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Former Chariot corporate (non-driver) employee here. This is a rescue acquisition, pure and simple. I could probably write a book about how not to run a compa

Former Chariot corporate (non-driver) employee here. This is a rescue acquisition, pure and simple. I could probably write a book about how not to run a company based on my experience there. Coordination failures at all levels and constant managerial abuse. In the words of an Uber employee familiar with the situation, "That company has employees solely so they can be a clueless, abusive megalomaniac's captive audience". Just read the Glassdoor reviews- the ones that aren't the fake 5 star reviews the CEO paid someone to submit. Another employee has set up a Former Chariot Employee Alumni support group, FYI. Message https://www.suggestionox.com/r/Q5EWLs https://www.suggestionox.com/r/Q5EWLs with your LinkedIn details if you are one and you need help.

habosa 10y ago
Glassdoor is blocking me out. Can you explain some of what went wrong inside Chariot? From the outside it is very well run and I was amazed at how quickly it went from creepy white vans to a whole fleet of branded vehicles with a mobile app.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- jonathankoren 10y ago
  So that they called up Bay Area Auto Wraps R Us and paid $2500 or less per vehicle impressed you? Not exactly a stroke of genius to brand your vehicle fleet.
prdonahue 10y ago
Not surprising at all based on the responses I got to emails sent to him. I used to be a customer but the drivers I had (or observed) were absolute menaces on the road. Here's one example: <quote> Hi Ali et al., Wanted to bring your attention to an incident that happened this morning on my drive to work (though I'm a monthly customer, I drive probably 3x/week). I was driving in my lane headed towards the Embarcadero when all of a sudden the driver of Chariot van #49, realizing she was in a left-hand turn only lane, swerved violently in front of me. Had I not immediately slammed on my brakes, I would have crashed right into her at a relatively decent rate of speed. Somewhat shaken, I immediately grabbed my phone to document the incident and submit just a "heads up" to you to instruct this driver to be more careful. While taking pictures (included below), I notice the woman lean over towards the passenger seat and watch me taking pictures in the side-view mirror. She did not appear to be pleased with my actions and gave me a dirty look through the mirror. Thinking no more of it, the light turns green -- we're in bumper-to-bumper traffic at this point -- and she begins accelerating. Then, out of nowhere, she slams on the brakes (a "brake check" if I didn't know any better), causing me to slam on mine, and bumping into her at about 2 mph. My immediate thought was that she was trying to induce an accident, or at the very least give me a scare. Either way, not at all a professional move by someone entrusted with the safety of your passengers. As soon as this happens, the woman gets out of the car and I roll down my window to try to talk to her. I attempt to get her to exchange information, but she simply ignored me, took pictures, and drove away without a single word. Finally, at the spot I was previously* cut-off by one of your drivers (i.e., where they make a left-hand turn into that parking area), I was able to catch up to her to take my own pictures (these are below as well). Given what happened today, and what I've observed before (see below), I'm inclined to bring this matter to the attention of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority. Before doing so, however, I wanted to hear you out and understand what sort of driver training your company has instituted -- and what actual re-training this driver might be required to take. While I'm a big fan of the service and convenience you provide, I can't help but think you're suffering from a serious driver quality issue. I've lived in this city for 10 years and have not had a single incident on the road outside of with Chariot vans. Here are the pictures I took immediately after van #49 swerved into my lane: 1. Showing her stopped in my lane after cutting me off (when she realized she was in the wrong lane) [PIC] 2. The view from my car after I slammed on the brakes and swerved to the right to avoid the accident as she plowed into my lane [PIC#2] 3. How close we came to a decently high-speed accident [PIC #3] And here is the picture that I took after I manage to catch up to her on Embarcadero: 1. Note that small scratch on the right side of the bumper (my car has somewhat more damage, including my license plate). This happened when she slammed on her brakes after immediately starting to go through the light -- inducing, I believe, me to bump into her: * This is not the first time I've been aggressively cut off by one of your drivers. A month or so ago I submitted a report through the app. It should show up under support requests for my email address: prdonahue@gmail.com. Please let me know if you need any more information. Thank you, Patrick </quote> To which the CEO replied: <quote> Hi Patrick, Thanks for bringing this to my attention. We've logged tens of thousands of miles at this point and I will stand by our company's safety and compliance procedures and record of success firmly. Accidents happen, and regretfully you were involved; that's not an indictment of our driver's professionalism. I have cc'd our manager Josh and team to investigate this matter immediately per our SOP. You should expect to hear from them soon. </quote> I got a boilerplate response indicating someone would look into it—but then radio silence.
bogomipz 10y ago
Could you explain what a rescue acquisition is? I am not familiar with this term?
- ben_jones 10y ago
  I imagine its simply an acquisition as a last option for a company. For example, if the company was about to go out of business or face some kind of catastrophic event. I think it also insinuates a less then lucrative outcome for employees and perhaps founders, as a rescue acquisition would give a large amount of leverage to the buyer who would then pay less for the company. I.e. early investors with preferences would get out ahead while common stock holders potentially come out behind.

habosa 10y ago

Glassdoor is blocking me out. Can you explain some of what went wrong inside Chariot? From the outside it is very well run and I was amazed at how quickly it went from creepy white vans to a whole fleet of branded vehicles with a mobile app.

