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The Uber Solution

How to Make More Income & Become a Money Making Driving Machine

By Jeff HopkinsPublished 4 years ago 25 min read
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Preface

This book is not for every driver out there. If you are the quiet & shy type this book might not serve you well. You will have to have confidence in yourself in order to pull this off. If you are not a people person this might be too heavy a task to ask of you.

But if you are a people person, bravo to you! Read on, you can definitely do this. As a matter of fact, if you are a people person you will absolutely love the enjoyment you will receive out of this. Not to mention the money.

All you have to do is what I tell you. No matter what part of the world you live in, (in most cases) this will be a hit. I promise you if you follow my directions you will be substantially improving your tip money and your base salary, together.

I want to make something very clear, this is not about the money all the time. It is also about the wonderful feeling it is to perform something as different as this and make people very happy. It is extremely rewarding indeed to hear, “You Are The Best Uber Driver We Have Ever Had”!

Chapter 1

I’m Not Going to Teach You

I’m not going to teach you about the Uber Driver App.Ap. I’m not going to train you on Uber Promotions. And I’m not going to show you how to handle a drunk passenger. You will find out from Uber how to do these things.

What I am going to show you is how to dramatically increase your Bottom Line. I’m going to teach you how to generate more Tip money than most drivers. You might even do better than all the other Uber drivers in your area.

I can’t tell you how important it is to practice what I am about to teach you. And the best practice is actual field work. I learned by trial and error. But luckily for you, Ilearned by trial and error. Because I did learn by trial and error, you don’t have to. You can go straight to showing your riders a great time. If you do what I tell you to do, you will blow away many other drivers.

Chapter 2

What’s the Big Secret?

I started evolving from the first rider I had driving for Uber. My first rider asked me if I had an aux, I had no idea what an aux was but figured I better find out. Anyway, I asked him what an aux was, and he told me it was an auxiliary input on my stereo. Aux was short for auxiliary.

My car was a 2007 Cadillac CTS. This was the year just before many car manufacturers began installing all sorts of gadgets and gizmos into their new cars (who knew?).

I continued driving and listening to my riders needs and desires. I purchased (very inexpensive) a radio FM transmitting device. This device could be plugged into the phone of my rider. They could then play whatever music they preferred. It transmitted to a pre-programmed station on my stereo.

Actually, its called DeeJaying, which is essentially what they are doing, controlling and choosing which music to play in the car.

I’m starting here, just after I picked up my new car, a 2016 Nissan Maxima (loaded to the max).

So, what is the big secret you ask? Do you think you are ready for this? Are you ready to act on the words that will now follow? It’s not hard but it does take a little nerve to pull off, but it’s so worth it.

What is it? It’s giving your riders what they want and going far beyond that. Giving them snacks, water, music, entertainment, and even just peace and quiet. It’s having a pen, a cable or a napkin when they ask.

Chapter 3

Do They Really Like It?

Before I go on, to help convince you of what I’m saying here is true, I’m going to show you some of my reviews that my riders shared with Uber. My promise to you is that each one of these reviews is identical to the written review in my Uber Ap.

Here they are:

“Greatest Uber I’ve ever been in.”

________________

Rider Note

“Jeffrey is an awesome man. He is very energetic, he played

Michael Jackson’s songs for us. I had the best Uber drive, so far with him.”

________________

Awesome Music

“It was such a fun and enjoyable ride…I loved the

little show he put on. He was very attentive to his

rider’s needs. There were snacks, drinks and more to

satisfy your needs. Great Uber experience. Thank

you, Jeffrey, for your humble soul!”

________________

Excellent Service

                   “By far, the most entertaining ride I’ve ever

taken! Keep up the good work!”

________________

Rider Note

  “You are really an amazing person.”

_________________

Rider Note

 “Awesome ride! Thanks for the fun!!”

____________________

Excellent Service

              “This was the best Uber ride I have ever taken, by far! Jeff is

awesome”

_____________________

Rider Note

I’ve used Uber over 100 times and this is the best

Uber driver I’ve had! Enjoy the “party” ride.”

_____________________

Rider Note

                   “Best, best Uber ride ever!  Ten Thousand stars

to Jeffrey”

____________________

Rider Note                                                                                                                                Very nice, professional, and great driver. I wish there were more out there like Jeff.”

_____________________

Above and Beyond

                             “This was the best drive ever! Super

considerate and great conversation.

