Is Uber secretly encouraging drivers to call riders and pressure them to cancel if the ride does not “suit” the driver?
As I wrote about here, Uber drivers are increasingly calling ahead to ask where you are going, then cancelling if they don’t feel like it. This happens often for longer distance trips, where rates are far less lucrative than for short-distant trips.
Nevertheless, calling a rider to ask the destination runs counter to Uber’s public-facing policy. For example, outside many airports you will be see the following message on your Uber app:
Drivers should not call and ask for your destination while you wait for your ride to arrive.
Le Chic Geek shares of a startling email an Uber driver received from his internal support staff (from Uber)–
To answer your question, the only way you will be able to contact riders would be after you accept the request a uber number will be provided for that trip only. Using that uber number, you can contact the rider to find out the destination. If it does not suit your distance, you can ask the rider to cancel.
That doesn’t sound like what Uber is telling riders…
Uber outsources its support service so it is conceivable this is just an agent speaking in error. Le Chic Geek contacted Uber for a statement and received no reply.
But if true, this policy is incredibly offensive. By asking the rider cancel, the rider will incur a cancellation fee (if more than five minutes after the initial request). Penalizing the rider for the driver’s decision not to accept the ride is disgusting.
CONCLUSION
Uber needs to clarify this policy clearly to its riders and drivers. While Lyft shows its drivers the destination prior to acceptance, Uber does not. I like this as a way to ensure that drivers are not selective about the trips they take. Nevertheless, I’d rather wait for a driver who wants to drive me than be hassled for where I am going then pressured to cancel.
This has happened to me on several occasions — drivers seeming to be going the wrong way on their way, perhaps expecting me to cancel and when I don’t, calling me and telling me that I should do so.
I had this happen once, but in reverse, at LHR. I requested an Uber from T5 to the Hilton London Heathrow T5, a short ride. The driver called, and when I told him where I was going, told me to cancel. Luckily it was within the 5-minute window so I didn’t get charged.
I haven’t come across this problem when using Uber in Dallas, though drivers around here seem to be more zen than elsewhere (mostly people driving on the side or for fun than professional drivers). In fact, I had a driver tell me they love making trips out to DFW because it’s easy to find a fare back in the general direction of home afterwards. The fact that gas is cheap down here probably helps make longer distance trips more lucrative.
I was charged $2 recently when I cancelled less than 5 minutes after the request was made. I was advised per the app that this was due to the driver already being on his way. This $2 versus the $5 after 5 mins was new to me. Anyone else?
Just a heads up that long-distance trips are not less lucrative than short trips. As a driver my best fares came from long-distance rides. It’s usually the very short airport rides where drivers make no money. After waiting in the airport queue for 45 minutes then receiving a 2-mile ride where you make $3, I can understand why drivers call. That’s just bad luck. This problem might be eliminated if Uber compensated drivers(hourly or per mile) for the miles spent driving to a pick-up.
Add this to the list of Uber dirty tricks.
In NYC I often experience a cancel fee ater the driver cancels because he realized surge started after he accepted the ride. The driver makes it a customer cancel so he can accept surge fares rather than the ride he accepted before surge. yes, Uber will refund the unfair cancel fee but the passenger is stuck waiting longer and paying triple what they agreed to pay minutes before.
Uber must learn to weed out drivers that are crooks.
Hi Charles, there’s no way for a driver to know that a surge started after accepting a ride. I’m a driver.
This is a very difficult situation. Uber is not a taxi company and therefore has the right to refuse a fare (taxi drivers do this all the time, although it is techincally illegal), and I support a driver’s right to refuse a fare so long as it is done in advance, and not in the manner you described. I don’t know if any of your readers are Uber drivers and could comment on what exact information an Uber driver sees when determining to accept a fare? Lyft definitely has a better system in that regard.
Hi Andy, The only info we receive is the pick-up location, and the star rating and name of the passenger. This is for Lyft and Uber.
I’m also torn. I really dislike the thought of a driver cancelling for fare reasons, but I also have to feel for the driver on scheduling/timing/convenience. I often get picked up late at night at an airport where I’m the last ride for a driver that day. It must suck to discover that I’m going 30 minutes away from their home, rather than 30 minutes towards it.
As a driver, I set aside a block of time to work and do x number of rides to meet user’s quota. When I receive a ride to an area 30-40 miles away, with lower fares and little chance of a ride back to my area, I will defiantly cancel the ride. Gas is over $3 per gallon, tires, brakes, and oil changes are very frequent with this gig. Are people so unaware at the cost of these long trips? You basically drive twice the distance for the super low fare, and these trips NEVER tip!
I agree I have been doing this for a few weeks while I wait for a new job to start and i am surprised about how few people tip. I understand if a passenger cant afford it but have picked up some passengers in upscale neighborhoods with expensive cars in the driveway. They make me wait, I help them load their luggage and I get a 5 star rating but no tip. I always tip in restaurants hotels, airports, cabs etc so the stinginess really bothers me. Uber passengers are some of cheapest people I have ever met. I have already decided that this Saturday will be my last day. The job doesn’t pay well enough to be worth my time. I’m better off staying at home and preparing for the move to the new job.
A lot of what people don’t like about Uber is attributable directly to the incredibly low rates Uber pays its drivers. I’m a black-car driver in New York so our rates are pretty much okay. But I talk to a lot of uberX drivers and they really struggle to make ends meet.
While I have NEVER called a passenger to inquire about their destination I can kind of understand why X drivers do. The way Uber has the airports setup, for instance, guarantees that if drivers drop someone off and then go to the cell lot to wait in the electronic queue for a trip out – they can easily wait up to 6 hours! So to wait 6 hours and get a 3-mile trips is just something that nobody wants to do. So, some drivers do call ahead to see where the passenger is going. If it’s not a distance that they feel will make up for the hours and hours they waited for this trip – they will cancel it.
I know it’s not right, but it’s because the rates are so low. It’s kind of like you get what you pay for.
People would be much better off in these situations using UberBlack. It is more expensive but you’ll experience many fewer problems.
I just had an experience in Panama City Beach where I am pretty sure the driver was trolling for a cancellation fee – accepted the ride and then drove away from the pickup point, did not answer his phone when I tried to call. Fortunately the driver cancelled after I sent a “I’m looking for you” message. Made me mad – however, another driver picked up the ride and we were only delayed a few minutes. What’s even more aggravating is that I was not able to find any way to contact Uber within the app! Obviously they don’t want to hear from their riders – they get an “F” for customer service in my book.