# Why doesn't word of mouth stop new people from becoming an Uber Partner?



## Sal29 (Jul 27, 2014)

Word of mouth can be very damaging.
Plasma Televisions are an example of a superior product vs LCD and LED TVs that was destroyed by word of mouth.
Earlier Plasmas were susceptible to image retention and pixel burn in.
Eventually pixel orbitter, pixel shifter, white wash and other technologies were introduced to reduce the risk of pixel burn in. 
It was too late though because every TV buyers had heard from a friend, relative, etc about how Plasmas get burned in and that you should never buy one and that they create heat, have screen glare in sunny rooms, dimmer in sunny rooms, use more electricity, are heavy, etc.
The fact that Plasma Tvs like the legendary Pioneer Kuro Elite, Panasonic ZT60, and Samsung 8500 had far better picture quality than any 1080P LCD or LED television ever made(because of superior black levels, lack of motion blur, more accurate colors, and uniform brightness from pixel to pixel)according to all the experts, videophiles, and Best Buy salesmen was not enough to overcome the word of mouth of the TV buyers.
Basically, why isn't word of mouth that Uber is a scam and that Uber partners are lucky to make minimum wage after expenses not stopping new drivers from joining Uber?
BTW, Plasma TVs were eventually surpassed by 4k OLED Tvs by LG and Panasonic(available in Europe only).


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

Look !
An Uber kitten eating Uber ice cream !

Be your own boss !

Make life changing money !

Turn your car into a money making machine.


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## I_Like_Spam (May 10, 2015)

Sal29 said:


> Basically, why isn't word of mouth that Uber is a scam and that Uber partners are lucky to make minimum wage after expenses not stopping new drivers from joining Uber?


It could be, if there was actually a decent amount of word of mouth.

But the facts are that a lot of partners quit pretty quickly when they see how little they are making, and attribute it to the idea they just don't have the right stuff instead of problems with the system. Others haven't been around long enough to actually see how ubering is reducing the value of their rides and don't realize how little they are making. And of course, its human nature not to admit your mistakes.


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## andaas (May 19, 2015)

The nail in the coffin for plasma TV's were the LED (backlit) LCD TV's. Many people had been hearing the buzz about OLED, and then all of these "LED" TV's come out - the consumers thought they were buying the next big thing - all they were buying was a new light source.

I love my Panasonic plasma, and it will be replaced with an OLED someday (but no rush because it still looks and works perfectly).


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## gofry (Oct 20, 2015)

I_Like_Spam said:


> And of course, its human nature not to admit your mistakes.


Interesting question. I agree with I_Like_Spam. People like to brag about their successes (like bragging about what a good deal they got on something) but few of us want to admit a stupid decision or poor performance. In fact, I think simply admitting that you drove for Uber is kind of degrading in and of itself.

For now, Uber's slick advertising and hip brand trumps the disgruntled gossip.


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## andaas (May 19, 2015)

gofry said:


> For now, Uber's slick advertising and hip brand trumps the disgruntled gossip.


Uber has a very good PR machine that emphasizes the (supposed) benefits of the service, of drivers "turning on the app and earning $400", creating jobs, etc. Most new drivers only see the positive and don't research the potential negative before starting, not to mention, much of the driver advertising targets lower income demographics, who also may not pay attention to the "bad" reports.

The same PR machine spins Uber's oversaturation of drivers as "creating jobs for people" and "fixing the traffic problem by removing cars from the road". However, as reports are starting to show, Uber is simply replacing their customer's cars with UberX cars... "ridesharing" only occurs in the handful of markets that have UberPool - and the majority of drivers hate taking those rides.


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## tb1984 (Jul 24, 2015)

Sal29 said:


> Word of mouth can be very damaging.
> Plasma Televisions are an example of a superior product vs LCD and LED TVs that was destroyed by word of mouth.
> Earlier Plasmas were susceptible to image retention and pixel burn in.
> Eventually pixel orbitter, pixel shifter, white wash and other technologies were introduced to reduce the risk of pixel burn in.
> ...


Have you heard of free money? Free money can get people to do anything, I mean literally anything. That's what Uber does, give money for referrals, bonus for completing first 50 rides...


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## Gung-Ho (Jun 2, 2015)

Are we talking about t.v.'s or uber? I'm confused.

Then again why do people still smoke cigarettes knowing the health issues? 
Answer: Because they're stupid.