____________________

All-Star Driver

“Possibly the friendliest and most efficient driver on this app. I

 enjoyed the conversation we had, keep up the great work.

_____________________

Excellent Service

             ‘Hard worker, great music, great guy, nothing but good

Comments.”

_____________________

Above and Beyond

“Thank you for picking me up in the horrible rain and getting me home safely. You are wonderful!!”

______________________

Above and Beyond

“Excellent service! I would recommend him to ANYone. Helped with my bags. Great music, great conversation...Pleasant ride. The best service. I wish I could have left a better tip.”

______________________

Above and Beyond

Jeffrey Exceeded all expectations!”

______________________

Great Conversation

“Thank you so much for the wonderful ride, so glad we got to meet and talk!”

_______________________

Excellent Service

“Awesome guy. Had phone charger set up and ready along with bottled water. Felt like a high-end car service. Polite and courteous.”

________________________

All Strar Driver

“Thank you for being so wonderful”

(Keep in mind these are just a few. And I have never received a negative review.)

 

Chapter 4

What’s the Recipe…Entertainment!

Driving at night is best for me. The reason: more people are out having fun or. Or not (until they get in my car).

After listening to all my riders and experimenting with several different methods of keeping them awake, I ended up with this procedure. Entertainment, that was a total hit with my passengers.

First, I’m going to tell you (show you the SHOW).

Please visualize this.

The rider gets into my car and they usually say “very nice car” (2016 Maxima) and I introduce myself. I start the ride. Keep in mind it’s usually dark because it’s night-time. We start moving and I pop on the start of a sequence of songs specially hand-picked by yours truly.

Squeak, squeak, squeak, goes the opening coffin, the sound of the beginning of Michael Jackson’s Thriller! As the music progresses, I am ready for the first part of my light show.

Footsteps with some reverb…A quite long note daaaaaa 1,2,3 4,5,6,7,8 step up a note daaaaa 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 step up another note daaaaaa 1,2 3,4,6,7,8 one last time daaaaa 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and slam BA DA!… DA DADAAA! ,A DA DADADA DUP and with the crescendo’s first note, the first set of lights SLAM on emitting from my console a light mirrored like a ball throwing beams of light moving all over the inside of the car.

Count another 8 beats and Bam! The second Light emitting disco ball slams on from behind the back seat on the rear dash panel. The music is loud, the riders are totally bewildered and amazed. THEY LOVE IT!!!

As the music continues, I have 2 more Flashing lights clipped to my steering wheel. I control these with my thumbs very easily adding to the already phenomenal show. After about 2 minutes of the song, I hit the advance button on my steering wheel and Bam!! Ricky Martin’s DO YOU Really Want It! Kicks in.

By the way, I’m moving and bopping to the music the whole time and singing too, I have a pretty good voice. And I’m always “Carefully Watching the Road.”

About 30 seconds into the song (mind you the rider is totally fixated with enjoyment), I turn on and hand into the back-seat Tambourines. Not just any tambourines, but lighted ones of course. That flash or stream, however, I set them.

Every now and then I puff my vape and slowly blow the vaper into the disco ball and it turns everything into fog with lights. They go crazy. But I don’t push it with the vape. I don’t want to bother anyone worried about vaping.

The rider or riders are having a ball. They are having so much fun it’s not funny, LOL. And just when they thought the song was getting close to ending, BAMM! FIREBALL by Pitbull kicks in. Now it’s time for the maracas. Not just any maracas, but you get the picture, lighted ones, of course!

Into Disco Inferno and the ride comes to a stop. The people ask me how they can get me in the future. They always tell me I’m the best Uber driver they have ever had. And I always have a fantastic time as well. It’s so rewarding, and then the Tip Comes. It’s usually around $10 or $20 and often higher. Once it was $100!

If they tip me on the app, I always look forward to seeing and adding how much I got at the end of the night. I usually end up with $100-$200 combined a night on top of my Uber pay!

Chapter 4

The Ingredients

. I bought for about $20 each the disco balls at an Advance Auto Parts store.

·      I put a USB 1 input 4 outputs clipped to the Head cushion bars aiming into the back seat. $20

·      I have a dashcam, always pointed at the back seat. I never want to ever have anyone accuse me of anything. And in case anyone does, it was recorded. $189

·      I had a 4-speaker sound system with a built-in kicker for a great base. Came stock with the car.

