Screening for Creepy Ride Share Operators in Maui

So while I was vacationing in Maui last month, I had an opportunity to try out a couple of ride share providers on the island. I have to relate this story as one of the weirdest experiences I have ever had with a driver. I notified the service via the app on my phone and I received an up to the minute note of their progress toward my location. All the usual stuff. So the guy pulls up in a newer Chrysler 300 – nice full size car. I open the back door and let my wife in, and I open the front door and get in the front passenger seat. I had heard that it is more polite to ride in the front seat in a ride share car as opposed to a taxi. Anyone agree or disagree here?

Anyway, here is where the story gets weird. We get in the car, announce where we are headed and thank him for picking us up. He acknowledges our destination and then turns on the music – some new age sounding stuff that sounded like it was meant as a sleep aid. I swear I had heard this music on a help-you-get-to-sleep product ad. Then he started talking…like really low talking. Like whisper talking! His voice barely crept high enough for me to even be aware that he was saying something. This forced me to look at him the entire time while he spoke. It was very odd. The low talking and the make you go to sleep music made me think either the driver was stoned or that maybe my wife and I were about to meet our end in an empty field somewhere in west Maui. Then the driver started talking about how difficult his ex-girlfriend has been. He talked about how he had to trade in his Harley Davidson. Suddenly the low talk turned into angry talk. That is when I knew he wasn’t stoned. It was uncomfortable. Look, I am on vacation. I am looking to have fun. I am in paradise. I am not much for feeling anything but a good time right now. Is that wrong? Needless to say, we let out a collective sigh when the guy dropped us off and he was the subject of our dinner conversation.

So the question for all my HR brothers and sisters is this: How do you screen for low talkers? How do you screen for weird new age music types who play sleepy time music? How do you screen for inappropriate over sharing personal information types? I think maybe the best way is to ask them to give you a ride and see what shakes out? Realistic job preview? What do you think? Remember, sharing is caring!