# Uber's Plan to Repair Its Relationship With Drivers



## Maven (Feb 9, 2017)

Great Ideas that may NEVER become reality after the guys that make the decisions have their say.
Remember how Destination Filters were bumped up from 2 to 6 and back down to 2?
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http://fortune.com/2017/10/06/uber-driver-product/
http://fortune.com/2017/10/06/uber-driver-product/
*Uber's Plan to Repair Its Relationship With Drivers*
Video at URL: After a tumultuous 10 months, Uber is focusing on its drivers.
Oct 6th, 2017 By Polina Marinova

Aaron Schildkrout, Uber's head of driver product, came to the office a few weeks ago for a Q&A. It was right after Dara Khosrowshahi had been appointed CEO, and we had a pretty frank conversation about a company trying to undo months of damage from PR missteps including a video of its former chief, Travis Kalanick, berating a driver (he later apologized) and a passenger boycott promoted on social media.

In an effort to woo drivers, Uber launched an initiative called, 180 Days of Change - a campaign that aims to make "meaningful changes and improvements" to the driving experience. The most notable change came when Uber released its in-app tipping option in July after resisting it for a number of years. Other changes include a shorter cancellation window, driver injury protection insurance, and increasing driver's take home pay for UberPool trips.

Previously, Schildkrout founded a dating app, meditated "full time" for two years, and taught at a charter school. Now he spends his time addressing driver complaints around earnings, stress, support, and communications.

Below are the highlights of our conversation. _Note that answers have been edited for clarity and length._

*FORTUNE: Tell us a little bit about your career path. How did you end up at Uber? *

*SCHILDKROUT: *I spent the first part of my career in education, mostly as a high school teacher at a charter school in the Boston area. I spent two years meditating full-time totally off the grid. And then I shifted careers into tech and started a [dating app company] called HowAboutWe. I ran that for about 5 years before selling it to IAC. I thought deeply about what I wanted to do next - should I start another company? Should I join a company? I decided to join Uber.

*Why?*

*SCHILDKROUT: *It really felt like of all the companies in the world that had transformed my daily life, Uber was very close to the top of the list.

*Uber is left picking up the pieces after a tumultuous 10 months. In June, you launched 180 Days of Change. What was the genesis of this campaign?*

*SCHILDKROUT: *Around the turn of the year, we talked to thousands of drivers in various forms - one on one, in groups, through surveys - to get a deeper understanding of how we were doing. What we found was, frankly, we weren't doing that well. There was a deep need for change. Based on that research, we kicked off 180 Days of Change.

*Can you give me an example of the type of feedback you received?*

*SCHILDKROUT: *When we talked to drivers, we found again and again some very clear themes. Drivers didn't feel like we were listening enough. Drivers didn't feel like the support was there. Drivers weren't satisfied with a number of key aspects to their earnings. There were parts of our platform where we offered flexibility, but we weren't fully delivering on that promise.

*Walk me through the things that you have implemented thanks to driver feedback.*

*SCHILDKROUT: *The first thing we did was work on earnings. The No. 1 most requested feature that has ever existed at Uber was tipping. And we had long-resisted launching it. In our first chapter of 180 Days of Change, we launched tipping. But we also launched a series of other changes to the earnings experience that we felt like would address a lot of the fundamental questions drivers had about earnings.

*In your time at Uber, what is one product initiative that you worked on that didn't pan out as planned?*

*SCHILDKROUT: *UberPool has always been in some ways an emblem of what ridesharing is all about. Using every single available seat in every car in order to reduce congestion, reduce the prices of moving around a city, really make transportation in a city as smooth as possible.

But when you ask drivers about UberPool, you get a very consistent extremely negative response, and there are reasons for that. We really hadn't invested in the driver side of the Pool experience. Passengers love the low price, they love the efficiency, but for drivers, it's actually a lot of work and often quite stressful. So we've got some interesting ideas of how we can fix that and improve in that area.

