I start when they get into the car. If they make you wait more than 15 minutes (which is asinine) call them and tell them you’ll need to start the meter to keep the car reserved. I hate when people make me wait. I bust my ass to get to you as quickly as possible. Have some respect.
If you wait 10 minutes after ‘arriving now’ you can cancel and get the fee. If I talk to the rider and confirm Im in the right spot I start the trip so Im at least making the 30 cents a minute or whatever for my time. Im not sure what the official policy is on this. Be careful not to start your meter if you arent sure they are coming or if it could be the wrong location.
Wow, How generous are you guys! I look at it this way. Uber is an “on demand” service. A client demands a car ASAP. I hit the “arriving now” button say 2 mins away, I arrive at the correct address (having sms’d a request to confirm the APP’s pickup address given), I call the client immediatly when I arrive to once again confirm I’m at the right place (sometimes they dont respond to SMS) and get an idea how long the will be.
we accept that we are taking chicken-feed for trips, so we have to protect every available minute in the hour. If a client expects a professional service NOT to charge for time they are at their service, then they will be responsible for driving the standards they enjoy down.
I noticed people don’t want to come out till they get the text saying you arrived or they see you out front. This wastes time so I started to call if I pull up and don’t see them waiting for me. I also hit the arriving now button when I’m a block or two away to give the app time to send the notification. I also will not violate any laws by double parking or making illegal u-turns or parking where signs say “no parking”. If I get there and there is no place for me to stop safely and legally, I cancel it and move on.
I’m noticing that clients aren’t getting their “arrival” text till they get into my car - sometime 3-4mins after I’ve hit the button. Sydney riders get their texts from a US based number (+1) so I can understand the delay, but if it is collectively robbing the fleet of productivity then UBER is losing out as well as the drivers.
That’s a big reason I call or text riders myself to have them ready when I get there. Saves precious minutes when the work is hustling along like last night
I wouldn’t say luxury clientele Larry. Cabs are so poor here, 80-90% of the drivers just don’t know where they are going! and for single women it’s scary. So they love the accountability that UBER provides and happy to pay the $1.20 per km more to ride in a Uber Black over a cab.
The price difference is much less when you take into account Cabs adding 20% between 10pm-6am and ALL taxi credit card transactions are hit with a 11% “Cabcharge” surcharge (long story that, but regulators are finally putting an end to that and forcing them to drop surcharge to 5%)
I start the meter as soon as I know I’m in the right spot, it’s 35 CENTS A MINUTE in San Diego for christ’s sake! Should be more like a dollar a minute IMO!
I decided it was every driver for themself so I start the meter upon arrival now. I don’t care what Uber thinks we should do, they’ve proven they don’t give a damn about us. Also stopped handing out the promo code cards. I’ll be damned if I’m going to help build their business when they’re so quick to kick me to the curb. Anger building.
Of course you also found the mandatory video that all passengers must watch before being authorized to use the system that instructs them not to rudely abuse the driver’s time, expecting him to work for free, or to not in any way adversely rate the driver for having the gall to ask to start the meter while you take your sweet time?
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I had only the 2nd customer in 1,001 rides call me as I was driving to their location tell me to pull up and start the meter… I have never started the meter while waiting on my own.
I do cancel after 6 minutes and get the $5.00 fee. “cancel”, “client no show” Not per the video, but if I call and they say “I’ll be down in 5 minutes” you KNOW that means 10!
I have been waiting until the person(s) are in my car to start the meter. Now I think I’m going to start the meter once I have confirmed their location & identity. Each trip there is at least 1-3 mins from when I correctly do this to when I’m driving on the route to their destination. This could equal out to an extra $5-$10 a night. Will see what happens next weekend.
Don’t get me wrong, I totally agree with the sentiment of that you should have to pay to make a driver wait, 100%. I just saw that video and thought I’d mention the corporate line, as ridiculous as it is.
You should always start the trip once the customer enters your vehicle. Even when they text me to start the trip early for delayed pickup scenarios I never do. Patience is part of world class customer service. It’s easy to see how delays happen for your customers. What seems like a few seconds to your customer scurrying around trying to get ready making sure not to forget anything can seem like forever to a driver just sitting and waiting. However good Uber drivers should be mindful of why and how this can happen and have patience. I normally wait until the Uber app advises me to confirm or cancel. I then send my customer a polite text inquiring if they still need an Uber. If they do not reply I wait another minute and then cancel. If they do reply to say yes then I reply back, “thanks take your time.” Customers in a crunch for time grandly appreciate a driver being patient and understanding.