Stories Uber drivers tell

Dimpie (COMPUTEK) said:
Ok, now the grammar makes sense o_O
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Yeah, professor. I copy pasted from WA chat that I had with someone.

And talking about English, is this you ?
Dimpie (COMPUTEK) said:
I've seen that behaviour before where the client changed the location of the docs folder but did't select yes when asked if the files should be moved. ... So the navigation shortcut links to the new location, but the files/folders are still all in the old location.
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Uber drivers are interesting folks.

Some have a story to tell - some have no personality at all.
Others are just anti social.

In most cases - the driver shouldn't go into a long chat unless you initiate the chat. Well, in my experience anyway, and Uber is quite a big part of my travel arrangements these days.

The one guy in NY, from India - was a chemical engineer. He couldn't find work in the US, but his wife was working in the medical world. He needed a job, and this was it. We chatted about chemistry and tautomerism - its was cool.

Met an Ethiopian guy in Texas - was surprised because there are mainly Hispanic Uber dudes there. I shot him a "Buenos, como te llamas ?" - he k@ked himself - and explained he is from Africa. When I told him I was also a pale African - the ice was broken - and we chatted about Africa in general.

Met a guy in Mexico. He was earning a living doing Uber-ing and considered himself a professional driver.
He told us about the history of Mexico city, and the history of Guadalajara. It was quite fascinating.

I am in Panama at the moment, and got an Uber into the city earlier this week.
The guy gave us the whole run down of food in Panama - where to go to Caribbean, Porra food etc.
Lekker ou.

R10 tip is like $0.65c - it does mean a lot to many folks, and if you can afford it, why not?
 
TEXTILE GUY said:
R10 tip is like $0.65c - it does mean a lot to many folks, and if you can afford it, why not?
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I should have recorded yesterday's conversation with sixty60 guy on bike. I generally give R20 but didn't have money so I said I will pay on app and he said, checkers takes majority of money and I said 'what?' and he showed me on his phone that he gets sms for R5 or R10 whenever someone tips so he thought checkers must be taking the rest. He doesn't realize that we already pay R35 fee out of which checkers pays his salary (no doubt it is not much but still) so if we pay even R20, it is R55 for us.

So, R10 is nothing to these people now. I paid R20 on app though. He was on a bike and these guys are really way poorer than uber drivers that own 3 cars (my example above)
 
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surface said:
I should have recorded yesterday's conversation with sixty60 guy on bike. I generally give R20 but didn't have money so I said I will pay on app and he said, checkers takes majority of money and I said 'what?' and he showed me on his phone that he gets sms for R5 or R10 whenever someone tips so he thought checkers must be taking the rest.

So, R10 is nothing to these people now. I paid R20 on app though. He was on a bike and these guys are really way poorer than uber drivers that own 3 cars (my example above)
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Its interesting that

My son and I went out for a chow at Applebees - its a restaurant that is positioned somewhere between a Wimpy and a Spur. The bill came to around $50. The tip is usually 10 -15% - so around $6 would be the norm.

As my son pointed out, Uber into the city was $3.50. We gave the guy $5. The ride was a good 20 minutes and the dude was really a cool sucker. Not sure what Uber takes and what he gets.
The waitress on the other hand, had no personality - we saw her three times during lunch, once to take the order, once to deliver chow and finally to get the check. We gave her a $5 tip eventually.
Again, not sure what she earns and how tips work.

The disparity between the two ........... in time spent, value addition and tips ...........
 
surface said:
Ok. Now I understand why our taxi guy was upset that I rounded off to nearest 10 for a 7 dollar ride in Washington DC. You "americans" are the problem here.
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Aaaaaand - Washington DC - didja do the whole Smithsonian ......... Sleepy Joes house, .......... Vietnam Vets Memorial .......... Ol Abe?
Do tell :)
 
TEXTILE GUY said:
Aaaaaand - Washington DC - didja do the whole Smithsonian ......... Sleepy Joes house, .......... Vietnam Vets Memorial .......... Ol Abe?
Do tell :)
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I think so and some more like vermont etc. Are these not right places to go? I went only once and chances are slim considering the expense.
 
surface said:
I think so and some more like vermont etc. Are these not right places to go? I went only once and chances are slim considering the expense.
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Its a pretty part of the world :)
Yeah, ZAR in the US is pretty steep right now and inflation in the US is biting hard- hell - when the Dollar tree is the 1.25 store - you know :)
 
surface said:
yeah. What pissed me off is 2 things.
1. He said he was happy with uber during initial 3 years when he benefited from surge pricing but that meant that I as a customer was being ripped off way more in those days.
2. Also, he said they all are going to show it uber by getting customers to contact them directly as much as possible.

