Anyone who has used a delivery or rideshare app has had at least one amazing experience where their driver went above and beyond to provide amazing service.
Is there a way to request that specific driver again? Can you pick favorites?
Most delivery and rideshare apps don’t allow you to request a specific driver.
You can’t request a specific driver on DoorDash, Instacart, Postmates, Uber Eats, or Lyft.
Uber has a ‘favorite driver’ feature that gives your favorite driver first access to any scheduled rides you make.
But there is no built-in way to pick a specific driver for an on-demand Uber ride.
And what about the opposite situation? Is there a way to request NOT to have a specific driver following a bad experience?
It’s another feature that isn’t available on most of the apps, except Uber and Lyft.
You can’t select a specific driver on these apps
There is no way to select a specific driver on: Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart, Postmates, Uber Eats, or GrubHubt.
Instead, automated algorithms match you with your driver based on proximity and other factors. There are no built-in tools to select an individual driver.
In other words, the closest available driver will be matched with you. There are other factors that go into a match, but the biggest priority for the apps are speed.
“Favorite Driver” on Uber: Choose a driver for scheduled rides
Uber has a feature called ‘favorite driver’ that allows you to mark a driver as your “favorite” after taking a trip.
When you schedule a trip, your favorite driver will receive your trip request before any other drivers.
Note that the favorite driver feature doesn’t work for on-demand trips, only scheduled trips. And if your driver declines the scheduled ride, your ride will be offered to other drivers.
A trick on Uber and Lyft: Request a ride while you are close to the driver you want
Even though Uber and Lyft don’t allow you to pick a driver for on-demand rides, there’s a trick that can potentially match you with a specific driver.
If you are very close to an available driver—within feet— and request a ride, it’s very likely that you will be matched with them.
So you may be able to arrange with a driver to come to your location and go online when you are ready to request a ride.
But there is a caveat: Even if you’re very close to a driver, other matching factors can take over and match you with a different driver.
There’s no method that’s 100% certain to match you with a specific Uber or Lyft driver.
Blocking a driver: Can you request NOT to be matched with a driver?
Let’s say you had a terrible experience with a driver and you prefer to never be matched with them again. Is there a way to do that on any of the apps?
On Uber and Lyft, if you rate your driver 3 stars or less you won’t be matched with them again.
Delivery apps don’t offer the same features. You can’t request to not be matched with a specific driver on DoorDash, Intacart, Postmates, or Grub Hub.
Even if you give a low rating to your delivery driver, you may still be matched with them again.
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