Uber drivers say loud friends, leaving crumbs on seats, and loading the car with bags might be why I don't have a perfect 5-star rider rating
AP/Seth Wenig
- Four Uber drivers revealed why some passengers have lower ratings than they expected.
- Obnoxious friends, slammed doors, and left crumbs could leave you with one star, they said.
- Loading cars with bags and making drivers wait could also bring ratings down.
I thought I was an Uber driver's dream passenger until I looked at my rating.
A breakdown of my rating on Uber's app showed the majority of my trips — more than 130 — were rated five stars. I received a handful of three- and four-star ratings, but harsh reality kicked in when I saw three drivers had given me just one star.
This gave me an overall rating of 4.76.
An Uber driver previously told Insider that people with ratings of between about 4.7 and 4.79 were decent riders, but had "questionable history." Passengers can't see the review for each ride, so I spoke to four Uber drivers across the US to find out what makes them dish out one-star ratings.
Holding drivers up
After finding out my Uber history, Steven Higgs, an Uber driver who has driven for the company for about six years, said he couldn't think of anything that would bring down my rating unless I'd made drivers wait for me. He said that he always rates his passengers five stars.
Uber drivers have to wait two minutes until they start receiving payment for a ride. If the driver cancels a trip after waiting for five minutes, the app charges the rider a cancellation fee.
"It's especially bothersome when I drive 10 minutes to pick someone up for a four-minute ride, and they still make me wait," Higgs said. "It's frustrating, but Uber gives them that ridiculous amount of time, so I don't take it out on the passengers."
Mike Hosley, who drives for Uber and Lyft in Southern California, said the biggest thing passengers have to worry about is holding up the driver.
"If you're there at the curb, you really should be getting five stars," he said.
Loading luggage
I can remember one Uber trip when I held up the driver for a few minutes by loading some bags into the vehicle.
"If you have a lot of stuff to load up, that takes time that we have to sit there while you load and unload your stuff — time that we are not paid for," one Uber driver based in Houston said. The driver asked to remain anonymous, but Insider has verified their identity.
They added that some Uber drivers can be petty about ratings. They give passengers either five stars or one star because, in their opinion, there is no middle ground.
Tip more
I tipped the driver whose car I loaded my bags into. But speaking to the four drivers made me realize that I — and other riders — should tip more.
Hosley said if passengers tipped the drivers — even just a few dollars every ride — they'd be a "five-star hero."
Uber introduced the in-app tipping feature in July 2017, allowing passengers to tip drivers after each trip. Uber says the tip goes directly to the drivers.
The rider should definitely tip if the driver is traveling from far away to collect them for a short journey, Hosley added.
Michael Eide, a driver in California, told Insider that some drivers give one-star ratings to passengers who don't tip. "I would never do that, but some do," he said.
Loud passengers
On the odd occasion, I order an Uber to take me and some friends to bars or concerts. Could our chatter annoy drivers to the point where they give me one star?
Eide said the answer was maybe, but he also said that picking up noisy groups of riders is part of the deal when Uber drivers work late hours.
The driver in Houston said that it doesn't have to be the main rider; it could be the rider's loud, drunk, or obnoxious companions that could lead to a one-star rating.
Bad manners in the car
Ratings are also dependent on how riders treat the vehicles. Banging suitcases into the cars and slamming the doors could bring down your rating, the Uber driver in Houston, who has driven for the company for 15 months, said.
"I had a man toss his cane across my seats into my car — no consideration for the fact that this is my vehicle that I pay a significant amount of money to just put on the road," they said.
Leaving crumbs and the smell of cigarettes, food, or strong perfume in the vehicle are also bad moves, Eide said. Opening the window without asking could also result in a one-star rating, he added.
"We want the car exactly the same as it was before we gave you the ride," he said.
Got a tip? Get in touch with this reporter via email kduffy@insider.com or Twitter.