*Uber operated without a CEO for several months. What was the staff's reaction when it was announced that Khosrowshahi was selected for the role?*

*SCHILDKROUT: *Some things I've noticed early on is that this is a person who seems to be truly about team. This is a person who knows how to compete, how to run a business, and how to think about the future. That ambition and that sense of wanting to build something great is exciting and very much in line with Uber's DNA. I think after he joined there was pretty universal excitement and a strong hope of where we're headed as a company.
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https://www.fastcodesign.com/90145479/ubers-new-vp-of-design-wants-to-fix-uber
*Meet The Designer Who Could Reshape Uber*
*The company's new VP of design, Michael Gough, is a former architect who wants to make the maligned company more empathetic.*
Oct 9 2017 by Mark Wilson 3 minute Read

2017 has been a terrible year for Uber. Any warm feelings toward the world-changing ride-sharing service took a sharp turn, as reports aired of a dog-eat-dog work culture steeped in sexual harassment and a platform that manipulated not just its own riders and drivers, but regulators and authorities through some of the most sophisticated dark patterns ever designed. In the months since, Uber fired its CEO, introduced tipping, and launched an initiative designed to bolster accessibility for some of its drivers. The company is also recruiting new talent to keep it moving forward-including Michael Gough, the company's new VP of design. But can design fix what is ultimately a PR problem of global scale?

"The core of design is empathy. That's the starting point no matter what," says Gough when I ask him that question. "That will always be how you address any product challenge. The classic way products were developed was you solved functional needs, and then maybe business needs, and then you lean heavily into human needs over time. This arc, all of the [PR] challenges aside, is a natural arc. The next big step is to become a company that's really, really good at connecting with people and people's needs."

Four years ago, Gough was leading the most experimental arm of Adobe. With 100 people working under him, ranging from UX designers to sculptors, he was forecasting the creative interfaces of the future. In 2015, he moved to Microsoft to work on a far more concrete problem: fixing Microsoft's flailing Office platform and ensuring it wouldn't go extinct in the age of Google Docs. Today is his first day on the job at Uber, where he'll work under VP and head of product Daniel Graf on every bit of design Uber touches. That ranges from the rider app, to the physical spaces Uber drivers gather in cities, to even, perhaps, the autonomous vehicles being developed by the company.

Gough credits his background as an architect for attracting him to the challenges Uber is facing today. "When I was an architect, I mostly focused on urban design, and there are half a dozen key things that shape cities. One of them is transportation, and another is economy," says Gough. "Uber is making radical changes to [both]. So over time, they're going to reshape cities. Cities are going to become more efficient. And I think that it's actually going to be more comfortable and beautiful. That's a really abstract notion and we could talk about it for hours, but just this idea that there's a physical world, and it's being manipulated by tech in positive ways, is just super, super enticing to me."

The urban legacy of ride sharing is still taking shape. These services have increased traffic and spurred a freelance economy where workers have fewer rights; they've also become so vital to city transportation that some public services see them as partners. Some planners are already imagining how streets themselves will be reshaped to support ride sharing, and some of their visions really are, as Gough puts it, "beautiful."
One thing is certain: The future of Uber itself is far from determined, and Gough and Graf will face countless design decisions that will shape its future. For instance, how will its app rebuild rider trust that was lost after revelations about its privacy and security practices? How will it change the driver's-side UX that keeps them working longer and for less money than they'd like? How will Uber proactively participate in the shaping of streets across the world? How will it solve serious accessibility issues like wheelchair access?

To make matters more complex, Uber must address these issues _at scale_-playing out in 10 million rides a day in cities across the globe. "On the PR side, it hasn't always been easy this year. The funny thing is, some of our best new talent churned over in the last few months," says Graf. "Clearly, what we're working on is just . . . it's so defining for our generation. And Michael is the latest, absolute phenomenal addition to the team." Indeed. And like everyone else at Uber, Gough certainly has his work cut out for himself.


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## peteyvavs (Nov 18, 2015)

I can reduce this to one sentence, Uber will now provide Vaseline to its driver's to make them smile more.


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

Buckiemohawk said:


> its more than 900 a month to actually maintain a vehicle... You gotta get new break pads and other things, its why uber drivers once they realize the cost don't continue driving


UNSUSTAINABLE !


