# As a former Uber Email Support Agent, I want to know...



## Former Uber CSR (Aug 18, 2015)

Ok, so I posted a thread letting everyone know that I just quit my position as a CSR agent yesterday and asked if anyone wanted to ask me any questions. I tried my best to answer all questions, and now I have a few....

1. If you are not happy with Uber, why do you continue to driver for them? ( I promise I am not trying to sound rude when I ask this, I honesty just want to know. As I stated in my other thread, I've been lurking here for about a year now and I've always wondered why people driver for Uber if they hate is so much. So if you have a smart ass answer, just keep it to yourself lol)

2.What are your honest thought about the email support agents? 

3.Why does the automated emails bother you all so much? I see one here that a lot of drivers hate those. I can understand if the email does not answer the question you are asking, but if it does answer your question, why does it bother you?

I have always wanted to ask drivers this question but while I was working for them, I thought it was be kinda inappropriate to ask. I obviously couldn't ask the drivers who were writing in everyday..


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## PT Go (Sep 23, 2014)

1. It's not that I'm unhappy with Uber. I work the system to my best advantage. I keep accurate records for tax purposes and I only need to make X$ a month. I think the rate cuts were crazy low. In my area they could raise them 20% and still be 1/2 of taxi's. I believe some people have just trapped themselves into the Uber mode and were reliant at first on the income and now that it has diminished, they have to drive more to make the car payment. I need to use Uber because of a car repair and the driver was in a brand new car. When I told him I also drove for Uber, he just lamented that he wasn't making any money, had only been driving three weeks and had bought the car for Uber (but not from). And, gee, he already had a 4.7 rating.

2. Not sure of where you stand, but too many times when I conducted my self in a business like manner, was polite and never hostile, I would get too many canned cut and paste answers. In some cases, I would have to re-request as I wouldn't get a response in 48 hours. When I did get a canned answer , it could be from another agent as it seemed the other one just disappeared. There was at least two instances where I was completely ignored and trying to escalate just didn't happen. I just felt there wasn't an honst effort to help a 'partner'.

3. If it answers the question, it wouldn't bother me, but in most cases it was a side dance. 'Thanks for reaching out' became too cliche and very old as there was usually not a solution offered, just "We're currently working on this"

Thanks for listening....


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## UberHammer (Dec 5, 2014)

1) If I had to drive for Uber the way Uber expects drivers to do the work, I wouldn't drive at all. The only reason I drive is I toe the line of what I can get away with as much as possible, as that's the only way to make the compensation worth the effort. My market is at $1.10 per mile currently, and I can say if it drops to $0.78 per mile like Atlanta, even toeing the line wouldn't produce the compensation I need to make it worth it. So I hate Uber for the ridiculous things it expects drivers to do, and I hate Uber for where the rates are going to go in my market. I know it's just a matter of time before the rate is cut to a point where I'll quit.

2) Waste of time at least 90% of the time, if not more. Sometimes I think I'm just talking to a software program.

3) I only ask questions that aren't answered by the info on the website. When I get an automated responses, I've already read that information. I don't need to read it again.


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## Renaldow (Jul 17, 2015)

1. I'm happy and it works for me. Apparently there are a lot of negative people who don't realize that if there's something they hate doing, then they should stop doing it and do something else. 

2. I've only had positive experiences with them.

3. Again, I think its the people who can't be happy about anything that complain about this.


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## MrBear (Mar 14, 2015)

We keep driving because we need the little cash next pay day. Uber has cost me so much, I want to quit but the cash is needed. Once I find a job that will pay me next week, I'm gone


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## hmmmmm (Jun 15, 2015)

I dont dislike uber but at the same time i dont love uber. I do it to make a few extra dollars and i can bc the rates are still ok in my market. If they dropped them again though im sure i would be done. I do not know how people drive for 80c a mile. Its crazy. 
I hate the canned email responses because NOT A SINGLE ONE HAS EVER RESOLVED MY ISSUE. every time i get one its at least 3 other emails to try and fix the problem. Ive even had to send 10 respinses to get a problem fixed before and it is so annoying to see that noone read my email before responding because i have said that i already know what the canned response is and it is not my issue yet i still get said canned response. Uber could really do alot more to respect and reward good drivers and still make good money. I think lower rates are an insult and like i said before, any lower in my area and im done. Every single pax i talk to loves uber compared to taxis and the fact they are much cheaper is always one of the reasons. uber just seems to not know when it has a good thing going. But i still like uber enough to drive. The bottom line for me is $ and as long as i can make enough to make it worthwile i will continue to uber on. Take the good with the bad i guess.


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## Former Uber CSR (Aug 18, 2015)

Ok. Thank you for the responses. it's nice to be able to actually talk to the drivers outside of working for Uber. 

Although the drivers do all the work, I think Uber is mostly concerned with making sure the riders are the happiest. By lowering the rates, it makes the riders happier, but makes the drivers furious. I'm not sure what the future for Uber is at this point, but I didn't want to stick around with that company any longer.

Much respect to you all. Thank you for taking the time to reply.


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## MrBear (Mar 14, 2015)

Uber is a good idea but when you have a company that doesn't seem to care about their employees (drivers). Any smart ceo would know better, the sooner he gets pushed out, uber will be something. Right now drivers talk bad about the company, riders know what's going on.


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## merkurfan (Jul 20, 2015)

Former Uber CSR said:


> Ok, so I posted a thread letting everyone know that I just quit my position as a CSR agent yesterday and asked if anyone wanted to ask me any questions. I tried my best to answer all questions, and now I have a few....
> 
> 1. If you are not happy with Uber, why do you continue to driver for them? ( I promise I am not trying to sound rude when I ask this, I honesty just want to know. As I stated in my other thread, I've been lurking here for about a year now and I've always wondered why people driver for Uber if they hate is so much. So if you have a smart ass answer, just keep it to yourself lol)
> 
> ...


1. I am meh with uber.. The rates are to low for the market, about half of a taxi and 60 cents a mile lower than lyft. That in my book is stupid. You can under cut the competition with out giving away the farm. I use uber to fill holes in my day. If I have a 9am appointment and the next is not until 4 PM I'll uber in between as it's about an hour drive home from the metro area.

