Three guys for one short $5 ride during the day. One of them had an open cup about half full with red gatorade and ice. No alcohol. Before leaving, he spilled the whole thing in my front passenger seat and floor. I had 3-4 paper towels on hand and handed them to him to wipe it down.

He wiped the floor a little and left the ice and a small pool of Gatorade sitting on the floor. It was a very short ride, so I turn off accepting rides and upon arrival, pull over and take pictures of what happened, sent to lyft to cover myself and fairly compensate me for taking me out of commission.

Lyft quickly determined to charge the guys $80 while I was en route to a convenient store to pick up cleaning supplies and a car wash to vacuum/clean and determine any further action.

After I was done cleaning, I thought the $80 was a little draconian. I was able to clean my black cloth seats and floor without needing professional help. Roughly $15 of supplies, some light detailing and about an hour logged off during a busy afternoon Friday rush in a large metro city — worth ~$30.

I certainly feel like I was entitled to a cleaning fee and compensation for taking me off the road during prime driving time, but should I have got back in contact with Lyft to reduce the fee or would that be too confusing for them to handle? Or what would you have done?

Ps. I have been full time for about almost 2 months and never received a rating less than 5. I don’t know how to see specifically if it was this rider, but I checked the app later and I have my first 1-star review and a note that someone felt unsafe in my car. I’m assuming it was them.