What your profile looks like to a customer

Whenever you message a customer or place a bid on their shipment, the first thing they do is click your username and check out your profile. Here's an example of what a customer might see on a profile page:

So, top to bottom, they can see:

• Your profile pic
• Your DBA
• Your "About" section
• A sample of the photos you've uploaded
• A list of vehicles that you're using
• Your USDOT number (if any)
• Your background verification checkmark

In the example above, the driver has only a couple of photos uploaded. As a pet transporter, he made the right choice to focus on a pic of his happy little travelers after the ride. We'd also recommend uploading interior and exterior pictures of the vehicle, as well as any special equipment that you may be using. 

In the "About" field, you can enter a few short paragraphs outlining how long you've been in the business, what your main selling points are, etc. Put your best foot forward!

The "background verified" checkmark means you've submitted information to our background screening. For more details on that, see this article. 

Scrolling further down your profile page, a customer might see something like this:

These are a driver's achievements, including the average star rating, the number of bookings, the cancelation rate, and all the badges they've won by crossing certain milestones.

This is an important field, but not one you can edit directly. It'll be populated automatically over time, depending on your performance and the feedback you get from customers. Note that the "Expert Badges" only show if your overall rating is 4.5+.

Speaking of which, next up is the pièce de résistance of your profile page: All the reviews left by your previous customers:

As you can see in the image above, this driver has a stellar reputation. His customers appreciate that he's a model professional that keeps in touch with them and genuinely cares about his work. This instills confidence in his future prospects, making it more likely that his will be the winning bid on the next shipment he goes after.

We really can't overstate the importance of good reviews in this business! Building quality relationships with your customers and getting them to review your service favorably is a crucial part of an independent transporter's career.

What to read next

For more advice on getting your bearings, see the articles on  Shipment details (2-min read) and  Navigating your dashboard (3-min read) .

For advice on managing your CitizenShipper profile, see Setting up your account.

For advice on winning shipments, see Bidding and payments.