DeBorah B. Pryor is an Uber driver. She has over of 3500 trips and 2500 5-star ratings under her belt. She shares six things that rideshare riders do that annoy their drivers.
Keeping the driver waiting without communication
Even though rideshare companies start charging a fee after certain duration, rideshare drivers do not enjoy sitting around waiting for their riders. They will either call you immediately upon arrival or give you some time to get to the car before they call.
DeBorah points out that if your driver calls and gets your voicemail your ride is likely to get canceled as you've wasted valuable unrecoverable time that could have been used to pick up another passenger
Leaving your trash behind
DeBorah says riders who leave their trash in the car or leave floor mats in disarray after messing them up really tick of drivers. So much so that they have to put up signs reminding them to exit the vehicle with all their items including any debris.
She would like to remind ride share riders that they engaged the services of the ride share company to get from one point to another, not to clean up after them.
Asking the driver to change the radio channel, turn the music down or cut the radio off
Deborah takes no issue with riders who request for the radio channel to be changed or turned off or the volume to be decreased. What ticks drivers off she says, is when those requests are made.
The riders who tick drivers off in this instance make these requests the moment they step into the vehicle. DeBorah is of the opinion that this is rude and riders need to wait until they are on their way before making requests.
She also points out that riders should never touch the radio without asking for and receiving permission to do so.
Sharing your bad mood
DeBorah understands that anyone can experience an event that causes them to be in a bad mood from time to time. What she will not tolerate is when you share your bad mood with your ride share driver.
Her advice in this area is "If you can't be pleasant, it's OK to just be quiet."
Learn More: Things that could get riders deactivated from Uber/Lyft
Interviewing the driver
It appears from DeBorah's observations, that human beings are uncomfortable with silence. They want to fill the silence with conversation. In a rideshare situation that conversation becomes an interview of the driver.
Deborah points out that if a driver has been on shift for a while, chances are that they have been asked those same questions over and over again. They are exhausted from repeating the answers and also from driving all day.
She urges passenger to resist the urge to seek entertainment from their drivers. She says "its OK to be quiet" and that "NO ONE has to talk beyond the initial greeting." She points out that "_drivers can also be good at listening."_So you can talk as much as you want without requesting any kind of feedback.
Expressing entitlement
DeBorah says that "ride share drivers don't care what you do, think or believe in your personal environment." What ticks them off is when you try and make your beliefs their beliefs.
Just because you are paying for the ride does not make the car and the driver part of your personal environment. DeBorah views this as an entitlement issue and requests that you stop doing so with immediate effect.
Do you agree with DeBorah's findings? What would you add to the list?