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## agtg (Jun 8, 2016)

If you do a youtube search for Uber, you will come up with a bunch of viral marketing videos of people pretending to make a ton of cash for Uber. That's the word of mouth they believe because they aren't doing the research.


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

gofry said:


> Interesting question. I agree with I_Like_Spam. People like to brag about their successes (like bragging about what a good deal they got on something) but few of us want to admit a stupid decision or poor performance. In fact, I think simply admitting that you drove for Uber is kind of degrading in and of itself.
> 
> For now, Uber's slick advertising and hip brand trumps the disgruntled gossip.


Well known phenomenon.
Even happen to have a ' meme' for it.


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## Ubernic (Apr 24, 2016)

I think the problem is, not everyone has the same story. People in good markets who drive intelligently make plenty of money. Other people sit all day and drive non surge hours barely making ends meet, others go bust. There isn't much guidance with Uber, you just turn on the app and go at your own discretion. Personally I am profiting from Uber, and I greatly enjoy it, so I continue to do it. I know other people who stopped because there just wasn't enough surge to make it worth it for them. Uber isn't a "scam", some of you guys get way too extreme with all this. 

It's like saying "construction is a scam", no, it isn't, but "thousands of construction workers go out of work and barely make ends meet yet they advertsie $20/hr on their want ads". Well, yea, because when business is good, construction workers make bank, but when there is no work, the economy gets bad, new developments dry up in certain regions, the work dissipates and those same contractors now make very little or nothing at all. I think the main thing here, is you guys don't get that this is the life of a independent contractor, you signed up to be one, that's what Uber is. I know there are blurry areas where Uber wants us to behave like emplpyess but not call us employees, but at the end of the day, we are still independent contractors, and it is up to us to make our own money. If we can't make money, we either move markets or change jobs, that's just how it is.


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## Tequila Jake (Jan 28, 2016)

One of the problems is too many people consider celebrity advertising as word of mouth. A celebrity getting paid to read a commercial obviously knows more than your next door neighbor who actually drove for a couple of months.

I think another aspect is most people who drive aren't that unhappy. They're not looking to make a living at it. They're happy making a few hundred bucks a month working part time. Rideshare IS a great gig if that's your goal. It is a great gig if you just want some fun money for a vacation on the side. 

One of the reasons is that for these short-term goals, you don't have to be as careful of the long-term expenses. You fill up with gasoline, change the oil every so often, and probably quit before the tires wear out.

If you want to make a business profit and save money over the long term, it's not great but it's not too bad either. If you want to make a living as your primary occupation, you have to work really hard at it to be successful, but I'm sure it's possible.


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

Ubernic said:


> I think the problem is, not everyone has the same story. People in good markets who drive intelligently make plenty of money. Other people sit all day and drive non surge hours barely making ends meet, others go bust. There isn't much guidance with Uber, you just turn on the app and go at your own discretion. Personally I am profiting from Uber, and I greatly enjoy it, so I continue to do it. I know other people who stopped because there just wasn't enough surge to make it worth it for them. Uber isn't a "scam", some of you guys get way too extreme with all this.
> 
> It's like saying "construction is a scam", no, it isn't, but "thousands of construction workers go out of work and barely make ends meet yet they advertsie $20/hr on their want ads". Well, yea, because when business is good, construction workers make bank, but when there is no work, the economy gets bad, new developments dry up in certain regions, the work dissipates and those same contractors now make very little or nothing at all. I think the main thing here, is you guys don't get that this is the life of a independent contractor, you signed up to be one, that's what Uber is. I know there are blurry areas where Uber wants us to behave like emplpyess but not call us employees, but at the end of the day, we are still independent contractors, and it is up to us to make our own money. If we can't make money, we either move markets or change jobs, that's just how it is.


Stick around.
Uber will flood your market by onboarding of drivers.

They need the sustainability data via this experimentation with your profits.

So they know how many Robot cars they should dispatch when you are rendered obsolete.


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## uberdriverfornow (Jan 10, 2016)

It's because of the bonus' that Uber is throwing at the new drivers.


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## SEAL Team 5 (Dec 19, 2015)

Sal29 said:


> Word of mouth can be very damaging.
> Plasma Televisions are an example of a superior product vs LCD and LED TVs that was destroyed by word of mouth.
> Earlier Plasmas were susceptible to image retention and pixel burn in.
> Eventually pixel orbitter, pixel shifter, white wash and other technologies were introduced to reduce the risk of pixel burn in.
> ...


