‘Give this chubby driver a good review’: daughter’s letter for ride-hailing driver father goes viral in China and sparks business boom

The daughter was diagnosed with a brain disorder that has put a financial strain on the family
She wrote the letter to boost business by improving her father’s score to get more ride requests

Trending in China

Yingjie Wangin Beijing

Published: 9:00am, 21 Apr 2022

Why you can trust SCMP

An emotional letter “begging” for good reviews from passengers written by a nine-year-old Chinese girl for her father, a ride-hailing driver, touched the hearts of tens of thousands beyond the inside of the car.

The letter revealed that the family is under immense financial pressure because the girl, Hanhan, has organic encephalopathy, affecting the brain’s function.

In the letter, Hanhan said she fell into a coma following a series of seizures one day in September 2021. She was later diagnosed with the disease, and her dad, Chen Zaixing, a single parent, quit his job as a bus driver to care for her.

He spent weeks travelling with Hanhan between Yichang, where they live, and Wuhan, a major metropolitan area, trying to find the best doctors. Both cities are in central China’s Hubei province.

The young girl was diagnosed with a brain disorder that has created expensive medical expenses. Photo: Weibo

Hanhan eventually recovered, but, according to Chen, the total medical bills amounted to around 300,000 yuan (US$46,800), nearly all of which was borrowed from friends and relatives. Hanhan also needs to take long-term medications to manage her condition.

“I then started working as a Didi ride-hailing driver to pay back the debt and earn money to cover her ongoing medical expenses while caring for her,” Chen told China News.

However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, fewer people are going out, meaning not many people are using ride-hailing services.

Hanhan noticed her father did not have a lot of money left by the end of each month, despite his efforts to shield her from any worries. After seeing his driving record, she became even more concerned.

“She’d say to me, ‘only this small number of orders?’ after seeing how many orders I took each day,” Chen said.

Hanhan wrote the letter hoping that it would help Chen get more good reviews so her father could have more orders.

Ride-hailing drivers with consistently good reviews will get a higher service score which means they will be assigned more orders.

The father, Chen Zaixing, quit his job as a bus driver to care for his daughter. Photo: Weibo

In the letter, Hanhan briefly described her family’s financial difficulties and, with a touch of humour, she signed off in a cheeky tone. “I hope you can give this chubby driver a good review. Thank you! Have a safe journey and wishing you good health!”

Chen, appreciative of his daughter’s help, posted the letter on the back of the front passenger seat, totally unaware that it would go viral in such a short time.

“The original purpose was simply to ask the passengers to give me positive reviews,” Chen explained.

“After I wrote that letter, his service scores skyrocketed, and suddenly he started getting a lot more orders and earned a lot more money,” Hanhan said excitedly. “I’m so happy that my letter was helpful.”

After seeing the letter, many passengers offered to help Chen by donating money. But Chen rejected all of them. “I really appreciate their kindness, but many of them are also not making easy money,” Chen explained. “I’m trying to be self-sufficient.”

Many people have been moved by their story, with one person commenting: “He may be an ordinary ride-hailing driver, but he is the little girl’s great hero!”