·      “State of the Art” stereo, you know Blue, blue tooth, satellite, and the other fluff. This was a real plus over not having it in the Caddy. Much easier to coordinate.

·      A couple extra “map lights” in the back if anyone needed. $5-$10 each.

·   I have cables that I bought on eBay or Amazon that have every connection on them. And they coil up into a holder. You must have cables for your riders needs.

“My Other (Very Important) Equipment”

I always, from day 1, gave out snacks and water. I go to Walmart and purchase the 20 bag snack that they sell usually for around $6 and change. I also buy cases of water cheap but name brands, (to keep the quality up).

There are all sorts of things you can buy online for Uber. For instance:

·   A lighted Uber sign that suction cups to the windshield so I can be spotted above the crowd of other cars.

·   Signs that hang from the backs of the front seats. They politely encourage gratuities and reviews.

·      Barf bags that you will be so happy you have even though you might never need them (Yeah Right).

Chapter 5

I remember One Night…

I remember one night when I had a rider ask if he could DJ. This was at the beginning of my Ubering and I had no clue what to do. What he wanted was to play his own music from his phone. I could not accommodate him in the Caddy.

So, I bought for a few bucks an FM transmitter that plugged into a phone. It would transmit the music to my stereo for their phone.

I remember the first time I used it. I practiced with it quite a bit, so I would not have problems live, on the scene. Well, I might as well not even have had practiced because when I went to do it, I blanked out. I forgot the procedure and the rider chipped in to help.

I was just happy that he did not get upset at my fumbling. And we got it, and it worked well. The next time I needed it, I had it down nicely.

Once I got the Nissan, it was so much easier to have a rider DJ because I could just Bluetooth it or connect a USB. Ah, the luxury of technology!

Chapter 7

Just Imagine with Me

I’m pulling up to a club called “The Boardy Barn” in Hampton Bays, Long Island. I got the call about 4 minutes ago and I’m there in no time. 4 young girls (maybe early to mid-20’s get in my car. They are all gabbing and not paying any attention to me. I say hello and start the ride. As we are moving along, I decide on the right time to introduce the music.

I find the moment I’m comfortable with and start the music. Remember, it’s Michael Jackson Thriller. It starts off with a fairly long introduction and builds to the first downbeat that slams in and brings the start of the light show with it.

The girls who were not paying any attention to me and were gabbing with each other suddenly start screaming “OH My God! This Is So Cool”, Wooo, woo. Yea! This is sooo great they tell me.

They are totally into it! When I pass out the tambourine and maraca’s they can’t believe it and go totally nuts with the instruments. I am in heaven. I’m so happy that they are so happy. I knew they would be but until it happens you can’t imagine the great feelings that come along with it.

I get them safely to their destination, as they are exiting they are all scrambling through their bags looking for tip money for me. Keep in mind, only 10 minutes have gone by and they gave me $16. Hourly that comes to about a hundred dollars an hour. And that’s not including my Uber pay. Bring it on baby!

More

Next call, a 5-minute ride to a restaurant to pick up a British couple coming from dinner. I know they are British because of their accents of course. I don’t want to assume they are ready for the show, so I ask them how they like the United States and other conversational tidbits (sometimes we get into such great conversation I don’t run the show). A little more conversation and I tell them I have a little show I put on. Would they like to see it?

Invariably they say yes, and I start the music. As soon as the light show kicks in they love it. They are having so much fun. They are singing along and bopping to the downbeat along with me. In 8 minutes we are at their hotel. They hand me $10 and thank me profusely.

Meanwhile, during the ride, I got another call for a pick-up. I really love when the calls get stacked because there is no delay between calls.

If you are new to Uber, when you get to your drop off destination you will have to wait until your Ap pings you for your next call. This is to let you know you have another pick-up. When you get the calls while you already have a fair, the new rider is notified that you are finishing another fair and they will be next. There are no wait times in-between fairs, so you can start the clock right away. No downtime means more money. Sometimes it will run this way most of the evening.

One night I was working in a local town not too far from my home. Hunting Station, a lot of night-life. Clubs, restaurants and a concert hall. I picked up 2 couples. I knew running the light show would be no problem. As soon as they got into the car one of the guys screamed, “Oh my god, this is the guy I was telling you about, the Uber driver! I can’t believe we got him, you guys are so lucky we did!”

