A new driver in the e-hailing business recently asked for guidance and tips he should know about as he is just starting out; the advice below was shared by one Ezechi Towas Tochukwu from one of the e-hailing groups on Facebook and we think this might be helpful should you want to go into the business or you know someone that might want to.
Here you go; advice to new e-hailing drivers
Let me advise you as a brother:
There’s no way to avoid accepting requests to a certain location you may not like, also, your driver score may drop drastically if you continue rejecting or canceling requests, so accept all requests, if you’re driving and the request came, in, find a safe place to park, then call the rider.
Politely ask him or her where he/ she is going to, if you don’t like the area, you beg the rider to cancel the request – don’t cancel it yourself, I repeat, don’t cancel it yourself.
Just lie to the rider that you don’t have enough fuel, or you’re about to go offline when his request came. Don’t be rude. Always be polite.
Avoid traffic as much as you can.
On weekdays, drive from 9 am till 3 pm, then start again by 9 pm, don’t drive during rush hours.
Your best time to cash out is from Friday 10 pm till Sunday night. On no account will you skip driving from Friday night till Sunday night- if you feel like sleeping, park in a mall and sleep in your car. Then, wake up and start hustling again.
Always fill your tank in the morning before going out.
Be neat, and polite, and always go the extra mile to put smiles on the faces of your riders- like helping them with luggage, opening doors for them, and asking them to rate you in return by giving you a 5 star.
When you close for work daily, remove fuel money for the next day, remove commission, and the remaining change, divide into two- put one part in a bank as your savings, the other part for your car maintenance.
Obey road signs, don’t be in a haste at traffic lights or on the road be focused, and don’t drag roads with commercial bus drivers.
Use Google maps always.
Lock your doors.
Put smiling faces whenever you see police or VIO.
On no account should a VIO know you’re an e-hailing driver.
Make sure your papers are complete.
Change worn-out tyres.
Good luck.
I wish you all the best.