Rider punches me and leaves one star review
Early Sunday morning, I received a notification that a rider was requesting a long ride from Destin to Pensacola Airport. I arrived at the address, opened the back of my vehicle, and a male and female passenger loaded their belongings. The female took the passenger seat in the backseat, while the male was gathering some rather unpleasant-smelling food. He sat directly behind me.
Within 60 seconds of the ride starting, I was jolted forward as the male punched my seat. He punched it as if he was protecting himself from Mike Tyson. I stopped, turned around, and gave him a look of disbelief. He promptly claimed that there was a brown recluse spider on the back of my seat, and his girlfriend confirmed it. I was skeptical, but I didn’t want to cause any unnecessary trouble. I kept my 2025 vehicle in pristine condition and it was vacuumed daily.
Despite my reservations, I gave them the benefit of the doubt and didn’t want them to miss their flight. The male then ate his food while making pig noises, which scared his girlfriend when she asked to pull over to use the bathroom. He also requested a unique music genre that I agreed to play, which was not my preference.
After dropping them off safely at the airport, I even assisted them with taking their bags out of the car. Later that day, I noticed that I had received a one-star review. I reported the battery issue to Uber, but it took several attempts to even get a response from them. I considered filing a police report, but the incident occurred in a neighboring county.
Uber refused to remove the one-star review, stating that it was beyond their control. Essentially, you can punch your driver and leave them a one-star review. I’m at a loss for what to do. Should I report it to the authorities, or should I just let it go?