20 ms·

A profound apology

305 points by _pius 10y ago

madeofpalk 10y ago
Can someone link to the video? This is all news to me...
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- kqia040 10y ago
  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-28/in-video-uber-ceo-argues-with-driver-over-falling-fares https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-28/in-video-...
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- bobsky 10y ago
  On front page earlier, with couple hundred comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13757628 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13757628 Direct link: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-28/in-video-uber-ceo-argues-with-driver-over-falling-fares https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-28/in-video-...
  - fenomas 10y ago
    Seems to have gotten flagged off the front page fairly quickly. (Actually a lot of stuff seems to do that lately - I find myself doing a daily check of the second page, just to see which big stories got flagged down before I saw them.)
pizza 10y ago
It's almost as if many of Uber's problems stem from mistreatment of lower-level employees.. not only on the corporate side, but also by customers against drivers.
DannyBee 10y ago
The problem for Travis is now everyone will still believe this is just a reaction to getting bad press, because historically, they have just done that :)
M_Grey 10y ago
Nothing like a mea culpa dragged from you by the threat of impending lawsuits and a truly vicious turn of public opinion. I'm sure that he's utterly sincere, and this is in no way just an empty reaction to external and internal pressures. Seriously. Right?
- unityByFreedom 10y ago
  I don't think it's so terrible. There are a lot of ways he could have reacted to this video. He hasn't passed the buck and is taking responsibility for his actions, for once.
  - M_Grey 10y ago
    It's not really "taking responsibility" when it's virtually at gunpoint. Getting caught and subsequent flailing is not the same as "taking responsibility".
    - unityByFreedom 10y ago
      Even if there's a gun to your head you can still deny guilt. Taking responsibility is simple. You just say you did something wrong and intend to seek help. Yet, so few people do this, because it is so hard to get those words out. That's exactly what this CEO did. If you don't accept when people admit their mistakes, I'd argue you will only end up surrounding yourself with liars. Everyone makes mistakes.
      - Hydraulix989 10y ago
        Usually CEOs don't write their public statements themselves.
  - throwanem 10y ago
    Do you think that's because he has experienced a genuine change of heart and intends on doing all in his power to repair at least some of his myriad grievous failures in the exercise of his responsibilities? Or do you think it's because, this time, he's actually in the video, and really has no options beyond a) try to seem sincerely humbled and intent on improving, or b) do literally anything else, and look like such an unbelievably transparent asshole that no one will ever again take even slightly seriously anything he or his company tries to say or do to defuse the ongoing PR shitstorm, to say nothing of actively worsening said shitstorm? I mean, don't get me wrong, I love that you're trying to give this guy the benefit of the doubt. I just don't see where there's any meaningful doubt left. Either he knows what's been happening on his watch, and he's so negligent in the discharge of his responsibilities that he's failed to avert a catastrophe - or he doesn't know what's been happening on his watch, and he's so arrantly incompetent that he's failed to recognize the possibility that, left unchecked, behavior like that apparently endemic within Uber would guarantee a catastrophe sooner or later. You seem to see some kind of tertium quid here, and I'd be delighted to hear you expand on that.
meowface 10y ago
This doesn't excuse the way he talked to the driver either way, but who was factually correct in the conversation? http://www.recode.net/2017/2/28/14766964/video-uber-travis-kalanick-driver-argument http://www.recode.net/2017/2/28/14766964/video-uber-travis-k... >Kamel: “But people are not trusting you anymore. Do you think people will buy cars anymore? ... I lost $97,000 because of you. I'm bankrupt because of you. You keep changing every day. You keep changing every day.” >Kalanick: “Hold on a second. What have I changed about Black?” >Kamel: “You changed the whole business! You dropped the prices.” >Kalanick: “On Black? Bullshit.” >Kamel: “We started with $20.”
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- huac 10y ago
  The Bloomberg article notes the decreased rates: > In 2012, Uber Black cost riders $4.90 per mile or $1.25 per minute in San Francisco, according to an old version of Uber's website. Today, Uber charges $3.75 per mile and $0.65 per minute.
  - comex 10y ago
    That's a good data point, but not perfect, since the amount Uber charges customers isn't necessarily directly correlated with the amount they pay drivers...
    - mhluongo 10y ago
      I thought Uber took a standard %?
      - dopamean 10y ago
        They do. However I believe compensation to drivers is more complicated because of what are essentially marketing costs in the form of subsidized rides. A year or so ago before Uber left Austin a driver told me one weekend that Uber guaranteed him something like $400 to drive for the weekend so long as he picked up 30 fares (I'm fudging the numbers a bit here because I cant remember). Based on promotions being run for customers and increased rates Uber was definitely going to have to come out of their own pocket to meet that guarantee.
unityByFreedom 10y ago
> This is the first time I’ve been willing to admit that I need leadership help and I intend to get it. That's bold. I can't remember hearing any recent CEO saying this. Best of luck to Uber and their CEO.
- Alex3917 10y ago
  > That's bold. I can't remember hearing any recent CEO saying this. It sounds more like the kind of apology one would make after getting caught diddling children and blaming it on an addiction to snorting horse tranquilizer.
  - horsetranqs 10y ago
    Hey so for what it's worth those horse tranquilizers will leave you totally unable to diddle, or even stand.
    - scotch_drinker 10y ago
      This is by far the funniest thing I've ever read on HN and the fact you created a fake account to do it makes it even funnier, I think.
- M_Grey 10y ago
  No, bold would be stepping down after this degree of widespread failure. This is just a new flavor of bullshit.
  - unityByFreedom 10y ago
    That would be an easier path. Retire rich. The harder one is facing his mistakes publicly and trying to correct them.
    - M_Grey 10y ago
      It would be easy for you, I doubt it's easy for the personality type we find in him.
philip1209 10y ago
Was there any word on whether Travis banned the driver after that encounter? I heard from employees that, in the early days, he had to be pried away from Twitter due to a propensity for perma-banning those who harshly criticized the company.
- middleclick 10y ago
  Fun fact: according to the article, the driver gave him a 1 star.
sjtgraham 10y ago
The driver covertly filmed a passenger during a ride he was being paid for and disclosed the footage to a news organisation. This is extremely unethical IMO. Even if this is the CEO of Uber, it is entirely inappropriate, and he IMO is still entitled to an expectation of privacy equally as you or I would when we are paying for the exclusive private hire of a vehicle.
- throwanem 10y ago
  So, welcome to the world, where there's a reason why the phrase "public figure" contains the word public. I tend to agree that, in an ideal world, it wouldn't be that way. But this is hardly an ideal world, and I'm kind of frightened that someone confused on this point should be building a read/write API on bank accounts.
  - foo101 10y ago
    Your point about ideal world vs. real world makes sense. But your personal attack on sjtgraham is unwarranted.
    - throwanem 10y ago
      Is it really that? I don't believe I'm indicting his qualities as a person; certainly that's not my intent. But if Teller takes off, he's going to have, to a first approximation, the entire world gunning for him - because whoever suborns him or his company has a reasonable chance of getting rich, or at least a solid payday, out of it. That's not a tremendously safe place to be uncynical.
    - sjtgraham 10y ago
      Thank you for this foo101.
  - sjtgraham 10y ago
    I'm not defending Kalanick's behavior, although I do think it is regretful he ended the interaction in the way he did. Public figure or not I think it's unreasonable to expect anyone to completely waive their expectation of privacy. There are right and wrong ways to pursue a grievance, IMO this was not the right way and two wrongs do not make a right.
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anjc 10y ago
It strikes me as a mistake to apologise for something that you shouldn't apologise for. I thought the video was humanising, and if anything, he remained cool in the face of threatening behaviour. Apologising just legitimses the critics, who'll remain critical regardless.
- subpixel 10y ago
  For me the video humanizes Uber drivers - the people who have the most to lose when Uber brass damage the company through scandal and mismanagement. The fact that Kalanick dismisses the driver's opinions on what might be good for the company reveals the fragility of his ego. If he'd listen to the opinions of the people who actual make Uber work, he might learn a lot.
  - jacobtracey 10y ago
    The drivers are just a stopgap until most Uber rides are self driving cars. They're all screwed in the end anyway.
