Don't wait for an inconsiderate rider trying to get stars

I use my phone’s timer set for 5 minutes and in 5 minutes and one second I’m a ghost. They are not stranded without a ride. I’m still right there, lights off, if you need a ride and order one, I’m getting that ping and I’ve already gotten my $5 ‘tip’ for wasting my time. If they’re pissed off about it, they get 1*. That’s very rare for me. Usually they’re sorry for being late. If they apologize to me for giving me an extra $5 they will get a pleasant ride with stories and jokes and an otherwise 5* ride.

I am trying to give my bank account 5 star service! Once the passenger has got his ass in my car is when the real 5 star treatment starts. If he is giving me 3 star rider service by wasting my time and therefore my income, I will collect 5 bucks for about 3 miles in driving and 10 minutes of driving and waiting. Not too bad…

You seem to think there is some connection between your level of service and concern for the rider and the rating you will get from them. You must be new at this!

I think half the time, the no shows are actually there, but too busy talking on the phone or whatever to notice that you have arrived or act as if they are looking for their driver rather than just standing outside for some other reason.

The ones I hate are when the pax accidentily put in their home address but they’re not home then call you and say where are you? Then try to give you the actual address of where they are.

Consider this. You arrive, text/call the rider with no response. 5 min later, still no response. You may be waiting for nothing. I have had a few “calls” that seemed to be an accidental request.

If they put in the wrong pickup address and caused you to waste your gas and time, I wouldn’t use the “don’t charge rider” option. I only use that when I don’t want the ride for reasons that aren’t the rider’s fault, like there’s massive traffic near the pickup location, or I can’t get to them in a reasonable time, etc.

I had this happen Satuday, I told pax "I already drove 5 minutes to get here, you’re another 8 minutes away. I can start the meter, drive to you, and go on with the trip or you can cancel and request a closer uber.

I send a pre typed "arrived at location sent " text & it also says if they will be more than 5 minutes to contact me. If they contact & say they will be more than 5 min I start trip & risk having to end the trip for whatever reason.

You realize of course that they get an email with the route and can contact Uber afterwards and ask for a fare adjustment which will kill your extra mileage and wait time. I understand the frustration but doesn’t seem worth it.

I send a text at arrival and if the pax doesn’t respond or show up in 5, I’m out of there. I’m not wasting my time and missing other potential fares for someone who doesn’t respect my time.

If they rerequest, I cancel to avoid getting crappy ratings (once I have more rides and my rating is more solid I may start taking them but right now my average would suffer even with one 1*).