Hi guys 
🙂
I’m a rider, been a long time lurker in this group. I take both Uber and Grab, but I have an issue regarding Uber. I’m hoping to share my predicament to get some insights.
I usually take UberX home, with my boyfriend. We live nearby, so what we usually do is to request driver drop me along main road before turning into side road that leads to his house. The driver makes absolutely no detour.
I’m using iOS (latest version of Uber app), and to my knowledge, I am not able to add an additional stop on Uber. Hence, when I get into the car, I ask the driver if he is okay dropping me along the road before the turn to my boyfriend’s house. There is no detour required, just a drop-off on a main road. Otherwise (and I say all of this to show him the options available), I am willing to change the destination to my place, then my boyfriend’s place, so that he is fairly compensated for the journey.
The driver always says okay, with zero protest. When I am nearing my stop point, I say that he can drop me at the bus stop (since it is the most obvious landmark on that stretch of road), or before the bus stop (if he is not comfortable to stop at bus stop due to regulations).
Please note that the drop-off time is always past 11pm, and this is a fairly quiet road, i.e. there are little to no cars. In tonight’s instance, the road was completely empty when he made the drop-off.
When alighting, I say thanks to the driver (addressing him by his name), and wish him a pleasant night ahead. Then he makes the turn to the side road to drop my boyfriend off. Boyfriend also behaves similarly when he reaches the destination, offers his thanks for the journey and wishes the driver a good night ahead.
Not sure if it’s relevant, but at the start of the journey I was waiting at the pick-up point when the driver came (so I wasn’t late), and when we boarded the car I addressed him by the name and thanked him for fetching us.
I’m rated 1 star for the journey.
This has happened more than once. In my opinion, I’m always polite and courteous to the driver, hence I’m very surprised to receive such a poor rating. The only reason I can think of is that the driver is displeased with the additional stop, but as I mentioned, it was a stop along the main road (quiet stretch with few cars since it’s late at night) with no detour. I was also happy to pay by Uber-meter, by switching the destination to my place then my boyfriend’s place, if the driver preferred.
I would appreciate to hear the views of drivers regarding this situation, and how I can be a better rider 🙂 Thank you all in advance.