    - AstralStorm 10y ago
      The problem is, Uber will be gone too, unless they will provide a valet service or become a brand for one of the big car companies.
hackuser 10y ago
Kalanick is also a leader in many communities: in Silicon Valley, in the business community, in the U.S., and worldwide. Many respond to such issues with more bluster, with defensiveness, with pressure on the weaker party (who then retracts their claims, blames themselves, forgives the powerful person, etc.), with claims that such behavior is appropriate. Unfortunately this behavior is now seen in world leaders. I think his note is responsible and appropriate. It's good to see. (I'm no Uber fan; I don't use them due to their treatment of their drivers, and their disrespect for and undermining of local legal authority.)
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smoyer 10y ago
The problem with SV's propensity for turning twenty-somethings into CXOs is that they are fundamentally NOT mature. Studies have shown that our brains aren't fully mature until we're 25 but it seems to take a long time for the feeling of entitlement you garner before that age to wear off after you've reached the quarter-century mark. I actually do hope he's sincere - I hope he's really going to get help - and I specifically hope that counseling leads him to eliminate the misogyny that we've all read about the last couple days. I'm not holding my breath that any of this will happen. After all, how would it move the valuation forward? Unfortunately I think that the most likely scenario is that he'll become more of a detriment to the company and the investors will "ease him out".
- npkarnik 10y ago
  Travis is 40.
  - smoyer 10y ago
    Perhaps physically ... I think you just made my point!
  - logfromblammo 10y ago
    Maturity comes with experience, not time. Perhaps the experience of having one of his contractor-chumps call him out on his worker-hostile corporate policy changes while working will mature him a bit more. The rest of us have to make do with mundane stuff like the births of our children, not making rent/mortgage on the first of the month, having our water/power/gas shut off, getting laid off, drinking too much tequila, catching a flat tire at 1 AM during a downpour, losing the championship match, putting our favorite dog or cat down, burying our parents, getting married, experiencing a perfect day miles from any stranger out in the wilderness, finishing the marathon run, getting stopped by the cops for a BS pretext reason, or writing a horrendously long run-on sentence.
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jamestimmins 10y ago
I'm a bit unclear what is so negative about this. While there is an argument that a leader should be able to handle criticism without losing his/her temper, he appears to respond to the driver as an equal with whom he profoundly disagrees. He didn't write the man off or act as though he wasn't worth his time, he simply responded in a frustrated manner to an interaction that he clearly was not in the mood for. Does being brusque require a public apology?
- M_Grey 10y ago
  For me, the issue is all of what he's done (or not done) leading up to this. The time for a fireside chat has long since passed, and it's only happening now because it's literally the least that can be done.
  - jamestimmins 10y ago
    Agreed. I am simply referring to this video in isolation as the catalyst for an apology.
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- smcmurtry 10y ago
  >Kalanick: You know what? >Kamel: What? >Kalanick: Some people don't like to take responsibility for their own shit. They blame everything in their life on somebody else. I think that is a very insulting and superior thing to say to someone.
  - davesque 10y ago
    Especially when your net worth is six billion dollars.
    - dopamean 10y ago
      And you're talking to someone who works for you (though you bend over backwards to say they don't so you can avoid being responsible for them) and earns a tiny, tiny fraction of what you earn.
Rapzid 10y ago
Travis and his two escorts.
rdtsc 10y ago
That is a good apology. We've seen Uber discussed here and not just in context of this incident, but much worse stuff. It would be interesting to see what comes of that... But taken it on its own, this is what apologies should be like and not the "I am so very sorry you all feel this way" type apologies which then usually also proceed to shift blame (circumstances, others, acts of God, bad mood, etc). Now whether he actually feels this way or not or this is just good PR I am not sure. It remains to be seen.
oconnore 10y ago
It takes a certain kind of person to declare that their own apology is "profound".
- Jtsummers 10y ago
  Synonym with deep, it's an expression of sincerity and/or being particularly heartfelt.
  - icelancer 10y ago
    It is not their call to make whether the apology is sincere or heartfelt. It is for others to judge.
    - Jtsummers 10y ago
      It's an expression. When I write something like, "My deepest condolences". I'm using a fairly standard expression. Same with, "My most heartfelt apology". Yes, the veracity of those statements will be judged in time, but it's still a common, and idiomatic, way to say things in English.
      - enneff 10y ago
        To this native English speaker it came off as self-aggrandizing.
        jachee 10y ago
        I checked to see if maybe this is because of confirmation bias, and it looks like it might be. ;)
        Sir_Cmpwn 10y ago
        To this native English speaker I think you guys are splitting hairs to dig in even further to someone you don't like.
    - hnbroseph 10y ago
gigatexal 10y ago
At least he's owning up to things. I would hate to be him right now. Companies have fallen into obscurity for less than this.
dkarapetyan 10y ago
Why is he still in charge? The dude is running the company into the ground as fast as he can.
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vacri 10y ago
s/profound/short/ Also: "I want to apologise" and "I apologise" are subtly but distinctly different.
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reilly3000 10y ago
Forgive me for not being glued to the news about Uber. What did he say to the driver?
chx 10y ago
You need to directly link to this because this apology does not actually show up on https://newsroom.uber.com/ https://newsroom.uber.com/ . http://i.imgur.com/9fiFNJx.png http://i.imgur.com/9fiFNJx.png
- lloydde 10y ago
  Strange! I was perplexed that the apology is followed by a multi-racial image of gym rats, but then saw it was part of a "featured article" on Uber delivered influenza vaccine from last year.
git-pull 10y ago
Here's the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTEDYCkNqns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTEDYCkNqns
rexreed 10y ago
At this point who can have empathy for the management of this company? This overvalued, overinvested company.
m3kw9 10y ago
I saw th video and it wasn't that disrepectful if you were a normal person, but since he is the CEO of some mega corp, any slight temperament in a bad way will get you this PR
codr4life 10y ago
Sorry Travis; once an asshole, always an asshole; all the leadership training in the world isn't going to change that. You're 40 years old, how long would you have us waiting? Even brother J. was on your tail in noting that bad trees don't give good fruit. Claiming 'profound' for PR-bullshit like this when you're in that kind of mess is just another nail in the coffin.
- ChuckMcM 10y ago
  In my experience the most effective agent for change is gratitude. Learning to be really thankful for the things that you value in your life, leads to giving them respect and leadership in your actions. I know that sounds waaaaay over the top but in my experience it has been the only way to get past emotional blocks and to change effectively.
- humanrebar 10y ago
  Brother J?
  - noobermin 10y ago
    Jesus Christ[0]? I hate to digress from this topic, so I won't in depth, but this whole "good tree, bad tree" philosophy is central to protestant theology and has had an impact on Western culture, while it is often not true, in my opinion. Another variant is the "bitter water, sweet water" parable from Jude. [0] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+7%3A15-20&version=NKJV https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+7%3A15-...
    - codr4life 10y ago
      I have a different experience. If people were actually trying to change, they would. People who don't change, don't want to change. Being the kind of asshole that Travis is gradually proving to be, at the age of 40; is a pretty lousy indicator.
      - noobermin 10y ago
crorella 10y ago
So, no stepping down yet?
owly 10y ago
Get out while you can! Too little, too late.
aioprisan 10y ago
Care to venture a guess that he wouldn't have apologized if the video wasn't made public? Much like the recent sexually abusive culture revelations. Travis continues to do the least he can actually do without doing anything that would actually hurt himself, as resigning and putting a true and tried professional CEO in charge would - and let's be clear, he just made it clear that he never intends on stepping down.
remarkEon 10y ago
