3 Uber passenger pet peeves that will harm your ratings

One of the things I repeat pretty often is that you need to understand how Uber works from the passenger’s perspective. Understanding what passengers want and need is the key to higher ratings and more tips. Today, I’m sharing a video by The Rideshare Professor that’s all about Uber passenger pet peeves and how you can avoid doing them.

Take a look at his video, then read the transcript below if you prefer to read.

What are the three Uber passenger pet peeves?

The three main Uber and Lyft passenger peeves, what do you think they are? I was always curious, what triggers passengers or riders, that they would give a low rating, or what upsets them, what gets them angry, what gets them going. I conducted a survey. I had other drivers ask passengers what their number one upset was, and I personally interviewed several people in my car. And obviously these individuals had driven with numerous drivers, and then once and again something sticks out, and really pisses them off, it really peeves them. What do you think they are?

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#1: Aggressive driving

Number one is fast, aggressive driving. Uber and Lyft is not a try out for The Fast and the Furious! You have to stick to your lanes, stick to the speed limits, and get them from A to B in the most safe manner possible, period. No racing, no chopping lanes, no cutting in front. I might do it if the person is running late and they really need to get to the airport, and then I say, “Do I have permission to drive fast?” And they say, “Yes.” And I said, “And will you cover the speeding fine?” “Yes I will.” So I will get them on that plane, but otherwise there is no excuse to drive erratic or unsafe.

#2: Smells

The scent of your car is passenger pet peeve #2. The complaint that I heard, at probably in the top two, is that a lot of guys put way too much deodorant. Now, you may think it’s cool, you might like the smell, but it’s very, very overpowering for a lot of your passengers, especially females. So try and keep the scent in the car neutral. I always put one or two little drops of eucalyptus oil. on the vent, and then I blast it. The car has a subtle smell of eucalyptus, that is the most neutral, non-chemical, non-toxic smell.

And when I say scent, I obviously mean smoking. If you are a smoker, you have no business to smoke in the car, you’re in the wrong business. You might be able to get away with that in a taxi, but in the ride share business they will come down you like a ton of bricks. They do not tolerate smoking. If your passenger wants to smoke, sure, “You can smoke outside, I will wait. The trip’s going, you’re paying.’ “I’ll drop you off right there, have your smoke, get back. Make sure you’ve extinguished it, I don’t want the smoke coming back into the car.”

#3: Awkward pickups and drop offs

The number three pet peeve is pickups and drop-offs that make the passenger confused, or do extra work. You’ve stopped, you’re at your destination, and you expect this guy, or  this lady, to walk across and come to you. Not working my friends. You have to find a way to come around and get that door right in alignment, so that they can just open up. Make it as seamless and effortless for that person to get in the car. Don’t have him walk down two roads, “Hey, I’m over here. Come over here, find me here.” Or even worse, which was their complaint, that they had to cross the road. Because right there and then, their safety is at risk.

And God forbid, something happens, who knows who would be at fault. But the bottom line is, meet them where they are. They might have called you to 238, right, and 237 is across the road, and you say, “Well, they’re on the wrong side of the road, they should come over to me.” Guys, you’re better than that. Swing around, pick them up, okay?

I found these pet peeves rather interesting. Again, those are the three main peeves that showed up, and I would be super, super excited if you could share your input on this, what you think pisses off the passengers the most. Take note, and drive safe.

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