2. so far, my one issue was fixed on the first email. so all is good with that one.

3. Can't say I got one. The TXT messages begging me to go out and make millions on a dead night are for the birds.


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## Another Uber Driver (May 27, 2015)

1. I do not hate Uber. Uber Taxi works well for me. UberX does not work so well. Still, I do not hate Uber. I wonder about its wrong-headed Rocket Science that dictates that when Uber slashes rates it will mean that I can drive more passengers in an hour than I had been driving, even though the pings were coming at the same pace both before and after the pay cuts. Uber can give me every resident of the Statistical Washington Metropolitan Area as a potential customer, but there is a limit on how many of them that I can haul in one hour. The result of Uber's Wrong-Headed Rocket Science has been that I am hauling the same number of passengers now as I had been when I signed on to UberX. The only difference is that I am earning twenty-two per-cent less money doing it. This is one reason why I drive UberX only enough to stay in the game. I drive Uber Taxi, mostly.

2. Most of them have been helpful on Uber Taxi. On UberX, I get too many canned responses that demonstrate only that the agent in question did not bother to read and comprehend my e-Mail. If I want someone actually to read and comprehend it, I must send it at least five times before anyone even tries to comprehend it. At some point, it vanishes into electronic oblivion: they stop answering.

3. The canned e-Mails do not asnwer my question. As one poster has stated, already, the canned e-Mails are simply re-hashes of the FAQ page. I look on the FAQ page before I send a question or a problem. I had one situation where a failure of Uber's technology cost me a substantial amount of money. No one bothered to read and comprehend my e-Mail or tried to understand what happened and why I had been cheated out of my money. All that I ever received were canned responses. I always take a courteous, businesslike and civilised tone in my correspondence. I am aware that if I am belligerent and obnoxious, no one will want to help me. The problem is that when I am courteous, businesslike and civilised, few UberX CSRs pay any attention. I have yet to try being rude, obnoxious and belligerent.


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## Former Uber CSR (Aug 18, 2015)

Another Uber Driver said:


> 1. I do not hate Uber. Uber Taxi works well for me. UberX does not work so well. Still, I do not hate Uber. I wonder about its wrong-headed Rocket Science that dictates that when Uber slashes rates it will mean that I can drive more passengers in an hour than I had been driving, even though the pings were coming at the same pace both before and after the pay cuts. Uber can give me every resident of the Statistical Washington Metropolitan Area as a potential customer, but there is a limit on how many of them that I can haul in one hour. The result of Uber's Wrong-Headed Rocket Science has been that I am hauling the same number of passengers now as I had been when I signed on to UberX. The only difference is that I am earning twenty-two per-cent less money doing it. This is one reason why I drive UberX only enough to stay in the game. I drive Uber Taxi, mostly.
> 
> 2. Most of them have been helpful on Uber Taxi. On UberX, I get too many canned responses that demonstrate only that the agent in question did not bother to read and comprehend my e-Mail. If I want someone actually to read and comprehend it, I must send it at least five times before anyone even tries to comprehend it. At some point, it vanishes into electronic oblivion: they stop answering.
> 
> 3. The canned e-Mails do not asnwer my question. As one poster has stated, already, the canned e-Mails are simply re-hashes of the FAQ page. I look on the FAQ page before I send a question or a problem. I had one situation where a failure of Uber's technology cost me a substantial amount of money. No one bothered to read and comprehend my e-Mail or tried to understand what happened and why I had been cheated out of my money. All that I ever received were canned responses. I always take a courteous, businesslike and civilised tone in my correspondence. I am aware that if I am belligerent and obnoxious, no one will want to help me. The problem is that when I am courteous, businesslike and civilised, few UberX CSRs pay any attention. I have yet to try being rude, obnoxious and belligerent.


It's funny you say that because it seems like the rude emails get the most attention. They get sent to the "urgent" or "Tier 2" for proper care. I know it sounds bad, but honestly, if you want shit done, you have to yell.

I didn't really handle these types of tickets, I mostly did fare adjustments for the drivers, but when I did come across an angry email, I could see that it had been routed to a manger. The manager usually reads it and gives the driver what they want so they stop emailing them


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## PT Go (Sep 23, 2014)

MrBear said:


> Uber is a good idea but when you have a company that doesn't seem to care about their employees (drivers). Any smart ceo would know better, the sooner he gets pushed out, uber will be something. Right now drivers talk bad about the company, riders know what's going on.


Wouldn't you mean that riders_* don't*_ know what's going on. I don't think they care. They just want a ride but they do know they are getting it cheap. They don't understand or care about the rating system. If I get canned tomorrow, there is someone else to fill that spot without anyone blinking an eye.
Travis won't get pushed out until there is an IPO, which isn't going to happen soon, as then the truth will come out about the companies true financial standing. In all honesty, I think they're bleeding cash to continue to gain market share and push Lyft and others out.


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## Micmac (Jul 31, 2015)

Former Uber CSR said:


> Ok, so I posted a thread letting everyone know that I just quit my position as a CSR agent yesterday and asked if anyone wanted to ask me any questions. I tried my best to answer all questions, and now I have a few....
> 
> 1. If you are not happy with Uber, why do you continue to driver for them? ( I promise I am not trying to sound rude when I ask this, I honesty just want to know. As I stated in my other thread, I've been lurking here for about a year now and I've always wondered why people driver for Uber if they hate is so much. So if you have a smart ass answer, just keep it to yourself lol)
> 
> ...


Why Uber fired you, are you too crook ? What s the deal Yo!!


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## Winkomo (Jan 9, 2015)

Former Uber CSR said:


> Ok, so I posted a thread letting everyone know that I just quit my position as a CSR agent yesterday and asked if anyone wanted to ask me any questions. I tried my best to answer all questions, and now I have a few....
> 
> 1. If you are not happy with Uber, why do you continue to driver for them? ( I promise I am not trying to sound rude when I ask this, I honesty just want to know. As I stated in my other thread, I've been lurking here for about a year now and I've always wondered why people driver for Uber if they hate is so much. So if you have a smart ass answer, just keep it to yourself lol)
> 
> ...


