[Dan S]

I know you guys are seeing this also so I want some input as to how to handle the situation since I am a new driver.

I have had several riders ask me to make a quick stop so they can get cigs, soda, etc. and ask me to wait while they are getting it. While waiting I am getting the per minute charge but no mileage and no other paying riders. Some of these "quick" stops turn into a damn-near layover while they also grab lettuce, cat litter, dog food, ice cream, shampoo - you get the idea.

My question is this. How long are we expected to wait on a rider while on a trip? I am afraid that if I end the trip they will get pissed and give me a lowball rating. A per minute charge isn't worth my time compared to moving my car.

 

[Tony Neo]

You pretty much said it, they hold us hostage with the rating system. If you want a good rating, then wait. 4 star or lower them afterward depending on how you feel about them at the end of the trip.

 

[uberdriverfornow]

I politely tell them that if it takes longer than 5 minutes then it's better for them and me if they request another driver. I haven't had to cancel on someone taking longer than 5 minutes yet.

 

[Darrell]

Drive around the parking lot in circles so you can still get paid the mileage rate.

 

[nutzareus]

Sure, if it's a 3.2x surge like I had yesterday in Baltimore. Take your time! Otherwise, no surge no stopping for food or 7-Eleven.

 

[lyft_audi]

Depends on how busy it is.

 

[sarasota ron]

I ask them how long they think it will be. If they say just a few minutes to pick something up, or go through the drive thru, I don't have a big problem with it. Also get requests to go to the ATM at banks.
I have found that a lot of these riders that ask to make stops wind up giving me a pretty decent tip. A few times I got a$20 tip from people who asked to make stops.
My pet peeve are riders who text me or call me after I have arrived and ask me to wait for them because they are not ready to go yet. I will start the trip right then, although a couple times I wish I had not because they left me waiting for 15 minutes and up. Most of these people are in very wealthy upscale areas or condos. They think they have ordered a limo and you are just supposed to wait.
One lady I had a trip request at was at a beachfront condo that would cost a minimum of $2 million to buy. She said she was on a call and could I please wait. This was at early evening a busy time. I waited for 5 minutes and then I said to myself I want to see how long she would make me wait. I waited for another 20 minutes and of course finally gave up and canceled the trip. She immediately called me as I was driving out and *****ed at me why did I cancel the trip.
It is amazing how self entitled some people are. They are sad folks.

 

[Undermensch]

I know you guys are seeing this also so I want some input as to how to handle the situation since I am a new driver.

I have had several riders ask me to make a quick stop so they can get cigs, soda, etc. and ask me to wait while they are getting it. While waiting I am getting the per minute charge but no mileage and no other paying riders. Some of these "quick" stops turn into a damn-near layover while they also grab lettuce, cat litter, dog food, ice cream, shampoo - you get the idea.

My question is this. How long are we expected to wait on a rider while on a trip? I am afraid that if I end the trip they will get pissed and give me a lowball rating. A per minute charge isn't worth my time compared to moving my car.

I don't recall Uber covering this, so I'm not sure that there is an expectation on their end.

I just explain to the passenger how we get practically nothing to wait. If it's busy I follow that up with I might miss out on a $50-$100 ride by waiting for them for 10 mins to get $1.50. Usually they understand and stop asking or say it'll be 2 mins and I can leave if it's longer. I don't sweat the possibility of a low rating.

If they say it'll be more like 5-10 mins and that they will tip I say "do you know how often people say that and then don't even tip at all?" They either laugh and we don't stop or they hand over $5-10. Then I'll wait.

 

[backstreets-trans]

I know you guys are seeing this also so I want some input as to how to handle the situation since I am a new driver.

I have had several riders ask me to make a quick stop so they can get cigs, soda, etc. and ask me to wait while they are getting it. While waiting I am getting the per minute charge but no mileage and no other paying riders. Some of these "quick" stops turn into a damn-near layover while they also grab lettuce, cat litter, dog food, ice cream, shampoo - you get the idea.

My question is this. How long are we expected to wait on a rider while on a trip? I am afraid that if I end the trip they will get pissed and give me a lowball rating. A per minute charge isn't worth my time compared to moving my car.

The passengers and uber have you by the balls. Damned if you do Damned if you don't. The wait time for drivers in my market is $4.05/hr. That's right $4.05/hr but if you leave count on a 1 star and deactivation for new drivers. Newbies can't take the ratings hit. Welcome to the new on demand gig revolution where customers are always right and workers take it up the ***.

