A Client Feedback Lesson from Uber

I travel a lot for business and often use Uber to get around. For those of you who are less familiar with it, the Uber app allows both the drivers and the passengers to rate one another on a scale of 1-5 after every ride. Out of curiosity, I recently asked my driver about my score, expecting only the highest marks.

My driver tapped his dashboard-mounted phone and called over his shoulder, "You're a 4.6."

What??? I couldn't think of a single reason why any of my drivers would have ranked me any lower than a 5. After all, I'm a pretty nice guy. I always say "thanks" as I exit the car. And I tip my Uber drivers in cash after almost every ride.

I asked my driver if he had any theories on why my score wasn’t higher.

“Have you ever made one of your drivers wait for you?"

I had. On at least two occasions that I could remember, I was running late, and by the time I got into the car, my driver had been sitting idle for several minutes. It turns out that Uber drivers hate that. It wastes their time, and like so many of us, their time is money.

I spent the rest of the ride thinking about client feedback. Too often we assume that, if our clients are not complaining they must be happy with our services. But we don't always have a clear picture of their criteria for excellence.

So consider the means you use to gather feedback from your key clients. If you're just relying on your gut, you may find that your assumptions are as inaccurate as my Uber score prediction.

And whatever you do, don't keep your driver waiting.

Authored by David Ackert