First of all, thank you for your questions.

Re #1, I have a hunch that many drivers don't have a lot of alternatives available to them right now, and if that offends anyone out there, sorry, not trying to piss anyone off if that's NOT your situation. Just think it kinda is for lots a folks.

#2, Once I understood that the email support agents were IC's under a different kind of pressure from corporate, I started seeing their responses as really being nothing more than a parroting coming from up above. It's still frustrating, but it reinforces the view of Uber's corporate culture and ethics.
(and speaking of ethics, i have no idea how anyone doing a shred of due diligence on Uber could ever fathom investing one dime in it; exactly what part of their financial reporting would one ever feel confident in?)

#3 I'm not bothered by an automated email that fixes the problem, and been fortunate not to have an issue yet that hasn't been ultimately resolved. Having said that, I have had a couple of experiences where just by reinitiating the query via a new email and getting a different CSR solved the problem right away. The frustration is that inconsistency undermines faith in the system overall.


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## Former Uber CSR (Aug 18, 2015)

Micmac said:


> Why Uber fired you, are you too crook ? What s the deal Yo!!


english please?


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## bscott (Dec 4, 2014)

Let's get real! It's a joy bashing something as inherently evil as this over valued cluster**** better known as FUBAR. Anyone with an IQ of 1 should know that


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## Fuzzyelvis (Dec 7, 2014)

Former Uber CSR said:


> Ok, so I posted a thread letting everyone know that I just quit my position as a CSR agent yesterday and asked if anyone wanted to ask me any questions. I tried my best to answer all questions, and now I have a few....
> 
> 1. If you are not happy with Uber, why do you continue to driver for them? ( I promise I am not trying to sound rude when I ask this, I honesty just want to know. As I stated in my other thread, I've been lurking here for about a year now and I've always wondered why people driver for Uber if they hate is so much. So if you have a smart ass answer, just keep it to yourself lol)
> 
> ...


While you've been lurking you must not have read THAT much or you would know the answers to your questions I would think. However.

1. Many of us don't drive or have cut back considerably. I have driven 5 hours in 3 weeks. We are hoping at some point things will improve.

For others they are stuck and have little choice. It's the same reason anyone stays in a shitty job they hate.

2 and 3. Maybe you were a good CSR but many of the responses we get have NOTHING to do with the issue at hand. For instance recently I sent an email with a list of towns around and inside Houston (we have cities within the city here). I explained this was cities where my app would work and that most were basically suburbs of Houston but that they were legally different cities and asked which ones Uber was legal to operate in using my City of Houston TNC license.

I got a response telling me I could change my area but it would take time to activate me in the new city. I had to send 2 more emails to get a response which was basically "we don't really have that information".

I asked why Uber could not tell me where it was legal for me to operate with my license (they should know where they are legal) and I have received NO answer at all.

90% of the time unless it's a common issue ANY question that requires the CSR to read the email is responded to with a form letter that simply has very little to do with it except for a key word somewhere. That is very annoying, especially when it's something that is costing us money.


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## Emp9 (Apr 9, 2015)

drivers like the flexibility , the fact you can turn it on and off as they please. meeting new people , going on an anventure to a part of a city you might otherwise never been. part time side cash. what we dont like is keep dropping fares, and bs promotions geared to not pay out. pain in the neck pax, rating system. 


there will always be something you dont like about a job. so its ridiculous to say dont complain just quit. many of us love the uber concept. 

it still makes sense for me math wise, as soon as it doesnt i am out.


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## Cou-ber (Jul 23, 2015)

I have a question for you) are you aware of uber actually assessing cancellation fees which are not credited back to the driver? We only know what they tell us and I have a hunch it might not be accurate. Are you aware of uber not sharing a cancellation charge with a partner?


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## thehappytypist (Oct 9, 2014)

Fuzzyelvis said:


> While you've been lurking you must not have read THAT much or you would know the answers to your questions I would think. However.
> 
> 1. Many of us don't drive or have cut back considerably. I have driven 5 hours in 3 weeks. We are hoping at some point things will improve.
> 
> ...


Part of the problem is that a lot of the experienced, good agents are getting punted up to handle more difficult issues. I like to consider myself a good CSR but I haven't handled driver tickets in months because I got up-trained and work in a different queue now. There are still some good CSRs left in driver tier 1 but not near as many as there used to be. I kind of miss it, driver tickets were a nice challenge and we shared common ground - having to deal with snooty, entitled, asshole riders. lol


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## Adbam (Jun 25, 2015)

I like how the driver tier is the lowest Uber queue and that you can be trained out of it. Uber needs to realize that we are their true customers. By their own admission they are not a transportation company, just a tech comp. The drivers are the base. We are Ubers real customers. Can you stand at the top of a pyramid with out a base? Much props to Uber csr for leaving a company that takes advantage of their base (ie, lowering prices beyond a livable wage, making fare adjustments without driver input or consent, deceiving new drivers with gross fare promises and not net, screwing up pool fares, ect)
I also live in a town with OK rates that used to be better but I know that soon they won't be and I'll be gone.


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## itsablackmarket (May 12, 2015)

Former Uber CSR said:


> Ok, so I posted a thread letting everyone know that I just quit my position as a CSR agent yesterday and asked if anyone wanted to ask me any questions. I tried my best to answer all questions, and now I have a few....
> 
> 1. If you are not happy with Uber, why do you continue to driver for them? ( I promise I am not trying to sound rude when I ask this, I honesty just want to know. As I stated in my other thread, I've been lurking here for about a year now and I've always wondered why people driver for Uber if they hate is so much. So if you have a smart ass answer, just keep it to yourself lol)
> 
> ...


1. Because I can't find anything else to do that allows me to own my life still. But now even Uber doesn't allow me to own my life, because no one can survive at the rates they have now in the big cities.

2. Nothing, I really don't care about them. I never email Uber and when I do they never seem to understand me. It seems obvious that there is no pride in the job they do, so that is why I don't email them. I don't expect to gain any info from an idiot who doesn't care about their job.

