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Comment by hatchnyc | Hacker News Reader

I don't think there's much you can do, or if there is it is none of these things. Mine was ~4.5 for forever. I was always on time, careful entering/exiting the vehicle, very polite, etc. and even regularly gave cash tips before the app offered the option.

A few years ago I started dating a girl who had nearly a 5 star rating. She eventually moved in with me and since then nearly all my trips are together. We are often late arriving to the meeting point, she has no hesitation to ask the driver to change the air temperature, adjust the music station or volume, open or close windows, always takes water when available, and asks to be dropped off at a given point regardless of traffic lights or inconvenient turns for the driver. Since this started, my rating has steadily climbed and is now around 4.8.

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> I don't think there's much you can do

Have you tried asking? I asked a few drivers, at the end of a ride and after I’d rated them, what I could do better. Two complained about my taking work calls in the car. I started requesting permission, at the beginning of the ride, to take a phone call. (It’s their car, after all.) Never been refused. Rating jumped from ~4.4 to ~4.9.

I’ll also note that some of the sweetest people I know have terrible ratings for constantly being late, at the wrong pick-up spot or other little reasons. It’s mostly a rating around if you’re observant and treat the driver like a human being more than if you’re a good person.

(Note: I’m a guy. I don’t think gender is as powerful as other comments assume.)

>Two complained about my taking work calls in the car. I started requesting permission, at the beginning of the ride, to take a phone call.(It’s their car, after all.)

Seriously? It's their car that you've contracted to take you from Point A to Point B. It would never occur to me to ask permission before making (or taking) a phone call.

I dunno, if I were a driver I'd probably be pretty annoyed by hearing one end of a loud conversation for an entire long ride.

Generally in the rides I'm in the driver is still listening to whatever music they like, which obviously they can't do if the passenger is trying to have a phone conversation.

Welcome to the service industry. This isn’t doing a favor for a friend but driving someone around for cash.

You have the right to loudly talk on the phone, and they have the right to rate you lower. It's a fair system in that way.

I take Uber rarely but, of course, the system is setup so that the driver can rate me however they like for whatever reason. As can I them. And it might even be reasonable for them to give me a lower score for a long "loud" conversation or for discussing matters that probably shouldn't be discussed in public which make them uncomfortable.

OTOH, while they can do whatever they want, the expectation seems to be that both driver and rider give top scores barring one or the other doing something that clearly deviates from the norms of taxi driver or passenger behavior.

In any case, I'm pretty confident that I'm normally polite and if someone gives me a lower score now and then on one of these services, I really don't care.

> It's a fair system in that way.

It's only fair if the expectations were made known before you ordered the ride.

If you have a low rating, Uber offers tips to improve it such as not slamming doors, being ready for pickup, etc. I think it’s also easily found in the Help section of the app.

Based on what I've read here, your passenger rating depends on a lot more than simply "don't be a jerk".

Right, you have to be there at your pickup point, you shouldn't slam the door, you shouldn't be a creep. Not very hard.

Is it also fair if they give you a lower rating because they dont like your voice or hair or how you dress?

> It's their car that you've contracted to take you from Point A to Point B. It would never occur to me to ask permission before making (or taking) a phone call.

It wouldn’t have to me, either. But I was curious and so asked, and in between the useless answers I got that repeating point of feedback.

Note that I didn’t stop taking calls. But I did think “how would I behave if I were in a friend’s car?” I figured I’d at least give a heads up that a call was coming in. So I tried that one thing and it worked.

An Uber driver is not my friend. They’re someone I’m paying to drive me.

Furthermore if I were driving with a friend someplace and they got a call, I’d think nothing of them answering it and having a conversation.

> An Uber driver is not my friend. They’re someone I’m paying to drive me.

This is a fair view. It’s also fair to treat a driver as a new acquaintance. And it makes sense that the drivers who have a choice (i.e. are higher rated) will choose riders who treat them like that.