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## peteyvavs (Nov 18, 2015)

Once again Uber management shows that it has an IQ of 28 collectively.


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## TwoFiddyMile (Mar 13, 2015)

I just spent $3000 replacing my engine.
Taxi hits 3 years of service next month.

YOU do the math.


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## peteyvavs (Nov 18, 2015)

Uber is good at bending its drivers over.


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## Rakos (Sep 2, 2014)

peteyvavs said:


> Uber is good at bending its drivers over.


They are pretty good...

At bending over monkeys too...

I think next time they bend me over...

I will leave them a pile of poo...

That they will never forget...8>)

Rakos


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## WaveRunner1 (Jun 11, 2017)

Maven said:


> What we found was, frankly, we weren't doing that well.


And as a result you should have stepped down or been fired.


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## peteyvavs (Nov 18, 2015)

Uber management is based in SF, I have seen what works for Uber corporate and I wouldn't hire these people to wash my car.
Uber seeks out the most arrogant people who lack any sense of reality but willingly screw drivers to stroke their egos.


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## Spotscat (May 8, 2017)

peteyvavs said:


> Uber is good at bending its drivers over.


If I have to cancel an Uber X ride, I get $3.75 - $5.00 less Uber's 25% fee for X rides.

If I have to cancel an Uber XL ride, I get $3.60 - $5.00 less Uber's 28% fee for XL rides.

The .15 extra that Uber collects for cancellation fee on XL rides isn't the issue - losing maybe .75/week isn't going to bankrupt me.

What irritates me though is that these lowlifes will use every shady, deceitful, back-handed method they can think of to profit off the labor of the people who provide the services that they make money off of.


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## Maven (Feb 9, 2017)

Spotscat said:


> If I have to cancel an Uber X ride, I get $3.75 - $5.00 less Uber's 25% fee for X rides.
> If I have to cancel an Uber XL ride, I get $3.60 - $5.00 less Uber's 28% fee for XL rides.
> The .15 extra that Uber collects for cancellation fee on XL rides isn't the issue - losing maybe .75/week isn't going to bankrupt me.
> What irritates me though is that these lowlifes will use every shady, deceitful, back-handed method they can think of to profit off the labor of the people who provide the services that they make money off of.


Is the Uber Cut always 28% for XL or is it still 25% some of the time?


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## Spotscat (May 8, 2017)

Maven said:


> Is the Uber Cut always 28% for XL or is it still 25% some of the time?


Always 28% for XL - at least in this market it is.


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## Maven (Feb 9, 2017)

Spotscat said:


> Always 28% for XL - at least in this market it is.


When you do X rides is the cut 25% or still 28%?
For older drivers, with a 20% Uber Cut for X, is the XL UberX cut 20%, 23%, 28%, or something else?


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## Jesusdrivesuber (Jan 5, 2017)

It's war, nothing they will ever say or do will ever fix anything, Uber will continue it's downward spiral into being a service worse than cabs ever were, they will continue to get sued, even if they stop their shens and eventually investors will see there will never be any profit on a company that wastes so much money pulling stunts that will eventually bite them back.

Uber is done as a monopoly and a compnay once the world starts following Brasil and London in their concerns about the damage Uber will cause to the transportation system and the job market, the gig economy relies heavily on slave labor, back to the beginning of the 1900's we go.


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## Spotscat (May 8, 2017)

25%


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## Koolbreze (Feb 13, 2017)

Maven said:


> Great Ideas that may NEVER become reality after the guys that make the decisions have their say.
> Remember how Destination Filters were bumped up from 2 to 6 and back down to 2?
> Not once was raising rates mention. The presented the Kool-Aid, who will drink it?
> 
> ...


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## Koolbreze (Feb 13, 2017)

Get that Kool-Aid pit sitters and surge chasers.


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## ABC123DEF (Jun 9, 2015)

I think the only plan worth pursuing to repair the relationship with drivers is just to close up shop. There. Wasn't that easy?


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## peteyvavs (Nov 18, 2015)

I just received an e mail from Uber about Halloween traffic, instead of raising rates they're going to use the tip in the app as a promotion. Uber management must think all their drivers are braindead.


