# Letter to Uber



## Woody Mornings (Aug 15, 2014)

Hi all

I've quickly put together a letter to Uber for your consideration. Please add, edit, comment etc. Once we have a consensus on the quality of the letter I would like to encourage everyone to copy and paste it to support.

If we all send this out weekly, we can/will effect change.


Again…….please add your thoughts, demands etc and lets get a nice draft that we can all send.


Thanks for reading...


Dear Uber,



I am writing today to voice my displeasure in the ongoing rate cuts that have been implemented this year. I hope that the decision makers realize that one can't survive at these rates when one factors in the true cost of ownership for operating a vehicle. The average cost to operate factored by the IRS is $0.56 per mile. Uber LA takes $0.22 per mile leaving only $0.32 per mile as pretax profit ($1.10-0.56-0.22=0.32). Uber says demand is rising. Maybe so, but so is the number of drivers. I've only seen my income drop and my time on the road go up. All of this plus Uber encourages riders not to tip. Once drivers start doing the math one realizes that it is not worth it to drive for Uber at these rates.


How long will these rates stay so low? Please encourage tipping within the app. Please limit the amount of drivers on the road.




Could you please pass this along to upper management?


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## Worcester Sauce (Aug 20, 2014)

Woody Mornings said:


> Hi all
> 
> I've quickly put together a letter to Uber for your consideration. Please add, edit, comment etc. Once we have a consensus on the quality of the letter I would like to encourage everyone to copy and paste it to support.
> 
> ...


I don't mean to sound like a fatalist.....but - "FAIL" -. You MUST realize that it is in UBER's best interest to continue to increase driver population in ALL markets. Similarly, Uber will never raise rates (except by using the surge strategy). Uber can lower rates and increase the number of drivers with a net positive effect on Uber's profitability...while at the same time, driving a stake into the heart of it's competition. It is a brilliant and sound business strategy. As for the tip within the app....possible, but highly doubtful for the same reason....it does not benefit the business plan of Uber.


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## UberOrlDriver (Sep 3, 2014)

I'd be more than happy to send a letter like this weekly to my sector (Orlando), but hell if I know the mileage, profit percentage etc.
All I know after 2 weeks is that it's cost me more to drive than I've made.


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## Woody Mornings (Aug 15, 2014)

Fatalist indeed…….In the time it took to write your response, you could have copied and pasted (or wrote your own letter) to customer support. Also, by that rationale, they would've never allowed the app to be downloaded onto personal phones…….They claimed they didn't make money on the device fee but we all know that not to be true. Point being……people complained about device fees and change was enacted.


When all the pee ons come together, Uber will listen.


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## Woody Mornings (Aug 15, 2014)

UberOrlDriver said:


> I'd be more than happy to send a letter like this weekly to my sector (Orlando), but hell if I know the mileage, profit percentage etc.
> All I know after 2 weeks is that it's cost me more to drive than I've made.


Feel free to send whatever you like&#8230;&#8230;just send it, and send it often! I was just thinking that if we all send the same letter it will show more of a united front.


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## skccvb (Jul 27, 2014)

Until you understand that we- drivers- are EXPENDABLE BOTS- in the Uber equation, you will experience nothing but futility, anxiety, and disappointment...


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## Woody Mornings (Aug 15, 2014)

skccvb said:


> Until you understand that we- drivers- are EXPENDABLE BOTS- in the Uber equation, you will experience nothing but futility, anxiety, and disappointment...


Believe me I understand&#8230;..but if we can take the time to gripe on these boards, I'm sure we can take the time to copy and paste a simple email. No?


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## rtaatl (Jul 3, 2014)

I hear what Worcester Sauce is saying and it makes perfect sense. Yet the ultimate flaw in Uber's thinking is that drivers are robots. And we simply arent...who's going to be sitting all day waiting to gross maybe $50 a day after complete saturation...I'll wait, Nobody. Drivers who go out with the intent on driving are planning on making some sort of profit...they're doing it part time with a job mentality. To have the everyday person with an Uber phone waiting on a ping is going to be seen as an inconvenience which is why this business model will never work. You would need to have drivers for hire to do a "job", not the average person getting as an annoyance from time to time. Epic Fail in my book.


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## UberLuxbod (Sep 2, 2014)

If you are so unhappy at Uber then why work or partner with them.

Go and build your own client base.

Charge what you think is fair.


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## Woody Mornings (Aug 15, 2014)

Thanks Lux……I'd rather rally the troops and effect change!


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## UberLuxbod (Sep 2, 2014)

Woody Mornings said:


> Thanks Lux&#8230;&#8230;I'd rather rally the troops and effect change!


You crack on.

You are wasting your time.

But as long as you feel you are making a difference.