I really get that covid has hit transport industry hard but he owned 3 cars (SUV and 2 sedans) so it was not like he was poor as he was projecting himself to be.
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If customers contacted him directly how would he meter/charge the rides?
 
airborne said:
If customers contacted him directly how would he meter/charge the rides?
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He says they pay uber charges less some discount from his side so I can only assume he asks them to see what uber charge on app ?

p.s. I really don't see people using such a person tbh. Why customers would go all this way just to say few rands ?
 
surface said:
He says they pay uber charges less some discount from his side so I can only assume he asks them to see what uber charge on app ?

p.s. I really don't see people using such a person tbh. Why customers would go all this way just to say few rands ?
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The convenience of Uber is anytime anywhere so I don’t see how many passengers he could steal.

Or maybe what he means is if he picks up an Uber customer that he knows then he’ll do that ride under the table but I’m sure Uber could pick that up because the app/gps on both devices will show him stopping to collect and then suddenly the ride gets cancelled, Uber is sharp in that regard and I’m sure they have things in place to mitigate drivers stealing their customers.
 
surface said:
Story of uber driver who dropped us from airport. Says business is terrible and after some time says he owns 3 cars and then when asked why he doesn't sell if it is not profitable, then basically same answer - which is he gets customers to call him directly. I also asked him if he kept on buying cars if business is at a loss? Then he said something about social responsibility as he gives employment.

funny. At times, he said when uber started, they had great surge pricing and that they have cut down now. Again I asked point blank that surge pricing means customer pays more for same distance so maybe customers complained and he says no and uber makes more profit during surge but it doesn't pass it on to drivers.

He owned a 3 year old Hyundai H1 which we were in - and I said that I won't be able to afford it and he is doing quite well despite all these losses.

He wasn't SA citizen but said government should copy uber app and subsidize it for them to make money for struggling people like him.

All uber drivers in other countries also told us same sad story. No business apparently. Many were well off though as during conversation, they slipped information like where their children are studying etc.. I suspect this was done intentionally in anticipation of a tip.
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They always have a story and no good answers to legitimate questions.

I understand one part that is unfair to them is the fact prices did not go up in line with the fuel price so margins are tight to non existent.

Driver 1:
10km ride and quick stop at a gas station on the same route to pick a mate up. Complains “why didn't I add the stop when I requested the ride in the app?”

I replied that I get charged on time and distance. The stop added no extra distance to the journey and the time added maybe 2 mins at the most.
I kept the trip running as we waited at the gas station as that is fair.

Driver 2: Drops me off at 3am obviously I had a couple of drinks (that is the whole point of using uber) I ask him to end the trip. It appears as if he did so and then he proceeded to drive 16km on my credit card to a hotspot area in town and only ended the trip once he entered the area. I was not in the car anymore at the time. Bolt asked no questions and refunded me immediately for that trip.
 
Pax said:
.....and disclosing that he competes with his employer. A clear conflict of interest. He is blatantly dishonest imho.
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Thats the catch. Is Uber/Bolt really your employer?

They love to remind drivers they are subcontractors or part time workers when it suites them but not in this case?

As the post above I dont just defend the drivers they also have many faults.
 
I get it, times are tough, and some extra help is always appreciated, but again, its all about the culture in SA

for instance car guards that stand around like Candles and wave their hands around like they at a Disco, what help do they provide?
if anything, if you have a smash, will the guy back up your story? I dont think so.

I always thought car guards are Muggers and Thieves in between jobs. and this is their "Day" job

Petrol station attendants, yes, okay, if you go through the whole gamut, refuel, air , oil , water ect....
but for a Splash and dash? how have you "earned" a tip? what will you do when you have an EV?

I mean an EV takes hours to recharge, and you can do it at home/work/anywhere there's electricity.
 
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