Seeing stars

Like many good folk today, I occasionally engage the services of Uber when I need to be driven across London or ferried to or from one of its many airports. So far, my experiences have all been positive: the cars have been clean and comfortable, the drivers courteous. They have to be, since passengers are invited to rate them on a scale of one to five stars and to give them a tip if merited. The power to rate drivers is not without consequence: when selecting a driver, the prospective passenger can check how well he or she has scored with previous fares and choose the driver accordingly.

Drivers also score their passengers on the same scale and can avoid responding to a call from someone whose low rating indicates that they are not great to have on board. I had quite forgotten that the rating system was reciprocal and was therefore both surprised and delighted to get an email informing me that, over my first ten Uber rides, all my drivers had given me a five-star rating. For all I know, this is a regular occurrence for most Uber users, but it left me once again thinking about the part played by Pirkei Avot.

I have never sought to ingratiate myself with drivers of any sort of taxi service and I am not a generous tipper. However, I always greet them by name and with a smile; I say "please" and "thank you" wherever necessary, and wish them well when they drop me off at my destination. Greeting people warmly with a smile is recommended practice (Avot 1:15, 3:16); it is part and parcel of recognising that everyone -- hired drivers included -- is created in the image of God (3:18).

Two of my Uber rides were a little bit out of the ordinary.

In my very first attempt to engage a car without the assistance of my children, I summoned a car that was too small for our luggage. The driver reprimanded me and I thanked him for letting me know and for showing me how to avoid any repetition of this offence in the future. Loving acceptance of rebukes is one of the 48 elements of gaining the Torah (6:6).

On my next trip (Luton Airport to North West London) we were within sight of our destination when an over-enthusiastic Mercedes rammed into the back of our Uber while it was making a right turn. We were most surprised to receive an email from Uber, apologising for the incident, refunding our fare and stating that the driver would be reprimanded for his negligence. Our driver was very much the innocent party and we had taken our own photos to demonstrate that this was the case, but we had to go through two levels of authority within the Uber administration before the company conceded that their man was indeed the innocent party. Again, Avot emphasises the importance of agreeing to the truth (5:9) and sticking up for it (6:6). Truth and justice are two of the three values that keep the world going (1:18).

Ultimately we had made ten Uber drivers happy enough to give us five-star ratings, not by doing anything exceptional but just by behaving in accordance with the Jewish code of morality that is the Ethics of the Fathers. The last word however goes to Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa (3:13): if other people are pleased with you, then God is pleased with you too. It was good to reflect on the possibility that one can please God by making 10 Uber drivers happy.