Drivers understand that being yourself is the best way to earn tips and enjoy your rideshare driving “gig.”
Being an Uber driver or a Lyft driver can be fun when you “Have Your Mind Right” and it can be all too easy to get mentally sidetracked by things that happen that you could choose to experience as “bad.”
“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so!” From Hamlet by William Shakespeare
When you are managing your Uber driving business (or Lyft business or both) there are any number of things you could be worrying about… but I say: “why worry?”
Worrying or having negative thoughts doesn’t “move the bar” making your rideshare driving business more successful!
When I was new to the rideshare driving “gig”… after about a month on the road and a few hundred rideshare driving passenger trips I simply decided I’m not going to do it, I’m not going to spend my rideshare driving days feeling “bad” in any way.
I don’t want to spend any of my time feeling anything but good!
Rideshare Driving Can Be Fun
In the article I’ve referenced for this blog post I absolutely love what this driver is doing! He’s having fun and doing something with his passengers that “feels” right to him.
In my over 9,000 trips as a Lyft and Uber driver, I’ve only participated in sing-a-longs a couple of times. And I’m a singer who has had countless hours of singing lessons and acted in leading roles in a bunch of musicals. My personal favorite was playing The Pirate King in a community theater performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance (my current beard is making sense now?)
My point is… doing a sing-a-long with my passengers is just not my “style,” it doesn’t “feel” right to me so I don’t do it… at least not very often.
If the kind of activity in the referenced article “feels” right to you then go for it!
I’ve read countless articles about what “fun” drivers are doing with their passengers… trivial contests; tailoring the music to the passenger group; having a cup full of cool questions for passengers to draw from… the sky’s the limit, think about what you might do?
Obviously, every passenger group and every type of trip will not lend itself to your “fun” idea, read your passengers, it’s not hard at all to get a sense of what kind of trip passengers are expecting, some passengers just want to sit in the back and do things on their smartphones.
It can be nice and very useful to have options in your Uber driver (or Lyft driver) “rideshare driving toolbox.”
On the other hand, you might be more like me and it doesn’t “feel” like you to attempt to have party activities with your passengers, that’s ok too.
Since the beginning of 2018, I’ve been averaging over 10% extra income from passenger tipping. That’s right on top of the fares I’ve earned I’m averaging over 10% of fares in passenger tips and I’m not doing anything but being the best version of myself, meaning I’m always polite, respectful, and professional.
Whatever you choose to do as an Uber driver (or Lyft driver) be true to your nature and go for it, the chances of getting the same passengers for a future trip are really small so you really have nothing to lose trying something “fun.”
And if doesn’t work, even if your first attempt is a total “flop” stay positive, you’ve learned something, and you’ve lost nothing. Try it again, adjust your style, your delivery, your attempt to introduce your idea… seriously “Get Your Mind Right” and have fun!
I say: “If you can’t entertain yourself then really… who can you entertain?”
I’ve said this to my kids so often they finish the sentence for me.
As a cautionary note, I strongly recommend not posting anything on the internet or even your Facebook page without the expressed consent of your passengers which probably means having them sign a form prepared by a lawyer.
I’m “all in” with the rideshare industry’s growth process, I’m here now and I will be here for years to come.
Someday the rideshare industry will be “an adult” but we’re not there yet… not even close.
So back to the topic of this blog post focused on helping the Lyft driver or Uber driver earn more tips while enjoying the rideshare driving “gig.”
I read articles about drivers playing games; passing out inspirational cards drawn randomly out of a box, and other “fun” activities and I’m saying in my loudest possible voice:
“Go for it!!!”
Again, be yourself, if you are putting on an act it won’t come off as authentic.
And don’t do basically anything just because you are hoping to “earn” more Uber and Lyft tips… I do what I do as a rideshare driver because it makes me feel good. When I drive home at the end of a shift I feel good about the work I’ve done.
I’ve got a future blog post in draft form about how to earn more tips as a driver, in this blog post I’m just scratching the surface AND hoping to get this message across:
“Be yourself! Entertain yourself while being respectful to your passenger’s experience too.”
Enjoy being a rideshare driver it’s a really good “gig” and I’ve been paying my bills as an Uber driver and Lyft driver for over two and a half years.
When I’m driving I focus on the core reality of why I have strangers in my car; rideshare passengers want to go somewhere and I want to earn the income I need to pay my bills.
For over 5 years I did heavy business travel and took lots of taxi rides. I was not been impressed with unfriendly or ambivalent-acting drivers; on the other hand, as a taxi passenger I tempered my thoughts (if I had them at all) with the core reality of why I called a taxi… transportation.
MAIN TAKEAWAY – Be yourself and remember the core reality of the rideshare gig… transportation for passengers and income for you.
In my seven-plus years as a waiter, it took me 6 years to have the epiphany that my job was not being the entertainment for my customers… my job was efficiently bringing customers food and drinks while being polite and professional.
Unless the restaurant’s theme was singing waiters (always wanted one of those gigs) entertainment was not why they came to the restaurant, they came to eat, drink, and enjoy the company of the people they came with not meet an interesting waiter and experience whatever the waiter thought should be part of the dining experience.