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
jonathankoren 10y ago
So that they called up Bay Area Auto Wraps R Us and paid $2500 or less per vehicle impressed you? Not exactly a stroke of genius to brand your vehicle fleet.

prdonahue 10y ago

Not surprising at all based on the responses I got to emails sent to him. I used to be a customer but the drivers I had (or observed) were absolute menaces on the road. Here's one example: <quote> Hi Ali et al., Wanted to bring your attention to an incident that happened this morning on my drive to work (though I'm a monthly customer, I drive probably 3x/week). I was driving in my lane headed towards the Embarcadero when all of a sudden the driver of Chariot van #49, realizing she was in a left-hand turn only lane, swerved violently in front of me. Had I not immediately slammed on my brakes, I would have crashed right into her at a relatively decent rate of speed. Somewhat shaken, I immediately grabbed my phone to document the incident and submit just a "heads up" to you to instruct this driver to be more careful. While taking pictures (included below), I notice the woman lean over towards the passenger seat and watch me taking pictures in the side-view mirror. She did not appear to be pleased with my actions and gave me a dirty look through the mirror. Thinking no more of it, the light turns green -- we're in bumper-to-bumper traffic at this point -- and she begins accelerating. Then, out of nowhere, she slams on the brakes (a "brake check" if I didn't know any better), causing me to slam on mine, and bumping into her at about 2 mph. My immediate thought was that she was trying to induce an accident, or at the very least give me a scare. Either way, not at all a professional move by someone entrusted with the safety of your passengers. As soon as this happens, the woman gets out of the car and I roll down my window to try to talk to her. I attempt to get her to exchange information, but she simply ignored me, took pictures, and drove away without a single word. Finally, at the spot I was previously* cut-off by one of your drivers (i.e., where they make a left-hand turn into that parking area), I was able to catch up to her to take my own pictures (these are below as well). Given what happened today, and what I've observed before (see below), I'm inclined to bring this matter to the attention of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority. Before doing so, however, I wanted to hear you out and understand what sort of driver training your company has instituted -- and what actual re-training this driver might be required to take. While I'm a big fan of the service and convenience you provide, I can't help but think you're suffering from a serious driver quality issue. I've lived in this city for 10 years and have not had a single incident on the road outside of with Chariot vans. Here are the pictures I took immediately after van #49 swerved into my lane: 1. Showing her stopped in my lane after cutting me off (when she realized she was in the wrong lane) [PIC] 2. The view from my car after I slammed on the brakes and swerved to the right to avoid the accident as she plowed into my lane [PIC#2] 3. How close we came to a decently high-speed accident [PIC #3] And here is the picture that I took after I manage to catch up to her on Embarcadero: 1. Note that small scratch on the right side of the bumper (my car has somewhat more damage, including my license plate). This happened when she slammed on her brakes after immediately starting to go through the light -- inducing, I believe, me to bump into her: * This is not the first time I've been aggressively cut off by one of your drivers. A month or so ago I submitted a report through the app. It should show up under support requests for my email address: prdonahue@gmail.com. Please let me know if you need any more information. Thank you, Patrick </quote> To which the CEO replied: <quote> Hi Patrick, Thanks for bringing this to my attention. We've logged tens of thousands of miles at this point and I will stand by our company's safety and compliance procedures and record of success firmly. Accidents happen, and regretfully you were involved; that's not an indictment of our driver's professionalism. I have cc'd our manager Josh and team to investigate this matter immediately per our SOP. You should expect to hear from them soon. </quote> I got a boilerplate response indicating someone would look into it—but then radio silence.

bogomipz 10y ago

Could you explain what a rescue acquisition is? I am not familiar with this term?

ben_jones 10y ago
I imagine its simply an acquisition as a last option for a company. For example, if the company was about to go out of business or face some kind of catastrophic event. I think it also insinuates a less then lucrative outcome for employees and perhaps founders, as a rescue acquisition would give a large amount of leverage to the buyer who would then pay less for the company. I.e. early investors with preferences would get out ahead while common stock holders potentially come out behind.