3. Because most of the time they serve as to provide a quick answer, even if it doesn't answer the question. Also, Uber must receive an extremely high volume of stupid questions with easy answers, but that's what happens when you hire stupid drivers, right?

The main thing you must understand is Uber is trading reputation for ruthless expansion, because greed, and it's affecting everything. As a driver who started when they launched in Houston and also during a major transitional phase (2014 when UberX exploded), I've been able to witness the evolution of their approach more transparently than the majority whom are thus more readily being exploited (not talking just drivers here, everyone involved). I see what they're doing and I think it's wrong. My take from what I've witnessed, is they expect to expand on the premise of a quality alternative while simultaneously destroying that reputation. Uber is a blatant con job. They're idiots, and reading this forum you discover the fallout of idiocy. We're all here mostly because Uber sucks. I'd rather be driving and making money.


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## cybertec69 (Jul 23, 2014)

I see most if not all in here a driving with no real insurance, illegal Taxi drivers, good luck with the attorneys one you get in a fender bender. Uber loves you, Uber on.


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## Emp9 (Apr 9, 2015)

cybertec69 said:


> I see most if not all in here a driving with no real insurance, illegal Taxi drivers, good luck with the attorneys one you get in a fender bender. Uber loves you, Uber on.


 well i dont know every state, but we are legal in VA, registered and insured as well with uber and private. i got into a fender bender, and james river called me right away. if its your fault it 1,000 deductible to fix your car if not then no cost,t he other persons insurance pays.


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## keymusic (Aug 1, 2015)

Former Uber CSR said:


> Ok, so I posted a thread letting everyone know that I just quit my position as a CSR agent yesterday and asked if anyone wanted to ask me any questions. I tried my best to answer all questions, and now I have a few....
> 
> 1. If you are not happy with Uber, why do you continue to driver for them? ( I promise I am not trying to sound rude when I ask this, I honesty just want to know. As I stated in my other thread, I've been lurking here for about a year now and I've always wondered why people driver for Uber if they hate is so much. So if you have a smart ass answer, just keep it to yourself lol)
> 
> ...


 How can you do this? Didn't you have to sign an NDA?


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## pgw26 (Aug 19, 2015)

1. recently been umemployed, so i really don't have too much of a choice, until i have a regular day job back. even with a regular job i'm not happy with, sometimes there are those who have to ride it out and make do with what they're dealt. not everyone can drop what they're doing and live their ideal dream/job, the majority of us have to deal with real world statuses and not live with the mindset of law of attraction and "you can do it" blind luck opportunity

2. since my recent post, i have even less and less respect for the CSR

3. automated responses give no true solutions other than passing the buck back over to the uber help website, and the solution is vaguely related and very remote from the problem. csr only has done a good job either crediting the rider when i've asked them to, that's about it. they don't help me with issues with ratings, riders, or the current situation i'm in now with the manipulation of my trip being incorrect.


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## thehappytypist (Oct 9, 2014)

Adbam said:


> I like how the driver tier is the lowest Uber queue and that you can be trained out of it. Uber needs to realize that we are their true customers. By their own admission they are not a transportation company, just a tech comp. The drivers are the base. We are Ubers real customers. Can you stand at the top of a pyramid with out a base? Much props to Uber csr for leaving a company that takes advantage of their base (ie, lowering prices beyond a livable wage, making fare adjustments without driver input or consent, deceiving new drivers with gross fare promises and not net, screwing up pool fares, ect)
> I also live in a town with OK rates that used to be better but I know that soon they won't be and I'll be gone.


In the grand hierarchy, rider tier 1 is considered the very lowest rung because it's the easiest. Driver tier 1 is a step above that because it IS exponentially more difficult. Most driver CSRs started as rider then were trained on driver once they had some experience under their belt. They did train some agents for driver tier 1 right off the bat and I felt very bad for them, that's a rough start.


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## UberHammer (Dec 5, 2014)

thehappytypist said:


> In the grand hierarchy, rider tier 1 is considered the very lowest rung because it's the easiest. Driver tier 1 is a step above that because it IS exponentially more difficult. Most driver CSRs started as rider then were trained on driver once they had some experience under their belt. They did train some agents for driver tier 1 right off the bat and I felt very bad for them, that's a rough start.


The best training any of them could get would be to go drive for a month.


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## Txchick (Nov 25, 2014)

Former Uber CSR said:


> Ok. Thank you for the responses. it's nice to be able to actually talk to the drivers outside of working for Uber.
> 
> Although the drivers do all the work, I think Uber is mostly concerned with making sure the riders are the happiest. By lowering the rates, it makes the riders happier, but makes the drivers furious. I'm not sure what the future for Uber is at this point, but I didn't want to stick around with that company any longer.
> 
> Much respect to you all. Thank you for taking the time to reply.


There better start focusing on their drivers who take all the financial risks of driving pax. I quite driving in Dallas market @ .90 cents per mile. It's now .85 cents per mile. Ubering at those rates is a money losing proposition. Ubers churn of drivers is well known now.


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## cybertec69 (Jul 23, 2014)

Txchick said:


> There better start focusing on their drivers who take all the financial risks of driving pax. I quite driving in Dallas market @ .90 cents per mile. It's now .85 cents per mile. Ubering at those rates is a money losing proposition. Ubers churn of drivers is well known now.


Here is nyc all you see is new TLC license plates, pretty much license plates from 2 years ago have disappeared. I spoke to one of my pax, she said 90% of the drivers that have picked her up have been with uber less than 3 month's, and that I have been the most educated driver she has met "and the longest tenured one at that, I do it part time now, until my commercial registration runs out, then I am out".
I don't sugar coat things, when I see something is wrong with this picture and good hard working people being taken advantage of, it needs to be told, education is key. People like honesty.


