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10K views 79 replies 47 participants last post by  Another Uber Driver 
#1 · (Edited)
If you guys want to see it, I can upload the original document.
 
#2 ·
Can you upload it. I think it may come in useful to me. This girl put her dog in my car and I have been finding dog hairs a week later.


Anyways sorry to hear about that but if it was really a service dog that's no good. Uber doesn't need that bad press. You shouldn't have said the words service dog to her. That is the golden ticket excuse for pet owners. I sat and watched as a lady got like 500,000 frequent flyer miles because they wouldn't let her bring her service animal and she made a fuss about it.
 
#3 ·
Mistake #1. Do not be desperate, don't accept riders with 4.1 ratings.
Mistake #2. If you see a dog, drive off. Don't talk to a rider. Cancel as a wrong address. Say you couldn't find them.

That being said, sorry this happened to you. A lot of dishonest people there. I'm pretty sure this lady's dog is not a service animal. I had a few riders with a service animal. Nicest people in the world. And also you could tell it was a service animal.
 
#25 ·
This is an example of Uber seemingly distancing itself from any kind of regulatory concern or responsibility. As a taxi driver, I am allowed to refuse a call from my dispatcher for any reason. If I make a habit of it or I abuse the policy, they can stop leasing to me. If we have a dog, any dog with a pax, the dispatcher will ask the driver with the call behind them if they have a problem with a dog. It is a service dog, that may be noted. If a particular driver is allergic or the driver is afraid of dogs, there is zero issue, it goes to another driver who is allowed to turn it down. the taxi company must comply and haul service dogs but no individual driver is expected to drive a dog if it they are afraid, allergic or it is against their religion. I prefer to haul dogs and think of myself as one on a good day.

It shouldn't be so damned difficult. As a taxi driver, I am expected to haul people from a to b or at least make an attempt. If say weather conditions are unsafe, I am free to abandon the attempt. If someone has a pax who seems to be a threat to their safety, they are allowed to end the trip. In order to be compliant, I find it very hard to believe that every car needs to be ADA compliant. Allergies and fears are real. Personally, my guess is that this has more to do with Uber not wanting to be seen as a transportation business. Any attempt at regulation, if it is unavoidable, it falls on the shoulder of the driver.
 
#6 ·
Sorry to hear about your deactivation. I've only taken one dog once in my car, and to be honest, the dog was a lot nicer than the rider. I vowed never to pick up another animal (unless it was a service animal). I hate animals in cars. I got pinged a few months ago and arrived at a crappy house at the end of a dirt road. Young girl came out who looked like she just got dressed and had a scruffy looking dog tied to a old bit of rope. Told her I dont accept animals and simply drove off.

I would make an appeal to your local office. Try and speak with the manager, promise to be on your best behavior and ask for a second chance. The advice up thread is solid. Dont pick up 4.1 pax, dont start trip unless you are happy, have the difficult conversation with the rider before they get in the car. Good luck.
 
#7 ·
That's how terrible it is to be at the mercy of one spiteful complaint that can turn your life upside down. Uber doesn't even wanna hear our side of the story before giving us the boot. All our investment labor and thousands of satisfied riders and all else down the drain with just one lying old grumpy spiteful person's word with no proof. Way to go Guber ....
 
#8 ·
To be clear, did you start the trip or not? Your only recourse here is to bombard uber support with emails stating your story. Include the doctors note. Take the doctors note to the Toronto office. Email your story to your local news stations (small chance anything will come of it).

To those who say he shouldn't have started the trip, does it matter? The pax has enough info to file a complaint even if you don't start the trip, correct?
 
#10 ·
I took dogs about 6 times so far. Only 2 of them were service animals. they were both very well behaved and trained animals. there was no question about them being service animals. Owners pro-actively explained without me asking that they were a service animal. In other cases, owners tricked me, such as: A person comes and sits in the car, as I start the meter they ask me to wait for the other person. Other person comes into the car with a dog and dictates "the dog is coming!" with no room for negotiation! I one starred these cheaters! Both real service dog owners tipped me at the end the ride. they were very nice people with disabilities that I could even see. A lot of cheaters out there, we need to be careful. if they cheat and bring their dog into my car, I have a cloth to open on the seats and keep my car clean. I will 1 star them if I know they were cheaters. Otherwise, I will help them and give them 5 star.
 
#11 ·
Is that a service dog?

What task has it been trained to perform?


Those are the questions you can ask. Emotional support is no longer recognized as a valid task, so if you get that answer you can dump them. Otherwise you have to take the dog, allergies or not.