 

[Ben105]

When I was first starting out on Lyft, I picked up an already, somewhat intoxicated rider at an upscale country club. He wanted me to drive him around for a couple of hours. It was my craziest ride ever. I picked him up around 2p and he said if I drove him around for a few hours, he would tip me $100. I first drove him to a local casino (about 15 miles) for him to gamble for 30 minutes and then to a bar where he drank and played pool for another 30 minutes. At that point he said he wanted to go home and I started to take him home regretting picking him up despite the $100 tip. He was getting a little too big for his britches and was talking trash about his ex wife and girlfriend. On the way to his house which was another 15 minute drive, he fell asleep and I thought I was home free. I made it to within a block of his house and we encountered a speed bump. That woke him up and he said he got a second wind. I took him to the local Applebee's for another 20 minutes, to an ATM where he got out the $100, to see his girlfriend at her work and then to another place (I think it was his ex-wife's work) where he said don't leave me and asked me to swear. I was thinking in the back of my mind what was he going to do. He was pretty drunk at this point. I agreed because I didn't want to leave him stranded at this stage of drunkenness. I kept a look out for cops because I thought for sure he was going to pick some kind of fight. It was just the way he pleaded with me to make sure I would be there when he came out. Thankfully, no cops, he came out without incident and I took him home (finally) over 3 hours from when I picked him up. He actually ended up tipping me $140 but I hope I never get him again.

 

[Oscar Levant]

I know you guys are seeing this also so I want some input as to how to handle the situation since I am a new driver.

I have had several riders ask me to make a quick stop so they can get cigs, soda, etc. and ask me to wait while they are getting it. While waiting I am getting the per minute charge but no mileage and no other paying riders. Some of these "quick" stops turn into a damn-near layover while they also grab lettuce, cat litter, dog food, ice cream, shampoo - you get the idea.

My question is this. How long are we expected to wait on a rider while on a trip? I am afraid that if I end the trip they will get pissed and give me a lowball rating. A per minute charge isn't worth my time compared to moving my car.

My rule of thumb is that when a rider estimates how long they expect to make you wait, you can multiply that number by at least three three. Five minutes is always 15, and sometimes even more.

There is no win win on this type of thing, but if they tell you in advance before you turn the app on, decline the ride if you are unwilling to wait.

I only accept such rides during slow periods.

I also tell them that the timer fee is meant as a minimum surcharge for gas cost incurred on return dead miles on long trips, it's not meant to compensate drivers for long waiting periods because it's not enough.

 

[Coachman]

I picked up two girls last month for a 10 minute ride. They asked if I'd mind stopping along the way so they could pick something up. We stopped at a beauty supply store (makeup, hair weaves, etc.) and they promised they'd be only five minutes. So I put on my timer and watched as the minutes flew by. At the ten minute mark I would have driven off except that they'd left their bags on the back seat. I was just contemplating dumping their bags on the sidewalk when they came out at the 14:50 mark. They apologized for the delay and I didn't say anything, not wanting to jeopardize my rating. So we drove up the street about a half mile when they asked me to pull in to another lot. It was another beauty salon! And they expected me to wait again! At this point I got upset and told them I would leave if they weren't back in two minutes. Well, they were shocked that I was upset and couldn't understand what they possible could have done wrong. We agreed to end the ride at that point. About ten minutes later I got their next ping, which I let expire. And of course later that day my rating dropped from a 4.81 to a 4.78.

 

[Uberchampion]

I ask them how long they think it will be. If they say just a few minutes to pick something up, or go through the drive thru, I don't have a big problem with it. Also get requests to go to the ATM at banks.
I have found that a lot of these riders that ask to make stops wind up giving me a pretty decent tip. A few times I got a$20 tip from people who asked to make stops.
My pet peeve are riders who text me or call me after I have arrived and ask me to wait for them because they are not ready to go yet. I will start the trip right then, although a couple times I wish I had not because they left me waiting for 15 minutes and up. Most of these people are in very wealthy upscale areas or condos. They think they have ordered a limo and you are just supposed to wait.
One lady I had a trip request at was at a beachfront condo that would cost a minimum of $2 million to buy. She said she was on a call and could I please wait. This was at early evening a busy time. I waited for 5 minutes and then I said to myself I want to see how long she would make me wait. I waited for another 20 minutes and of course finally gave up and canceled the trip. She immediately called me as I was driving out and *****ed at me why did I cancel the trip.
It is amazing how self entitled some people are. They are sad folks.

5 min max

 

[NuberUber]

Just say no!

It sucks and the pax will most likely not be terribly happy but so much better than wasting your precious time. I usually explain that we take home around $5 An hour BEFORE taxes when the car is not in motion and that I cannot be idle. I offer to drop them off at the stop or continue to their original destination. Most pax understand but will take it out on your rating.