My point isn’t everyone has to do these things. Just that if you care about your rating, asking for feedback and offering common courtesies cab go a long way. (I’ve also found it improves my disposition, but that’s a separate matter.)

Perfectly fair. It sounds as if you might have liked the early days of Lyft. Personally I never used them then because the whole fist bump, faux friend, thing was totally offputting.

On the rare occasions I use Uber or Lyft today, I’m polite and friendly/chatty enough depending on the circumstances but someone’s doing a job for me and I don’t owe them anything beyond basic politeness.

Dunno. It's a per peeve of mine when people take a non-speakerphone call in a common space. Trains, cars, meals, or living rooms.

It monopolizes the noise in the area and puts everyone else in some sort of awkward space where they have to eavesdrop and pretend they aren't. Sometimes I think about obviously watching a train commuter have a long and loud phone conversation, but I don't because it would be rude and aggressive.

I guess hired cars are a little different in most respects but people can still feel bad or awkward for listening in on something they aren't part of. Especially if the conversation is loud, personal, or confidential.

It's much better if the phone call is urgent, short, or important. But even then it's polite to be conciliatory as the phone call is made or picked up.

Hired car is definitely different. You’ve rented that space, it is not public. I don’t see anything wrong with having a phone call while being driven around.

I don't take calls during rides, I'm almost never late for the pickup (and have never gone past the grace period), and I'm very precise at setting the pickup pin exactly. It's not any of these issues.

And no, I've never considered asking "how I can do better". They're providing the service, not me, and I'm paying them.

>Two complained about my taking work calls in the car. I started requesting permission, at the beginning of the ride, to take a phone call.(It’s their car, after all.)

That's ridiculous. Who is paying who again?

> Who is paying who again?

It’s a two-sided market. Nobody likes being treated like a commodity.

> Two complained about my taking work calls in the car.

That's insane. Do those drivers think that it's part of the deal that you should be entertaining them?

Based off your comment, I'll assume that you are a male. Based on this assumption, there is a possbility that gender is at play.

There is also the possibility that asking people to do small things for you will increase their positive view of you. I remember reading about psychologist having uncovered such an effect but I forget the name of it.

If I had to bet, I would say both factors (and others we aren't considered) are at play.

This is known as the Ben Franklin Effect [0] and is pretty interesting to read up on. It wouldn't at all surprise me if this plays into passenger ratings, even though it seems counter-intuitive.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Franklin_effect

OK, I think it's another effect than "increasing their positive view of you". It is something I have noted and struggled with because it is counter intuitive to me.

I always try to be very autonomous and ask the minimum favors/services from people, trying not to bother them. This has caused me trouble several times, from people that were supposed to help me. When I was doing track and field two decades ago I had a sports sponsorship cancelled essentially because I didn't ask any extra gear.

When you ask a favor and the person fulfills it, they get to be useful and it gives them purpose. I have found that this varies from people to people.

The Uber driver will most likely feel good if you actually need his help as a human being rather than just be a mindless vehicle operator.

Congratulations on having a pretty girlfriend. Don't underestimate the power of having a pretty girl talk to you, even if it's just to ask to change the radio station.

It goes both ways. I remember a conversation I had with a very nice Uber driver, a Muslim woman. She made a point of picking up female riders with low ratings, because she believed male Uber drivers would downrate them if they thought the women unattractive, or if they rejected advances.

Also an effective strategy to get uncontested rides, I assume.

Of course, occasionally you’re going to get low rated passengers who are just straight up assholes. So there’s some risk.

Maybe it works like the Chinese Sesame credit system then. Who knows. You're probably trying too hard.

Same here, my rating is ~4.6 whereas my girlfriend is at close to 5 with exactly the same circumstances as you. Maybe I am not as charming :(

It would be interesting to see how the average rating compares between young women vs men.

Is she polite about it? Could be the Ben Franklin effect.

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