Who wants to get five stars when they can get a smiley face or a thumbs up instead? That’s the idea behind a new rating system Uber is testing.
Quartz reports that the ride-hailing service began testing an emoji-based rating system in a handful of markets, giving riders the option to bestow a smiley face, frown face, thumbs up, a thumbs down, or other emotion-based images in place of stars.
Under the current rating system, a rider and driver are prompted to evaluate each other — based on a scale of five stars — upon completion of their trip.
Karun Arya, a spokesperson for Uber, says the new initiative started at the company’s headquarters in San Francisco and will be rolled out to a small group of riders around the world.
So far, Uber users in Austin, TX, and Singapore have reported being prompted to rate their drivers with the new ratings.
According to Quartz, the new system may help Uber in its efforts to weaken drivers’ argument that the company treats them as employees, not like contractors as the ride-hailing service contends they are. With the current rating system, Uber can fire a driver if their rating falls below 4.6 stars. Drivers say this action shows Uber controls their work environment, thus serving as an employer.
Uber may replace its five-star driver rating system with emoji [Quartz]
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist
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