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## Cake (Aug 20, 2015)

UberHammer said:


> 1) If I had to drive for Uber the way Uber expects drivers to do the work, I wouldn't drive at all. The only reason I drive is I toe the line of what I can get away with as much as possible, as that's the only way to make the compensation worth the effort. My market is at $1.10 per mile currently, and I can say if it drops to $0.78 per mile like Atlanta, even toeing the line wouldn't produce the compensation I need to make it worth it. So I hate Uber for the ridiculous things it expects drivers to do, and I hate Uber for where the rates are going to go in my market. I know it's just a matter of time before the rate is cut to a point where I'll quit.
> 
> 2) Waste of time at least 90% of the time, if not more. Sometimes I think I'm just talking to a software program.
> 
> 3) I only ask questions that aren't answered by the info on the website. When I get an automated responses, I've already read that information. I don't need to read it again.


Yep. Number 3!


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## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

Former Uber CSR said:


> 1. If you are not happy with Uber, why do you continue to driver for them? ( I promise I am not trying to sound rude when I ask this, I honesty just want to know. As I stated in my other thread, I've been lurking here for about a year now and I've always wondered why people driver for Uber if they hate is so much


Wow, this is one of the issues I have with "support." The information is right in front of you, but you don't see it, don't comprehend it or just outright ignore it.

If you have lurked here for a year, you should have seen this question asked and answered _ad nauseam._


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## cybertec69 (Jul 23, 2014)

JaxBeachDriver said:


> If you have lurked here for a year, you should have seen this question asked and answered _ad nauseam._


I don't pay any attention to anything these clown CSR's say on this forum, since none of them ever drove for uber anything they have to say is useless, you need to experience the show "drivers seat" first, before I or anyone else can take you seriously.


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## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

Former Uber CSR said:


> 2.What are your honest thought about the email support agents?
> 
> 3.Why does the automated emails bother you all so much? I see one here that a lot of drivers hate those. I can understand if the email does not answer the question you are asking, but if it does answer your question, why does it bother you?


The answer to both questions is related. The automated responses almost NEVER answer the actual questions. I guess it's effective, though, because I now deal with "support" as little as possible.

It is always incredibly frustrating to deal with "support" and it takes so much damn time and energy -- 3 days of back and forth emails for something that would require maybe a 5- or 10-minute conversation. And it's every damn time! Imagine if your paycheck was wrong or you had an issue at work and you had to go through mind-numbing, rage-inducing emails for days before you got a single coherent response. Imagine it. $15/hr is too damn much to pay for that shit.

Here's my most recent example:

Me

Jun 26, 05:17

Hello,

I'm writing regarding my black car account.

I have attached the earnings report for this trip. You can see that it shows the fare is $14.50. How can the fare be $14.50 when there's a $15 minimum?

Thank you,

IMG
Sent from my iPhone

Attachment(s)
IMG

----------------------------------------------

(Uber)

Jun 26, 05:28

Hi ,

Great question! Happy to explain.

Partners receive payment for each Uber trip fares minus the Uber fee. In addition, partners may receive miscellaneous payments for items like tolls, cleaning fees, and incentive payments that don't have the fee taken out. You may also make payments to Uber for weekly device fees, and device deposits.

More specifically, your Uber payment is calculated by the following process:

*For Each Trip*
+ Fare: Base Fare + Time Fee + Distance Fee
+ Surge (if applicable)
+ $1 Safe Rides Fee
- $1 Safe Rides Fee
- Uber fee: Uber fee rate x (Fare + Surge)

The rates vary by city and vehicle class. You can find the rates for your city at [uber.com/cities]https://www.uber.com/cities). The Uber fee also varies by city and vehicle class.

_The Safe Rides Fee does not apply to partners with commercial insurance. It's paid for by riders, collected by Uber, and supports our continued efforts to ensure the safest possible platform for Uber riders and drivers. You will see it as a part of your fare total but it is deducted on your payment, netting out neutral._

*Total Payout*
In each pay statement, you'll receive the total of all of the payouts for each trip +/- any miscellaneous payments for that time period.

I know that this may seem a bit complicated upon first glance, but I hope once you've received a few invoices, it will become more clear. We also have a great resource here which can help answer any questions that you have about payments. If you are unable to find exactly what you're looking for, just let me know.

help.uber.com

----------------------------------------------

*Me*

Jun 26, 06:10

S,

Please refer to the photo I attached with the email. The fare is listed separate from Uber's fees. The $14.50 is the fare before Uber's fees.

Thank you,

Sent from my iPhone

---------------------------------------------

(Uber)

Jun 28, 23:56

Hi ,

Thanks for getting back and happy to explain further.

The $15 minimum fare is based on the fare that you see at the end of the trip. Meaning, it includes safe ride fee and other payments like tolls.

I know there's a lot of information provided and I want to make sure your earnings are clear.

There are two parts to your payment:


Trip earnings
Miscellaneous items
Your *total payout* is the sum of your trip earnings plus or minus any miscellaneous items.

*TRIP EARNINGS SUMMARY*
Trip Earnings are the sum of your fares for the week. Your total earnings are shown at the top right on the blue bar, with a more detailed breakdown below:


Fare (+)
Surge (+)
Surcharges & Tolls (+)
Rider Fee (payment) (+)
Rider Fee (deduction) (-)
Uber Fee (-)
*Fare* is the normal fare for the trip based on base fare, distance and time. This number is *not* the same as the trip fares you see at the end of each trip in your app, as that is the rider-facing fare that includes other fees as well.

Fare = Base Fare + Distance Fee + Time Fee

These rates vary by city and can be found at uber.com/ciites or by clicking the blue drop-down symbol on the HTML invoice.

*Surge* is the additional amount charged to the rider when rates are increased in times of high demand.

*Surcharges & Tolls* include any toll payment and select airport surcharges associated with a trip. This amount is paid to you in full and no Uber fee is taken out.

*Rider Fee* does not affect your total payment -- for transparency, this amount is added then subtracted from trip earnings since it is paid for by riders and collected by Uber. This fee supports our continued efforts to ensure the safest possible platform for Uber riders and drivers. Split fare fees and some airport surcharges are also included here. The split fare fee is a fee that riders pay directly to Uber when splitting a fare with a friend; it is $0.25 per user. The amount that is paid should always equal the amount that is debited, netting neutral for you.

*Uber Fee* is the percentage of your fares which you pay to Uber in order to use the Uber Partner app. The fee will vary by city and vehicle class, but you can see your specific Uber Fee percentage rate by clicking the blue drop-down symbol on the HTML invoice.

