Tales of the Uber/Lyft Driver: Relationship Troubles

Not every ride goes smoothly.

I recently picked up a passenger from an auto repair shop. She had dropped off her car for service and needed a ride to (what I learned was) her boyfriend's house. When I got to the shop, she was not ready for pickup. She was still finalizing things with the shop. I should have just canceled the ride and driven off at that point, but I'm a nice guy and I waited. When she was ready, she told me she needed to get some things from her car since she would be without it for a while. I expected her to get a couple of things but she got enough stuff to fill my trunk and half of my back seat. We finally got underway and I saw it was going to be a long drive. A few minutes into the drive she pulled her phone out of her bag and asked if I had a USB-C charger. She said she only had 2% battery left, so I let her use my charging cable. Everything was fine for about 20 minutes while she held her phone, just letting it charge. After a while, she powered it up and began flipping through various apps, keeping conversation to a minimum, and I'm just driving and chiming in with a few comments when necessary.

Suddenly, she explodes.

Her boyfriend, the one I'm taking her (and all of her stuff) to see has a status update on Facebook indicating that he is now in a relationship with someone who isn't her. OMG. She flips the switch into a highly-agitated mode and I'm beginning to wonder if I'm going to need to pull the car over and put her out. She calls him on the phone and he answers. She's yelling, pounding the dashboard, and kicking the floorboard of my car. She's telling him that she has never cheated on him and why would he dare do something like this knowing that she's coming to see him. The conversation goes on for a bit longer and I'm wondering about the legal consequences of kicking her out and just driving off with her stuff. All of a sudden, she drops the bomb.

She uses the n-word.

I just about slammed on my brakes right then. She told him, "I didn't fuck that nigger, he just kissed me on the forehead, you moron. We've been friends since the 8th grade." We were less than 5 minutes away from the destination. I'm gripping the steering wheel running mental calculations on potential outcomes of this drive. She's continuing to go off on him and he hangs up on her. She calls him right back and he answers. She tells him she's only a few minutes away. Just as I'm thinking this is not going to end well, we arrive and he's not home. We sit in front of his place for a little bit, she chews him out for not being home, and then she tells me to drive her to a gas station we passed a few minutes earlier and to drop her off there. By that point, I was more than ready to have her out of my car, so I drove to the gas station. I asked if she was sure she wanted me to drop her off and she told me she'd make arrangements with a friend to get home. She unloaded her things.

I left.

Please don't involve your Uber driver in your relationship drama.

Looking at the Numbers

In looking at the traffic sources for those reading my blog, it appears about 76% of my traffic comes from Google+, about 12% comes from Twitter, and about 5% comes from Facebook. There's no noticeable traffic from Pluspora or MeWe. Maybe people are waiting until G+ goes away or maybe this is telling me I should focus on cross-posting to Twitter and Facebook and ignore Pluspora and MeWe.

Socially Acceptable

The other day, a friend asked if applying deodorant in a public space was socially acceptable and the consensus was that it was definitely socially unacceptable. We have deemed certain things to be acceptable in public spaces but others are not. Just as applying deodorant in public is unacceptable, using nail clippers in public is also greatly frowned upon. Filing your nails in public is generally acceptable, but digging dirt from under your nails is not. Grooming your hair with your fingers is acceptable, but using a comb or brush on your hair in public is not. In the US, using a toothpick to remove food from between your teeth in public is greatly frowned upon, but in many other cultures, it is acceptable to do so. Applying lotion to your hands in public is acceptable, but applying lotion to your face is not. Flossing your teeth in public is highly unacceptable. So how do we decide that certain elements of personal care and grooming are acceptable in public spaces but others are not? Why are there certain circumstances when normally unacceptable behaviors are fully acceptable? 

Tales of the Uber/Lyft Driver: One Thing You Should Never Do

I was sitting here thinking about things you should never do as a rideshare rider. I'll release that list soon, but for now, I wanted to address one thing that will get your ride canceled if you're dealing with a seasoned driver. New drivers might overlook it, but seasoned drivers will cancel your ride in a heartbeat if this circumstance arises. First, I'll lay the groundwork.

When you hail a ride using the Uber or Lyft app and a driver accepts the ride request, the driver is given 5 minutes to get underway to your pickup spot. If the driver is not underway, they will receive a nastygram telling them to get underway or cancel the ride request. Why would the driver be given 5 minutes? The main reason is that the driver might not be driving at that moment. They could be pumping gas. They could be eating a meal. They could be sitting at home watching the latest episode of their favorite show. In any case, they have 5 minutes to be in the vehicle and moving.

So what's the one thing you could do as a passenger that will get your ride canceled? Contact the driver to ask if they are on the way. Yes, I know you really want to get to where you're going, but if you call or text the driver within that 5-minute window to ask if they are on the way, a seasoned driver will most likely cancel the ride. Why? For a seasoned driver, knowing that you're already on edge about leaving for your destination means you're probably not going to tip and you're probably not going to give the driver a 5-star rating. Calling or texting to ask if they're on the way signals that you're "that passenger" they do not want to have to deal with.

