Tom
Administrator
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2005
- Posts
- 51,907
One of our adult sons drives part time for Uber in the MidWest, and I've talked to him about the process several times. I'd installed the app on my phone, thinking I might need it one day, and my son made sure it was set up correctly.
Last week I had to make a trip to UCSF and, since I haven't driven in the city (refuse to) for many years, I opted to take a BART train. The fact that we had heavy rain that day reinforced my decision not to drive. Chris dropped me at our nearest BART station, and it was a non-stressful ride into the city.
Opened the Uber app, chose my ride options and confirmed the pickup point (both in words and on the map). Their app lets you know the color, make and model of the car, registration number, name and history of the driver, and included his photo. I saw my ride approach from the far side of the intersection, and I was waving frantically as he made the turn, drove by me, and continued a couple of hundred yards down the street. I crossed the street and ran down the sidewalk, and the guy drove off before I got to him. The driver canceled the trip.
Second try, different driver. I saw him stop at the red light across the street. I crossed, approached his car (waving), the light turned green and he drove off, turned the corner, and stopped a couple of hundred yards down the street (on the opposite side from the first driver). Ran down the sidewalk, crossed the street and was able to get in the car. The driver explained that he stopped where his Uber app told him to stop.
Maybe my error, but a lady standing alongside me had her ride cancelled twice, apparently for the same reason. She eventually called and said "pick me up at the Chase Bank with a big blue sign", which the next driver did.
My return trip was quite different. The driver pulled up across the street, wound down his window, and asked "Tom?"
I didn't want to complain per se, but thought that Uber might need to change whatever was sending 4 drivers to the wrong place. I made it clear that I wasn't looking for a refund or an adjustment, but I received a courteous response and a small credit.
My takeaway from this ... next time, I'll get off BART at a different station, away from a busy intersection. A slightly longer Uber ride beats running down the street (twice) in the pouring rain.
Last week I had to make a trip to UCSF and, since I haven't driven in the city (refuse to) for many years, I opted to take a BART train. The fact that we had heavy rain that day reinforced my decision not to drive. Chris dropped me at our nearest BART station, and it was a non-stressful ride into the city.
Opened the Uber app, chose my ride options and confirmed the pickup point (both in words and on the map). Their app lets you know the color, make and model of the car, registration number, name and history of the driver, and included his photo. I saw my ride approach from the far side of the intersection, and I was waving frantically as he made the turn, drove by me, and continued a couple of hundred yards down the street. I crossed the street and ran down the sidewalk, and the guy drove off before I got to him. The driver canceled the trip.
Second try, different driver. I saw him stop at the red light across the street. I crossed, approached his car (waving), the light turned green and he drove off, turned the corner, and stopped a couple of hundred yards down the street (on the opposite side from the first driver). Ran down the sidewalk, crossed the street and was able to get in the car. The driver explained that he stopped where his Uber app told him to stop.
Maybe my error, but a lady standing alongside me had her ride cancelled twice, apparently for the same reason. She eventually called and said "pick me up at the Chase Bank with a big blue sign", which the next driver did.
My return trip was quite different. The driver pulled up across the street, wound down his window, and asked "Tom?"
I didn't want to complain per se, but thought that Uber might need to change whatever was sending 4 drivers to the wrong place. I made it clear that I wasn't looking for a refund or an adjustment, but I received a courteous response and a small credit.
My takeaway from this ... next time, I'll get off BART at a different station, away from a busy intersection. A slightly longer Uber ride beats running down the street (twice) in the pouring rain.