I did have one pax who completed an incident report on me for denying his stop. He had his whole family with him including two small kids with candy and I just wanted them out of my car before it got too messy. He wanted me to stop at a gas station so he could run in and his wife copped the biggest attitude when I said no.

Uber contacted me and I explained that if the per minute rate was higher I would be happy to wait for pax to run their errands. The rep understood where I was coming from and said she would close the matter. The next day my rating went up 0.02. I am pretty sure she wiped the bad ratings that a couple of pax had given me for refusing to stop from my record.

We are not expected to stop, only get pax from point A to B. The only time I even consider it is if it a sizable surge or the pax is super nice AND there is no wait at the store.

 

[Drew91]

I picked up two girls last month for a 10 minute ride. They asked if I'd mind stopping along the way so they could pick something up. We stopped at a beauty supply store (makeup, hair weaves, etc.) and they promised they'd be only five minutes. So I put on my timer and watched as the minutes flew by. At the ten minute mark I would have driven off except that they'd left their bags on the back seat. I was just contemplating dumping their bags on the sidewalk when they came out at the 14:50 mark. They apologized for the delay and I didn't say anything, not wanting to jeopardize my rating. So we drove up the street about a half mile when they asked me to pull in to another lot. It was another beauty salon! And they expected me to wait again! At this point I got upset and told them I would leave if they weren't back in two minutes. Well, they were shocked that I was upset and couldn't understand what they possible could have done wrong. We agreed to end the ride at that point. About ten minutes later I got their next ping, which I let expire. And of course later that day my rating dropped from a 4.81 to a 4.78.

tell them its rude to make u wait that long in a text. and for them to cancel the trip. u get paid and thwir rating wont count.
its dumb ass fecking drivers like u that make these pax so entitled. make them cancel the ride and tell em you will not drive them home but u will keep the app on their trip if they dont cancel.
stop being a *****.

 

[PeterNorth]

Who cares if you get a low rating? If you have a reputation for being a well-performed driver (anything over a 4.75 average) with lots of trips then a bad rating here or there will not do anything.

Next time someone asks you to stop by a gas station ask them to get you a soda. It's not rude, it's the same thing as them asking you to stop. Turn the tables on these little dweebs.

 

[Clifford Chong]

Drive around the parking lot in circles so you can still get paid the mileage rate.

Or you can jog around in circles. Get some exercise too and save a little gas.

Me, I pretend to be all fine and dandy with it. They leave the car, I leave them with a nice 2 star rating.

 

[Grahamcracker]

I know you guys are seeing this also so I want some input as to how to handle the situation since I am a new driver.

I have had several riders ask me to make a quick stop so they can get cigs, soda, etc. and ask me to wait while they are getting it. While waiting I am getting the per minute charge but no mileage and no other paying riders. Some of these "quick" stops turn into a damn-near layover while they also grab lettuce, cat litter, dog food, ice cream, shampoo - you get the idea.

My question is this. How long are we expected to wait on a rider while on a trip? I am afraid that if I end the trip they will get pissed and give me a lowball rating. A per minute charge isn't worth my time compared to moving my car.

I always tell them one stop with a MAXIMUM of two minutes then I'm completing the trip. I just tell them miles is how I make money, not time. I still have a 4.92 rating

 

[Kodyhead]

Depends on how busy it is.

And what platform, I assume you are talking X or pool, but I find myself a lot more patient with Lux rides as the wait times are reasonable but X rates here is 0.13/hr which is $7.80 - 20 or 25%

If it is slow, on X, I would just point out courteously and as nicely as possible that I only get paid $0.13/hr which is $7.80/hr or just go straight to whatever rate you get paid. It may trigger a response of I WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU, and most likely may not lead to a tip either.

I think it would be a case by case business.

I realize since you are new, the rating is important as it is easily influenced by bad or good ratings, So I would suggest in the beginning, learning the ropes and doing whatever makes them happy. Once you apporach or get over 500 RATED RIDES, you can be more aggressive as a 1 star rating will only go down 0.02 off your rating

 

[Jagent]

"I'm sorry, Uber is so busy they've told all of us no stops today. They watch us on GPS and if I wait, I'll get in trouble. They've already got someone waiting on me to drop you off. It sucks. I can drop you off, but I'm not allowed to wait."

Or

"Sure, we can stop, but I need to warn you about Ubers new policy. They track me on GPS, if I stop for more than 5 minutes, they end the trip and give me a new rider. Nothing I can do about it. It's to protect your account from fraudulent charges. "

Always blame Uber.