Praise Mohammad - My life as an Uber driver #1

I want to give thanks to Mohammad.  It’s probably not quite you what think.  No, I am not a Muslim convert. Mohammad is the name of an Uber driver that I met a couple of months ago in San Diego.  While Mohammad did get me from Point A to Point B, he did so in a dirty car, wearing dirty clothes, with a foul attitude.  It’s the only time I’ve given an Uber driver less than 5 stars (and as I will explain in a subsequent blog, if a driver gets anything less than five stars, his future as an Uber driver is in doubt).

But Mohammad got me thinking.  If a slouch like Mohammad can be an Uber driver, why can’t a nice guy like me who showers at least once a day and knows how to find a car wash be an Uber driver too?  Though I’ve been retired for eight years and am not the least bit bored, I’ve always enjoyed talking with people and hearing their stories.  Plus, I know the Palm Springs area really well.  Meeting interesting people while providing a service would be a fun thing, right?  Kind of like being a TV news reporter except you’re not dealing deadlines and consultants who always knew how to do your job, even though they never mastered theirs.

So, I Googled “How to become an Uber driver,” and several weeks later, here I am with my Uber decal, my clean car, and my true desire to be the best Uber driver ever (apparently, I’m not, but more on that later, too). 

The sign up process is all online and fairly simple.  You email your driver’s license, proof of insurance, car registration.  You tell them you’re not a criminal and OK Uber doing a background check (which apparently is not comprehensive enough for some cities which now want Uber drivers to be fingerprinted).  Your car must be 2006 or newer, have four door and seat at least four passengers.  And you must take your car to a participating nearby mechanic who for $22 will give you an Uber certificate authenticating the road worthiness of your vehicle.  That took five minutes.

Then, “ding,” a message pops up on your phone (after you install the Uber driver app) which congratulates you for being an official Uber driver …. now get out there and start picking up people.  And that’s what I have been doing about three days a week for the past three weeks.

Do you get rich?  No, not even close.  Do you get frustrated?  At times, yes, because some people can be real jerks.  Is it fun?  Yes, because there are a lot more nice people than there are jerks. 

Nice people story #1:  Melinda, in her 50’s, in town for a tech convention, needed a ride Thursday afternoon to FedEx to pick up printed material that wasn’t ready before she came to Palm Springs from Virginia.  First time here, she loves it, loves Uber, and wanted to know all about Palm Springs during our 15 minute ride.  So impressed, she tipped five bucks.  Awesome!  The next day, I got Melinda again (along with a co-worker).  Melinda said it was her lucky day because she got me again (it’s all random, you never know what driver/passenger you’ll end up with), told me I was the best Uber driver she ever had, and gave me another five bucks as I dropped her off at her swanky hotel.  Five stars for Melinda.  Melinda was the exception.  Why aren’t there more Melindas? 

That’s it for now.  Time to go online with Uber and search for more Melindas.  Unfortunately, I’ll probably get a Taye.  Her story next time. Oh, and thanks, Mohammad … I think.