I've had a number of dogs, and one cat, in the car and most of them were service dogs, and all the service dogs were obvious enough that I wouldn't even have to ask to know the answers to both questions. No issues aside from maybe a little hair that I had to use a lint roller on.
 
#17 ·
What task has it been trained to perform?

Those are the questions you can ask. ...
Disagree. You can ask, but the owner is under no obligation to answer your very rude and personal question. The only allowance for asking those questions is from an employee of a covered entity.
The dog handler or trainer cannot be made to demonstrate any task just because you question the validity of the animal and the owner's needs. Not all disabilities are easily discerned. Did you know dogs can be trained to smell the breath of a diabetic and react to low blood sugar? Did you know dogs can be trained to sense and warn of an oncoming epileptic seizure? Did you know service veterans use their dogs to ease the torture and emotional upset of PTSD? These are all recognized ADA service animal disabilities.

Just because you can't see the disability, doesn't mean it's not there. A service dog is a service dog. Deny someone access to your car and see how long it takes for your court summons to show up in the mail.
Asking a person with an anxiety disorder to either describe their ailment or cause the dog to demonstrate a certain behavior because you're "curious" is very much like me asking you whether or not your spouse gives good head.

You can't confuse the animal by asking it to demonstrate how it assists the owner if there is no reason for the behavior.

It's f*cking personal jack - don't ask, just let the dog in your car and save yourself a ton of legal trouble.

GENERAL RULES
Q7. What questions can a covered entity's employees ask to determine if a dog is a service animal?
A
. In situations where it is not obvious that the dog is a service animal, staff may ask only two specific questions: (1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability? and (2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform? Staff are not allowed to request any documentation for the dog, require that the dog demonstrate its task, or inquire about the nature of the person's disability.
 
#14 ·
Thanks a lot for the advices. And I did not start the trip. I cancelled it later under Rider Requested Cancel.

And here is a copy of my doctor's note. I am going to the office now again with it, lets see what happens.
going to the office is a good idea.

try to talk to them with the proof at hand.

once they see they may be in for a legal loss, they will probably reinstate you.

uber corporate might be an a-hole but people looking at you and talking to you right there, in your face might have better understanding and judgement.
 
#16 ·
I absolutely adore animals, have dogs & carry them in my car regularly, but I have a backseat canvas hammock I set up for them, buckle them in so that they can't get off the hammock, & I keep the door covered with door covers so that they don't scratch the vinyl. Obviously none of that is set up when I am Ubering. I vacuum after they've been in & I use Windex on the windows so there's no streaks from their noses.

I had someone go to get in a few weeks ago with a dog. She started to ask me if it was okay if she came in with an animal, turned around, saw a "loves dogs" bumper sticker on the back of my car, and went "Oh, it's okay, you love dogs!"

I *do* love dogs & I had no problem letting her in with the dog, but it kind of pissed me off that she didn't even bother to finish asking if it was okay. Fortunately, she kept the dog in her lap the whole time & he caused no problems, but she didn't even give me a chance to ask if he was good in the car or got carsick or anything like that! I had an entire day of driving ahead of me still at that point & I would've been really ticked off if I had to stop to vacuum or clean up dog puke.
 
#24 ·
Most people with legit service animals are friendly, plesant & understanding. Most people with phoney service animals are rude a-holes.

To earn a 4.1 is not easy to do so you know where this phoney lands.
 
#26 ·
Disagree...

GENERAL RULES

Q7. What questions can a covered entity's employees ask to determine if a dog is a service animal?
A
. In situations where it is not obvious that the dog is a service animal, staff may ask only two specific questions: (1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability? and (2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform? Staff are not allowed to request any documentation for the dog, require that the dog demonstrate its task, or inquire about the nature of the person's disability.
In what way do you disagree with me. You quoted the precise questions I said that you could ask. The only other stipulation I mentioned is that emotional support is not valid, and it's not, emotional support dogs are not trained service dogs and not protected under ADA clauses (they added that stipulation because of the abuse it was causing). There are indeed a ton of other tasks dogs can be trained to perform including various seizure dogs and the low blood sugar sniffer, personally all the service dogs I've had in the car have all been seeing eye dogs, which are usually quite obvious as to their function.
 
#28 ·
In what way do you disagree with me.
you are not a covered entity employee. You can ask if there is a disability, but you can't deny service based on whether or not you think the dog's capacity as a service animal is bogus. Even if it's an emotional support dog, there is no way to distinguish between that and an ADA covered disability. Telling people they can decide for themselves whether or not to accept an animal in their car is bad advice, and I disagree with that advice.
 
#27 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hello, I apologize for creating a thread for this topic as it already has been discussed several times. I just got deactivated from Uber regarding this issue. I am a uber partner from Toronto, ON.