I would like to hear an argument for why Travis should remain as CEO. In my mind there's simply been too many colossal failures as a leader, and while I don't consider this video in particular to be resignation worthy, I feel like it's just another datapoint in a growing dataset showing that he's not mature enough (at 40 no less) to handle his role. A straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak. This letter seems sincere, but I was fairly disappointed that there have been no high-level firings or resignations (that I'm aware of) since the Fowler story broke. There's a deep credibility issue here, and the only way I can think of to fix it is if he leaves. So why should he stay? Edit: I'm wrong, Amit Singhal was asked to resign due to not disclosing an alleged sexual harassment offense at Google. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/27/technology/uber-sexual-harassment-amit-singhal-resign.html?_r=0 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/27/technology/uber-sexual-ha... FTA: A little more than a week after Uber faced stinging accusations that it had ignored female employees’ complaints of sexual harassment, the company dismissed the head of its engineering efforts for failing to disclose a sexual harassment claim from his previous job.
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- crimsonalucard 10y ago
  Being an ass hole is sometimes an effective form of leadership. This event may be a datapoint FOR keeping him as a leader. Steve Jobs was an ass hole.
  - chasing 10y ago
    Don't confuse someone being successful because they're an asshole with someone being successful despite being an asshole.
    - crimsonalucard 10y ago
      Part of Steve Jobs success was attributed to the fact that he was an asshole not despite of it. Read his biography.
everdev 10y ago
Wow, from the title I thought this would be in regards to the multiple claims of sexual harassment and a hostile workplace. Have they acknowledged those situations yet? With this video, he got triggered and left. I'm sure he's sorry but I don't see this as anywhere remotely close to the experiences several female engineers have shared. Hopefully his response to them is magnitudes more heartfelt, apologetic and transformative.
m0ckingb1rd 10y ago
I thought this was for female employees at Uber.
siliconc0w 10y ago
Here is the video for the curious: https://youtu.be/gTEDYCkNqns?t=237 https://youtu.be/gTEDYCkNqns?t=237 To his credit he did actually try to engage with the upset driver - most other executives would just dodge the conversation to avoid looking bad.
- exodust 10y ago
  True, and he might have also responded with a safe on-brand reply that would have been criticized as "corporate disingenuous". Give me the genuine emotional reply any day, that's where you find truth, strengths, weaknesses out in the open. Whether the business model is unfair on drivers is a separate issue to the conduct of this encounter. At the end of the day, the driver went too far saying "I'm bankrupt because of you", I have no sympathy for people who exaggerate to score points.
dongslol 10y ago
Here's the conversation that took place: Travis: So we are reducing the number of black cars in the next few months. Fawzi: It’s good. Travis: You probably saw some email. Fawzi: I saw the email [that says] it starts in May. But you’re raising the standards and dropping the prices. Travis: We’re not dropping the prices on Black. Fawzi: But in general. Travis: In general, but we have competitors. Otherwise we’d be out of business. Fawzi: Competitors? You had the business model in your hands, you could have the prices you want but you choose to buy everybody a ride. Travis: No, no no. You misunderstand me. We started high-end. We didn’t go low-end because we wanted to. We went low-end because we had to because we’d be out of business. Fawzi: But people are not trusting you anymore. Do you think people will buy cars anymore? ... I lost $97,000 because of you. I'm bankrupt because of you. You keep changing every day. You keep changing every day. Travis: Hold on a second. What have I changed about Black? Fawzi: You changed the whole business! You dropped the prices. Travis: On Black? Bullshit. Fawzi: We started with $20. Travis: You know what, some people don't like to take responsibility for their own shit. They blame everything in their life on somebody else. Good luck! Fawzi: Good luck to you too, I know that you aren’t going to go far.
- dongslol 10y ago
  Personally, I didn't find this disproportionately disrespectful. The driver makes a couple unsubstantiated claims (perfectly ok--it's a car discussion). Travis does the same. The driver starts making accusations ("you keep changing every day"). Travis asks for clarification. The driver keeps up his attack ("You changed the whole business! You dropped the prices.") If someone accused me in such a fashion, and persisted despite me asking for clarification and trying to actually explain my view to them, I'd probably be a lot more vitriolic than Travis was. (It's a character flaw of mine.) And saying that some people don't like to take responsibility for their own shit is, well, true? I don't like that billionaires are held to a different standard. People say, "they don't need protection; they're rich." Ok, but if you discount something a billionaire says for no reason other than that they're rich and have easy lives, you're not a dispassionate truthseeker.
  - gingerbread-man 10y ago
ddispaltro 10y ago
Honestly, most of the conversation is a lot more genuine than most interactions as seen on the internet. Most execs would have shut up and avoided any discussion. I am not saying that I agree with everything, but of all the Uber news, this is the least worrying.
- orblivion 10y ago
  I'm rarely one to defend Uber, but I agree. I didn't see the big deal. He was a little rude, callous, and aloof. Not great, but meh.
  - k-mcgrady 10y ago
    >> He was a little rude, callous, and aloof. This is the big deal. It's solidifying the picture that's been built of him over the last few weeks.
middleclick 10y ago
Don't we remember this? http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/uber-executive-reportedly-advocated-smearing-some-journalists-1.2838674 http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/uber-executive-reportedly-ad... > A senior executive at U.S. ride-sharing company Uber suggested that the company should spend a million dollars to hire a team of opposition researchers to "dig up dirt" on its critics in the media, BuzzFeed reported.
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dmode 10y ago
The key question is how many people will stop using Uber based on this video. I for one will still continue using their services. I know Travis is an asshole and I hate Uber, but I hate cabs even more. And I can't depend just on Lyft every time
otterley 10y ago
I suspect Uber's board was threatening to fire him. A person like Kalanick makes no apologies unless forced to do so by people even more powerful than him.
cypher303 10y ago
By "ashamed" I assume he really meant "embarrassed". I'm just glad that I'm not a well known figure, because I embarrass myself almost daily.
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diebir 10y ago
I did not find this video problematic at all. If anything, I am impressed that Kalanick went for a conversation with the driver and on the same level. This could be a cultural difference, but I perceived the driver tone as aggressive and bullying, when Kalanick was eager but civil. I think Kalanick handled the confrontation (which is what this was) pretty well. This fits his style and my perception of him and while he may not be a person I would want to hang out with, this is why Uber is successful with Kalanick as a CEO.
throwaway91111 10y ago
Just the qualities of a leader that driver needed. Oh wait, sorry, that would imply some acceptance of responsibility.
- dang 10y ago
  Please don't post snark about inflammatory topics. It's the last thing we need more of here. If you have a substantive point to make, please make it thoughtfully. If you don't, please don't post at all. We detached this comment from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13761339 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13761339 and marked it off-topic.
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victorhooi 10y ago
I fail to see the issue here. If anything, this whole thing makes me respect Kalanick and Uber more. I watched the video of the driver ambushing Kalanick - and yes, it was clearly an ambush: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTEDYCkNqns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTEDYCkNqns If anything, he handled himself quite well - especially considering he probably just wanted to go home. Can any of you say you would have handled a tense situation, with somebody abusing you any better? It's all well and good to sit in your chair at home, comfortable - but how many of you had to deal with The fact that he took the time to actually talk with the driver says something. At worst, he said b*llshit at the end, when he's clearly frustrated at what's becoming a rant. The driver obviously just needed to vent.
realworldview 10y ago
The horse left that barn a long time ago. This macho crap pervades the actions, language and demeanour of modern business and notably technology. Time to grow up and take responsibility.
kamaal 10y ago
Please help me understand this. These Uber drivers disrupted the regular cab/taxi business by driving their wages low, and now their complain is their wages are going low? Sorry but that is how capitalism/free market economy in general works. You won't always be on the positive side of the profit.
- devopsproject 10y ago
  No. "Uber Black" requires a luxury car and uber offers a 3 year lease program to help drivers purchase a vehicle. People signed up and then uber changed the rules so that they now have to accept "Uber x" fares too. Uber changed the rules and drivers are, correctly, pissed.
kchoudhu 10y ago
What low rent CEO of a $70B company goes home in a taxi?
- cnnrjcbsn 10y ago
  My understanding is that this was in an Uber Black. He's using the nicest version of his product and the one that pays out the most to the drivers. Sounds about like what I would expect him to do.
asher_ 10y ago
