How to Make Uber and Other Ratings Work for You

The proliferation of ratings for many services and experiences has left customers mystified and at times annoyed. While ratings are intended to help consumers make better choices and provide feedback to workers, a recent Wall Street Journal article detailed how they have become almost meaningless in many areas.

Hundreds of WSJ readers responded to the story, citing some of the reasons ratings don’t work as well as some ways they can.

One common complaint is the lack of clarity around a baseline.

“I think for this ‘5 star’ rating system to work properly, we need to first define to BOTH parties—driver and passengers, host and guest—what we are looking for to constitute a ‘5 star’ review,” said William Ho of Los Angeles.

At the heart of a rating’s value lies an implicit faith in other people. It’s an assumption that gives some readers pause.

“The value of another customer’s opinion depends solely upon your relationship with the other customer, and when you have no relationship to someone, their rating has no value,” said David Knepper of Naperville, Ill.

Other readers saw room for ratings to be helpful. Here are some things to keep in mind as you confront yet another customer survey, from readers of the Journal. Responses have been lightly edited for clarity.

How to make ratings work for you

Readers suggest that the way to make ratings work is to stick to a system.

To read a 5-star system, you need to think of it like a scale of 1 to 10, where a 4.1 rating is equal to a 1, a 4.5 rating is equal to a 5, and 5.0 is equal to a 10. Anything below 4 is unworthy.

—SiQin Wang, New York, N.Y.

On Amazon, there are two kinds of ratings upon which one can rely: (1) the composite ratings of hundreds (or better yet, thousands) of purchasers of a product as a group, because there is little chance that paid endorsers, “plants” and interested others can have much of an impact: and (2) the individual written descriptions of customers that go into detail about their experiences.

I particularly rely upon the latter when I am purchasing books and music. I return the favor—I think it is important to tell the truth about things, and I try to point out things that are uniquely great or uniquely troublesome about a product, and I’d do that even if I was rated in return!

—Martin T. McCue, Annapolis, Md.

With restaurants/

—Jennie Chen, Chicago

My own guess with Airbnb is that the average rating is about 4.91. Anyplace with a rating less than that has a problem.

—Thor Albro, Samish Island, Wash.

It’s a binary choice

While many readers find that a 5-star system is too broad, some found a workaround.

The five-star system is really a binary—greater than 4.8 is thumbs up, less than 4.8 is bad. That’s it. Still useful.

—John Kelvie, Winter Garden, Fla.

Management is behind the ratings run amok

Understanding the drive behind the push for rankings can be informative.

It’s the corporate mindset of “continuous improvement.” Three should be a perfectly fine rating for a product or service. Now, “perfect” is the minimum for people not getting hassled by their boss, or an automated system; and who would want to buy a product with a three-star rating these days? It should mean “absolutely nothing wrong with this product, but it’s not insanely great.” But, it doesn’t.

—Renard DellaFave, Raleigh, N.C.

Online marketing “experts” preach to business owners that their visibility on Google depends on their ratings. Since Google’s methods aren’t transparent, it’s debatable whether or not that’s even true. Still, every business owner and manager is conditioned to beg employees to get them 5-star ratings. If it’s 4 stars, some business owners get upset. The problem isn’t the customer or the business owner, it’s the system.

—Jerome Stevens, Greenville, S.C.

Give a 5

Many readers are hesitant to use rankings in a way that might hurt a worker.

I always give 5 star ratings. Being nice doesn’t cost me a thing.

—Mike Matheny, Philadelphia

I just can’t bring myself to trash a product or movie. If I don’t like a film, I blame myself for choosing it. When I’m reading product reviews, if someone writes a bad one, I just think they should have returned the product or contacted the seller. It’s probably because I used to sell a lot on eBay.

—EJ Passeos, Akron, Ohio

Uber and Lyft basically assured low star rating drivers get fired and it’s become common knowledge they do this. I give out 5 stars unless the driver is worth firing, which is rare. It’s not my job to get them fired for my minor annoyance.

—Brendan Walsh, Austin, Texas

The view from the back seat

The converse of giving a rating is getting a rating. The bar isn’t always even.

I have ALS and as a result it takes me extra time to get to the car and climb out safely. I’ve had some wonderful drivers who’ve gone above and beyond—one literally saved me from a bad fall. (I tipped him generously).

But I’ve also had instances where my score has gone down inexplicably, which is why I’ve felt bias may be at play. It’s frustrating that despite being pleasant and polite, some drivers still give me low scores presumably because I take “too long” getting into or out of the car. People may hand out 5s like candy, but not to everyone.

—Bernie Zipprich, New York, N.Y.

I mainly want them to show up. If I am honest about the driver’s B.O. etc., will my rating go down? Am I a 2 for being honest? I figure if I rate drivers honestly, no one will show up.

—Robert Sartini, Chester, Vt.

Write to Carrie Reynolds at [email protected] and Florence Wu at [email protected]