How To Rate Your Uber or Lyft Driver

So what does rating an Uber/Lyft driver have to do with a luxury home website in Arizona? Nothing. Except that I (owner of this blog) occasionally use ride-sharing apps myself, know friends who are drivers, and I've also grown to respect a few of the drivers that I've had the pleasure of meeting. Liking to talk with them during rides, the conversation would sometimes turn to the 5 star rating system that drivers and riders use to rate each other for the ride. Much to my surprise, I've discovered that there actually is no real "standard" way understood amongst riders in how they rate their drivers. If you ask them, most just say they go with their gut or whatever they feel is appropriate - yet have no system for arriving at the rating that was given.

Some people assume that a "3 star" rating is the benchmark for a normal ride, and that anything higher only is warranted if the driver goes above and beyond. But if you rate your driver a 3, you are doing them a huge disservice if the ride was not lacking. Drivers must maintain a 4.7 average in order to continue driving for either company. If 3 was the benchmark, then why do they have to average 4.7?

5.0 is the benchmark rating for drivers, not 3! If your driver was not lacking in any way, they deserve a 5 star rating. Only if they fail you in some way should stars be subtracted.

A Driver's Job is this:

1. Safely drive you to your destination

   Was the drive uneventful, driving-wise? (That's a good thing!) Did your driver obey the rules of the road? Did you feel endangered at any moment due to the drivers aggressive driving?

2. Take the most efficient route to get you there.

   Most drivers will follow the route suggested by their Uber/Lyft app, perhaps using Google Maps or Waze. Sometimes the app gets it wrong. Did the driver confirm the route with you? Sometimes the fastest route is actually a longer distance (using highways, for instance). Do you prefer a certain route? Then let your driver know!

3. Be respectful to you and your co-riders.

   You should never feel like your driver doesn't care about you. If you ask them to drive a specific route, they should not hesitate in doing that for you. If you ask them to turn down the A/C or turn up the heat or make any adjustments for you (within reason of course - for instance, a driver should not have to blow out their speakers for you), they should do your requests for you with a smile. And a driver should never, never ever, ask you for a date! They should never make you feel uncomfortable about being in their car. This one is grounds for an automatic 1 star and a complaint in the note section after the ride. BTW, Although Drivers see your 5 star comments left for them, any comment on a rating of 4 or less is never seen by the driver. That's between you and the company only. Also, comments the driver sees are not associated to a specific rider so they may not know who gave them the compliment - unless you distinguish yourself in the comment itself.

4. Have a Clean, Safe Car

   A driver's car should be clean. It should be apparent they make an effort to keep their car clean. Obviously mother nature doesn't always cooperate, but it's fairly easy to know if any mess has been there a while. There might also be something left by the preceding rider that the driver didn't know about, but for the most part you can tell if something has been there awhile.

   The car should be in safe condition. No broken doors (or glass), no dough-nut tires. No noticeable body damage. When the car pulls up, you should not feel any hesitancy to get into it.

Since a 1 star is the lowest possible rating, all you have to do is start at 1 and add a star for each of the 4 topics above. If your driver succeeded in achieving all 4 items, they deserve a 5 star rating.

A driver should not have to go "above and beyond" to win a 5 star rating from you. That's not fair at all. If they did their job without failing any of the 4 items listed above, they deserve all 5 stars.

Note that Uber now has a place for riders to recognize their drivers who do provide better-than-average or above and beyond service for you. That's what the new badges are for. Great Conversation; Excellent Service; Expert Navigation; Above and Beyond; and Entertaining Driver are 5 of the possible 9 badges you can award your driver for an outstanding ride. Use them, and your driver will be happy!

Happy Riding!