Did Uber fire the driver? Or are they ok with passengers being recorded and those recordings being made public?
marcell 10y ago
From the post: > It’s clear this video is a reflection of me—and > the criticism we’ve received is a stark reminder that > I must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up. > This is the first time I’ve been willing to admit that > I need leadership help and I intend to get it. I'm no fan of Uber, these past few months lowered my opinion of them, and words are just words, but even still: this is a very unequivocal statement, and very difficult for someone to make so publicly, in the lime light. A good step, I think. And, for what it's worth, the video conversation doesn't seem to bad. I think Travis has more on his mind than just the recent video, but it's safer to pin it on that one thing.
- acjohnson55 10y ago
  How difficult is it, really, when billions of your own dollars are on the line? We sure do have a tendency to infantilize the infinitely privileged. Showing up to excel at a job where you have to navigate a minefield of sexual misconduct, hostile management and complicit HR is difficult. For Travis, stepping aside to let a new leader build the culture of respect and accountability that he has abysmally failed to foster would actually be difficult.
DavidWanjiru 10y ago
BS plauditory apology. You don't get to call something you said "profound." Others can find it profound, but you can't. It's like a comedian finding themselves funny. It's normally the audience that finds the comedian funny.
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cnnrjcbsn 10y ago
Am I the only one who finds his conversation around the 1:45-2:15 mark of the video to be hilarious?
m-j-fox 10y ago
Am I the only one who found the first part of the video more interesting? That guy is full of drugs. No judgement. Just recognizing what drugs looks like.
- josephpmay 10y ago
  He look's drunk/high, but I wouldn't say he's "full of drugs"
m-j-fox 10y ago
Am I the only one who found the first part of the video more interesting? That guy is full of drugs. No judgement. Just recognizing what drugs looks like.
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partycoder 10y ago
The true character of Kalanick is what you see in that video. The apology doesn't mean much. He is giving an impression of accountability when in reality that driver does not need an apology, he needs a viable business model that allows him to make a decent living.
squozzer 10y ago
Using the label "profound" on your own statement seems a bit self-aggrandizing.
mtarnovan 10y ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTsDqIcpHUc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTsDqIcpHUc comes to mind. Words are cheap.
k-mcgrady 10y ago
Reading the conversation they had in the thread here it seemed 50/50 to me. Watching the video completely changed my mind so if you're ITT and making a judgement based on a transcript take a look at the video. The driver is pretty calm and then seems to touch a nerve with Kalanick who gets loud and rude. Also as they're talking over each the transcripts here aren't accurate. The driver is actually quoting figures, not just complaining without evidence. I wish Lyft would expand out of the US. If they did, they'd have my business immediately. As for Uber, with everything over the last few weeks they've lost it.
k-mcgrady 10y ago
Reading the conversation they had in the thread here it seemed 50/50 to me. Watching the video completely changed my mind so if you're ITT and making a judgement based on a transcript take a look at the video. The driver is pretty calm and then seems to touch a nerve with Kalanick who gets loud and rude. Also as they're talking over each the transcripts here aren't accurate. The driver is actually quoting figures, not just complaining without evidence. I wish Lyft would expand out of the US. If they did, they'd have my business immediately. As for Uber, with everything over the last few weeks they've lost it.
antingate2 10y ago
Classic mistake. Never apologize to SJWs. This guy needs to learn from Trump. Nothing, absolutely nothing will appease these concerned trolls, nothing. Just ignore SJWs in general and in HN is a good idea.
crawfordcomeaux 10y ago
What's missing from this apology is any statement about what, specifically, he's going to do to change. If you're reading this, Travis, here are some ideas: - Overhaul transparency at Uber because you don't know how to monitor your culture & doing so takes longer to learn than letting in some light - Mindfulness meditation (lots of it) - Become an Uber driver for a month and only live off what you make driving. Do the Undercover Boss thing. - Brain programming (shameless plug: I invented methods for doing this & they double as mindfulness practices)
dominotw 10y ago
Uber needs to stop playing this game. They need to be quite and let the courts/legal system deal with any issues. 99.99% of people don't give a shit about any of this and people have really really short memory. Someone is giving them bad PR advice.
smdz 10y ago
> By now I’m sure you’ve seen the video where I treated an Uber driver disrespectfully. To say that I am ashamed is an extreme understatement. My job as your leader is to lead…and that starts with behaving in a way that makes us all proud. That is not what I did, and it cannot be explained away. > It’s clear this video is a reflection of me—and the criticism we’ve received is a stark reminder that I must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up.... I watched the video 3 times, and did not find anything wrong with the CEO's behavior. And don't understand why the CEO should be issuing any apology at all for this video. He was explaining the situation politely. Its when the driver started placing his $97K bankruptcy charge on the CEO - the CEO lost his cool. If the CEO is contemplating changing this polite no-nonsense behavior -investors should be very concerned EDIT: I came across this interesting comment from gpawl, somewhere down this thread >>> It's a good tactic -- blow off all the worse things you do, then apologize for the one time you weren't at fault, people notice and give you sympathy, and start to forget those worse things.
- tptacek 10y ago
  You copied this comment from another thread, where I responded: Uber isn't the driver's employer. Uber is a vendor to the driver. The driver is complaining that its vendor made commitments, on which the driver depended, and then reneged. The driver might be right or might be wrong, but in no discussion with a vendor in the history of the Fortune 500 has it ever been OK for the vendor to accuse their customer of "not taking responsibility for their own shit". What the video shows isn't wrong on the level of the Fowler post. It just shows Kalanick as petty and deeply unserious about his role, which is an alarming look for someone whose company is embroiled in scandals about mismanagement.
  - smdz 10y ago
    Yes, that thread was marked duplicate. At least with this instance, it did not seem like the Kalanick's fault (nor the driver's fault). The driver got a bit aggressive and we know why. I don't agree with the statement: "Uber is a vendor to the driver". This is theoretically true, but doesn't work that way in practice. Uber is like a freelance marketplace for drivers. In practice I have never seen individual or handful of freelancers having any power over monopolistic marketplace authorities. Nobody stopped the driver from working with Uber - but he can't! Uber is a vendor for the riders only.
alimoeeny 10y ago
This looks to me as if Uber wants to say we are so sensitive to be fair and honest that even for such a minor thing CEO publicly apologizes. Imagine what we do with real problems like sexual harassment in the office.
jps359 10y ago
"Some people don't like to take responsibility for their own shit, they blame everything in their life on somebody else." The ungratefulness of this guy... saying this to one of your drivers, one of the people who is directly responsible for the success of your business. Without him and the thousands like him, Travis would be nothing.
ossie 10y ago
Putting Travis to the side, nobody cares about the privacy of the two ladies in the video who have been involuntarily dragged into national news? (i assume nobody asked their consent to publish the video)
- devopsproject 10y ago
  You give up your privacy when you enter an Uber vehicle. If the two ladies are upset, they should address the issue with Travis the next time they hang out.
williamle8300 10y ago
Uber is a dumpster fire. Whenever I see a black Prius with the Uber sticker on the car cutting through traffic, tailgating cars, rolling right turns, and general assery... it reminds me that moral bankruptcy pervades the whole company culture. Stay away from this company.
rajacombinator 10y ago
I ride with Uber drivers who complain to me about their earnings all the time and I just nod graciously and agree with them. (Even though I couldn't care less.) Maybe Uber should hire me as CEO, I'll even give them a discount.
carreina1 10y ago
I want to openly thank Binary H. for his service… he helped me from infidelity and lies of my cheating husband. he was able to hack his cell phone so i listen to every call he makes or receives, hacked his whatapps, email and Facebook, without him finding out,it really helped my lawyer during my divorce i have been scammed so many times but Binary H. is the best hacker i have met,he helped me regain my freedom…i know there are lots of people out there looking for proof and evidences about one thing or the other. Be open and confide in him so he can be at the best of his service to you. Do contact him via email Binaryhacker016@gmail.com …. Tell him carreina referred you for swift response....