Because of the theory you can tell a kid a thousand times it's very hot, but they still touch it. I personally call it "the kick me dog syndrome". You keep kicking that little yapping mutt away from you, but the dog keeps coming back for more. It's human nature that people have to learn things the hard way. And sometimes a very hard way when your driving for Uber involves insurance claims and traffic citations.


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## Papa Sarducci (Jun 20, 2016)

Because the biggest mouth wins, and Uber has a very very big mouth.


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## Tombstone (Jun 17, 2016)

I do fairly well driving for uber part time. I only drive Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. I drive a $3000 dollar Toyota Yaris. Driving doesn't cost me anything, it's almost all profit. I have the same insurance I had before, the value of the car isn't going down much as it's at it's bottom already. I make $100 bucks in 3 or 4 hours and I'm happy.


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## shiftydrake (Dec 12, 2015)

Hope you don't get into accident.......and get charged with insurance fraud..........driving commercially and not having commercial insurance...........insurance company drops you and everybody comes after you.......good luck


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## madbrain (Jul 16, 2016)

Sal29 said:


> Word of mouth can be very damaging.
> Plasma Televisions are an example of a superior product vs LCD and LED TVs that was destroyed by word of mouth.


It is not only the word of mouth that killed Plamas - there were other reasons, such as the fact that they are terribly power inefficient. A large plasma can double as a heater. They may indeed have had better picture, but they were an evolutionary step, IMO.

Not sure the analogy works with Uber - almost everyone buys a TV at some point, but only a small minority will ever consider driving. As long as Uber gets funded by VCs and continues to pay referrals to new drivers, I suspect they won't care about their bad reputation. Eventually, their churn will exceed their new signups, and I suspect their funding will vanish.


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## Illinoisdriver (Jul 20, 2016)

Sal29 said:


> Word of mouth can be very damaging.
> Plasma Televisions are an example of a superior product vs LCD and LED TVs that was destroyed by word of mouth.
> Earlier Plasmas were susceptible to image retention and pixel burn in.
> Eventually pixel orbitter, pixel shifter, white wash and other technologies were introduced to reduce the risk of pixel burn in.
> ...


Bottom line Uber still attracts even with all the negatives because people are desperate for money. It's easy to sign up, no skills, no training, have a car
and a license and go to work. Really it's all people have left for a choice and we all know plenty fail early but you basically just walk away and do something else. I personally see the opportunity as very limited in earnings potential except in a very few places where volume and surge fee's are typical. Seems anyone earning standard fares are not surviving and those who seek out and have more surge fares at least have a viable chance to earn not loose money. It all depends too on your expenses, personal and otherwise. A college kid living in a dorm or a group apartment with minimal expenses might see a Uber driver position as enough to make a little money. Hours are flexible, have a car and license and maybe it's better than pizza delivery. On the other hand probably less attractive with a big SUV, a mortgage, kids, and other bills. Not the career move that wouldn't require a lot of effort to earn enough.


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## UberIsAScam (Mar 9, 2016)

Ubernic said:


> I think the problem is, not everyone has the same story. People in good markets who drive intelligently make plenty of money. Other people sit all day and drive non surge hours barely making ends meet, others go bust. There isn't much guidance with Uber, you just turn on the app and go at your own discretion. Personally I am profiting from Uber, and I greatly enjoy it, so I continue to do it. I know other people who stopped because there just wasn't enough surge to make it worth it for them. Uber isn't a "scam", some of you guys get way too extreme with all this.
> 
> It's like saying "construction is a scam", no, it isn't, but "thousands of construction workers go out of work and barely make ends meet yet they advertsie $20/hr on their want ads". Well, yea, because when business is good, construction workers make bank, but when there is no work, the economy gets bad, new developments dry up in certain regions, the work dissipates and those same contractors now make very little or nothing at all. I think the main thing here, is you guys don't get that this is the life of a independent contractor, you signed up to be one, that's what Uber is. I know there are blurry areas where Uber wants us to behave like emplpyess but not call us employees, but at the end of the day, we are still independent contractors, and it is up to us to make our own money. If we can't make money, we either move markets or change jobs, that's just how it is.


Fuber is most definitely a scam. You're making money? Just wait until Fuber cuts rates again. The rate in Orlando is $.65 a mile / $.11 a minute, before Fuber's cut. Do the math, you simply can't turn a profit from that rate after factoring in fuel and wear/tear on the vehicle. The market is so over saturated with drivers that IF there is a surge, it lasts for a few minutes.