The Uber Fee is calculated as a percentage of normal fares and surge.

*MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS SUMMARY*
Miscellaneous items are any items not directly related to a trip, for example: weekly device subscription fees, device deposit fees, incentive and referral payments, and first time rider payments. No Uber fee is taken out of miscellaneous items.

*TRIP EARNINGS DETAILS*
Here you will find, organized by time and day of the week, each trip and the breakdown of all of the above categories for each trip. It is broken out by:

Payments: The amount you are paid
Deductions: What is taken out, shown in parentheses
Earnings: What you take home

If there is a blue drop-down symbol below any Trip ID, you can click it to see specific surge rates or if a fare was adjusted and why.

*Please note: The fare you see in your app at the end of a trip is the sum total of all of the columns under "Payments." It will not match the amount in the "Fare" Column.*

If you have any further questions about payments, I'm happy to help.

*S*
help.uber.com

---------------------------------------------

*Me*

Jun 29, 03:31

S,

I get the feeling you still haven't viewed the attachment.

I am uber black, so I do not get charged a safe riders fee.

Please note, I have 2 accounts. One is under (censored)@gmail.com, and the other is my black car account under the alias email address (censored)[email protected]. I'm inquiring about a trip on the +1 account.

The trip in question occurred June 25 at 4:41pm. The trip was 1.2 miles and 5 minutes long.

For my area, there's a $7 minimum, $2.20/mile and $0.55/minute. The minimum fare is $15.

The fare breakdown shows:

Fare: $14.50
Surge: $7.50
Uber's fee: $5.50
Total payout: $16.50

There were no fees associated with this ride (no tolls, etc.).

I'm not so concerned about the 50 cents, as I am concerned about he possibility that there is some type of glitch in the calculation of fares.

Please review this specific trip or escalate it to someone who can.

Thank you,

Sent from my iPhone

-------------------------------------------

*A* (Uber)

Jun 29, 22:01

Hi -

A stepping in here. I apologize for the trouble here regarding this trip. I have taken a look at the trip and see there was a glitch in the fare. It was rounded down $0.50 due to the fare being so close to the minimum of $15, because of surge.

Our engineer team is working on getting this fixed. You shouldn't see this problem again. In the event, this does happen again please write back in and let us know and we will adjust the trip for you.

I have gone ahead and adjusted this trip fare for you. You should be able to see this adjustment in your dashboard. Please let me know if you have further questions about this trip. Thank you for your partnership with Uber.

Uber On!

*A*
help.uber.com


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## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

A few more issues I have with support, I'd like to point out using the example above.

"I know that this may seem a bit complicated upon first glance, butI hope once you've received a few invoices, it will become more clear."

That is condescending as all hell. **** uou, S, I've been driving since November. I understand the invoice just fine.

Then, days later someone else "steps in" and pretty much says everything I want to hear. "Hey, you were right. Here's your 50 cents, now run along and make us more money." I'm pretty sure they're just blowing smoke to get you to EFF OFF.


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## uberissohonest (Aug 7, 2015)

i had a similar exchange over a ratings question. i was NOT asking to see one passengers rating of me in particular, but kept getting the response,"sorry, we are not allowed to share that information with drivers blah blah blah". i dont even remember what my question was at this point, but in no way was i asking what a particular passenger rated me. this went on, a total of about 12 emails before i finally gave up.


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## thehappytypist (Oct 9, 2014)

JaxBeachDriver said:


> A few more issues I have with support, I'd like to point out using the example above.
> 
> "I know that this may seem a bit complicated upon first glance, butI hope once you've received a few invoices, it will become more clear."
> 
> ...


Looks like it may have gotten escalated. Or they asked a lead/veteran CSR and they took over the ticket because holy **** that person is clueless. Sometimes a ticket is so ****ed up, I don't give advice I just take it over.


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## rcinatl (Apr 5, 2015)

thehappytypist said:


> Looks like it may have gotten escalated. Or they asked a lead/veteran CSR and they took over the ticket because holy **** that person is clueless. Sometimes a ticket is so ****ed up, I don't give advice I just take it over.


Oh-Oh! I'm thinking maybe thehappytypist is not so happy with that.


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## Courtney2010 (Aug 21, 2015)

Former Uber CSR said:


> Ok, so I posted a thread letting everyone know that I just quit my position as a CSR agent yesterday and asked if anyone wanted to ask me any questions. I tried my best to answer all questions, and now I have a few....
> 
> 1. If you are not happy with Uber, why do you continue to driver for them? ( I promise I am not trying to sound rude when I ask this, I honesty just want to know. As I stated in my other thread, I've been lurking here for about a year now and I've always wondered why people driver for Uber if they hate is so much. So if you have a smart ass answer, just keep it to yourself lol)
> 
> ...


1 - I don't hate driving for Uber but I have a full time job. If it was my sole source of income the rates , the ratings system and some other things would bother me much more.

2- Canned responses are not a problem if they answer your questions. The canned responses that I have received from CSRs either ignore a question completely or do not answer it at all. In my full time job I answer 100s of questions in a week, it is time consuming but not that complicated to just respond directly. The indirect responses that are often given (not saying you personally) would not be accepted in a regular corporate environment. I guarantee you that if an executive in Uber corporate asked a question over email and got a response that did not answer the question, there would be a problem. As partner I do not expect to be treated like an executive but I do expect a level of respect that is in line with how Uber wants its customers to be treated. Part of respecting someone is not being dismissive by not answering their questions. Again, not saying this was you but my personal experiences with CSRs have reflected the problems that I mentioned earlier.


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## thehappytypist (Oct 9, 2014)

rcinatl said:


> Oh-Oh! I'm thinking maybe thehappytypist is not so happy with that.


Hell no I'm not happy with that conversation. It's ridiculous! It most definitely does NOT meet my standards for good service.


