How to get a five-star Uber rating, according to a driver

'Be friendly, but don’t be creepy.'

Rachel Hosie
Friday 06 October 2017 12:57 BST
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(Getty Images)

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A five-star Uber rating is as elusive as an empty tube carriage during rush hour or a ticket to Kendrick Lamar.

Not only is a high rating bound to impress potential suitors when you add it to your Bumble bio, Uber drivers will decide whether to pick you up or not based on your score.

Of course, we’re not yet sure what the future of Uber in London is, but having a high rating is never a bad thing.

What are the secrets then?

It turns out there’s more to a high rating than just being polite, as one Uber driver from New York has revealed.

41-year-old Marc-Andre Richard was recently taking an Uber to a restaurant in Stamford, Connecticut, when he spotted the sign in the back of the car.

(Marc-Andre Richard
(Marc-Andre Richard (Marc-Andre Richard)

The “5 star rider guide” reads:

  1. Be friendly, but don’t be creepy. Don’t stare me down in the rearview mirror. It’s creepy.
  2. Conversation rule of thumb: if you wouldn’t say it to your mother or your employer, don’t say it to me.
  3. Don’t puke. Ever. It’ll cost you $150 and your self-respect.
  4. Don’t ask me to “drive it like I stole it” or any variation thereof.
  5. Wear your seatbelt. Put your kids in car seats. Ubers can crash too.
  6. I have asthma. Don’t smoke anything. Don’t vape. And yes, I can see you blowing smoke out the window.
  7. When I ask you, “What’s in the Solo cup?”, the correct answer is “orange juice”.
  8. I’m using Waze GPS. If you want to take a specific route, I need more than a 5-second warning.
  9. Please clean up after yourself. This isn’t Hogwarts. There are no house elves here.
  10. Don’t get out of the car until I stop. Don’t get out in the middle of traffic. Check before you open the door. Avoid getting hit by cars. Uber doesn’t like it when that happens. it’s bad for business.

Richard, from Quebec, explained that the driver, a woman called Arielle, offers lollipops and Gameboys for children to play with in the car too.

Of course, Richard chatted about the sign with Arielle.

“She said she had only had great feedback and a few good laughs with her passengers,” Richard told The Independent.

To be fair, “be friendly, but don’t be creepy,” is a lesson we can all take for life in general.

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