1. The latecomer – You raced to the pick-up point to see that nobody is there.
You look left, right, up and down but don’t see anyone. You decide to give the rider a text to inform them of your arrival.
They reply, “Coming down” and you breathe a sigh of relief. Another 5 mins passed and they are still not there. You decide to cancel the trip and right before you click on the Rider-No-Show button, the latecomer appears right in front of you and greets you good morning.
2. “My Father’s Road” – This rider nonchalantly passes you instructions that will get you into trouble. They have priority access to turns and lanes that nobody else seem to have. They will make you do a U-turns in the absence of U-turn signs. They will ask to be stopped along a full day bus lane just so that they save a few steps to their destination.
3. The Quickie Couple – They board the car, ask you to take whatever route you want before getting it on! It might not be full-blown action at the back but you can still hear weird noises, and at times the lady is missing from your rear view mirror . When you arrive at the destination, the lady reappears and they alight quickly. Be sure to clean your back seat later!
4. The Virus Spreader – These riders openly share their coughs and viruses in your car with you without covering their mouths. Being in such close proximity to these virus is dangerous! Be prepared to dress up in a hazardous waste suit!
5. The Hot and Sticky – A brother of us once shared a story of how he picked up 4 riders after the Standard Chartered Marathon in his new Jaguar XF. The 4 riders were in their running attire and he could smell all 42km worth of perspiration in the car. When they alighted, he immediately winded down all windows to air the car. The riders also left behind some dirty sweat stains on his new leather seats. Eew!
6. The “High and mighty” – They ask for bottled water, for you to open the doors for them and might even ask you to bow to them because they work as a professor.
Some might even refuse to leave your car because they insist that you ended the trip before they could key in their coupon code.
7. The Sarcastic – This category of riders will seriously piss you off! “I think I walk also faster”, “My grandmother can drive faster”. Male drivers will recall their NS days where sergeants scream “My grandmother can run faster than you!”. Infuriating, but nothing you can do about it.
8. The Cancel-Rider – The one rider we all “love”. As we approach the pick up location, the rider suddenly cancels the trip. While we recover from the pain of cancellation, we receive another request from the same rider! When you eventually pick them up and ask why they keep on cancelling, they tell you that they are trying to get a nearer car! Thanks for messing up with our cancellation rate!
9 – The ‘UberFool’ – We are not saying that UberPool users are cheap. Most UberPool riders generally are receptive to sharing their trip with others and some actually make friends while at it.
However, There are select groups that try to abuse the system. When told that we are going to pick up another passenger, they ‘act blur’ and ask “How come got second rider”, “I never choose UberPool”, “Don’t you dare accept the call, it’s not on the way and I’m in a rush”. We understand that some Uber / Grab drivers are worried about their rating so they let these people get away with it. Suay!
Nevertheless, we drivers always do our best to provide the best possible service to get our passenger to their destination Safe and Fast. Do find out more on the best practices on getting the 5 Star rating.
If you have anything interesting to share with us, drop us an email at contact@firstlane.com.sg
