[ZZY]

I probably got a 1 rating from my only Pax today but I learned a lot. I got a ping from out West of me, estimated at 15 minutes. Dumb to take it but I did. Traffic was bad and I hit every long light on Red. Picked up a nice young guy and his GF. They were going to Publix 1.4 miles away. While on the way I asked him if any Uber drivers called him in the past before picking him up? Yes, nearly all of them was his answer. So I told him that would be my new approach. I told him that Uber said not to in their YouTube Partner video and that the destination was not revealed until I started the trip.

Now that I was started, I told him the whole story from my perspective to see what he thought. He took it better than his GF who told me 'That is your job." So I told her I'm not employed by Uber, I'm a guy who uses the App to hopefully make a few bucks and it isn't working out. I pointed out that their App showed me 15 minutes away before they selected me. Did they ever think of checking UberX, which has many more drivers to see if any were close by? No of course not. Did they know the difference between UberX and UberSelect? Surprisingly, they did. They were not wealthy. I pointed out that the $6 extra they were spending on Select would buy something nice at Publix and some UberX driver near them would have not been unhappy to take them there.

I did the math for them: They had me drive 8 miles to get them, 1.4 miles to Publix, and 8 miles home (actually I went to PBI for 3 hours and got nothing). That's 45 minutes in traffic, 17.4 miles on my car and about $3 worth of gas to clear $6.20 from Uber. I felt a bit of a jerk, but he seemed to welcome the education and said he would give me a good rating. We'll see.

I thanked him for the education too. Next time I get a long pickup, if I accept, 1st thing I'll do is call them before I move a muscle and ask them how far they are going. I should have done this long ago. I guess I'm a slow learner.

 

[ZZY]

I kept my App on last night as I stay up late. It was so dead I was the only Uber of any kind anywhere near PBX or downtown. About 1AM I get a ping from the airport. I accept. I'm 7 minutes away. In 10 seconds the rider cancels. No problem, maybe there was a taxi available, although I suspect a delayed flight and no taxis around.

2 minutes pass and same guy pings me back. I accept and IMMEDIATELY (1 second) he cancels again. A few minutes pass and a different guy pings me from PBI. I accept and IMMEDIATELY (1 second again) it's canceled. In the course of the next 15 minutes this 2nd guy pings me 5 times. I accept all of them,. Most are canceled in 1 second but one time I had time to call. No answer.

So I emailed Uber CS and asked them if their system was working properly. It seems a but unlikely that somebody would be playing around with the Rider app at the airport at 1AM, and there were 2 different ones doing it. Uber CS replied with a form letter telling me that they canceled in less than 5 minutes and therefore I wasn't allowed a cancel fee. I emailed them back and told them I was not looking for money and to please read their emails before sending out form replies. They haven't responded.
I find it weird that the ride could be cancelled within 1 second of when I accepted it so many times. If the rider pings me and then cancels while waiting for me to accept it or not, do you think the Partner App is programmed to wait and see if I accept or not before it actually cancels me out? That's what I suspect.

 

[ZZY]

Possibly mr sucker, or some other disgruntled taxi driver, giving an Uber driver a hard time.
John

There was 2 of them... They could have made me drive 4 minutes before cancelling so I wasn't pissed or anything when they cancelled so fast.

 

[ZZY]

I think that John is correct. It was a Taxi driver most likely. If he took longer to cancel you could accept, and then click on pick up rider, start trip. Then drive to Miami!!! LOL

Then reporting him should have led to an investigation/suspension instead of a form letter telling me I can't get paid if they cancel so soon (which nowhere in my email did I mention getting paid). What would 2 taxis be doing at the airport baggage claim at 1AM? There were no Uber cars near there. The last plane was scheduled to arrive an hour before that. Plus no cars are allowed to stand where they were unless loading or unloading. I think it was either computer errors or passengers who seemed to think by canceling me they would get a closer car on the next try.

 

[ZZY]

Uber doesn't want to spend time on your/our emails. That's why you/we get so many form replies. I don't think they would take the time to investigate this, unless it happens, and is reported frequently.

The taxis don't have to be actually there. They could be at home, or anywhere, using the app to request a pick up at the airport, or wherever they want.

I'm not saying it was taxi drivers, just a possibility. There's some nasty ones out there.
John

That's right. I forgot about that. They could have been parked outside of Cucina's and been having a big laugh together.