Fuber preys on the poor, unemployed, senior citizens and immigrants that speak little English. Basically, the groups of people that don't really sit down with a calculator to figure out what they are REALLY earning...until their car is trashed.


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## UberIsAScam (Mar 9, 2016)

Put it this way...Have you ever seen a company that spends money advertising on the TV/Radio for employees but NOT customers? It's unheard of. That's because the Fuber business model revolves around a constant flow of incoming drivers to replace the constant revolving door of exiting drivers. If that doesn't scream "scam," I don't know what does.


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## the rebel (Jun 12, 2016)

Uber has 2 things going for it, deep pockets to convince people that they can make $35 an hour, and stories from drivers telling their friends how great it was and how much they make that are now a couple of years old but never updated as the drivers are not bragging about being broke.

I started a few months ago even after hearing the rumors of how bad it was, thinking about the bonus and the stories I heard, after losing my job I tried full time while I found another one, and am still trying to figure out how anybody nets out $15 an hour once you pay for the gas and car washes if you work more than just the bar rush and concert surges.


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## UberIsAScam (Mar 9, 2016)

the rebel said:


> Uber has 2 things going for it, deep pockets to convince people that they can make $35 an hour, and stories from drivers telling their friends how great it was and how much they make that are now a couple of years old but never updated as the drivers are not bragging about being broke.
> 
> I started a few months ago even after hearing the rumors of how bad it was, thinking about the bonus and the stories I heard, after losing my job I tried full time while I found another one, and am still trying to figure out how anybody nets out $15 an hour once you pay for the gas and car washes if you work more than just the bar rush and concert surges.


Many people fail to factor in the true expense of maintaining their vehicle. Insurance, registration, oil changes, tires and the other myriad of expenses that come with owning a car. The IRS allows you to deduct $0.54 per mile to cover these expenses. Let's look at Orlando's pay rate:

$0.65 per mile +$.11 per minute = $.76

MINUS Fuber's cut (let's say you're a new driver, we'll use 25%)

That's $.57 take home pay per mile. Using the IRS deduction, Fuber drivers make a whopping $.03 per mile (and that $.03 will be subject to tax when you file your returns).

Oh, and then there's all of those dead miles spent picking people up.

That leaves you at a LOSS. Hence, Fuber is a scam.

Summary - unless you're driving surge 2x or higher NONSTOP (which is impossible in Orlando) Fuber is not worth you time and not worth trashing your car for. You're better off leaving your car in your driveway and panhandling instead. It will be more profitable.


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## Joe Knob (Oct 7, 2015)

Let me just say, I don't exactly consider sitting on my couch and reading a book while I'm waiting for a ping to be "working". Once I'm out and I have dropped off my first PAX, I usually try to find something to do to kill time in between trips while I'm waiting for the next ping. My favorite places are parks and shopping malls, but I will settle for wandering around the supermarket or doing laps around a parking lot for exercise, or doing stretches. I bring a book with me sometimes. I'm working on not driving as much between rides. You need to reach that level of Zen and learn to be happy, no matter where you are, (unless you are in an obviously bad area) . This is one of the easiest jobs on the planet. I know I wont be doing this forever, and frankly, I rather enjoy the company of many of my PAXs. I'm as friendly and courteous and professional as possible when they are in my car. If they want their phone charged , I can help with that. If they want to listen to their music, go right on ahead, I have an AUX for that. If they want to stop at McDonalds , sure , why not. I make sure to try and brighten the ---- out of their day! In the end , it's not about making $, It's about making people happy. I can't tell you how many times a person stepped into my car in a shitty mood and stepped out of it in a good mood. That is worth more to me than all the $ in this greedy little world. It's KARMA, man! That is why I am UberELITE and can make $500 a week in my sleep, without batting an eye. Learn from the masters, young padawan.

(DISCLAIMER: Uber didn't bribe me to write this reply. Not one bit.....)


