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Sorry if I am missing any sarcasm, but this seems totally backwards! Taxis are famous for racial discrimination while Uber drivers accept fares sight unseen.

by jeff18 11y ago

Sorry if I am missing any sarcasm, but this seems totally backwards! Taxis are famous for racial discrimination while Uber drivers accept fares sight unseen. Also, taxis are well known (at least in San Francisco) for illegally refusing fares to distant neighborhoods. Uber drivers simply can't refuse. Finally, flagging a taxi is nearly impossible in a remote location, but calling an Uber driver from the app will work pretty much anywhere.

kd5bjo 11y ago
> Uber drivers simply can't refuse. Sure they can; I've had an Uber driver call me after accepting the fare to tell me to cancel and re-request.
- sbisker 11y ago
  Yeah, that's a trick drivers play on customers so they don't take a hit to their rating. If Uber catches a driver canceling too often, they'll boot them or freeze them from picking up more fares. (Conversely, if a customer is doing the same thing too often, a similar penalty of fees or the like will happen to them as well.) So next time they try that, feel free to hold your ground by using Lyft instead or something. You don't have to cancel - they must, by their own rules, either cancel themselves, or pick you up.
- jackvalentine 11y ago
  And was your response "You cancel and take the hit if you don't want the fare" ?
- ariwilson 11y ago
  I had an even sneakier issue on a full fat Uber (not X) fare where the driver called me, asked me where I was going, told me he'd be there soon (location 5 minutes away), and just never came (15 minutes). I didn't know what to do with that as I actually did want to go home so I just cancelled and re-requested.
  - msellout 11y ago
    Let Uber's customer service know. They're very pleasant and they want to make sure you're happy.
  - pbreit 11y ago
    You can see exactly where the car is on your phone! I admit, not a great experience but certainly rare and obviously the sort of thing that Uber can minimize and regular taxi companies cannot.
- pbreit 11y ago
  OK, but Uber has mechanisms to abate that which most taxi systems do not.
msellout 11y ago
Taxis everywhere are famous for trying to ask you your destination before letting you in the cab. I always say, "hold on, I can't hear you" and quickly open the door before they can drive away.

by jeff18 11y ago

kd5bjo 11y ago

> Uber drivers simply can't refuse. Sure they can; I've had an Uber driver call me after accepting the fare to tell me to cancel and re-request.

sbisker 11y ago
Yeah, that's a trick drivers play on customers so they don't take a hit to their rating. If Uber catches a driver canceling too often, they'll boot them or freeze them from picking up more fares. (Conversely, if a customer is doing the same thing too often, a similar penalty of fees or the like will happen to them as well.) So next time they try that, feel free to hold your ground by using Lyft instead or something. You don't have to cancel - they must, by their own rules, either cancel themselves, or pick you up.
jackvalentine 11y ago
And was your response "You cancel and take the hit if you don't want the fare" ?
ariwilson 11y ago
I had an even sneakier issue on a full fat Uber (not X) fare where the driver called me, asked me where I was going, told me he'd be there soon (location 5 minutes away), and just never came (15 minutes). I didn't know what to do with that as I actually did want to go home so I just cancelled and re-requested.
- msellout 11y ago
  Let Uber's customer service know. They're very pleasant and they want to make sure you're happy.
- pbreit 11y ago
  You can see exactly where the car is on your phone! I admit, not a great experience but certainly rare and obviously the sort of thing that Uber can minimize and regular taxi companies cannot.
pbreit 11y ago
OK, but Uber has mechanisms to abate that which most taxi systems do not.

msellout 11y ago

Taxis everywhere are famous for trying to ask you your destination before letting you in the cab. I always say, "hold on, I can't hear you" and quickly open the door before they can drive away.