in the car - riders LOVE being offered chupa-chups. Here's a tip: Keep a few mini chocolate bars or chocolate frogs, for the occasional fussy rider who doesn't like hard lollies. I had 2 girls whom I offered chupa chups, one accepted while the other said she as fructose intolerance. She was VERY happy when I offered her a chocolate frog instead.

Happy Ubering