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## UberIsAScam (Mar 9, 2016)

Joe Knob said:


> Let me just say, I don't exactly consider sitting on my couch and reading a book while I'm waiting for a ping to be "working". Once I'm out and I have dropped off my first PAX, I usually try to find something to do to kill time in between trips while I'm waiting for the next ping. My favorite places are parks and shopping malls, but I will settle for wandering around the supermarket or doing laps around a parking lot for exercise, or doing stretches. I bring a book with me sometimes. I'm working on not driving as much between rides. You need to reach that level of Zen and learn to be happy, no matter where you are, (unless you are in an obviously bad area) . This is one of the easiest jobs on the planet. I know I wont be doing this forever, and frankly, I rather enjoy the company of many of my PAXs. I'm as friendly and courteous and professional as possible when they are in my car. If they want their phone charged , I can help with that. If they want to listen to their music, go right on ahead, I have an AUX for that. If they want to stop at McDonalds , sure , why not. I make sure to try and brighten the ---- out of their day! In the end , it's not about making $, It's about making people happy. I can't tell you how many times a person stepped into my car in a shitty mood and stepped out of it in a good mood. That is worth more to me than all the $ in this greedy little world. It's KARMA, man! That is why I am UberELITE and can make $500 a week in my sleep, without batting an eye. Learn from the masters, young padawan.
> 
> (DISCLAIMER: Uber didn't bribe me to write this reply. Not one bit.....)


$500 a week in your sleep, eh? Is that $500 in fares, or $500 take-home? Before or after gas? How many miles did you drive (both paid and unpaid) to earn that $500? X, Select, XL or Black? What are the rates in your city?

These things are the details that the common Fuberites don't like to report. Because they actually reflect how much money they "make."


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## the rebel (Jun 12, 2016)

Joe Knob said:


> Let me just say, I don't exactly consider sitting on my couch and reading a book while I'm waiting for a ping to be "working". Once I'm out and I have dropped off my first PAX, I usually try to find something to do to kill time in between trips while I'm waiting for the next ping. My favorite places are parks and shopping malls, but I will settle for wandering around the supermarket or doing laps around a parking lot for exercise, or doing stretches. I bring a book with me sometimes. I'm working on not driving as much between rides. You need to reach that level of Zen and learn to be happy, no matter where you are, (unless you are in an obviously bad area) . This is one of the easiest jobs on the planet. I know I wont be doing this forever, and frankly, I rather enjoy the company of many of my PAXs. I'm as friendly and courteous and professional as possible when they are in my car. If they want their phone charged , I can help with that. If they want to listen to their music, go right on ahead, I have an AUX for that. If they want to stop at McDonalds , sure , why not. I make sure to try and brighten the ---- out of their day! In the end , it's not about making $, It's about making people happy. I can't tell you how many times a person stepped into my car in a shitty mood and stepped out of it in a good mood. That is worth more to me than all the $ in this greedy little world. It's KARMA, man! That is why I am UberELITE and can make $500 a week in my sleep, without batting an eye. Learn from the masters, young padawan.
> 
> (DISCLAIMER: Uber didn't bribe me to write this reply. Not one bit.....)


Sorry but $500 a week gross without disclosing hours worked or costs of operating with bringing in that $500 is meaningless, hell even if you only spend $100 a week in gas and car washes and are working 40 hours a week you are making $10 an hour and that is not even accounting for future repair costs or the added costs of additional data on your phone plan or any other real expense that you will have.

As for easy work, I would love to know where you work, to make $500 a week in Denver gross than you are not sitting around reading or doing jumping jacks in a parking lot, you are driving and driving takes work especially if you are an attentive driver making sure you get where you are going safely.


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## the rebel (Jun 12, 2016)

UberIsAScam said:


> Many people fail to factor in the true expense of maintaining their vehicle. Insurance, registration, oil changes, tires and the other myriad of expenses that come with owning a car. The IRS allows you to deduct $0.54 per mile to cover these expenses. Let's look at Orlando's pay rate:
> 
> $0.65 per mile +$.11 per minute = $.76
> 
> ...


While i agree .65 per mile is way to low and not worth driving, I would not use the IRS deduction as a reasonable cost estimator, you see it is based on what average costs are to drive all vehicles. I much prefer to use Triple AAAs cost breakdown which even comes with a cost tracking spreadsheet that new drivers can use.

I cannot post a link yet but you can do a search for it.

So reality is that real costs if you are driving a small sedan over 20,000 miles a year is going to be around $.37 a miles, meaning you are making $.20 a loaded mile, which if you calculate the dead miles which seems to run 50-100% of loaded miles you are making about $.01 a mile. Even in 2 times surge you are really not making any money $1.14 they take their 25% or $.285 leaving you with $.855 a mile, now take out the actual cost per loaded mile of $.37 and you are at $.485, take 50% for dead miles or $.185 and you are making $.30 a mile, even if you are able to drive 20 loaded miles an hour (realistic only with stacked pings in any kind of traffic situation considering dead miles and time it takes to load and unload passengers) you are only making $6 an hour.


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