The truth is, attaining an average total rate of 5 stars on ride-sharing apps is nearly impossible because there are some people that will never give you more than 2 stars even if you pay them to do so.
Some won’t even rate u at all. All that affects the rate ratio.
But never the less, attaining a total average rate of 4.6 to 4.9 is an impressive rate that can be achieved if you follow the process below.
Before I start listing the process/steps, I want you to know that this article is a continuation of my previous article: “Cab Taxi Business in Nigeria“.
Just in case you missed it, I advise you to read it for a better understanding of this current article.
Table of Contents
1. Polite
I know, sometimes you might be moody and that will affect your sense of being polite both in words and in action. But at all times always try to be polite.
Even if it means just exchanging greetings at the beginning of the ride, that alone can go a long way for the rest of the listed strategies to work on the rider.
Remember the goal is to get a minimum of 4.5 average stars rating, so you must be polite.
2. Honesty
Honesty is something people always take for granted because they believe that lies and dishonesty which they call; “being smart” can always give them fast results.
I remembered a bolt cab I booked, which cost about 1,000 naira at the beginning of the ride. Along the way, we got into a traffic jam.
While in the traffic jam, I noticed that the driver was in a lane that was more jammed, when the other lane was moving he refused to change lanes.
Then after some time, he moved to the moving lane. All this was happening under my ignorance.
At the end of the trip, I discovered the money for the ride had almost multiplied by 2.
My response to the driver was; “you get luck say extra money dey with me, if not, chi-chi you nor go see (Nigeria Pidgin English)”
I got pissed and I didn’t give him a single star.
Now imagine the driver continues in that pattern, at the end, he will discover that his average rating had gone way below 3.0.
That is a rating you don’t want to be because you will start finding it difficult to see riders’ requests and eventually get suspended or deactivated by the ride-hailing company.
The whole conclusion of this whole story is;
“though it currently pays you to convert your dishonesty or lies to instant cash, in the long run, you will discover that the cash that was coming before will stop because there won’t be any more riders’ requests to accept”.
When the stars keep dropping, the ride-sharing app will have no other options other than to suspend you.
If after the suspension no improvement your account will be deactivated.
Another dishonest act carried out by drivers is; “they always start the ride before the rider arrives”.
The reason behind that is so that the money can increase at the end of the trip.
This will always leave the rider pissed off, and not only will he/she not rate you well but also report you.
You must understand that reporting you, is worst than not giving you a star.
Reports get you deactivated faster than poor ratings.
So, please at all costs be honest.
3. Dress Decently
[Tweet “”Dress as you want to be addressed””]
That is a saying that is applicable in this business.
Dressing decently will make the rider give you some kinda respect that will make it easier for you to influence their decisions.
The core part of this influence is to get them to rate you well.
So please always look good with a decent haircut. Like the popular word; “be professional”
4. Maintain your car
Just as you work on yourself also work on your car. Because your rider can easily cancel the trip due to the appearance of your car.
Cancelation of rides can easily get your account suspended. That is a path you don’t want to find yourself on because it will not only cost you money it will also cost you your time.
And if the report on your vehicle’s appearance keeps coming from the riders on the ride-hailing app, they will have no choice but to deactivate your account.
In the course of this series, I will emphasize more on cancelation of trips; “how it affects you, and how to avoid being deactivated”. Because it is something all drivers experience.
5. Always make your riders comfortable
With the 4 previous steps followed thoroughly, the comfort of the rider during the trip will automatically fall into place.
I remember a ride I took in the first quarter of this year, getting to the car, I discovered the car was unkept and the front sit was drawn back so I won’t sit at the back (which I do love to sit at).
That is the worst ride I’ve booked since I started using Bolt.
At the end of the trip, I decided not to report the lady(driver) but I didn’t rate her “My soft heart didn’t let me”.
Not all riders will be that merciful, so, please always do what it takes to make your riders comfortable.
6. Have a working AC
Always make sure your AC is 100% ok. So when a rider requests it, he/she won’t be disappointed.
But when it is cold, always negotiate politely by explaining to the rider why the AC might not be needed since the weather is cold.
The reason why this option is open for negotiation is; “putting on your AC all the time will burn the car compressor”. Which will definitely lead to extra costs for you.
But if they insist, turn it on for them, because these riders might not only rate you badly but also report that your AC is not working, which might get your account deactivated or suspended.
7. Always have a gauged fuel
You don’t want a situation where you are on a trip and you are telling the rider that you want to get fuel. When they know that a delay will cost them their own money, not yours.
They might laugh with you and say ok. But in the end, the probability of reporting you and not rating you at all is high.
It is a risk that can be avoided so please avoid it by always gauging up before accepting any trip.
8. Create a conducive conversation with your riders
Create a conversation with your riders mostly around their day, not their personal life.
But when you notice the rider is not interested in the conversation, please end the conversation immediately.
And please as a male driver don’t make conversation with ladies beyond their day unless she is the one asking the questions.
I advise, as a male driver always to be professional when you are with the ladies no matter how pretty or ugly they may look.
9. The magic words
The magic word has a very high rate of success, so, I advise you to always try it.
It goes like this;
” I hope you had a wonderful trip sir/ma.
I just gave you a 5star rating ( some riders don’t know that drivers do rate them. I really don’t know the advantage of their ratings. Maybe it gives them cheaper prices. But just rate them and show them that you are rating them)
Please, I will appreciate it if you give me a 5-star rating also so that I can get my next trip.”
As easy as those words are, you can get up to 4.9 average stars.
Cab article series
- Cab Taxi Business in Nigeria: Make over 300k monthly from Uber or Bolt
- 10 ways to INSPECT A USED CAR in 10 minutes before buying it
- SECRETS Experienced Bolt / Uber Drivers don’t want you to know
- 5 Cheap Affordable cars you can use for Uber and Bolt: N700,000 to N3,000,000
- This is why Bolt, Uber DRIVERS ACCOUNT gets Blocked
Conclusion
Uber stars rating is a maximum of 5 stars
With these steps thoroughly followed through you can be assured of having an average of 4.9 stars rating both in Uber and Bolt.
Please Note: “if you are a driver with a low rating already, I advise you to download the riders app, so you can always know the average stars of drivers around you.
The reason being that; “where there are many drivers with high stars rating, you with a low rating will likely not see any riders’ request”.
Meaning that those with high average stars will always be the first to see riders’ requests before those with low average stars.
And when it is discovered that you don’t bring in revenue to the ride-hailing company after some time of observation, they will deactivate or block your account, because you are becoming a dead weight.
So the escape route out of being deactivated is by moving away from those stuffed locations of drivers with high stars into locations where there are few or no drivers around.
I know at the beginning you might find it difficult to follow through these steps, but keep trying until you master them all. Because none of the steps is less important than the other.
I hope you enjoyed this article: “How to get 5 stars in Uber/Bolt”.
If you have any questions or contributions please leave them in the comment section below.
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