Best tips to be a successful UBER operator in the Philippines.

Uber Philippines did open a lot of business opportunities to the Filipinos and majority in the business are operators having fleet of cars. We have asked some of the operators for a tip for those who are eager to be a part of the ride share community.

We have listed the 7 best tips that the operators did share to us and we want to thank all of them for giving us time and as well by helping those who are interested to be a part of this business.

• Choose a car that can handle the wear and tear - being in the transport industry it is best to find a vehicle that can handle a heavy wear and tear. If you are going to invest money to buy a vehicle, might as well invest on a reputable and already proven vehicle. We are here to do business, if you chose a car that consume low on diesel or gas it is brilliant, but choosingle a much more durable car is much wiser.
  
  In the long run the most expensive in the transport business is the vehicle's maintenance. Maintenance can eat your income in an instant. Think for the future not in the present, if you want to succeed in the business, you must think for a long term.
  
  We have friends who's vehicle are now being a nuisance after a year because it can't handle the wear and tear of almost running 15 hours and 250km a day. Brand new cars may run great in the present, but what about after a year or two? Driving with at least a 4000km to 5000km a month is something you should be considering.
  
• Look for a trust worthy and loyal driver - this is a must if you are planning to be an operator in Uber Philippines. Drivers may come and go, but definitely invest time to look for a trust worthy and loyal driver.
  
  There were times in Uber Philippines that drivers were a bit of scarce, and some operators do pirate drivers and offer them a much better rate. This really did happen a few months ago. Just imagine on the middle of the week, your driver won't be coming and will leave you for good, your business operation will stop, because your driver just quit and joined another partner with a much better compensation than yours. It is a nightmare isn't it? You'll need to find a replacement and that could take another a week or two before you can operate again.
  
  Majority of the operators did say that if you'll hire a driver, hire your relatives first or a recommendation from your relatives. Your car is safe with them plus they won't leave you just like that, they'll take good care of your car and your business as well.
  

• Treat your drivers accordingly - don't be too soft and don't be too harsh. Make sure that you just treat them right. If they did good, reward them. If they did something bad, then penalize them. The way you treat your drivers is just like how you treat your business. Drivers do the hard work for you, so you should respect what they do.
  
  They know what they are doing on the road, don't judge them immediately. A good operator always ask the drivers directly what the problem is, and not resorting on social media to ask other partners.
  
  You should have patience and understanding, as it is really hard to drive on a road full of traffic. Some partners did share that they did drive for themselves for a week before hiring a driver, so that they would know the experience on hand and will know how they can interact and guide their drivers accordingly.
  
• Always engage in a contract - always engage in a business with a written contract. This will protect you and the other party. It is wise to create a contract for hiring drivers, this will protect your business in the long run. A legal document serves as your protection plus this means you are serious on making your business a success.
  
  There are many advantages of having a contract, you can set the rules and regulation for you business and how ever you may want to operate it. Both parties will agree by signing the contract and you should provide a copy to your driver. Majority of operators doesn't issue a contract, but for the top operators, contract is a must.
  
• Transparency - provide transparency to your driver. Loyalty is a two way line, if you want your driver to respect you, you must respect your driver as well. Even if the driver is working for you, you should still treat him like he always got your back. Being transparent in a business is a must, this way no misunderstanding could happen.
  
  Being transparent to your drivers about statement of account, computation, deductions, and etc. will surely give your driver an ease of mind.
  
• Build a partnership not slavery - we have seen a lot of operators that treat their drivers like a slave, actually this is the main reason why sometimes a driver call it quits. Treat your driver as your business partner as both of you have a role to run the business efficiently.
  
  Some operators do treat their drivers as a slave, making them driving longer hours, just to hit their desired income. Good operators treat their drivers as partners, always think about if you are in his shoes. Some may contest on this part as they will say, i bought the car, but without your driver can you even do a 15 hours or more driving a day? I bet you wouldn't last even 8 hours driving people on an insane traffic. If you could, why would you hire a driver in the first place?
  
  Majority of successful operators did treat their driver as a partners, they compensate them well, as they know without the driver, the operation will not be successful.
  
  
• Create a business model and strategy - one of the most important tips that we heard is by creating a business model. Successful operators are business minded, they didn't just bought a car and signed up in Uber, they see Uber as a business opportunity.
  
  They created their own business model and strategy to make sure that the operation runs smoothly without a hassle and also they have a plan B just in case something went wrong.