What I learned from one night as an Uber driver
How Uber Drivers Can Offer A Great Customer Experience
It was the week before New Year’s Eve. Call it a social experiment, call it blog fodder or call it a scheme for quick post-holiday cash. I signed up to be an Uber driver.
The process was straightforward: register on Uber’s site by submitting your driver’s license, vehicle registration, car insurance and state inspection. Multiple, yes multiple, background checks later and I get the stamp of approval to take flight.
Passengers rate their drivers on a scale from one to five stars. As a driver, you want to maintain an average above 4.6 to maintain good standing with Uber.
My goal, obviously, was to deliver five-star service.
Here are a few of Uber’s recommendations for how to be a Five-Star Driver:
Be on time.
Drive safely and know your driving area to take the most efficient and quickest route.
Keep a clean, fresh vehicle in great mechanical condition.
Dress well.
Offer water to your passengers. (During the holidays, a friend mentioned an Uber driver offering candy canes to his riders. Love a little something extra.)
Have a phone changers available for your riders.
- Ask your riders for their music preference (Uber recently partnered with Spotify for this nifty feature).
- Open the door for your riders.
So how did my drive fare?
Before New Year’s Eve, I received text updates saying THIS was the busiest night of the year. I took my car through the car wash, vacuumed my interior, got a lovely air freshener, a few bottles of water for my riders and was ready to roll.
By 10 p.m. I had given two rides. One questioned my choice of talk radio and asked if I knew about Beyonce. (DO I KNOW ABOUT BEYONCE?) After a quiet two hours in an area saturated with other drivers and free cab rides (a Richmond offering from a local law firm), I recouped my car wash money and called it a night.
The good news: I’m five stars baby! Watch the full video from Uber “How To Be A Five-Star Driver” below.