Uber's Advantage Mode, Exclusive Confusion & Renting Your Backyard to Dogs?! Shift Hustle Ep 6

In this episode of The Shift Hustle Show, we dive headfirst into Uber's confusing "Advantage" and "Exclusive" modes—what they actually mean (or don’t), and whether they’re worth chasing. Spoiler: cherry pickers, you might already be winning.

Plus, we explore Sniffspot, the “Airbnb for dogs,” where you can turn your backyard into a money-making dog park. Is it a genius side hustle or a recipe for poop-filled chaos?

Also featuring shout-outs to Bubba Sue, Traveler, thoughts on the grind of solo content creation, fruit flies, and why gig apps just love to keep us guessing.

Transcript

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Welcome to Shift Hustle Show

Speaker 1 0:07

Hello , hello , welcome to the Shift Hustle Show , episode six . I think I'm only going to do this for the summer . I've enjoyed doing it but it gets busy when school starts . So it's been interesting to do it by yourself and try to like dig into some other stuff . You know , I give , you know steve , I give steve and you know any uh creator that really dives into the really like nitty gritty stuff , because it's a lot of work , it's it's a freaking lot of work and , uh , you know , honestly , with the news and stuff you don't have to do a ton of big research and so you know it's easy to you know , get a bunch of stories together and and just go with it and just give our opinion on that . So I appreciate y'all . Bubba Sue Traveler

Understanding Uber Advantage & Exclusive Modes

Speaker 1 1:04

on YouTube .

Speaker 1 1:04

Appreciate you guys chiming in , not sure on the length of this one , but one of the things I wanted to talk about is and this is just for my research because I feel like Uber Eats sorry , we're going to talk about advantage mode and exclusive mode on Uber and Uber Pro a little bit um , kind of dive into that , but I don't see a lot of the advantage and or exclusive mode for uber eats and you know , as you guys know , I currently am not doing rides , not for any particular reason other than the money's not great . Um , you know , a couple years ago , maybe even last year , we were still getting quests to the point of where it was worth going out , banging out 50 rides on a week or a weekend . But at this point they're offering terrible bonuses and if I'm going to make a little bit of money , I'd rather do something that I want to do , like food delivery , over dealing with people . So diving in a little bit on the advantage mode . So the difference between advantage mode and exclusive mode and this is just for my research . So if I am wrong , by any means , I would always appreciate a hey , this is maybe not what you think it is , or so on and so forth , because you know I'm not perfect with this stuff . But uh , the difference is , uh , for uber sorry , the difference between advantage mode and exclusive mode for uber drivers lies in how the trip requests are prioritized , whether or not drivers can receive requests from other apps during that time , which that's kind of weird , because it doesn't really matter if you're multi-apping . Um , so the advantage mode who gets it ?

Speaker 1 2:46

Drivers with a high acceptance rate , good ratings , usually gold , platinum status and uber pro , which I I've seen advantage mode even when I do have done a few rides . You know this has been around for a little bit while , so I don't understand why it says high acceptance rates , gold , platinum status , uh , in uber pro , because I'm not any of those things by any means . Um , so the advantage mode and that's not even the best , like the exclusive mode is better than the advantage mode , I think . But , uh , the advantage mode gives you priority access to trip requests over other drivers . You'll still see requests from other rideshare apps , obviously if you're running lyft and uh , the trips are off or uber trip offers are prioritized but not exclusively sent to you .

Speaker 1 3:31

The exclusive mode is people that are typically like super high acceptance rate . Um , you receive trip requests exclusively from uber , not from it you , because they think you're fancy I guess You're usually platinum or not platinum . What's the highest one , diamond . So I don't see this doesn't really explain it to me as much as I wish it would . They say that advantage mode is good if you multi-app using Uber and Lyft . An exclusive mode is better for drivers who want to maximize Uber trip volume , especially in high-demand areas . So to qualify for advantage mode you have to have Uber Gold status or higher Gold Platinum Diamond .

Speaker 1 4:15

So maybe I haven't seen advantage , maybe I've seen exclusive , but I'm not any of these either , so I don't know . I've definitely seen these before pop up . Uh , oh , shoot , I did have a , I did have a picture . Shit , where did it go ? I think it's in , I think it's on my phone , which is I'm on tiktok . So that's gonna do it . But it it does , you know , pop up and say advantage or exclusive . So sorry , uh , requirements , uh , for advantage mode , uber pro gold stats are higher acceptance rate , around 50 to 70 . Higher drive rating , usually 4.85 , which 4.85 seems low to me .