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## naplestom75 (May 3, 2015)

I like the description "I don't hate uber, but I don't love them either"

It is indeed frustrating that they could make more money NOW and in turn we would make money if they just changed a few things. Namely, they could charge the per mile rate that cabs charge, or just under it, and still beat most of them to the customers because UBER would still be a faster and a more efficient product. But obviously they don't care about that (for now), and they are just concerned with pumping up the fictitious value of the company measured in make-believe internet dollars, so eventually they can sell it to some sucker who will overpay by 100s of millions. That, apparently, is measured in volume and not in profitability. Which makes the whole thing seem so insane. The age of the internet and technology baffles me, as far as how businesses can be valued so much without any cash flow or hard assets to stand on whatsoever. The bubble has to burst sometime.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

JaxBeachDriver said:


> The answer to both questions is related. The automated responses almost NEVER answer the actual questions. I guess it's effective, though, because I now deal with "support" as little as possible.
> 
> It is always incredibly frustrating to deal with "support" and it takes so much damn time and energy -- 3 days of back and forth emails for something that would require maybe a 5- or 10-minute conversation. And it's every damn time! Imagine if your paycheck was wrong or you had an issue at work and you had to go through mind-numbing, rage-inducing emails for days before you got a single coherent response. Imagine it. $15/hr is too damn much to pay for that shit.
> 
> ...


LOL, I like it when they say "happy to explain!", which translates into English as "happy to talk complete crap on your issue until either (a) supervisor takes over or (b) you give up and go away"


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## bloodchains (Jul 1, 2015)

1. Driving for Uber, as well as Lyft, is my only job right now. I just started as an intern in a web development company, so hopefully I do a good job there because the guy said he'll give me full-time employment if I do so. At first, doing this was ok, but now I realized I hate driving strangers around for hours, especially those spoiled, entitled people. I think being an introvert, I really can't handle this many people in a day.

2 & 3. Never had to contact email support, so I got nothing to say about it.


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## Cou-ber (Jul 23, 2015)

My question about cancellations never received a reply...


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## cybertec69 (Jul 23, 2014)

Cou-ber said:


> My question about cancellations never received a reply...


And you won't receive a reply.


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## Cou-ber (Jul 23, 2015)

cybertec69 said:


> And you won't receive a reply.


Oh, okay. That blows.


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## thehappytypist (Oct 9, 2014)

Cou-ber said:


> I have a question for you) are you aware of uber actually assessing cancellation fees which are not credited back to the driver? We only know what they tell us and I have a hunch it might not be accurate. Are you aware of uber not sharing a cancellation charge with a partner?


As far as I know, Uber never charges the rider a cancellation fee without paying it to the driver.


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## cybertec69 (Jul 23, 2014)

thehappytypist said:


> As far as I know, Uber never charges the rider a cancellation fee without paying it to the driver.


You are so full of fud, I stopped reading your ludicrous responses, even with the $10 cancelation fee, Uber takes a cut from that, which should not be the case. Like I have said, to me all CSR's are clueless, when you get behind the wheel and do some driving and see what it's like driving a Taxi then you can talk, until then it's just gibberish.


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## thehappytypist (Oct 9, 2014)

cybertec69 said:


> You are so full of fud, I stopped reading your ludicrous responses, even with the $10 cancelation fee, Uber takes a cut from that, which should not be the case. Like I have said, to me all CSR's are clueless, when you get behind the wheel and do some driving and see what it's like driving a Taxi then you can talk, until then it's just gibberish.


Perhaps when you do deign to read my posts, you should read a little more carefully. What I meant was that whenever a cancellation fee is collected from the rider, it's paid out to the driver minus the fees etc. I've never seen an instance where a rider was charged a cancellation fee and the driver got none of it.

Also active drivers cannot become CSRs and current CSRs cannot become drivers, Uber doesn't allow it. Having experience driving doesn't change the policies and procedures we have to follow so I'm not entirely sure how that would benefit anyone.


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## cybertec69 (Jul 23, 2014)

thehappytypist said:


> Perhaps when you do deign to read my posts, you should read a little more carefully. What I meant was that whenever a cancellation fee is collected from the rider, it's paid out to the driver minus the fees etc. I've never seen an instance where a rider was charged a cancellation fee and the driver got none of it.
> 
> Also active drivers cannot become CSRs and current CSRs cannot become drivers, Uber doesn't allow it. Having experience driving doesn't change the policies and procedures we have to follow so I'm not entirely sure how that would benefit anyone.


There is a reason uber does not allow csr's to drive, and we all know why.


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## poopy (Jun 28, 2015)

Uber won't let CSRs drive because:

"Yes! I'd be happy to take you to your destination today! ... I'm so sorry for this bad traffic, I know how frustrating that can be! ... Try a hard reset on your phone, it might erase that surge! ... The West side is off the charts! Have a free cold bottle of water, and we'll head on over there now!"

See, Uber would have to revamp their whole rating system to include more stars. That's just the kind of upgraded service real trained help would produce.

PS: I'd like some of whatever the meds are, that CT-69 _isn't_ taking.


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## Oh My (Dec 26, 2014)

cybertec69 said:


> Here is nyc all you see is new TLC license plates, pretty much license plates from 2 years ago have disappeared. I spoke to one of my pax, she said 90% of the drivers that have picked her up have been with uber less than 3 month's, and that I have been the most educated driver she has met "and the longest tenured one at that, I do it part time now, until my commercial registration runs out, then I am out".
> I don't sugar coat things, when I see something is wrong with this picture and good hard working people being taken advantage of, it needs to be told, education is key. People like honesty.


I was called a "veteran" by a rider when she learned I had been driving for Uber for 10 months.


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## Zonie (Aug 15, 2015)

Hey folks, I'm a PAX and the support line is shit for us too. I know it is a robot because their responses and reactions to the question do not match the problem. You also have to link to a ride to make a complaint or ask for help at least the first time, then you have the email address.

I had a ride in SFO that we requested an Uber SUV. There were 4 of us, three of us are fat guys. A Kia Soul pops up. I didn't CXL because I thought that would screw the driver, so we jammed in when it arrived. Next time, I'll just play the game and CXL right away so we get what we need. I have you drivers to thank for letting me know that. Anyway the robo helper email uber skynet basically said, oh, your driver took a shitty route, here is $1.5o off the fare. Well, that wasn't the problem, and $1.50 for a business ride in SFO where we didn't give a shit was just plain stupid. 