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## HumbleKid (Mar 16, 2017)

Rakos said:


> They are pretty good...
> 
> At bending over monkeys too...
> 
> ...


This should be the logo for uber pool lol.


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## peteyvavs (Nov 18, 2015)

UPDATE on Uber e mail. I received an e mail late this afternoon from Uber with the same old B.S., but they wanted a response from me on what I thought and I replied that they should require all management to drive for a month and then see how the rating of drivers are B.S.
I also told them to stop with the useless 180 change and just raise rates to a realistic level, of course I'll never get a reply on that issue.
Uber asked and I responded and now that response will be placed in file 13.


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## touberornottouber (Aug 12, 2016)

One simple big change they could make is to pay us at least $5 for every trip. Here the passenger pays something like $6.50 for a minimum trip. The driver gets $3. 

If Uber doesn't want to raise rates then the least they could do is lower their commissions on these short rides and give more of it to the driver.


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## Spotscat (May 8, 2017)

touberornottouber said:


> One simple big change they could make is to pay us at least $5 for every trip. Here the passenger pays something like $6.50 for a minimum trip. The driver gets $3.
> 
> If Uber doesn't want to raise rates then the least they could do is lower their commissions on these short rides and give more of it to the driver.


Exactly!

There should *NEVER *be a circumstance where a driver makes less $$ on a ride than the cancellation fee.

A driver should receive $3.75 just to start the vehicle and head toward the pickup. If the passenger cancels within the 2 minute window, so be it. But once the passenger is onboard and the trip starts - the driver should receive at least $3.75 for the trip.


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## peteyvavs (Nov 18, 2015)

Look at what sits on the Board at Uber, these people didn't get rich by being honest and fair.


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## peteyvavs (Nov 18, 2015)

I'm going into business with Pres. Trump to sell Vaseline to the American people. I'm specializing in the distribution to Uber and Lyft drivers.


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## roadman (Nov 14, 2016)

peteyvavs said:


> UPDATE on Uber e mail. I received an e mail late this afternoon from Uber with the same old B.S., but they wanted a response from me on what I thought and I replied that they should require all management to drive for a month and then see how the rating of drivers are B.S.
> I also told them to stop with the useless 180 change and just raise rates to a realistic level, of course I'll never get a reply on that issue.
> Uber asked and I responded and now that response will be placed in file 13.


Not only drive for a month, but live off only that money.



peteyvavs said:


> Look at what sits on the Board at Uber, these people didn't get rich by being honest and fair.


I wish the board members, and their families, all of the karma that they deserve.


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## outface (Oct 15, 2017)

You are funny if you believe Uber or do Ubering. Wake up and ignore whatever they said. Believing Uber will make you like a sucker. No wonder most riders despise the drivers who are so stupid to keep driving Uber.


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## outface (Oct 15, 2017)

By the way, regarding yesterday's 3 a.m. pizza giveaway party, I made the reservation first but of course would not show up. Whenever I received Uber's survey requests, I always gave them 5 star rating and very satisfied positive answers. Remember, always do the opposite way to survive. Uber fooled us. Why drivers need to be honest to them? Everybody comes to cheating Uber. Turn on app. Bypass the pin. Or, accepted the pin bot not moved at all. Or, accepted the pin but moved very slowly or in the opposite direction. Which action will I take? It all depends my mood. Making fun to Ubering.


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## WaveRunner1 (Jun 11, 2017)

Where are changes for October 180 Days of Scams. My guess is a useless feature that will do nothing to mitigate driver concerns or pay. The other new introduction will be removing a feature they introduced just recently.


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## ABC123DEF (Jun 9, 2015)

Other titles for the 180 Days of Scams come to mind:

"180 Days of We Take It All Back"

"180 Days of We Were Just Kidding"

"180 Days of You Thought We Gave a Crap"

"180 Days of Deception While We Try to Deflect Attention Away From Everything That Gave Us Negative Publicity Starting in Early 2017"

"180 Days of....After All, This IS Uber...We Say One Thing and Do Another"


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