Speaker 1 4:54

Exclusive mode is uber pro platinum or diamond status , higher acceptance rate over 85 , and then obviously not canceling those kind of things . So let me check the comments here . Yeah , I think advantage mode , I think it is too . Yeah , you get a five percent bonus extra . But , like when I read this , what I've looked up , it says that the exclusive mode is better . But maybe that's , I don't know . I mean , that's not it , but that's the picture I was going to show you . So , thank you . It says a five percent bonus on this ride , um . So I guess I would have to do a little bit more investigating and go and do some rides . Actually , what I should need , what I need to do , is get um larry to do that , but I don't know .

Speaker 1 5:41

All these things are just kind of like to bump up your ego , I guess , to make you feel exclusive or advantage . But doesn't it sound like the exclusive mode is better ? But I don't really . If you get 5% more on advantage , you get 10% more on exclusive . You get ten percent more on exclusive . Um , so yeah , that's just kind of what I was looking at .

Speaker 1 6:09

I'm still , honestly , a little confused from what I've seen . I haven't watched a ton of videos on it , but that's what they want , right , they want you to make sure that you're a little confused when you're trying to talk about this stuff , so you don't quite figure out . Um , you know what is the advantage I swear about ? So you said rise , I swear . I've seen . I want to say exclusive

Breakdown of Uber Pro Rewards

Speaker 1 6:32

, but I mean , according to this I , there's no way I would get it because I'm not platinum or diamond status , so unless it's just showing up , but you're not getting the perks of it . And again , it doesn't even tell me what the perks are . So I'm basically saying that after I read through this I thought I knew exactly what it was .

Speaker 1 6:55

But , um , let's jump into uber pro and this . And then , obviously , for you know , when some people that are listening to this you may know all this , but I honestly like being just kind of like a new show , some of this stuff I kind of don't really pay attention to . So I wanted to , you know , like I said , talk about it a little bit . So I definitely know a little bit more about the Uber pro rewards by tier . It's blue , which I am um , all the time , um , I don't ever go above gold . So you have blue , gold , platinum and diamond . This is what the rewards say by tier . Excuse me , I love the tier , the blue tier . Access to uber support wow , thank you , uh .

Speaker 1 7:39

And then it just says trip requests and basic features Okay , gold , priority support , discounts on vehicle maintenance , basic advantage mode eligibility . So at the gold status it says eligibility . So it's almost saying like you don't get it , but you might be eligible , we might decide to give it to you . Oh see , it doesn't say that . On the research , baba Su says exclusive in East just means it was sent only to you ? Okay , it does not say that from what I looked up , but I know , I swear to God , I had seen exclusive . Why don't they make it like I know I guess that's what the definition of an exclusive is . But why don't they make it like I know I guess that's what the definition of an exclusive is . But why don't they make it like what does Spark do For you ? You know this trip is for you . Okay .

Speaker 1 8:34

So Goldie , get priority support , basic advantage mode eligibility oh yeah , we've talked about that . Then platinum all gold rewards , obviously , plus higher trip priority , especially at airports , some scheduling or destination preferences and higher likelihood of advantage mode access . So again , you don't necessarily get it , but you have a higher likelihood , like they're vague about that . And then diamond you get highest priority trip request access to exclusive mode . So only in diamond that you get that exclusive mode . Um , premium customer support , enhanced app features like c trip destination , before accepting , which we already know that . I don't understand why that would be diamond . I guess in areas that were um that don't , that still have the . I don't understand why that would be Diamond , I guess in areas that still don't have upfront pricing and then more consistent airport rematch .

Speaker 1 9:31

So what I've basically come from all this is that it's very confusing and I probably should have dug into it a little more because obviously , yeah , bubba sue is to confuse the hell out of drivers . Yeah , that's exactly it . Um , I mean , I read through this and I'm like , oh , that kind of makes sense . But now that I'm like talking it out loud , I'm like wait a minute , that seems , you know , a little shady , like likelihood of advantage mode and basic advantage mode eligibility , but doesn't really tell you what exactly that you're going to get . So something to think about . Um , I honestly , you know I'm cherry pick for life , so I'm , you know , really not going to even care about any of this stuff . Um , but it is good to know .

