Uber Drivers Reveal How They Rate Their Customers

Some of us parade around our 5-star-rating on Uber and we're stoked to have it. Others aren't so lucky.

After every ride, customers are rated by their Uber drivers, just like how customers rate their drivers. When a customer’s Uber rating drops too low, they may struggle to get lifts, or even be booted off the service entirely.

You can find your Uber rating under Help > Account and Payment > Account Settings and Ratings > I'd Like to Know My Rating.

So, how do you ensure you're rating well all the time? 

Business Insider asked a bunch of Uber drivers to find out what makes them rate highly. 

Be ready. It frustrates drivers to no end to have to wait for five or 10 minutes while everyone gets ready — especially if there’s nowhere to legally park the vehicle. Drivers are going to start marking you down for the inconvenience almost immediately, so don’t let the vehicle arrive until you’re definitely ready to depart.

Make sure your pickup is correct. Dropping the pin on the map can be inaccurate, especially on urban areas. Enter your exact location and double-check it looks right, and they won’t be forced to text you asking where you are.

Be polite. “Ask. Do not demand. If you would like the temperature changed, ask. If you don’t like music, or what is playing and what it changed, ask,” one driver says.

Of course, there’s also numerous ways to ensure you don’t get those coveted five stars. These include:

Making drivers go out of their way for short journeys. There’s nothing wrong with catching an Uber for short trips. But if you make the driver travel 15 minutes just to ferry you down the street, they won’t be too happy.

Eating. One driver makes an exception for “asking politely,” but generally speaking, it’s best not to. It’s easy to make a mess, and no one wants to have to clean up a stranger’s spilt kebab on their upholstery.

Talking down to the driver. They’re a driver, not a servant. “Talk down to me or give me attitude? 3 stars or less,” one says. “Not only will you get a 1 star,” another comments, “you’ll be lucky if I don’t stop the ride and kick you out of the car.”

Being drunk and disorderly. Drivers won’t generally begrudge drunkenness on an evening — they know what the late shift entails. But if you’re belligerently drunk and annoying, they will mark you down.

Overloading the vehicle. Trying to pile more passengers into the car than the seatbelts (or insurance) allow isn’t just annoying, it’s illegal. Your cheap fare isn’t worth the driver getting their licence confiscated over, so don’t even try.