look news india
In today’s digital age, we start weighing the quality of any service on the scales of star rating and review. Be it ordering food online, booking a hotel or taking a cab service – we often reject it as soon as we see low ratings. But the story of an Uber driver going viral on social media has forced people to think that behind every low rating it is not always bad service but there can also be some big compulsion of a person. The incident of her ride shared by a woman on the social media platform X (Twitter) has made millions of internet users emotional.
Woman did not cancel cab even after seeing low rating
According to the viral post, the woman was getting very late to go to office in the morning. In a hurry he immediately booked an Uber cab. When the cab was booked, the woman looked at the driver’s profile, where his rating was visible at 4.59 stars. Usually, passengers cancel the ride after seeing such a low rating, but in a hurry to reach the office, the woman did not do so and sat in the car. As soon as the journey started, the woman’s fear completely disappeared. The driver was very courteous, drove very safely and took the woman to her destination before the scheduled time.
When the driver folded his hands and said- ‘Madam, don’t give 5 stars’
Delighted with the excellent ride and excellent behaviour, the woman smiled and told the driver while alighting that she would give him a full ‘5 star’ rating on the app. The woman thought that the driver would be happy to hear this, but on the contrary the driver suddenly folded his hands. “Please don’t give me 5 stars,” she said emotionally. The woman was surprised to hear this strange demand of the driver. When he asked the reason for this, what the driver revealed shocked the passenger.
The painful connection between cab algorithms and wife’s illness
Explaining the reason behind this with wide eyes, the driver said that Uber’s algorithm (system) works in such a way that as soon as a driver’s rating becomes very good (close to 5 stars), the system starts giving him high-priority bookings like long distance rides and airport dropping.
The driver told with a heavy heart that his wife is currently battling cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy. In such a situation, he has to stay near his wife or in the nearby areas of the house all the time, so that in case of any medical emergency, he can reach home immediately. If he starts taking long distance or out of town rides after getting a 5 star rating, he will not be able to reach his ailing wife in her time of need. This was the reason why he deliberately wanted to keep his rating a little low. Hearing this painful story of the driver, the woman’s eyes became moist and he respected her wish and gave her a 4 star rating.
People’s pain expressed on the internet: ‘There is a life behind the ratings too’
This very emotional story has been shared on the X account named @boltedsage77, which has been viewed by more than 10 lakh (1 million) people so far. Social media users are giving their reactions enthusiastically on this post. One user wrote, “This story teaches us that even behind the mechanical rating, there is a living life and its struggle hidden.” Another user commented, “Many times people give less stars to the driver because of small things or traffic jam, we should keep humanity in mind before judging.”