Speaker 1 10:17

You know the way bubba sue brings it is , it's like exclusive . So

Sniff Spot: Airbnb for Dogs

Speaker 1 10:22

what you're saying is , when I see it on eats , it's just the word exclusive . I'm not in exclusive mode , right ? Um , although it does say you receive trip requests exclusively from uber . Um , but again , this , I think this is more rideshare-esque , so I didn't get like excited on that . But yeah , I guess I mean , if advantage mode gives you five percent more but the exclusive mode doesn't get you that five percent . I mean , wouldn't you want to be in advantage mode unless the exclusive mode is ? Like I said , you get the trips from u . It doesn't go round , robin , which would . It is what is kind of nice .

Speaker 1 11:04

I do like that on spark , when I'm able to , um , you know , I like it gets sent to me . So I'm not like , oh gosh , I got to make a decision , what do I need to do ? And uh , yeah , and I'm able to take my time . I mean , some of them are trash . Of course , they're not all great . Just because it says is for you or exclusive doesn't mean it's good . But but yeah , there you go .

Speaker 1 11:30

There's uh , kind of a kind of a rundown of advantage and exclusive mode . I feel like I need to go back in there . I'm going to put larry on it , uh , for him to kind of maybe get some screenshots and stuff like that , um , just to see exactly what it means . But he's a kind of a cherry picker too . I mean he probably has a better acceptance rate and um , you know all the , all the numbers than me , because you know he's kind of exclusively doing ride share . So I mean , even when I'm doing ride share , I you know he's kind of exclusively doing ride share . So I mean , even when I'm doing ride share , I you know I probably don't work as much as I should because I cherry pick the hell out of shit . But , uh , all right , all I have left is , uh , the app that I want to touch base with and actually , as I started digging through the FAQ today , uh , this is one I've signed up for .

Speaker 1 12:17

I was kind of bummed out . I hadn't , like , um , totally gone all in on it . It's called sniff spot . So we're a big dog family , as you've heard the dogs on the podcast many times and they bark and they're annoying , but we love them , even though they're annoying sometimes I mean , people are annoying sometimes right , we still love them .

Speaker 1 12:37

Um , so you go to SniffSpotcom and basically you , as a customer , can find a space that maybe is fenced in or it's a couple acres or just a space where you can run your dog and have it get exercise . It's like the Airbnb for dogs , but only it's outside . So , fully fenced dog parks , dog beaches , agility parks , swimming pools , small dog parks , dog fields . Dogs love to run . Especially if you've got a hunting dog or stuff like that , they need to run . I often wonder people that live in an apartment that get these big-ass dogs Now , just because they're big doesn't mean they need to run . And I often wonder people that live in an apartment that get these big ass dogs . Now , just because they're big doesn't mean they need to run . I've had a great day in the past and those things are lazy buggers . Even though they're big , they don't like to run .

Speaker 1 13:32

So , um , so yeah , you can put your own spot or your own area up here , like airbnb it , and so I did that , even though I have three dogs . I thought I'll try it , and I hadn't uploaded any pictures , because they keep saying oh you know , upload pictures and you'll be able to . You know , you'll be more attractive , you know , to people that want to use your space . And I haven't really done it yet . It was just kind of a whim , I thought it'd be kind of fun . I did everything , you know , I did everything other than pictures . Um , so then I'm today .

Speaker 1 14:08

I was like researching , looking over the faq , and you know the basic stuff , and then they're like would my land already a problem ? Right , because I have a fenced in backyard , but it's like I don't know . Four thousand square feet , the fenced in backyard , but it's like I don't know 4,000 square feet . The fenced in part the yard is about 10,000 square feet , but the fenced in is about four . So would my land be good for sniff spot ? Almost any kind of land are good for sniff spot . That's hard to say . The most popular tends to be larger . Being a fully fenced in private spot also increases your earning potential . Okay , like all . Being a fully fenced and private spot also increases your earning potential . Okay , like all right , fully fenced and private Because guests enjoy using sniff spot for off-leash exercise .