Last friday I got a ping 3 minutes away in uptown Toronto and as I was searching for getting a ride to downtown, I accepted it. The rider in question had a rating of 4.1 and upon arriving to pick her up, I realized why. She was a middle aged woman carrying a furry little black dog with few luggages beside her with no sign of having any kind of disability issues. From the moment I arrived, she talked with me with the tone of utter disgust and ordered me to (Not ask or request) to put her luggage into my trunk. I was about to get off my car to oblige but just before that, I noticed her dog. It was not wearing any kind of tag or jacket a service animal usually wears. I politely told her that I am extremely allergic to domestic animals and the only time I will consider tolerating such close proximity to an animal will be if it is a service dog which is required for her accessibility. She told me it is a service dog, and thats when I asked her for showing me a reasonable proof that it was one (I did not know that by law she is not required to show me any kind of proof). She said she did not have any and started warning me that I would get into trouble with Uber if I did not take her. I told her sorry once again and offered to call another Uber for her. She point blank refused and shut the door on my face. So I waited there as she called a Cab and then left.

Yesterday when I wanted to log into my uber account, it said my account has not been activated. I sent several emails to support@uber.com without getting any kind of explanation or replies. So I decided to go the main Toronto Office where I was told the reason my account was put on hold was because someone complained about me not taking a service animal and the chances are high that I will be permanently deactivated. I still did not receive any of email confirming this neither have I received any kind of email giving me any kind of options or a 2nd chance.

I have a rating of 4.58. I do not think I am a bad person or partner but on the same time I realize my rating is low. Majority of my riders give me a 5* but I also get a lot of 1*s in the same time as I have to be extra authoritative than majority of the partners to keep most of my intoxicated passengers in control. I am just 21 years old and I look like a boy, so most of my riders try to take advantage of me from time to time. I am in my last year of University and Uber was my only source of part time income and I greatly rely on that to maintain the payments for my car. I am extremely frustrated and clueless right now and would greatly appreciate any kind of feedback you guys can provide me.

Thanks in advance.

PS: The following paragraph is an extract from a doctor's note I acquired from my full health checkup/test before moving to Canada,

"Ahamedkh is affected by severe case of anaphylaxis causing acute cases of asthma attacks due to any kind of close proximity to dust from heavy construction sites or any exposure to fur/ allergens from domestic pets/ animals. There is no available medication to control attacks caused by these particular allergens and immunotherapy will be required to stabilize such attacks."

If you guys want to see it, I can upload the original document.
I bet you drove during the strike too... Now you come looking for help when uber spit on you.... This stuff will continue to happen. I hope it work out for you...
 
#29 ·
The proper protocol in a situation like this is wait for the passenger till she makes other arrangements. Which I did. I offered her saying if I can call her another uber or not. She did not even let me finish the sentence while yelling at me that she will write to Uber about this.

Thing is even if you are allergic, by law you have to take service animals if the allergy you have can be controlled by taking medication. I do not know if you guys read my doctor's note, mine cannot be taken care of by means of normal medications. I have to go on a 6 months long allergy shots course if an attack like this happen. It happened before, and I had to drop out of school because of it for six months. I am about to graduate now, how can I even risk something like that? This whole situation is feeling unreal to me. I have bought my car thinking of Uber as a support and now I am so tensed and frustrated that I haven't eaten anything for over a day thinking what I am going to do now. My midterm starts in 2 days and I cannot even concentrate. All I can think of is how am I going to ask my dad for more money on the top of my tuition fees.

Can't they see the humane side of it? Don't they have sons or daughters? I really have nothing to say right now.
 
#31 ·
http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm

  • Allergies and fear of dogs are not valid reasons for denying access or refusing service to people using service animals. When a person who is allergic to dog dander and a person who uses a service animal must spend time in the same room or facility, for example, in a school classroom or at a homeless shelter, they both should be accommodated by assigning them, if possible, to different locations within the room or different rooms in the facility.

    Dunno, but it seems that if you make an attempt to get another car everybody is being accommodated.
 
#40 ·
http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm
Allergies and fear of dogs are not valid reasons for denying access or refusing service to people using service animals. When a person who is allergic to dog dander and a person who uses a service animal must spend time in the same room or facility, for example, in a school classroom or at a homeless shelter, they both should be accommodated by assigning them, if possible, to different locations within the room or different rooms in the facility.

Dunno, but it seems that if you make an attempt to get another car everybody is being accommodated.
Its against the Ada to question the validity of an animal said to be a service animal... if they say it is, well by law it is.
I don't know why you people are quoting the Americans with Disabilities Act for something that happened in a different country.
 
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