Random Uber stories

Why do brown drivers keep assuming I want to listen to Hindi music? I'm listening to Old Skool - Prem Dhilion. The bass is hammering away at me in between the rapping.
 
Do you know how some Uber drivers have the turn by turn narration turned on? I'm in a car driven by an Indian person and he has his mobile for Uber rigged to tell him the directions in Hindi English. It doesn't sound like Hank Azaria.
 
Do you know how some Uber drivers have the turn by turn narration turned on? I'm in a car driven by an Indian person and he has his mobile for Uber rigged to tell him the directions in Hindi English. It doesn't sound like Hank Azaria.
The last few drivers I’ve had haven’t had a fucking clue where they are, where they are going or how to get there. They drive turn by turn with eyes on the phone map. The UBER map is absolute shit. Google map is ok. Last week bloke is looking up Uber maps turn by turn and is taking backstreets and shortcuts and we go in a fucking circle 5 ks extra on a 14 k trip.
 
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Street cabs are the way to go if I can help it. Most can drive to major destinations without a navigation app. And they drive like police don't exist (which I appreciate).
 
Street cabs are the way to go if I can help it. Most can drive to major destinations without a navigation app. And they drive like police don't exist (which I appreciate).

I use Uber because I am tired of brown, Arab, African and the occasional Eastern European driver going “you want to go where? That’s not far enough for me. Take the next car. Only big fares.”

Or the other issue I still encounter is paying by credit card. “You pay by card? Oh machine is broken today. You have cash? You don’t have cash I drop you in front of machine.”
 
Nothing like being picked up late by a Latina woman who is dressed and smells like she just finished getting out of the gym.

Amazing waterproof make up that lasted the entire gym session though.
 
If you ever get Uber in a suburb during the winter, add five minutes to the wait time for arrival because people are often brushing off their cars or shoveling their driveway before they start their vehicle to pick you up.

I had one driver the other day suddenly start singing mid way through a 40 minute ride. He was so enthusiastic he sang ahead of the actual song. Hotline Bling.
 
First Uber driver I have that is wearing a mask. Unfortunately he also has the window 1/5 open believing winds when travelling at 100km will blow away airborne coronavirus particles. It's 7c outside. I'm bloody freezing here.
 
Used Uber Eats 5 times in the last 4 days.

3 of them showed up with two people in the front seat. One Romanian with another Romanian bloke. One Chinese with his spouse/partner. One Brazilian with his spouse/partner. What is the thought process? "We're going downtown but wait let's stop off the side of the road to make $10 delivering food and alcohol to a random stranger."
 
Parking etc. Most I know of collect a bunch of orders in the area. One driver. one runner/jockey.
 
I got Uber Eats on Friday and the driver dropped off the wine, salad and bombalone that I wanted. I went back up to the office and headed to the washroom to sanitize before eating. By the time I returned to the lunch room I realised someone was ringing my mobile and Uber Eats cancelled the order. I went on Uber support and told them the order was fine and I received everything.

Some AI or mindless customer support drone then told me - don't worry we won't charge you since you didn't receive your order. I said you don't get it, I *want* to be charged and took a photograph of the wine, salad and pastry for them. 15 minutes later another customer service person said thank you for your honesty but since the computer said you didn't receive the order we won't be charging you.

After I got off work I walked 2km to the restaurant to tell them I want to pay them. They rang Uber and then said they were afraid I might be charged twice if I were to pay them directly since they initiated a dispute with the Uber. Stupidly I brought some cash to give it back in gratuities and realised no one takes cash anymore because of the coronavirus.

I walked the 2km back to the office and finished the bottle of wine.
 
Wearing a mask...Uber still works but with fewer drivers the surge pricing can be intermittently wild until other cars flock to your area.

$83 to $122 in a matter of 10 minutes.
 
Just saw a compact UberX car drop off 4 people...yes 4 from the back. No masks. Driver was wearing your disposable blue paper mask.

Brown girl was so wasted the boyfriend had to carry her as she was stumbling.
 
I forgot I need copious amounts of hair spray when taking Uber since drivers believe opening the windows on a 100km highway is disinfecting.
 
I got into an Uber where the man was pleasant but clearly his car smelt like used socks.
 
Do you rate these drivers? I've used ride share services countless times for work and I always leave a blank rating. And I did have a pick up truck give me a lift once. I was at a liquor store in Utah and needed a ride back to the hotel.
 
Do you rate these drivers? I've used ride share services countless times for work and I always leave a blank rating. And I did have a pick up truck give me a lift once. I was at a liquor store in Utah and needed a ride back to the hotel.

I rate 5 stars. Because then they will usually rate me 5 stars. If you have higher stars, you get a higher chance at discounts when Uber runs promos. I met a woman at a bar who had one mobile for work and one for personal (different Uber accounts). The one with a higher rating qualified for a discount versus her other account which had more rides but she was rated lower.