A profound apology

305 points by _pius 10y ago

madeofpalk 10y ago

Can someone link to the video? This is all news to me...

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kqia040 10y ago
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-28/in-video-uber-ceo-argues-with-driver-over-falling-fares https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-28/in-video-...
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bobsky 10y ago
On front page earlier, with couple hundred comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13757628 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13757628 Direct link: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-28/in-video-uber-ceo-argues-with-driver-over-falling-fares https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-28/in-video-...
- fenomas 10y ago
  Seems to have gotten flagged off the front page fairly quickly. (Actually a lot of stuff seems to do that lately - I find myself doing a daily check of the second page, just to see which big stories got flagged down before I saw them.)

pizza 10y ago

It's almost as if many of Uber's problems stem from mistreatment of lower-level employees.. not only on the corporate side, but also by customers against drivers.

DannyBee 10y ago

The problem for Travis is now everyone will still believe this is just a reaction to getting bad press, because historically, they have just done that :)

M_Grey 10y ago

Nothing like a mea culpa dragged from you by the threat of impending lawsuits and a truly vicious turn of public opinion. I'm sure that he's utterly sincere, and this is in no way just an empty reaction to external and internal pressures. Seriously. Right?

unityByFreedom 10y ago
I don't think it's so terrible. There are a lot of ways he could have reacted to this video. He hasn't passed the buck and is taking responsibility for his actions, for once.
- M_Grey 10y ago
  It's not really "taking responsibility" when it's virtually at gunpoint. Getting caught and subsequent flailing is not the same as "taking responsibility".
  - unityByFreedom 10y ago
    Even if there's a gun to your head you can still deny guilt. Taking responsibility is simple. You just say you did something wrong and intend to seek help. Yet, so few people do this, because it is so hard to get those words out. That's exactly what this CEO did. If you don't accept when people admit their mistakes, I'd argue you will only end up surrounding yourself with liars. Everyone makes mistakes.
    - Hydraulix989 10y ago
      Usually CEOs don't write their public statements themselves.
- throwanem 10y ago
  Do you think that's because he has experienced a genuine change of heart and intends on doing all in his power to repair at least some of his myriad grievous failures in the exercise of his responsibilities? Or do you think it's because, this time, he's actually in the video, and really has no options beyond a) try to seem sincerely humbled and intent on improving, or b) do literally anything else, and look like such an unbelievably transparent asshole that no one will ever again take even slightly seriously anything he or his company tries to say or do to defuse the ongoing PR shitstorm, to say nothing of actively worsening said shitstorm? I mean, don't get me wrong, I love that you're trying to give this guy the benefit of the doubt. I just don't see where there's any meaningful doubt left. Either he knows what's been happening on his watch, and he's so negligent in the discharge of his responsibilities that he's failed to avert a catastrophe - or he doesn't know what's been happening on his watch, and he's so arrantly incompetent that he's failed to recognize the possibility that, left unchecked, behavior like that apparently endemic within Uber would guarantee a catastrophe sooner or later. You seem to see some kind of tertium quid here, and I'd be delighted to hear you expand on that.

meowface 10y ago

This doesn't excuse the way he talked to the driver either way, but who was factually correct in the conversation? http://www.recode.net/2017/2/28/14766964/video-uber-travis-kalanick-driver-argument http://www.recode.net/2017/2/28/14766964/video-uber-travis-k... >Kamel: “But people are not trusting you anymore. Do you think people will buy cars anymore? ... I lost $97,000 because of you. I'm bankrupt because of you. You keep changing every day. You keep changing every day.” >Kalanick: “Hold on a second. What have I changed about Black?” >Kamel: “You changed the whole business! You dropped the prices.” >Kalanick: “On Black? Bullshit.” >Kamel: “We started with $20.”

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huac 10y ago
The Bloomberg article notes the decreased rates: > In 2012, Uber Black cost riders $4.90 per mile or $1.25 per minute in San Francisco, according to an old version of Uber's website. Today, Uber charges $3.75 per mile and $0.65 per minute.
- comex 10y ago
  That's a good data point, but not perfect, since the amount Uber charges customers isn't necessarily directly correlated with the amount they pay drivers...
  - mhluongo 10y ago
    I thought Uber took a standard %?
    - dopamean 10y ago
      They do. However I believe compensation to drivers is more complicated because of what are essentially marketing costs in the form of subsidized rides. A year or so ago before Uber left Austin a driver told me one weekend that Uber guaranteed him something like $400 to drive for the weekend so long as he picked up 30 fares (I'm fudging the numbers a bit here because I cant remember). Based on promotions being run for customers and increased rates Uber was definitely going to have to come out of their own pocket to meet that guarantee.

unityByFreedom 10y ago

> This is the first time I’ve been willing to admit that I need leadership help and I intend to get it. That's bold. I can't remember hearing any recent CEO saying this. Best of luck to Uber and their CEO.

Alex3917 10y ago
> That's bold. I can't remember hearing any recent CEO saying this. It sounds more like the kind of apology one would make after getting caught diddling children and blaming it on an addiction to snorting horse tranquilizer.
- horsetranqs 10y ago
  Hey so for what it's worth those horse tranquilizers will leave you totally unable to diddle, or even stand.
  - scotch_drinker 10y ago
    This is by far the funniest thing I've ever read on HN and the fact you created a fake account to do it makes it even funnier, I think.
M_Grey 10y ago
No, bold would be stepping down after this degree of widespread failure. This is just a new flavor of bullshit.
- unityByFreedom 10y ago
  That would be an easier path. Retire rich. The harder one is facing his mistakes publicly and trying to correct them.
  - M_Grey 10y ago
    It would be easy for you, I doubt it's easy for the personality type we find in him.

philip1209 10y ago

Was there any word on whether Travis banned the driver after that encounter? I heard from employees that, in the early days, he had to be pried away from Twitter due to a propensity for perma-banning those who harshly criticized the company.

middleclick 10y ago
Fun fact: according to the article, the driver gave him a 1 star.

sjtgraham 10y ago

The driver covertly filmed a passenger during a ride he was being paid for and disclosed the footage to a news organisation. This is extremely unethical IMO. Even if this is the CEO of Uber, it is entirely inappropriate, and he IMO is still entitled to an expectation of privacy equally as you or I would when we are paying for the exclusive private hire of a vehicle.

throwanem 10y ago
So, welcome to the world, where there's a reason why the phrase "public figure" contains the word public. I tend to agree that, in an ideal world, it wouldn't be that way. But this is hardly an ideal world, and I'm kind of frightened that someone confused on this point should be building a read/write API on bank accounts.
- foo101 10y ago
  Your point about ideal world vs. real world makes sense. But your personal attack on sjtgraham is unwarranted.
  - throwanem 10y ago
    Is it really that? I don't believe I'm indicting his qualities as a person; certainly that's not my intent. But if Teller takes off, he's going to have, to a first approximation, the entire world gunning for him - because whoever suborns him or his company has a reasonable chance of getting rich, or at least a solid payday, out of it. That's not a tremendously safe place to be uncynical.
  - sjtgraham 10y ago
    Thank you for this foo101.
- sjtgraham 10y ago
  I'm not defending Kalanick's behavior, although I do think it is regretful he ended the interaction in the way he did. Public figure or not I think it's unreasonable to expect anyone to completely waive their expectation of privacy. There are right and wrong ways to pursue a grievance, IMO this was not the right way and two wrongs do not make a right.