I vaguely remembered the guy, but I was happy he was here to give me a plug before I even got started. And of course, I went on to knock their socks off. At the end of the trip, they all thanked me so much and he tipped me in cash. I don’t remember how much.

You will find that when you entertain and spoil you riders they would rather tip you with cash (most of the time). They want you to know right away that they appreciated your work. I find when I was not doing the show yet, that often riders would not tip me. Frequently, they would tell me they will tip me on the ap and even then they still will not do it.  It’s too easy for them to get away with. But when you go all out they want you to see the cash. Lots of riders will still use the ap to tip but they will go through with it.

I was out in The Hamptons one night during a Surge period (this is when you get paid more from Uber because it’s very busy and Uber drivers might be limited) and it was very busy. I got the same 4 people 3 times that evening for rides. All three times they wanted the show after seeing it the first time. I was amazed that each time they hooted and hollered like it was the first time seeing it all over again.

Another night I picked up this guy about 3 minutes from his home. He was at the gas station around the corner from his home picking something up in the convenience store part of the service station.

When I got him home 3 minutes later, he had me park up the block. He then pulled out his cell phone and called his home. He told everyone to come out on the deck and stay there for a minute. When we got to his home 1 minute later there must have been about 10 people on the deck. I was playing Thriller and he was telling everyone how great I was. He was so enthusiastic, I will never forget it.

He handed me a twenty-dollar bill and asked me how he can get to ride with me again. Unfortunately, I had to tell him that it does not work that way. But I did give him my real estate card. I told him to call me next time and if I’m in the area I might be able to work it out with Uber somehow.

I picked up a guy named Nelson about 8 months ago. I ran my show for him and he was by himself. To this day we are friends and see each regularly. I had him over for dinner with me and my girlfriend two nights after we met. We have hooked up several times since then.

There was another guy named Rick, he and I became friends and fishing buddies. We have fished together several times now. I have had him out on my boat twice and we have fished the surf together.

The day I picked him up I was taking him to meet his friend to go fishing in the ocean surf at Smith Point in Mastic, Long Island. It was about 4:00 AM and I told him he was just about my last pickup for the night and that I would be back to this spot in a couple of hours to fish with him. My home was about 45 minutes away.

Sure enough, I came back and fished with him and his friend. They caught a few bluefish in the 6-7 pound range but I remained scoreless which is rare. Needless to say, he was delighted when I showed up. As a matter of fact, as I was walking up to them he did not see me, and I heard him say to his friend, my Uber driver is coming here to fish with us. With that, I said, “hello there Rick”.

Chapter 8

Who Do I Perform For, Everybody?

Do I do this Entertainment show for everyone? Certainly not. You must be smart. You must be able to discern very quickly if they are going to go for it or not. First, I listen to how they say hello. Are they friendly or are they not so friendly? I look at the way they are dressed, and if they smile or not. Were they drinking? Are they game? If I think yes, I go for it. And it’s a beautiful thing.

Have I ever got it wrong? Yes, once. Not too long ago, I had two ladies that were coming from a catering hall. With that, (like so many times in the past) I took the catering hall as a good indication. Most, if not every time I had passengers from a hall it was a party they were coming from.

Getting in my car, from the catering hall was basically just a continuation of the party. But this time, either ether the party stank, or the people did. Talk about feeling like a jerk. I did not look back soon enough to see the reactions like I typically do. If I would have, I would have stopped sooner.

But no, I just continued making an idiot of myself while these two-thumbed their noses at me. To tell you the truth, I felt bad, but I was just glad I did not get a bad review from them. I learned though; though, don’t wait on the reaction check-up.

Chapter 9

Going for Long Rides

Often your riders are going to be spending some time with you. This is when you need to have your music system ready to play what they would like to hear. Spotify, Pandora, Amazon, there are many different free ap’s you can use to get virtually any music you want.

Ask you riders “what would be the best music they could want to hear?” Ask them who is their favorite artist. Do a quick search and “presto” their favorite music is on. Believe me, they will appreciate you much for it. And play whatever they like for the rest of the ride.

Converse. Get into some good conversation with your riders. Tell them stories about other Uber rides or experiences you have had throughout your lifetime. You can captivate them quite easily with a good, well-told story or two. Often, they will have good stories for you as well.

Be sure to ask what your rider would like, if they mind music, what music they would like or maybe they would like to hear the news.

Chapter 10

Driving During the Day Can Be Great Too

Though I cannot say that I make the same money during the day that I do at night, I still do pretty well during the day.