My complaint was that a Kia Soul is not an SUV, I gave less of a shit that the driver took a left turn on a busier street than he had to. 

We had more room in the Nissan Sentra that picked us up from the airport.


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## poopy (Jun 28, 2015)

Next time,

Try addressing the CSR in Tagalog.

Uber evolves with only its customers in mind... why?
Because they can.


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## Oh My (Dec 26, 2014)

Zonie said:


> Hey folks, I'm a PAX and the support line is shit for us too. I know it is a robot because their responses and reactions to the question do not match the problem. You also have to link to a ride to make a complaint or ask for help at least the first time, then you have the email address.
> 
> I had a ride in SFO that we requested an Uber SUV. There were 4 of us, three of us are fat guys. A Kia Soul pops up. I didn't CXL because I thought that would screw the driver, so we jammed in when it arrived. Next time, I'll just play the game and CXL right away so we get what we need. I have you drivers to thank for letting me know that. Anyway the robo helper email uber skynet basically said, oh, your driver took a shitty route, here is $1.5o off the fare. Well, that wasn't the problem, and $1.50 for a business ride in SFO where we didn't give a shit was just plain stupid.
> 
> ...


The "busier street" stuff just happens. It's part of life. If you had a preferred route let the driver know upfront. But you didn't know either, obviously.

For the record, I never, ever had a rider give me praise for NOT taking the "busy street" when I knew it was always busy.


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## Zonie (Aug 15, 2015)

You missed the point. I didn't notice or care that the ride was less efficient. Uber Skynet told me that and gave me a discount that I didn't ask for. I just wanted to tell them that a Kia Soul is NOT A ****ING SUV, Unless you're a ****ing hamster...

The canned responses come our way too.


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## Emp9 (Apr 9, 2015)

Oh My said:


> The "busier street" stuff just happens. It's part of life. If you had a preferred route let the driver know upfront. But you didn't know either, obviously.
> 
> For the record, I never, ever had a rider give me praise for NOT taking the "busy street" when I knew it was always busy.


 quiet the opposite i had a pos pax complain to edit my route, for helping them avoid a packed street. so now i just ask or i go the route even if packed.


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## poopy (Jun 28, 2015)

Lol.


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## Desperado (Aug 25, 2015)

Renaldow said:


> 1. I'm happy and it works for me. Apparently there are a lot of negative people who don't realize that if there's something they hate doing, then they should stop doing it and do something else.
> 
> 2. I've only had positive experiences with them.
> 
> 3. Again, I think its the people who can't be happy about anything that complain about this.


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## cybertec69 (Jul 23, 2014)

^It's people that have a brain between their ears.


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## Desperado (Aug 25, 2015)

Wow, what a ridiculously strange thing to say = if an Uber driver has a complaint, (s)he can't be happy about anything. You must be ignorant or an Uber agent.

PS: You had better find something else to do. Uber is on the way out here and that is for sure.


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## Desperado (Aug 25, 2015)

Former Uber CSR said:


> Ok, so I posted a thread letting everyone know that I just quit my position as a CSR agent yesterday and asked if anyone wanted to ask me any questions. I tried my best to answer all questions, and now I have a few....
> 
> 1. If you are not happy with Uber, why do you continue to driver for them? ( I promise I am not trying to sound rude when I ask this, I honesty just want to know. As I stated in my other thread, I've been lurking here for about a year now and I've always wondered why people driver for Uber if they hate is so much. So if you have a smart ass answer, just keep it to yourself lol)
> 
> ...


Your response is ignorant. People stay in the job they're in because they have no viable options. That does not give the employer (or person with whom they have a contractual relationship) the right to abuse them. 99.9% of the companies in the world have real people with whom their customers/employees/contractors can pick up the phone and talk to.

Uber thinks so little of its employees/independent contractors,drivers ect that it refuses to even talk to them

As to the email agents, all of the ones that I have dealt with were poorly trained and intellectually incapable of answering a "2nd tier" question .....except one and he was pretty good


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## thehappytypist (Oct 9, 2014)

cybertec69 said:


> There is a reason uber does not allow csr's to drive, and we all know why.


Mainly because we'd have access to our own driver account and the ability to pay ourselves as much money as we want as well as affecting tons of other things - a CSR could completely wreck shit if they had their own driver account. We'd get caught, of course, but it's a mess they don't want to have to deal with.


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## thehappytypist (Oct 9, 2014)

Zonie said:


> You missed the point. I didn't notice or care that the ride was less efficient. Uber Skynet told me that and gave me a discount that I didn't ask for. I just wanted to tell them that a Kia Soul is NOT A ****ING SUV, Unless you're a ****ing hamster...
> 
> The canned responses come our way too.


I'd have to agree with you. Just going off the pictures, that thing should be XL at most. Not SUV. It's not quite in the same league as an Escalade or Yukon.


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## UberHammer (Dec 5, 2014)

thehappytypist said:


> I'd have to agree with you. Just going off the pictures, that thing should be XL at most. Not SUV. It's not quite in the same league as an Escalade or Yukon.


What?!?!

A Kia Soul is a subcompact. It barely qualifies for UberX, as getting 3 riders in the back seat requires a lot of cuddling.


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## thehappytypist (Oct 9, 2014)

UberHammer said:


> What?!?!
> 
> A Kia Soul is a subcompact. It barely qualifies for UberX, as getting 3 riders in the back seat requires a lot of cuddling.


Well I only had pictures to go off of lol It would have to have third row seating...not sure where that would go, really. I've been seeing a lot of vehicle mis-classification lately.


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## Zonie (Aug 15, 2015)

UberHammer said:


> What?!?!
> 
> A Kia Soul is a subcompact. It barely qualifies for UberX, as getting 3 riders in the back seat requires a lot of cuddling.


Cuddling? Oh, that's what you call three guys in the back seat? LOL.

A Soul is a little shitbox and it doesn't even get that great gas mileage. I have rented a few...


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## Former Uber CSR (Aug 18, 2015)

thanks for all the responses


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