Uber and Lyft drivers can either be talkative and friendly, or they can be all about business. Sometimes, it’s nice when a driver doesn’t bombard a passenger with questions and focuses on the goal of the service: get the passenger to their destination.
Passengers also don’t have to force conversations.
There are often passengers that will also ask their drivers, in a polite way, if they mind not talking to them. How? Well, a common issue is that the passenger has to take or make call. When this happens, they’ll often say:
- Sorry, I have to make a call, or sorry I have to take this call and can’t talk.
Drivers know that their passengers may include busy people or professionals that need to take calls or work on work-related items.
It’s really up to the driver to distinguish which passengers want to talk and which would rather be left alone.
Drivers Should Still Remain Polite
There’s no excuse for being rude to a passenger. As a driver, it’s your responsibility to be friendly and “read” the passenger. You should always greet the passenger and confirm the address that you’re taking them to.
If, at this time, you notice that the passenger doesn’t want to be bothered, you can:
- Ask if they would like the radio on
- Ask if they would like the AC/heat lower or higher
Aside from this, remain polite and the ride should go well. There is no rule stating that you have to chat it up with every passenger that sits in your vehicle.
If You Want to Talk, Choose “Happy Times”
Different times of the day will have different responses from people. If you want passengers that are happier, you need to drive when people are happy. Lyft has a lot of great suggestions for this, too.
Now, let’s say that you pick up a plumber that has been working all day, or you pick up an owner of a business that has a company-defining meeting in 20 minutes.
Chances are, these individuals are not going to be chatty.
People tend to be more stressed in the mornings. But, people are happier when they’re:
- Going to lunch
- Catching a ride midday on the weekend
During the week, people are happiest when they’re either going home, going out to meet friends or going out to eat. This puts the best time between 5 and 7 PM on the weekdays.
Would you want to talk to a random stranger when going to a job you dislike in the morning, or would you want to talk right before you’re doing something you want to do, like go out to eat with a friend?
Drivers will start to be able to read a person’s mood the moment they get into the vehicle, and this may be the reason the driver is not talking. If you’re a passenger and you want to have a conversation, ask the driver how their day was and try to strike up a conversation.
Otherwise, rate the driver on the quality of the ride and understand that the driver may be under a lot of stress, too.
