After 3 days in Seattle taking @Lyft rides, I am pretty shocked at the poor service compared to Portland. Poor pickup procedures, canceling a ride right as they drive past me, dusty interiors, poor navigation, no Lyft stickers on one. I’ve had maybe one bad driver in PDX.
Ride #929 Sometimes I practice therapy without a license. The passenger was agitated when I picked her up at the BMW dealership. I asked her how it was going. She told how poorly the staff treated her. I completely empathized. “Thank you, you made me feel better,” she said.
Getting back from into a morning Lyfting routine. My next ride will be #928. Im getting close to 1000! (You get a cool Lyft jacket when you reach that milestone ).
I’m getting back in the swing of Lyfting after a long holiday break. Or I thought I was until I made the most n00b mistake ever: letting my car battery die between rides because I left my headlights on. 😭
Tonight I drove Rides #874-878. Two different parties were going out to Edgefield for a concert. Big events can be a pain, but people tend to be in a good mood, and I scored decent tips from both of them. 5⭐️ passengers for sharing their Friday fun.
It’s been quite a while since I logged any Lyft ride experiences here. I just completed Ride #873. A young woman going to meet friends. It was a quiet ride, because she was engrossed in her phone the whole time. That’s getting to be more common. I may as well deliver food!
Ride #785. A trek across the Columbia River to Camas, WA. My passenger doesn’t drive and I take her to spend the day with her mother who has Alzheimer’s. The drive is beautiful and we spot Mt. Hood through the clouds. Real people, real places. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I woke up earlier than planned and decided to make the most of it. There’s usually a few people on Saturday who need a ride to work, to the airport, or to the club where they left their car last night. 😏
Ride #777. My sister Judy is in town. She thought it would be fun to request a Lyft and get assigned to me as her driver as we left our other sister’s house after dinner. One of the two best sisters ever and a generous tipper. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ride #776. A young couple who stayed up all night in New Orleans rather than get up early for their 6 am flight. As you do. 5⭐️ for a quiet sleepy passengers.
Ride #772. An elderly couple. She’s got a cane. I confirm her name and joke, “He must be your 1.” She tells me they’ve been married 63 years. They are upbeat and chill, much more so than the average passenger 50 years younger. He tips me $5 cash. “For a cup of coffee.” 10⭐️
Ride #770. A guy who lived on the same block as I did 25 years ago. We reminisced about favorite coffee shops and bars, bemoaned the fact we couldn’t recall the buildings had been torn down for new construction, and agreed that Portland is still great despite all the growth.
(Of course, posting that you haven’t gotten a ping in 43 minutes means you’ll get one in the middle of updating your micro blog.)
In general, Lyft has been pretty busy, and I haven’t had much of a break between rides to post. But here it is, Tuesday morning and I haven’t caught a request since I started 43 minutes ago. So…
Ride #676, 677, 678, 679. Surprisingly busy for Sat. afternoon, and unexpectedly interesting passengers: a paralegal happily working in a convenience store, two sets of visitors here for a motorcycle show, and one trip to the airport for a guy moving to Austin. All 5⭐️ people.
Ride #673. I took a passenger to the shipyard at Swan Island. Everything there is huge for working on huge ships. It’s a fascinating location that most Portlanders never see up close. Just another perk of Lyfting.
Ride #667. It’s Super Bowl Sunday. Dropped a couple off at Yur’s, a known Patriot fans sports bar. If the Patriots win, I’ll head back there to pick up happy fans. If the Eagles win, I’m pretty sure most every other bar in Portland will have happy patrons who need rides.
Review from either Ride #663 or Ride #664: “Very kind.” Either the guy who asked nicely if it was OK to bring his sweet puppy or the guy who was having a rough time interviewing for jobs. It was slow morning but this makes it worth it. 5⭐️ passengers both.
Ride #657. A perfect storm that every Lyft driver dreads: stuck behind an active school bus for two miles, then stuck waiting for a train. Added 15 minutes to my passenger’s commute. 5⭐️ for being totally chill, sir!
Friday report card: my first perfect all 5 ⭐️! Only 13 rides due to dental surgery (😩), but hey, perfect is perfect.
Ride #645. Passenger Adam and I have a mutual friend @andymcmillan. We also have a mutual passion for Lyft blogging. Check out his awesome Instagram project @i_get_lyfted. Serendipity = 5 f—ing ⭐️.
Ride #630. Nice guy on his way to volunteer at the live judging event for the Oregon Beer Awards . 5⭐️ passenger for great conversation.
Ride #627 UNC! UNC! (I picked up a fellow Chapel Hill alumna tonight. Little surprise coincidences make Lyfting more fun.) #GoHeels.
Also in my weekly report card: flags for safety and navigation. I merited a negative flag only once before. Likely the result of rush hour traffic in suburban Vancouver’s confusing maze of highways. I got stuck in the wrong lane and had to wait for someone to let me in. 🤷♀️
Weekly report card! “Best driver ever!” = the nicest comment ever. I was high on praise the whole morning. Then I remembered that my next door neighbor was a passenger this week. 🤔