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anjc 10y ago

It strikes me as a mistake to apologise for something that you shouldn't apologise for. I thought the video was humanising, and if anything, he remained cool in the face of threatening behaviour. Apologising just legitimses the critics, who'll remain critical regardless.

subpixel 10y ago
For me the video humanizes Uber drivers - the people who have the most to lose when Uber brass damage the company through scandal and mismanagement. The fact that Kalanick dismisses the driver's opinions on what might be good for the company reveals the fragility of his ego. If he'd listen to the opinions of the people who actual make Uber work, he might learn a lot.
- jacobtracey 10y ago
  The drivers are just a stopgap until most Uber rides are self driving cars. They're all screwed in the end anyway.
  - AstralStorm 10y ago
    The problem is, Uber will be gone too, unless they will provide a valet service or become a brand for one of the big car companies.

hackuser 10y ago

Kalanick is also a leader in many communities: in Silicon Valley, in the business community, in the U.S., and worldwide. Many respond to such issues with more bluster, with defensiveness, with pressure on the weaker party (who then retracts their claims, blames themselves, forgives the powerful person, etc.), with claims that such behavior is appropriate. Unfortunately this behavior is now seen in world leaders. I think his note is responsible and appropriate. It's good to see. (I'm no Uber fan; I don't use them due to their treatment of their drivers, and their disrespect for and undermining of local legal authority.)

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smoyer 10y ago

The problem with SV's propensity for turning twenty-somethings into CXOs is that they are fundamentally NOT mature. Studies have shown that our brains aren't fully mature until we're 25 but it seems to take a long time for the feeling of entitlement you garner before that age to wear off after you've reached the quarter-century mark. I actually do hope he's sincere - I hope he's really going to get help - and I specifically hope that counseling leads him to eliminate the misogyny that we've all read about the last couple days. I'm not holding my breath that any of this will happen. After all, how would it move the valuation forward? Unfortunately I think that the most likely scenario is that he'll become more of a detriment to the company and the investors will "ease him out".

npkarnik 10y ago
Travis is 40.
- smoyer 10y ago
  Perhaps physically ... I think you just made my point!
- logfromblammo 10y ago
  Maturity comes with experience, not time. Perhaps the experience of having one of his contractor-chumps call him out on his worker-hostile corporate policy changes while working will mature him a bit more. The rest of us have to make do with mundane stuff like the births of our children, not making rent/mortgage on the first of the month, having our water/power/gas shut off, getting laid off, drinking too much tequila, catching a flat tire at 1 AM during a downpour, losing the championship match, putting our favorite dog or cat down, burying our parents, getting married, experiencing a perfect day miles from any stranger out in the wilderness, finishing the marathon run, getting stopped by the cops for a BS pretext reason, or writing a horrendously long run-on sentence.
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jamestimmins 10y ago

I'm a bit unclear what is so negative about this. While there is an argument that a leader should be able to handle criticism without losing his/her temper, he appears to respond to the driver as an equal with whom he profoundly disagrees. He didn't write the man off or act as though he wasn't worth his time, he simply responded in a frustrated manner to an interaction that he clearly was not in the mood for. Does being brusque require a public apology?

M_Grey 10y ago
For me, the issue is all of what he's done (or not done) leading up to this. The time for a fireside chat has long since passed, and it's only happening now because it's literally the least that can be done.
- jamestimmins 10y ago
  Agreed. I am simply referring to this video in isolation as the catalyst for an apology.
  - deleted 10y ago
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smcmurtry 10y ago
>Kalanick: You know what? >Kamel: What? >Kalanick: Some people don't like to take responsibility for their own shit. They blame everything in their life on somebody else. I think that is a very insulting and superior thing to say to someone.
- davesque 10y ago
  Especially when your net worth is six billion dollars.
  - dopamean 10y ago
    And you're talking to someone who works for you (though you bend over backwards to say they don't so you can avoid being responsible for them) and earns a tiny, tiny fraction of what you earn.

Rapzid 10y ago

Travis and his two escorts.

rdtsc 10y ago

That is a good apology. We've seen Uber discussed here and not just in context of this incident, but much worse stuff. It would be interesting to see what comes of that... But taken it on its own, this is what apologies should be like and not the "I am so very sorry you all feel this way" type apologies which then usually also proceed to shift blame (circumstances, others, acts of God, bad mood, etc). Now whether he actually feels this way or not or this is just good PR I am not sure. It remains to be seen.

oconnore 10y ago

It takes a certain kind of person to declare that their own apology is "profound".

Jtsummers 10y ago
Synonym with deep, it's an expression of sincerity and/or being particularly heartfelt.
- icelancer 10y ago
  It is not their call to make whether the apology is sincere or heartfelt. It is for others to judge.
  - Jtsummers 10y ago
    It's an expression. When I write something like, "My deepest condolences". I'm using a fairly standard expression. Same with, "My most heartfelt apology". Yes, the veracity of those statements will be judged in time, but it's still a common, and idiomatic, way to say things in English.
    - enneff 10y ago
      To this native English speaker it came off as self-aggrandizing.
      - jachee 10y ago
        I checked to see if maybe this is because of confirmation bias, and it looks like it might be. ;)
      - Sir_Cmpwn 10y ago
        To this native English speaker I think you guys are splitting hairs to dig in even further to someone you don't like.
  - hnbroseph 10y ago

gigatexal 10y ago

At least he's owning up to things. I would hate to be him right now. Companies have fallen into obscurity for less than this.

dkarapetyan 10y ago

Why is he still in charge? The dude is running the company into the ground as fast as he can.

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vacri 10y ago

s/profound/short/ Also: "I want to apologise" and "I apologise" are subtly but distinctly different.

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reilly3000 10y ago

Forgive me for not being glued to the news about Uber. What did he say to the driver?

chx 10y ago

You need to directly link to this because this apology does not actually show up on https://newsroom.uber.com/ https://newsroom.uber.com/ . http://i.imgur.com/9fiFNJx.png http://i.imgur.com/9fiFNJx.png

lloydde 10y ago
Strange! I was perplexed that the apology is followed by a multi-racial image of gym rats, but then saw it was part of a "featured article" on Uber delivered influenza vaccine from last year.

git-pull 10y ago

Here's the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTEDYCkNqns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTEDYCkNqns

rexreed 10y ago

At this point who can have empathy for the management of this company? This overvalued, overinvested company.

m3kw9 10y ago

I saw th video and it wasn't that disrepectful if you were a normal person, but since he is the CEO of some mega corp, any slight temperament in a bad way will get you this PR

codr4life 10y ago

Sorry Travis; once an asshole, always an asshole; all the leadership training in the world isn't going to change that. You're 40 years old, how long would you have us waiting? Even brother J. was on your tail in noting that bad trees don't give good fruit. Claiming 'profound' for PR-bullshit like this when you're in that kind of mess is just another nail in the coffin.