The most important thing here is to spoil your rider as best as you can. When you drop them off, wait for them to get in the house before you leave, day or night.

Have your snacks prominently displayed so they have easy access to them without having to ask you for them. If they have children with them, sing a song with the children or sing a song for them. Tell some children jokes to them and ask them about school.

Open the car door for them to get in and to get out. They will really appreciate it. Dress nice. Did you know that by dressing nicely we appear to be more of a professional? I wear slacks and a vest every day. Often I wear a tie as well.

Chapter 11

Why Did I start Driving Uber  

In my true full-time career, I am a Realtor. I’m buying and selling homes for the public. Things got a little slow for me at the end of 2016 and I heard about Uber and thought, why not?

I love to drive, and I love to meet people. So I started driving for Uber. Right from the beginning, I put out snacks and water. I thought I would get a lot of tips, but I was in for a surprise, not too much happening in the tip department. Sure, I was making a few bucks, but certainly, nothing to write home about.

Once I went the true extra mile, entertaining my riders, is when the money got very good. From Memorial Day until Labor Day I was pulling about $2000 per weekend. I would drive the surge zones and make two or three times the Uber pay. Plus, I would run my show and make a ton in tips.

After Labor Day things would quiet down with the surge zones. They were still there but not as abundant and often. But I made them work for me. Now it took me a week to make about $2500 which still is very good, considering I’m being paid to have a good time. But $2500 per week is nothing to sneeze at.

But I also promoted my real estate sales to my riders by giving them my business card. To date, I have sold 8 homes to riders at an average of $6,000 commission each.

I am no longer driving for Uber full-time because my Real Estate career has really picked up again. Even though I can make very good money with Uber, it’s a lot less time and energy buying & selling homes. Not to mention the commissions. I’m keeping Uber in my back pocket though. It’s nice that you can turn it on and turn it off when you want to.

Chapter 12

What Else Does the App Say?

Under my Fun Fact, it says:  I will delight you with my entertainment. You will tell your friends and family all about it. I am totally different from every other Uber driver out there. Whether it’s a three-minute ride or a 2-hour ride, my style is totally its own. My riders tell me I’m “by far, the best Uber driver they have ever had”.

Under “Other Experiences” my ap go on to say:

Jeffrey is a retired Television Producer. You have probably seen his work since he has produced close to 200 television commercials, boxing from Atlantic City for the Sports Channel, Prime Time Sports and a myriad of other productions.

After 6 years of semi-retirement, he was buying and selling real estate for himself and doing well. He decided he might enjoy doing it for others too. In addition to his outside homes sales, he has sold 8 homes to his Uber riders in the last year. He loves making people happy.

Chapter 13

How to Get Reviews

It’s very easy to get reviews if you do a great job. First of all, many folks will leave a review and that’s really cool. However, other folks that would leave a review don’t think of it, so I give them a little boost. On my signs that I got from eBay, it says, “Please Don’t Forget to Leave a Rating and Review For Your Driver”. I found that that was a big plus in getting more quality reviews.

Reviews are really good for when your riders are choosing you. They always have the option to get another driver if they wish. Good reviews will keep them hanging on to you.

Chapter 14

How to Synchronize

Timing is everything

I am not saying you can’t just play the music and turn the disco lights on, you can. And it will work. But if you take a little extra time and sync some of the music up, it will have a much more powerful impact.  

Downbeats. When the music has a good bass line that is a good time to intro a song. Best if it’s on a strong note. When you are changing songs to advance to the next one, do it on a strong downbeat. It will be that much more powerful.

Pay attention to the lyrics, that can also give you a good time to cue the next tune in. But the most important cue in is the first song. Use Michael Jackson’s Thriller. It’s a hit every time. Cue the lights in as soon as the music gets loud. It’s very powerful.

Chapter 15

You Will Make As Much As You Are Worth

Will you make as much money as I did? Could very well be. It all depends on your presentation, your attitude, your people skills, and your communication skills. These are the key ingredients to be a success.

The more you get into it the better you will do. Make sure you are enjoying yourself because they will pick that up and enjoy the fact that you do get into it so much. It will show your passion for your work.

Just remember, safety ALWAYS comes first. Always pay attention to the road and everything else that comes along with it. It’s not as hard as you might think.

You keep everything you do at your fingertips within easy reach without having to look. You will be doing everything second nature and it will flow smoothly after a few tries.

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