Yesterday I received an email message from Lyft with a kind of celebratory “Year in Review” message. Congratulations, I took 11 trips to the airport using Lyft! Drivers gave me a rating of 4.9. Wait, what? 4.9? Not a perfect 5? What did I do on one of those rides to earn a less than stellar score? What did I not do? I’m always friendly. I’m on time. I tip. Talk if they want to talk, stay quiet if they don’t. The possibilities swirl around and around. I am embarrassed to say how much this mattered. What I know is that this does NOT matter. I am human. Maybe I forgot to tip. Maybe the driver was having a bad day. Maybe he gave me a “4” because he gives everyone a “4”. Still…. it’s taken me a while to get over it.
Because I assume that other people are as insecure as I am about these stars, I am guilty of “ratings inflation” when rating my driver. I feel compelled to give him (and so far, it has always been a “him”) a 5 star rating. And if I have a less than satisfactory experience, like a dirty car, or no help getting my luggage out of the trunk, I just don’t bother to rate the driver, because I do not want to hurt his feelings. I know, this sounds ridiculous. One more reason to see my therapist. Way too much concern about hurt feelings – mine and theirs.
This is what is known as a “First World problem”. I mean, when you don’t have to worry about where your next meal is coming from, then perhaps you just move on to how much people like you.
It really irks me to realize how much mental energy I wasted on this 4.9 rating. But I should be happy for the reminder that, in fact, my opinions about others and their opinions about me are not what make the world go ‘round.
I could work to develop a thicker skin – I mean, for Pete’s sake, let them give me a “4”, even a “3”! And I could work to give drivers a more honest rating – I am not that important a rider that I am going to ruin this guy’s day.
Thank God people don’t rate us in everyday life. That that could make for a really bad day.
We are human beings, not rankings. And everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But please, don’t rate this blog post. I’m counting the stars, and I just don’t think I can take it.