ChuckMcM 10y ago
In my experience the most effective agent for change is gratitude. Learning to be really thankful for the things that you value in your life, leads to giving them respect and leadership in your actions. I know that sounds waaaaay over the top but in my experience it has been the only way to get past emotional blocks and to change effectively.
humanrebar 10y ago
Brother J?
- noobermin 10y ago
  Jesus Christ[0]? I hate to digress from this topic, so I won't in depth, but this whole "good tree, bad tree" philosophy is central to protestant theology and has had an impact on Western culture, while it is often not true, in my opinion. Another variant is the "bitter water, sweet water" parable from Jude. [0] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+7%3A15-20&version=NKJV https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+7%3A15-...
  - codr4life 10y ago
    I have a different experience. If people were actually trying to change, they would. People who don't change, don't want to change. Being the kind of asshole that Travis is gradually proving to be, at the age of 40; is a pretty lousy indicator.
    - noobermin 10y ago

crorella 10y ago

So, no stepping down yet?

owly 10y ago

Get out while you can! Too little, too late.

aioprisan 10y ago

Care to venture a guess that he wouldn't have apologized if the video wasn't made public? Much like the recent sexually abusive culture revelations. Travis continues to do the least he can actually do without doing anything that would actually hurt himself, as resigning and putting a true and tried professional CEO in charge would - and let's be clear, he just made it clear that he never intends on stepping down.

remarkEon 10y ago

I would like to hear an argument for why Travis should remain as CEO. In my mind there's simply been too many colossal failures as a leader, and while I don't consider this video in particular to be resignation worthy, I feel like it's just another datapoint in a growing dataset showing that he's not mature enough (at 40 no less) to handle his role. A straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak. This letter seems sincere, but I was fairly disappointed that there have been no high-level firings or resignations (that I'm aware of) since the Fowler story broke. There's a deep credibility issue here, and the only way I can think of to fix it is if he leaves. So why should he stay? Edit: I'm wrong, Amit Singhal was asked to resign due to not disclosing an alleged sexual harassment offense at Google. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/27/technology/uber-sexual-harassment-amit-singhal-resign.html?_r=0 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/27/technology/uber-sexual-ha... FTA: A little more than a week after Uber faced stinging accusations that it had ignored female employees’ complaints of sexual harassment, the company dismissed the head of its engineering efforts for failing to disclose a sexual harassment claim from his previous job.

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crimsonalucard 10y ago
Being an ass hole is sometimes an effective form of leadership. This event may be a datapoint FOR keeping him as a leader. Steve Jobs was an ass hole.
- chasing 10y ago
  Don't confuse someone being successful because they're an asshole with someone being successful despite being an asshole.
  - crimsonalucard 10y ago
    Part of Steve Jobs success was attributed to the fact that he was an asshole not despite of it. Read his biography.

everdev 10y ago

Wow, from the title I thought this would be in regards to the multiple claims of sexual harassment and a hostile workplace. Have they acknowledged those situations yet? With this video, he got triggered and left. I'm sure he's sorry but I don't see this as anywhere remotely close to the experiences several female engineers have shared. Hopefully his response to them is magnitudes more heartfelt, apologetic and transformative.

m0ckingb1rd 10y ago

I thought this was for female employees at Uber.

siliconc0w 10y ago

Here is the video for the curious: https://youtu.be/gTEDYCkNqns?t=237 https://youtu.be/gTEDYCkNqns?t=237 To his credit he did actually try to engage with the upset driver - most other executives would just dodge the conversation to avoid looking bad.

exodust 10y ago
True, and he might have also responded with a safe on-brand reply that would have been criticized as "corporate disingenuous". Give me the genuine emotional reply any day, that's where you find truth, strengths, weaknesses out in the open. Whether the business model is unfair on drivers is a separate issue to the conduct of this encounter. At the end of the day, the driver went too far saying "I'm bankrupt because of you", I have no sympathy for people who exaggerate to score points.

dongslol 10y ago

Here's the conversation that took place: Travis: So we are reducing the number of black cars in the next few months. Fawzi: It’s good. Travis: You probably saw some email. Fawzi: I saw the email [that says] it starts in May. But you’re raising the standards and dropping the prices. Travis: We’re not dropping the prices on Black. Fawzi: But in general. Travis: In general, but we have competitors. Otherwise we’d be out of business. Fawzi: Competitors? You had the business model in your hands, you could have the prices you want but you choose to buy everybody a ride. Travis: No, no no. You misunderstand me. We started high-end. We didn’t go low-end because we wanted to. We went low-end because we had to because we’d be out of business. Fawzi: But people are not trusting you anymore. Do you think people will buy cars anymore? ... I lost $97,000 because of you. I'm bankrupt because of you. You keep changing every day. You keep changing every day. Travis: Hold on a second. What have I changed about Black? Fawzi: You changed the whole business! You dropped the prices. Travis: On Black? Bullshit. Fawzi: We started with $20. Travis: You know what, some people don't like to take responsibility for their own shit. They blame everything in their life on somebody else. Good luck! Fawzi: Good luck to you too, I know that you aren’t going to go far.

dongslol 10y ago
Personally, I didn't find this disproportionately disrespectful. The driver makes a couple unsubstantiated claims (perfectly ok--it's a car discussion). Travis does the same. The driver starts making accusations ("you keep changing every day"). Travis asks for clarification. The driver keeps up his attack ("You changed the whole business! You dropped the prices.") If someone accused me in such a fashion, and persisted despite me asking for clarification and trying to actually explain my view to them, I'd probably be a lot more vitriolic than Travis was. (It's a character flaw of mine.) And saying that some people don't like to take responsibility for their own shit is, well, true? I don't like that billionaires are held to a different standard. People say, "they don't need protection; they're rich." Ok, but if you discount something a billionaire says for no reason other than that they're rich and have easy lives, you're not a dispassionate truthseeker.
- gingerbread-man 10y ago

ddispaltro 10y ago

Honestly, most of the conversation is a lot more genuine than most interactions as seen on the internet. Most execs would have shut up and avoided any discussion. I am not saying that I agree with everything, but of all the Uber news, this is the least worrying.

orblivion 10y ago
I'm rarely one to defend Uber, but I agree. I didn't see the big deal. He was a little rude, callous, and aloof. Not great, but meh.
- k-mcgrady 10y ago
  >> He was a little rude, callous, and aloof. This is the big deal. It's solidifying the picture that's been built of him over the last few weeks.

middleclick 10y ago

Don't we remember this? http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/uber-executive-reportedly-advocated-smearing-some-journalists-1.2838674 http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/uber-executive-reportedly-ad... > A senior executive at U.S. ride-sharing company Uber suggested that the company should spend a million dollars to hire a team of opposition researchers to "dig up dirt" on its critics in the media, BuzzFeed reported.

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dmode 10y ago

The key question is how many people will stop using Uber based on this video. I for one will still continue using their services. I know Travis is an asshole and I hate Uber, but I hate cabs even more. And I can't depend just on Lyft every time

otterley 10y ago

I suspect Uber's board was threatening to fire him. A person like Kalanick makes no apologies unless forced to do so by people even more powerful than him.

cypher303 10y ago

By "ashamed" I assume he really meant "embarrassed". I'm just glad that I'm not a well known figure, because I embarrass myself almost daily.

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diebir 10y ago

I did not find this video problematic at all. If anything, I am impressed that Kalanick went for a conversation with the driver and on the same level. This could be a cultural difference, but I perceived the driver tone as aggressive and bullying, when Kalanick was eager but civil. I think Kalanick handled the confrontation (which is what this was) pretty well. This fits his style and my perception of him and while he may not be a person I would want to hang out with, this is why Uber is successful with Kalanick as a CEO.

throwaway91111 10y ago

Just the qualities of a leader that driver needed. Oh wait, sorry, that would imply some acceptance of responsibility.

dang 10y ago
Please don't post snark about inflammatory topics. It's the last thing we need more of here. If you have a substantive point to make, please make it thoughtfully. If you don't, please don't post at all. We detached this comment from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13761339 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13761339 and marked it off-topic.
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victorhooi 10y ago

I fail to see the issue here. If anything, this whole thing makes me respect Kalanick and Uber more. I watched the video of the driver ambushing Kalanick - and yes, it was clearly an ambush: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTEDYCkNqns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTEDYCkNqns If anything, he handled himself quite well - especially considering he probably just wanted to go home. Can any of you say you would have handled a tense situation, with somebody abusing you any better? It's all well and good to sit in your chair at home, comfortable - but how many of you had to deal with The fact that he took the time to actually talk with the driver says something. At worst, he said b*llshit at the end, when he's clearly frustrated at what's becoming a rant. The driver obviously just needed to vent.