What should you do? Wait the full 5 minutes after your ride request has been accepted. If the app still does not show the driver to be any closer to you, go ahead and contact the driver. You might not get a response. If we're driving, we're not supposed to talk on the phone or respond to a text. Wait a few minutes. A good driver will find a way to pull over safely to call or text you. Assume that isn't possible and keep looking at the app. If you still see no progress toward your destination, cancel the ride yourself. Yes, you will pay a cancellation fee but you will be able to hail another driver. If you do hear back from your driver, nicely explain that the app doesn't show them moving in your direction, so you just wanted to make sure they were on the way. Sometimes the app glitches and doesn't show movement. The driver should explain what's going on and how soon they will be at the pickup spot. As always, make sure you've chosen a good pickup location and that you're clearly visible when the driver arrives.

Paying for Convenience

I don't think some people grasp the concept of paying for convenience. I read recently that someone was "upset" that their $8 food delivery order ended up being $15 when fees and tip were added. To my way of thinking, that's just the cost of convenience. By paying $15 they're paying for the convenience of being able to stay at home or at work doing whatever it is that they're doing and not having to go out in presentable clothing, go out in who knows what kind of weather, go out and wait in line, and drive all the way back to home or work. All of that convenience is worth the $15 on an $8 order. The company facilitating your delivery deserves to make a profit. The person making that delivery deserves to make a decent wage for doing so as well. A $2-$3 delivery fee is just not going to cut it. If you don't think the convenience is worth the extra $7 then go out and get your own damn food.

Tales of the Uber/Lyft Driver: Ride-sharing vs. Ride-Hailing

Most of the time, people refer to services such as Uber and Lyft as "ride-sharing" services. This is actually a misnomer, but one that both companies would probably like to encourage. In actuality, they are "ride-hailing" services. There is a difference. In the early days, both Uber and Lyft were ride-sharing services. They paired drivers who were going to a specific destination with passengers who also wanted to go to the same destination. They would share the ride to that destination. Ride-sharing is nice, but it can only go so far. How do you serve someone who wants to go someplace but there are no drivers who are already going there? That's where ride-hailing comes in. Functioning much like a regular taxi service, ride-hailing services allow passengers who want to go to specific destinations to find drivers who will take them there, no matter whether that destination is the local drug store or Aunt Martha's house. There are a few companies out there that still do ride-sharing but they are tiny in comparison to Uber or Lyft. Many operate on a carpool model to make it more financially feasible for the driver. It's like nails on a chalkboard for me to hear people refer to Uber and Lyft as ride-sharing services but even I will slip up and do it just so people know what I'm talking about.

Tales of the Uber/Lyft Driver: Who Needs a Location Anyway?

It should go without saying, but some things just need to be said. If you're using a ride-hailing service such as Uber or Lyft, in spite of your privacy concerns, you need to turn your location service on. Your driver needs to know where to pick you up. When you request a ride, your options are to use your current location, use an address, or use a landmark. If you choose to use your current location and you don't have location services turn on for your phone, sometimes the app will use your most recent known location instead of your current location. This happens most often when your phone has been turned off or was in airplane mode before you hail the ride. If your last known location was 50 miles from your actual location, a driver at your last known location will be pinged to go to your former location instead of to your current location. That driver will likely arrive, find that you're not there, wait a few minutes, and cancel the trip. You will have to pay a cancellation fee. When you open the ride-hailing app, make certain the dot is located at your current position, not where you were some time ago.

A great feature of both the Uber and Lyft apps is being able to indicate exactly where you want to be picked up. Most people ignore this and just use their current location or an address, but you can be much more specific by moving the map pin to the pickup spot. Let's say you're in an office building that has an east entrance and a south entrance. You would rather be picked up at the south entrance. Move the map pin to the south entrance. Your driver will know to arrive on that side instead of the east side. This also works great for apartment complexes with multiple buildings. If you only use the address, the driver will not know which building to drive to. If you move the map pin to your building, the driver will know exactly where to go.

If you use a landmark as your pickup spot, move the map pointer to indicate where you will be in relation to the landmark. Keep an eye on the driver's progress and make sure you're in a clearly-visible location when the driver arrives.

Holding up your end of the conversation

I've always felt it's the responsibility of the person who initiates contact via text or IM to hold up their end of the conversation. If I say "Hi" it's only going to be when I've set aside enough time to actually have a conversation with you. I don't expect you to be free. I have no idea what you're doing when I make contact. If you're busy, just say you're busy. If you initiate contact with me, however, I don't expect it to take 30 minutes between each response. That tells me that you are not free and should contact me later when you are free. Am I weird?