Some Uni Students Are Giving Grab Drivers 1-Star Ratings Because They Drive Local Cars
Instead of rating them for their service.
By Samantha Khor — 26 Oct 2017, 10:37 AM
"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
The old saying comes to mind when we read the following confession by a Grab driver who alleged that some university students are rating drivers based on car brands instead of their service.
"Just dropped off a student from [a public university in Kuala Lumpur] who's back in Penang for the holidays. She told me it can be difficult to get an Uber or Grab from the university, because the drivers are not accepting rides.
So I asked her if she often gives one-star ratings. She answered that her circle of friends would only give as high as four-star ratings if it's a new Honda Civic; if it's a national car they will only give the driver one star. Even an Almera gets only two stars because it's not 'glamourous' enough. Is this true, KL people?
PS: I've boycotted [a public university in Penang]."
The post was shared on a popular Malay portal, after which it became widely circulated on social media. Adding to his original post, the driver pointed out that low ratings put drivers at risk of getting suspended by Uber or Grab.
"For your information, if a driver keeps getting low ratings, they risk getting suspended by Uber or Grab. There have been many cases of drivers getting suspended because of low ratings or negative reports from these university students.
Please don't disrupt our livelihood and look down on Uber or Grab drivers," he wrote, as quoted by Oh! Media.
At the time of writing, the post has been shared over 1,200 times with many criticising the students for their misplaced priorities and being stingy with their virtual star ratings
"Please rate according to the service provided by an Uber driver to a rider... DON'T RATE BASED ON THE CAR... this is how we make our living. If our service is good, please rate with five stars."
"If you arrive at your destination without any incident, five stars should be given. It's a different story is the driver is rude or drives dangerously, then they should be rated with fewer stars. Consider their livelihood."
"As a lecturer in [a public university in Penang], I will give low ratings to students who turn in shoddy work and get my name wrong. Just to back up Uber / Grab drivers."
Some Uber or Grab drivers also related their own experiences with inconsiderate uni students, as well as riders who've heard of such stories from drivers they rode with
"Us drivers in Kuantan have experienced this with students from [a public university in Kuantan]. The university has requested that we only send students until the main gate.
80% of students we pick up, if a driver refuses to drop them off inside, will only give one-star ratings. The one-star rating makes the overall rating drop as well. If it drops down to 4.6, the driver will no longer get incentives, meaning their monthly income will be RM200 to RM300 less than usual.
Although we have explained why we are not able to drop them off inside, they insist on giving us one-star ratings."
"As a regular Grab rider, I have heard some Grab drivers' complaints about students from [public uni in KL]. I am sad to hear that some drivers have blacklisted students from this university because of their attitude. Please don't embarrass the university."
A number of drivers also revealed yet another bad habit in which students would book several Uber or Grab rides at once, then get on the one that arrives first, leaving the rest in a lurch
Looking at the bigger picture, some pointed out that the fault actually lies in the aforementioned individuals' attitudes and shouldn't be generalised to all university students
"Actually, it's the particular individuals' attitudes that is the main problem in this issue. Their selfishness and lack of empathy towards others ruined it for everyone else.
We cannot punish all public university students because of a few bad seeds."