realworldview 10y ago

The horse left that barn a long time ago. This macho crap pervades the actions, language and demeanour of modern business and notably technology. Time to grow up and take responsibility.

kamaal 10y ago

Please help me understand this. These Uber drivers disrupted the regular cab/taxi business by driving their wages low, and now their complain is their wages are going low? Sorry but that is how capitalism/free market economy in general works. You won't always be on the positive side of the profit.

devopsproject 10y ago
No. "Uber Black" requires a luxury car and uber offers a 3 year lease program to help drivers purchase a vehicle. People signed up and then uber changed the rules so that they now have to accept "Uber x" fares too. Uber changed the rules and drivers are, correctly, pissed.

kchoudhu 10y ago

What low rent CEO of a $70B company goes home in a taxi?

cnnrjcbsn 10y ago
My understanding is that this was in an Uber Black. He's using the nicest version of his product and the one that pays out the most to the drivers. Sounds about like what I would expect him to do.

asher_ 10y ago

Did Uber fire the driver? Or are they ok with passengers being recorded and those recordings being made public?

marcell 10y ago

From the post: > It’s clear this video is a reflection of me—and > the criticism we’ve received is a stark reminder that > I must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up. > This is the first time I’ve been willing to admit that > I need leadership help and I intend to get it. I'm no fan of Uber, these past few months lowered my opinion of them, and words are just words, but even still: this is a very unequivocal statement, and very difficult for someone to make so publicly, in the lime light. A good step, I think. And, for what it's worth, the video conversation doesn't seem to bad. I think Travis has more on his mind than just the recent video, but it's safer to pin it on that one thing.

acjohnson55 10y ago
How difficult is it, really, when billions of your own dollars are on the line? We sure do have a tendency to infantilize the infinitely privileged. Showing up to excel at a job where you have to navigate a minefield of sexual misconduct, hostile management and complicit HR is difficult. For Travis, stepping aside to let a new leader build the culture of respect and accountability that he has abysmally failed to foster would actually be difficult.

DavidWanjiru 10y ago

BS plauditory apology. You don't get to call something you said "profound." Others can find it profound, but you can't. It's like a comedian finding themselves funny. It's normally the audience that finds the comedian funny.

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cnnrjcbsn 10y ago

Am I the only one who finds his conversation around the 1:45-2:15 mark of the video to be hilarious?

m-j-fox 10y ago

Am I the only one who found the first part of the video more interesting? That guy is full of drugs. No judgement. Just recognizing what drugs looks like.

josephpmay 10y ago
He look's drunk/high, but I wouldn't say he's "full of drugs"

m-j-fox 10y ago

Am I the only one who found the first part of the video more interesting? That guy is full of drugs. No judgement. Just recognizing what drugs looks like.

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partycoder 10y ago

The true character of Kalanick is what you see in that video. The apology doesn't mean much. He is giving an impression of accountability when in reality that driver does not need an apology, he needs a viable business model that allows him to make a decent living.

squozzer 10y ago

Using the label "profound" on your own statement seems a bit self-aggrandizing.

mtarnovan 10y ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTsDqIcpHUc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTsDqIcpHUc comes to mind. Words are cheap.

k-mcgrady 10y ago

Reading the conversation they had in the thread here it seemed 50/50 to me. Watching the video completely changed my mind so if you're ITT and making a judgement based on a transcript take a look at the video. The driver is pretty calm and then seems to touch a nerve with Kalanick who gets loud and rude. Also as they're talking over each the transcripts here aren't accurate. The driver is actually quoting figures, not just complaining without evidence. I wish Lyft would expand out of the US. If they did, they'd have my business immediately. As for Uber, with everything over the last few weeks they've lost it.

k-mcgrady 10y ago

antingate2 10y ago

Classic mistake. Never apologize to SJWs. This guy needs to learn from Trump. Nothing, absolutely nothing will appease these concerned trolls, nothing. Just ignore SJWs in general and in HN is a good idea.

crawfordcomeaux 10y ago

What's missing from this apology is any statement about what, specifically, he's going to do to change. If you're reading this, Travis, here are some ideas: - Overhaul transparency at Uber because you don't know how to monitor your culture & doing so takes longer to learn than letting in some light - Mindfulness meditation (lots of it) - Become an Uber driver for a month and only live off what you make driving. Do the Undercover Boss thing. - Brain programming (shameless plug: I invented methods for doing this & they double as mindfulness practices)

dominotw 10y ago

Uber needs to stop playing this game. They need to be quite and let the courts/legal system deal with any issues. 99.99% of people don't give a shit about any of this and people have really really short memory. Someone is giving them bad PR advice.

smdz 10y ago

> By now I’m sure you’ve seen the video where I treated an Uber driver disrespectfully. To say that I am ashamed is an extreme understatement. My job as your leader is to lead…and that starts with behaving in a way that makes us all proud. That is not what I did, and it cannot be explained away. > It’s clear this video is a reflection of me—and the criticism we’ve received is a stark reminder that I must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up.... I watched the video 3 times, and did not find anything wrong with the CEO's behavior. And don't understand why the CEO should be issuing any apology at all for this video. He was explaining the situation politely. Its when the driver started placing his $97K bankruptcy charge on the CEO - the CEO lost his cool. If the CEO is contemplating changing this polite no-nonsense behavior -investors should be very concerned EDIT: I came across this interesting comment from gpawl, somewhere down this thread >>> It's a good tactic -- blow off all the worse things you do, then apologize for the one time you weren't at fault, people notice and give you sympathy, and start to forget those worse things.

tptacek 10y ago
You copied this comment from another thread, where I responded: Uber isn't the driver's employer. Uber is a vendor to the driver. The driver is complaining that its vendor made commitments, on which the driver depended, and then reneged. The driver might be right or might be wrong, but in no discussion with a vendor in the history of the Fortune 500 has it ever been OK for the vendor to accuse their customer of "not taking responsibility for their own shit". What the video shows isn't wrong on the level of the Fowler post. It just shows Kalanick as petty and deeply unserious about his role, which is an alarming look for someone whose company is embroiled in scandals about mismanagement.
- smdz 10y ago
  Yes, that thread was marked duplicate. At least with this instance, it did not seem like the Kalanick's fault (nor the driver's fault). The driver got a bit aggressive and we know why. I don't agree with the statement: "Uber is a vendor to the driver". This is theoretically true, but doesn't work that way in practice. Uber is like a freelance marketplace for drivers. In practice I have never seen individual or handful of freelancers having any power over monopolistic marketplace authorities. Nobody stopped the driver from working with Uber - but he can't! Uber is a vendor for the riders only.

alimoeeny 10y ago

This looks to me as if Uber wants to say we are so sensitive to be fair and honest that even for such a minor thing CEO publicly apologizes. Imagine what we do with real problems like sexual harassment in the office.

jps359 10y ago

"Some people don't like to take responsibility for their own shit, they blame everything in their life on somebody else." The ungratefulness of this guy... saying this to one of your drivers, one of the people who is directly responsible for the success of your business. Without him and the thousands like him, Travis would be nothing.

ossie 10y ago

Putting Travis to the side, nobody cares about the privacy of the two ladies in the video who have been involuntarily dragged into national news? (i assume nobody asked their consent to publish the video)

devopsproject 10y ago
You give up your privacy when you enter an Uber vehicle. If the two ladies are upset, they should address the issue with Travis the next time they hang out.

williamle8300 10y ago

Uber is a dumpster fire. Whenever I see a black Prius with the Uber sticker on the car cutting through traffic, tailgating cars, rolling right turns, and general assery... it reminds me that moral bankruptcy pervades the whole company culture. Stay away from this company.

rajacombinator 10y ago

I ride with Uber drivers who complain to me about their earnings all the time and I just nod graciously and agree with them. (Even though I couldn't care less.) Maybe Uber should hire me as CEO, I'll even give them a discount.

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