Since then I've been just handing out 5s. On occasion I put gratuity - usually for women drivers.

Then later on I found out more occasional users get enticed with promotions and heavy users like me aren't given any because they assume you use it daily.

The whole star system is like yelp. You're just gaming it for your own needs.
 
I am starting to think some of these remaining Uber drivers during pandemic are simply lonely. This retiree said he was a major in some army, served as an MP in the UN peacekeeping force in the Golan Heights, all of his kids, his father, his grandfather, his love for cars and driving. How he met Nasser, Arafat, Putin, etc. Then I realised he doesn't see his children because of the coronavirus and might be doing this gig just to talk to a human being rather than stare at a video through his mobile.
 
It's interesting what people assume I want to listen to when I get into Uber with a suit and tie. Sometimes it's jazz. Sometimes it's classical. A lot of times it is news radio. Sometimes talk radio.

More than half just play whatever they want to play but in the minority where they search for something for me without asking me...it's interesting what thought processes they go through.
 
It's interesting what people assume I want to listen to when I get into Uber with a suit and tie. Sometimes it's jazz. Sometimes it's classical. A lot of times it is news radio. Sometimes talk radio.

More than half just play whatever they want to play but in the minority where they search for something for me without asking me...it's interesting what thought processes they go through.
They get guidance that classical and jazz are more “amenable” to most riders. Then they will tune if you ask or state a preference if they ask. A driver was telling me about all these “suggestions” they get to engage riders
 
They get guidance that classical and jazz are more “amenable” to most riders. Then they will tune if you ask or state a preference if they ask. A driver was telling me about all these “suggestions” they get to engage riders
They don't seem to get any guidance here - mostly i have to put up with the most inane of the curious phenomena "FM Radio announcers - breakfast and drive time duos" interspersed with weather forecasts - traffic updates and the odd bit of what I assume is todays popular music.
 
Hindi music part of the trip. Then top 40 playlist from 4 years ago.
 
Not sure if I should randomly talk or ask him to turn on music if he has been yawning out loud for the past twenty minutes.
 
I'm in a very clean and nice smelling Camry uber with properly tinted windows. It couldn't have been a former taxi. And interestingly, there is one of those tablets that have the video adverts like in a NYC taxi.
 
I got the German/Israeli military driver again. It says in his Uber profile he is hard of hearing. I've had other hard of hearing and even one bloke who was near deaf drive me before. One common thing is they all drive very fast. One would assume with one dull sense you would take it easy.
 
Why does Uber keep upselling me that my driver can go pick up Starbucks for me too? I just want a ride. Number one. I want it cheaper than inflated taxi and unlicensed drivers that always ask for cash. Number two.
 
Why does Uber keep upselling me that my driver can go pick up Starbucks for me too? I just want a ride. Number one. I want it cheaper than inflated taxi and unlicensed drivers that always ask for cash. Number two.

How dare they offer you coffee. Motherfucking bastards. The chutzpah. The horror.
 
Why does Uber keep upselling me that my driver can go pick up Starbucks for me too? I just want a ride. Number one. I want it cheaper than inflated taxi and unlicensed drivers that always ask for cash. Number two.
Whilst their coffee is acidic rot, their ciabatta tuna is worth a travel up the motorway for 5 minutes.

Interesting, the one by our work is full of post-graduate American students who don't speak Dutch.

Personally, I find it rather refreshing.
 
I might need to yell at this bloke for swaying on to the uneven shoulders because he is either a poor driving or fiddling with his mobile. It's a straight line for 25 minutes until the highway - why do you worry about charging...
 
Should I be worried this Uber driver has a large crack in the middle of his windshield and he has affixed a suction cup device to ...repair it?

Hopefully he wasn't so lucky it occurred when he had a passenger. (I'm still a passenger at this time).
 
I'm beginning to think I need to set the mood music preference in my profile.

Spending 45 minutes in a car with a middle aged Indian woman alternately screaming into her speakerphone and then turning on Punjabi pop music was unbearable.
 
I'm beginning to think I need to set the mood music preference in my profile.

Spending 45 minutes in a car with a middle aged Indian woman alternately screaming into her speakerphone and then turning on Punjabi pop music was unbearable.
i would have gotten out and gotten another ride
 
I think Uber killed Uber Connect here. I was trying to get something delivered and no one would answer the call with or without surge pricing within a 2km radius (I walked 2.5km away trying desperately to get someone).

Ultimately did UberX and told the driver to drop it off at the front porch. Honestly it's the same money for the driver and you don't have a potential virus infected human breathing behind you.
 
Have a Chinese driver today. His mobile is all in Chinese and he has the GPS woman blasting directions in Mandarin.
 
Black Uber driver who said he wanted to go home but couldn't resist a $77 fare. Rang his wife and said "I'm not coming home...I'm going to ABC."

"You're going to be late and you're going to ABC now?!"
 
I got into the car from the mid 2010s. Hotline Bling.
 

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