Use the time to stretch your legs, tiddy up the car, get a drink, use the restroom etc

I’ve done all of these after letting the pax know I was going to be away from the car as well and not one has had a problem with it. only once did i have to wait about 20 minutes for a gal who went to walmart and took a long time - I had time to go in, use the restroom, get a bottle of water and some fruit and come back out to still wait on her but it was a long trip where she was headed to a freinds house and just before we arrived there she asked and I obliged. For me it’s not a deal breaker as I just use it to take a break at least and when we’re working hard, breaks are a good thing. good luck…

yeah live the trip running
however, even though you get paid to wait, in places where its only 10-15cent/min, its barely worth it
you’d rather be driving since the per mile pays more

Thats what I noticed last night…it was totally fine though! Couple of cool siblings who were home alone. Shocking that parents would ok their kids getting an Uber ride…not sure I would allow my children to do so…

Usually the wait and return trips are good ones, contrary to the griping elsewhere, because they typically happen during the day when I would just be heading back home or sitting anyway. So pennies a minute to sit is better than nothing and I get some more paid miles. A big exception is last call at night. Bars close here at 2:00AM, at 1:30 or so it starts getting very busy surge and all. From about 1:30 to 2:20 am I politely decline the “fast food stop” because it will cost me one more great ride at surge rates and the waiting time can’t make up for that. After 2:20, they are my last surge fare so why not, we are back to stopping at the drive thru. You will need to figure out what works for you, be polite and firm and use positive messages to guide them in the right direction like “If you are going to be more than 5 minutes, it’s cheaper for you to order another one …” if you don’t want to wait so they won’t ding you on the ratings.

Yeah definitely wait for her outside while she shops for 30 minutes, a whopping $4.50 for 30 minutes of your time. Drop them off, tell them I am not your ***** or your personal driver and time is money. Waiting for them will only make you miss out on another 2-3 pings just because you want to be a nice guy. Had you dropped her off, go pick up another run or two, you’d be more profitable then.

More than five minutes I can fit in a quick jerk and nap, at sixteen cents a minute, take all time you want, that’s like gotta be a bunch of money right? Without fail every time I say I’ll wait, it immediately jumps to surge at 2x or more, end up kicking myself. The only possible upside is one less srf, which I find is pointless because this rarely happens anywhere but in minimum fare hell, with cheap urbanites or college kids, and means your paying more srf anyway. I don’t wait, I don’t do fast food, it’s a ride. Anyone pushes I mention money talks, one guy bit threw me a ten to wait, otherwise it’s on to the next a-hole. Cash talks upfront, I’ll tip you when I get back…see ya. Get enough trips where one rating doesn’t **** with you, puts you back in control of things.

Do you play the guarantee game?

If you play at pro level, waiting is good. No gas or wear and tear expense. When you drop off a pax give em 3 bucks and tell them you will end the ride in 20 min. Keeps you off the radar and doing 5 trips an hour.

There is two options for everyone to consider.
With you not playing the guarantee game, your time is worth more than waiting. In OC/LA, we are getting under minimum wage for sitting around! I give them 5 minutes to shop, eat, whatever they want with my time. Yes, it is your time. First response is from a CSR of Uber so take it from their opinion. They don’t care about the driver. You are replaceable (or so they think). If they want more than 5 minutes, I tell them for the time, it is better to order a new Uber to save them money. Hopefully they appreciate the tip (as they won’t be giving you one) you gave them and not ding your precious rating.

Now if you are playing the guarantee game, there is two ways to look at it. I am currently in need of a few more rides per hour by Sunday to get 1 per hour. I have been a great Uber driver soldier and ducked when pings were shooting all around me. I now have to get some catching up to do and what better way to get some hopeful minimum fares to get more rides per hour. At this point on Friday, I cannot be waiting for a rider to go do their errands. Time off the clock means harder chance to get my needed 1 per hour rider. They will need to get another Uber (and maybe it will be me seating in the parking lot waiting for a close by ping and fulfill my 2 in 1 hour quota!). Now second scenario, if I am at where I need to be in the guarantee game, I am letting Ms. Priss shop to her hearts content and time is dependent on the clock hour. If I just started at 10AM and it is 10:15 and I am just dropping her off? I got at least an hour of sitting and relaxing while I collect the lowest possible amount of money and keep big distance pings away from my Sentra. I am using O miles while Ms All That shops at her discount store. If she is my first ride during the 10AM hour and I dropped her off at 10:55? “Honey, you got 15 minutes maximum to get your errands done!”

Oh and by the way, just when you think you have it all figured out, the guarantee rules are a changing. They actually upped the amounts in Raleigh BUT now the 1 trip per hour average is only over a 3 hour shift. So if I have 2 trips one 3hour shift and 4 trips another 3 hour shift I ain’t getting a guarantee for the first shift. Doesn’t let you bank calls or make them up later, does it. Back to the drawing boards

If you can’t figure out you are getting jerked around waiting around you shouldn’t be driving.

You guys need to stop ****ing your fellow drivers over by making riders think they can waste a drivers time for pennies a minute.

I had a pax that wanted to get food and he said “we’ll be really quick” so I said ok cuz really quick to me means we’re just gonna get our food to go.

I take this on a case by case basis and so should you. You’ll get better at evaluating it as you drive more.

I had one guy order an X car for his clients and called and asked me if it was OK for me to take them to go cowboy hat shopping and then take them to their final destination. I told him I couldn’t wait like that (it was about to be the busy time) and he said OK. I get there and he says they actually just want to pick up a hat and by that time all their bags and half of them are in the car. I took them and then I drove in circles while I waited. I also 1 starred him for lying to me after I had already made it clear I couldn’t wait.

I had an early morning pick up in a bad part of town. Young guy was going to get his grandfather some breakfast at McDonalds. Drive thru line was crazy long there so he had me go to a taco place. I gladly waited for him to get his order.

Had another guy who needed to run to the bank from his bar to make a deposit. Asked me to wait and also let me know he would be tipping me. I had no problem waiting either way because he can’t drive due to a brain injury, but the tip was appreciated.