Passenger Tips: Don't Save Five Stars For Marriage

Eyes On The Prize

Are you like me, Dear Reader, and possessing of a certain disdain for modern rating systems? Does giving a perfect rating for a service that isn't perfect just rankle, since it means that you can't really go the extra mile for truly exemplary service?

Well, um, please just stop. We've lost this fight, folks, and it's really not a good hill to die on. Here's why.

When you see my star ranking, what you are seeing isn't the entirety of my service, or the accumulated wisdom of all of the people who have ever been in my car.

Instead, you are seeing the rankings from the last 100 people who have taken a trip with me, and those rankings have to be 4.6 or better to say in the world, basically.

Now, this hasn't been a problem for me to date. (Why? I might be good at this, I offer amenities that other drivers don't offer, and maybe I've just gotten lucky so far. Ask me again in a few thousand rides.)

But when the sample data is cut down to just the last 100, it's really not going to take much to put me in jeopardy. Which is why the system is the way it is because Lyft doesn't want any of their drivers to get complacent.

Let me be perfectly clear about this. I'm not asking you to give me five stars to keep me in the system. But what I am asking is that if you choose to deduct stars, Have A Reason. Possibly with some typed feedback. Give me something I can work on to get better, rather than punish me because you are saving that fifth star for some future Magic Ride...