Don’t Sass Your Uber Driver. He’s Probably Rating You, Too.
People use the Internet to review services from plumbers to hairdressers. Now the tables are turned. Companies are rating their customers, shunning those who do not make the grade.
Hussein Kanji insists he is not a bad Uber passenger. “I’ve asked drivers to turn up or down heat, to not play music loudly, or to roll up windows,” Mr. Kanji, a London venture capitalist, said. “I can’t imagine why they would lower my passenger score.”
從水電工到髮型師，人們用網路評比各行各業的服務。風水輪流轉。現在業者也給顧客打分數，封殺不合格的消費者。
胡笙．坎吉堅稱自己不是優步的奧客。在倫敦從事創投業的坎吉說：「我曾要求司機調高或調低暖氣溫度，或音樂聲不要那麼大，或把車窗搖起來。我無法相信我的乘客積分為何會被調降。」
They apparently did. The wait for a ride suddenly became interminable. “For about three weeks, Uber was basically unusable,” Mr. Kanji said.
Customer reviews are a new form of credit report, one that measures comportment instead of finances. Strangers may be eager to drive you places or rent you their house , but they require some level of confidence. So companies from Airbnb to the new taxi services use reviews to weed out those they do not wish to serve.
他們顯然是這麼做了。等車突然變成沒完沒了。坎吉說：「大概有三周時間，基本上叫不到優步。」
顧客評鑑是一種新類型的信用調查，但衡量的是行為而非財務狀況。陌生人或許樂於讓你搭便車或租房子給你，但是需要某種程度的信賴。於是從Airbnb（譯註：短期租房平台）到新的計程車服務，業者使用評鑑剔除自己不想服務的顧客。
In response, some consumers are becoming more polite and prompt. But the knowledge that they may be rated is encouraging people to submit more upbeat reviews themselves, even if the experience was less than stellar
“It’s a Barney world,” said Michael Fertik, of Reputation.com, referring to the purple dinosaur who sings, “With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you/ Won’t you say you love me too.”
某些消費者有所回應，變得更有禮貌也更準時。但是獲知自己可能被評鑑這件事，鼓勵顧客提出更正面的評比，縱然消費經驗不是那麼美好。
「這是巴尼的世界，」說這話的是Reputation.com的麥可．費提克（譯註：網站創辦人），紫色小恐龍巴尼唱道：「我給你一個大大的擁抱和親吻╱難道你不會說也愛我嗎。」
Reviewing customers is also raising questions about who owns the data detailing good and bad behavior, what they can do with it — and whether people even know it is being collected.
The new platforms vary in their transparency . Yelp is straightforward: Businesses can post replies to critical customers. On Lyft, the second-biggest of the new cab companies, passengers are warned that “a low star rating” means requests for rides may not be accepted.
評鑑消費者也引發了細說優劣行為的資料歸誰所有、如何運用，以及人們是否知道自己資料被搜集等問題。
新平台的透明程度不一。Yelp（譯註：美國最大的線上評比網站）直接了當：企業可以回應提出批評的消費者。第二大叫車業者Lyft的乘客會被警告，如果評鑑的星級很低，表示叫車可能會被拒絕。
Even as the rules are being worked out, those who monitor the reputation economy most closely believe that the services will begin to meld their reviews.
Mr. Fertik, co-author of “The Reputation Economy,” said, “If you’re a really good Uber passenger, that may be useful information for Amtrak or American Airlines. But if you add in your reputation from Airbnb plus OpenTable plus eBay, it starts to get useful globally.”
即使已經訂出規則，對信譽經濟關注最密切的人相信，業者會開始整併各自的評鑑顧客結果。
《信譽經濟》一書共同作者費提克說：「如果你是優步的優良客戶，這對美國國鐵和美國航空來說，可能是很有用的資訊。但是如果再加上Airbnb和OpenTable（譯註：美國最大的餐廳網路訂位服務公司）和eBay，用途就可推廣至全球了。」
Georgios Zervas, Davide Proserpio and John W. Byers of Boston University recently released “A First Look at Online Reputation on Airbnb, Where Every Stay Is Above Average.” They looked at more than 2,000 properties listed on both Airbnb, which allows hosts to rate guests, and TripAdvisor, which does not. The
rating of 4.5 stars or above is 14 percent higher on Airbnb than on TripAdvisor. The number that receive 5 stars is 18 percent higher.
波士頓大學的喬治歐斯．澤瓦斯、大衛德．波洛賽皮歐和約翰．拜爾斯，最近發表《初探Airbnb的線上信譽：每次留宿都是水準以上》一書。他們檢視Airbnb和TripAdvisor兩大租房平台的二千多筆房舍，前者允許屋主評鑑房客，後者不准。在Airbnb給四點五顆星或更高分的比率高出TripAdvisor達14%，獲評五顆星的數量更高出18%。
One theory: If Airbnb guests seem too critical they might get turned down by future hosts . A better approach may be just to shower everyone with praise.
“You’re going to have a great time,” Mr. Zervas said. “Whether you like it or not.”
一個理論是：假如Airbnb的房客太挑剔，以後恐怕會被屋主拒絕。比較理想的方式或許是一律給高分。
「你一定會玩得很開心，」澤瓦斯說：「無論喜歡與否。」
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