Uber and Lyft drivers reveal the first thing they notice about passengers when they pick them up

"Demeanor is critical to quickly determine whether you should engage the passenger with full-on conversation or just a curt, respectful "hello, we will arrive at your destination at [time]," he said in an email.

"I mainly do this gig, other than for supplemental income, to interact with people. I work from home and have done so for my various employers for the last decade, so the human interaction is critical for me, especially with my PTSD from being in the Army.

"At the same time I confirm I have the right person, I focus on their friendliness," he said in a phone interview. "It dictates how much I will be entertaining that person on the trip. The very friendly ones always have the best interactions. The quiet ones, I will wait to see if they engage or not. If not, I concentrate on getting them to their destination safely."

"First thing I notice is their smell. The smell tells me how my trip is going to go," he said in an email. "The smell tells me about how their day has gone or how it's going to be. Clean smells tell me they are headed out somewhere. Strong odors mean they been out and about. Body odors tell me a lot about the person."

"The first thing I notice, even before the passenger gets in the car is what they are wearing. Their clothing (appearance) is a big factor on how they may act. Are they coming or going to work. Have they been out drinking all night? Are they out on a special occasion etc?" he said in an email.

"Appearance can help me gauge if I should start a conversation with them. If a driver can make a positive connection with them, their ride experience will positive."

"I instantly judge them by their profile picture," she said in a text message. "It can often tell me a lot about how that ride will go. Silent ride, too much perfume, pretentious, music preferences, to name a few... "

"I love trying to guess where people are from," she said in a text message. "With folks from southern states, for example, ladies go straight to the back seats and gentleman always go to the front (and in my van's case, the middle.)"

"The first thing I would notice is if they smell like drugs, or smell bad in general, because that would tell me I'd have to pull over and do a sanitation before the next passenger," he said in a text message.

A sanitation is when the driver must clean the car.

"The first thing I notice about people when they get in my car mostly is their appearance. Are they dressed in nice clothes or are they disheveled with torn clothing? At the same time, I notice their demeanor, do they have a bad attitude or are they friendly and chatty. One last thing I notice would be if they've been drinking alcohol," he said in an email.

It only takes about 5 seconds to assess these things as they get into the car, but it generally determines how the ride goes. It doesn't really affect getting them from point A to point B, just the tone of the ride. I've found that many of the people who are poorly dressed and/or have a bad attitude are the people most likely to not want to talk to me at or are just critical of me, the route I take or my driving in general. Hence their appearance/attitude decides in that first 5 seconds how the conversation (if any) will flow during the ride. I love talking to people, but some people I decide not to have a conversation with based on that first impression because it usually just goes sideways anyway."

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