Speaker 1 14:51

And then it says unfenced yards less than a half acre tend not to work . Oh , okay , I read that wrong , shocker . I was pissed off because all I read was what is it with us as humans when we read ? Or maybe it's just me I read so damn fast , like , not fast . I'm just skimming , right , I'm just looking for keywords . And all I read was less than a half acre tend not to work well for sniff spot unless they have a special feature for people , like water access . So it meant unfenced yards less than a half acre tend not to work for a sniff spot . So I do have hope A lot of people talk about , though they kind of shit on , no pun intended . This because you know what , if the dog is sick , they do require that anyone that rents your spot had all the dogs have to be vaccinated , I assume they have to upload them . I did not investigate the customer side on the sniff spot because I would have no use for it , but well , that makes me excited that it the uh the thing .

Speaker 1 16:04

Unfenced yards less than a half acre tend not to work well , probably because the dogs can get out . I don't know . Usually , if it's bigger than an acre , you typically don't . I mean you should fence it in . So what do you guys think of Sniff Spot ? Are you a dog ? Do you have a yard ? Would that work out for you ? It's , it's a cool , it's a cool idea . I I don't think that .

Speaker 1 16:31

Yeah , so you rent , yeah , bubble , so you rent your backyard to dogs , but it's like it's not like random , like they do . They , uh , they still need to like schedule it and stuff like that . It's not like they just show up out of the blue and , um , you know , can just run rampant back there . There is a fruit fly , like we've been . I know this is a squirrel moment because I have a beer open I've been really good with fruit flies this year . We bought a bunch . Instead of like putting like liquid out to grab them , we got these lights and then , as long as the all the lights are off , like at night , doesn't really work during the day but and they're little sticky pads , so then they like go to the light and get stuck . But I have one buzzing around me . I know , totally random .

Speaker 1 17:20

Um , so , yeah , you rent it out . Um , I don't know what I was talking about before . I uh jumped into bug talk , but um , yeah , people are worried about the dogs being sick and stuff like that . And then you know , your dogs go out there and then they end up , you know , rolling in the poop or eating the poop . Yes , they are animals , they do do shit .

Speaker 1 17:46

But let's see , what do you like ? What , what , what are , what are your favorite ? What are your favorite apps ? Yeah , this one is different . It's not really an app . Well , it is an app , but but what is your favorite app that you work out in Jersey ?

Speaker 1 18:08

But , yeah , go to SniffSpotcom if you want to be a customer and or a– what do they call ? Do they call you a sniffer ? I don't know what they call , like probably your sniff spot , but they do talk about sniff spots . Save , okay , we have a designated sniff spot to be . We have designed sniff spot to be very safe . We provide 1 million host protection , insurance and damage protection . We require guest dogs to be vaccinated on flea parasite preventative . We also require guests to clean up after their dogs so kind of a cool thing . Yeah , it's . I mean , it's not for everyone

Final Thoughts & Show Outro

Speaker 1 18:58

. Um , delivered , I don't both . So every time , every time I bring up an app , she's like nah , this is bullshit , fuck this . No , she doesn't actually say that . Delivered in spark .

Speaker 1 19:12

Yeah , so I mean it's kind of late in the season for me to like really kind of work on it , because who's going to come in the winter ? Right , and there's so many . I mean I live in suburbia , like if , if you have a dog , typically you have a fenced in backyard . But more and more apartments are going up and I think it would be more , it would be more profitable and better if it was in the downtown area where there are a lot of apartments and stuff like that . So so this week , wednesday , larry and gabe are going to do the show . I have a feeling I mean they they said I had to work while I'm doing a day-long trip for the old people and they said nine to nine . I can't imagine it's going to be nine to nine , but I just want to make sure that , if it is , I have somebody available to do the show on wednesday .

Speaker 1 20:11

So all right , well , I appreciate you guys so much for tuning in . I know I didn't have a lot tonight , but check out Sniff Spot Research yourself on advantage mode , exclusive mode . I say fucking both , because you might as well just cherry pick and make the most out of your day , and then I wouldn't even bother with the Uber Pro tiers . It just doesn't seem really worth it to me . But they want you to make you feel fancy so they can convince you to take every single ride . All right , guys . Thank you so much for tuning into the Shift Hustle show . I appreciate everybody and I will not be back Wednesday . But the show will be back Wednesday at 7 pm Eastern for the Gig Economy News . Okay , peace out .