It’s written in the stars: Uber grandma one of the best
A Macedonian grandma in Auckland might just be the world’s best Uber driver – and it’s only partly to do with the aged Turkish Airlines vomit bags in her glove box.
Marika Sutinovska, 69, has 16,400 Uber trips to her name and holds a five-star rating from the ride-share company. The retiree has been driving for 13 years, eight of them for Uber.
In recent years, Uber has been in a legal tussle over what constitutes an employee and it has been criticised for taking a large cut of drivers’ earnings.
But Sutinovska loves driving as a hobby to keep her busy and out of the house during her retirement. She drives from 7am to 2pm around Mt Eden.
‘‘It is so good to be out a little bit, otherwise what would I do at home? Argue with my partner? I feel very nice, so good when the people like you and give you a good star,’’ she said.
The red Toyota Prius Sutinovska drives is her third Prius. She calls it her ‘‘best friend’’.
Her secret to a good rating is a clean car, professional dress, only talking to the rider if they want to talk and smooth driving.
‘‘I don’t rush anywhere . . . just be patient, don’t argue with the people, enjoying the drive, just be patient and drive normally, you don’t need to be rushing even if you have a job.’’
In Macedonia, Sutinovska was an architect. She came to New Zealand in 2000 but wasn’t able to cross-credit her degree to continue to work in her profession, she said.
Sutinovska said she usually gave five stars to her riders. She would even give a rider a full rating if they vomited in her car but managed to get it all inside one of the airline vomit bags she’s collected from her overseas travels and keeps in the glove box.
‘‘I was driving before in night-time, so I was dealing with drunk people but they are not difficult at all – you just need to be polite with them, not make them nervous and just give them a [vomit] bag just in case . . . they just want to go home, they don’t feel so good, even if they are drunk.’’
Sutinovska said her rating wasn’t five stars at the beginning, but she had received so many in the subsequent years that her average was now five stars on the app.