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I despise Uber Eats, but almost exclusively use Uber when traveling. I have noticed a major degradation in service in every city I've been to since the pandemi

I despise Uber Eats, but almost exclusively use Uber when traveling. I have noticed a major degradation in service in every city I've been to since the pandemic, but I continue using Uber because it's the only service available that provides a similar user experience in every city I go to, even internationally, with the ability to integrate with the expense system at my company on business trips. That said, it's /very/ obvious that drivers are being squeezed and in return are becoming hostile towards riders/customers. I never put up with it, because among other things my company will not re-imburse me for paying extra cash to a driver for them to do their job out of the app. In the US, I have Lyft as a backup, but local options are so fragmented globally that I am often stuck w/ Uber, or I just order a taxi. Europe is getting doable with taxis, but outside the US/Europe, I just have to wait them out. It's really disappointing how many drivers essentially try to extort drivers through Uber now, when this was unheard of in the past. The reason I started using Uber in the first place is that it was less likely to result in driver extortion like local taxis.

arijun 3y ago
What happens? Do they call you and ask for more money before they pick you up? Why don't they get 0-starred after that?
- tristor 3y ago
  It's commonplace for drivers to text you /through the app/ demanding you cancel if they don't want to take the ride after they accepted it (they get penalized if they don't accept riders when they're set to accept rides). Outside the US, they act like they don't understand English and if you start writing in the local language they curse at you. If they do show up, they demand extra money in cash or they won't drive off. Once they get marked in app as having arrived, /you/ as a rider get penalized if you take too long to get in the car and start the ride. Inside the US, drivers will just tell you to cancel and they'll stay parked in the cell phone lot at the airport until you cancel. They often actively enjoy /not/ taking the ride, because as long as the app thinks they're in transit and you as a rider cancel, they don't get penalized and don't have to do more work. Had one driver literally call me and tell me they were on their lunch break and would come get me in an hour and if I didn't want to wait I needed to cancel. Uber changed their policies and app and now a rider cancellation automatically charges a $5 fee /as soon/ as the ride is accepted, regardless of circumstances, and the fee is partially paid to the driver. So drivers literally get paid to fuck with you. Uber support is also useless, because when you get credited in the app, the credits don't get automatically used and there's no clear way to apply them when scheduling the ride. I have ~$200 in credits that continue to build until they eventually expire and have never been able to successfully use them. Since I mostly travel for work and Uber is tied into our company expense system, at some level I don't care. I'll use what the company tells me to and what they pay for, but if I travel personally I have stopped using Uber in favor of Lyft in the US, and local options/taxis elsewhere. Oh, if the ride is cancelled by either party, you can't rate the driver. So good luck 0-starring all the extorters.
  - e40 3y ago
    My son had this (accept, then try to get him to cancel by never communicating nor picking him up) happen to him before a flight out of SD. He almost missed the flight. I just deleted the Uber app from my phone.
    - activitypea 3y ago
      I've never used Uber, so I'm curious: Don't you have a "contact support for this ride" option somewhere? If they can't mediate a two-sided market, they're no better than having a phonebook of recommended drivers in each city
      - tristor 3y ago
        Yes, there is a support option in app w/ chat support. It's generally unhelpful, and you have to be extremely demanding to get them to take any action at all. The "support" for Uber is basically designed to tell you to f-off as politely as possible.

arijun 3y ago

What happens? Do they call you and ask for more money before they pick you up? Why don't they get 0-starred after that?

tristor 3y ago
It's commonplace for drivers to text you /through the app/ demanding you cancel if they don't want to take the ride after they accepted it (they get penalized if they don't accept riders when they're set to accept rides). Outside the US, they act like they don't understand English and if you start writing in the local language they curse at you. If they do show up, they demand extra money in cash or they won't drive off. Once they get marked in app as having arrived, /you/ as a rider get penalized if you take too long to get in the car and start the ride. Inside the US, drivers will just tell you to cancel and they'll stay parked in the cell phone lot at the airport until you cancel. They often actively enjoy /not/ taking the ride, because as long as the app thinks they're in transit and you as a rider cancel, they don't get penalized and don't have to do more work. Had one driver literally call me and tell me they were on their lunch break and would come get me in an hour and if I didn't want to wait I needed to cancel. Uber changed their policies and app and now a rider cancellation automatically charges a $5 fee /as soon/ as the ride is accepted, regardless of circumstances, and the fee is partially paid to the driver. So drivers literally get paid to fuck with you. Uber support is also useless, because when you get credited in the app, the credits don't get automatically used and there's no clear way to apply them when scheduling the ride. I have ~$200 in credits that continue to build until they eventually expire and have never been able to successfully use them. Since I mostly travel for work and Uber is tied into our company expense system, at some level I don't care. I'll use what the company tells me to and what they pay for, but if I travel personally I have stopped using Uber in favor of Lyft in the US, and local options/taxis elsewhere. Oh, if the ride is cancelled by either party, you can't rate the driver. So good luck 0-starring all the extorters.
- e40 3y ago
  My son had this (accept, then try to get him to cancel by never communicating nor picking him up) happen to him before a flight out of SD. He almost missed the flight. I just deleted the Uber app from my phone.
  - activitypea 3y ago
    I've never used Uber, so I'm curious: Don't you have a "contact support for this ride" option somewhere? If they can't mediate a two-sided market, they're no better than having a phonebook of recommended drivers in each city
    - tristor 3y ago
      Yes, there is a support option in app w/ chat support. It's generally unhelpful, and you have to be extremely demanding to get them to take any action at all. The "support" for Uber is basically designed to tell you to f-off as politely as possible.