This was my third day driving Uber. It was a saturday night. Pretty cold outside.
I get a request for an UberX around 12:30am. It is a 4.5 PAX. I did research Uber driving a bit already. I knew enough to know a 4.5 is not good. I was a little worried, but I accepted ride, and went on the way.
I picked up the passenger and his S.O. at a bar. They got in the car after 2-3 minutes, and I start the trip. I then ask them to confirm the location they are going (another bar), just to make sure I have the right passenger. They oblige.
The first thing I notice after they get in, is the smell. It smells like some kind of body oil or something. Maybe cinnamon-y? It is so strong. I briefly contemplate asking "What is that smell???!!!", but think better of it.
This will be a decent run, ending in a busy area. I just hope the dude's girl doesn't leave a lingering smell in the car, from whatever nasty perfume/oil she is wearing…
We get going. The trip will be mostly highway driving, and it is probably 25 miles +/-. I now also smell alcohol on them.
The couple starts conversing with me a bit. They tell me that the dude (passenger on app) is an Uber driver as well. He says he likes it, asks me how long I've been doing it, etc.
We are about 15-20 minutes into the trip. After chatting with the dude, I can tell how hammered he is. He seems really out of it. He is repeating himself a bit, and slurring. I am thinking as we drive"please don't puke in the car". I am trying to drive really smooth. I don't want to bounce these people around too much.
The dude gets really quiet, and his head is hunched over. I just know this guy is going to puke. I am just trying to watch him, and pull over if need be.
Then, he lays over and puts his head on his girl's lap. This only lasts a moment, and then he starts coughing.
I just ask her "Is he just coughing? What is he doing?"
She answers "I think we need to pull over."
I pull over as quickly as possible. We tell him to get out. He does. He vomits for a bit, and then tries to get back in. His S.O. tells him to shake it off outside while she cleans up the car. I look back, and there is puke on the seats, but it is minor as far as these things go. Not a huge mess.
So she is in the seat behind mine. She is wiping up or whatever. Then this smell hits me. It smells like she smells, but really strong.
I ask "What is that smell?"
"It's just some essential oil" she replies.
"Could you please stop using that in my car?" I respond.
"It smells better than puke" she says.
I just say "I don't want my car to smell like that, and puke. Please stop using that stuff in my car."
"OK" she says, and she seems confused. Perhaps she is so nose blind to that crap, she is unaware many people may not like it.
Anyway, the guy gets back in the car. We get underway again. We are probably 10 or 15 minutes to the destination. I just hope he can stay cool until we get there.
When we are getting off the freeway, I hear a banging sound, like something is hanging off car, who knows… I make a remark about the noise. The girl seems concerned. She wonders too.
We are almost there, and he starts coughing. We are already stopped at a light in the far right lane. We tell him to get out again.
So I take this opportunity to have a look around the car to see if something is loose (maybe my lower bumper from pulling over..), Everything looks fine. I can't spot anything out of place.
So I jump back in, and sit in the driver seat. I am waiting for the guy to finish puking, again. His S.O. asks how close we are. I tell her we are 2.5 blocks away.
I am thinking about just booting them, and whether it's safe here. She just volunteers to get out here. I obviously don't argue.
Now she's looking in her purse, while her man is sitting outside on the sidewalk.
"Can I tip you on Uber?" she asks.
"No, the app won't allow you to" I respond.
"Well I want to tip you $20, but I don't have any cash on me. If you drive us to the club, I can go get it from our friends" she says. She seems to really want to tip me.
"It's alright. Don't worry about it" I say. I just want them to leave.
"This is all I have" she says, and hands me a dollar.
"Thanks" I say. I don't mean it, but I stay professional.
Finally they leave. I walk around the back again, and take some pictures of the interior. Now that they're out, I can clearly capture the mess. I plan on sending these to Uber for a cleaning fee.
I take one last look from the drivers' seat, before leaving. I notice that the rear passenger seat-belt (where the dude was sitting) is twisted up. I fix it. I think to myself it was probably hanging out of the door, but it looks fine.
I turn around, and get back on the highway to go home. I can't drive anymore. These people have destroyed my car.
I should probably tell you a little bit about myself. I take very good care of my car. It is always clean. I am a smoker, but I never smoke in my car. I usually don't eat in it. My car is very important to me. I am pretty much having a mini-panic attack because of what just happened.
The smell is super strong. I can smell that oil most, and puke also. Wonderful. Where will I take a vehicle to get detailed on Sunday? Now?
I am going to have to clean my car now. The seats need to come out. If you want something done right, sometimes you must do it yourself. I don't have a weak stomach. I can clean up this mess. It's really not even that bad.
I leave the windows open in the back the whole way home. It does nothing. The "essential oil" smell is very strong. My seats are leather with cloth accents. I am worrying the entire way home if I will ever be able to get the smell out of my car. Freaking out.
I watch the video from dash cam when I get home. She sprayed oil from a small spray bottle onto my seats, and wiped it up with paper towels. It took me about 60 seconds or so to notice the smell, and ask her what it was. That's going to be fun to remove. Oil. Lovely. And she sprayed it onto leather and cloth. Outstanding.
I get home. I remove the rear seat bottoms, and take them into the house. I had to clean them (several times) with de-greaser, carpet cleaner, and detailing products to get the smell of the oil out. I had to clean the seat belt several times with two cleaners to remove the vomit smell. If i put my nose right up to the center seat cushion, I can still smell a hint of the oil on the leather. That is the best I could get it (I have a pretty good sense of smell, better than most).
So my car is back to normal (mostly, smells like cleaning products).
Two days later, on Monday night, I go offline for a few minutes, to get a car wash. I find a coin wash nearby, and clean my car. I am making my rounds, and I see it.
My right rear rim, has a bunch of strange gouges in it. I am puzzled. It can't be from a curb (I've never even curbed my car anyway). What in the world caused this?
I think for about 20 seconds and it hits me like a ton of bricks. He left the seat-belt hanging out of the door, and it was whacking my rim. That's the noise I heard. That's why the seat-belt was twisted. I am fairly certain I swore a bunch when I realized what had happened.
Uber will never do anything about it two days later. My rim is on me. I did send them a message, but it's too late.
I felt pretty stupid. How could I ever miss that? How did I not see it that night? How could I not figure this out? I was mad at myself, and the PAX.
I have been pretty scared to drive for Uber after this night. I am so worried about another experience like this one. These two really did a number on my car.
Keep a very close eye on your car, while driving for any ride-share company. Drunk people can cause damage in strange, unpredictable ways.