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## vcUber (Aug 3, 2014)

Don't let anyone here discourage you. I get what you are trying to do and I salute you and trying to rally the troops and make a difference. Maybe sending
letters and public protest will make a difference. Let see if others will support you (us) in this. Keep it up.


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## Woody Mornings (Aug 15, 2014)

Thanks vc!

and thanks again lux for being concerned about my time.


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## Worcester Sauce (Aug 20, 2014)

skccvb said:


> Until you understand that we- drivers- are EXPENDABLE BOTS- in the Uber equation, you will experience nothing but futility, anxiety, and disappointment...





Woody Mornings said:


> Fatalist indeed&#8230;&#8230;.In the time it took to write your response, you could have copied and pasted (or wrote your own letter) to customer support. Also, by that rationale, they would've never allowed the app to be downloaded onto personal phones&#8230;&#8230;.They claimed they didn't make money on the device fee but we all know that not to be true. Point being&#8230;&#8230;people complained about device fees and change was enacted.
> 
> When all the pee ons come together, Uber will listen.





Woody Mornings said:


> Fatalist indeed&#8230;&#8230;.In the time it took to write your response, you could have copied and pasted (or wrote your own letter) to customer support. Also, by that rationale, they would've never allowed the app to be downloaded onto personal phones&#8230;&#8230;.They claimed they didn't make money on the device fee but we all know that not to be true. Point being&#8230;&#8230;people complained about device fees and change was enacted.
> 
> When all the pee ons come together, Uber will listen.


I have heartily endorsed a tip for the app on this forum because I believe that it is achievable. I also believe that it could be presented to Uber and perceived by Uber as a rational and reasonable accommodation. Presenting "demands" (as you call them) to Uber for them to alter THEIR rate policy and driver hiring practices is a waste of focused energy. Pick a winnable battle and "fight" it with logic and realistic expectations. "Fight it in a manner that also won't get you laughed at all the way through the deactivation process. This enterprise is not a democracy. It is a business.

Oh, and by the way....the app one's personal phone is NOT a result of any "push back" from the $10 weekly fee. It is step toward implementing an even newer app that is in the pipe-line (which could not be retro fitted to the old devises which are now used by many/most drivers).

I would be happy to lend my full-throated support to any effort that reasonable expectations of success. Rate and driver hiring limits are not among them. But good luck and you deserve credit for your zeal and energy.


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## UberDC (Jul 12, 2014)

Woody Mornings said:


> Hi all
> 
> I've quickly put together a letter to Uber for your consideration. Please add, edit, comment etc. Once we have a consensus on the quality of the letter I would like to encourage everyone to copy and paste it to support.
> 
> ...


I've already written a letter addressing all these issues. See my thread labeled Phone call from DC manager for his response.


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## Woody Mornings (Aug 15, 2014)

Thank you Sauce. As stated, I am looking for comments, edits, etc

Let's get our thoughts organized on paper (cyberspace as it were) and send out a final draft en masse.


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## Woody Mornings (Aug 15, 2014)

UberDC said:


> I've already written a letter addressing all these issues. See my thread labeled Phone call from DC manager for his response.


Very good! Let's get the whole board to do so if they are unhappy with rates.


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## Woody Mornings (Aug 15, 2014)

Complaining here does nothing……If one is going to complain on a forum, that energy could easily be applied to a mass email effort.


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

UberLuxbod said:


> If you are so unhappy at Uber then why work or partner with them.
> 
> Go and build your own client base.
> 
> Charge what you think is fair.


Thank you for that unique insight. 
Hmm! How come no one on this forum had ever thought that before and posted his wisdom on these pages. Thank you @UberLuxbod


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## UberDC (Jul 12, 2014)

Woody Mornings said:


> Complaining here does nothing&#8230;&#8230;If one is going to complain on a forum, that energy could easily be applied to a mass email effort.


He admitted that they read this board but don't think for a second that they really care.


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## UberPissed (Aug 13, 2014)

Love the effort, but a waste of time. For a few reasons, some mentioned here, but the most prevalent - you will never reach CRITICAL MASS. Any propoosed strike, boycott, letter, will fall on deaf ears. How many uber drivers are there? How many read the forum? even if 10% did, which is laughable, it doesn't even show up on their radar.

We are clearly over matched. Its like boxing someone we can't beat. Best we can do is just dodge and duck, absorb the hits.... we'll never win, but we may make it 12 rounds. 

The forum is simply an outlet to yell at strangers in a playful way.


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## Mark Hughes (Sep 1, 2014)

Perhaps a good idea would be to post a poll on one of those free polling sites, and allow people to add more items. This way we see which items are the hottest buttons with drivers and will garner the most support.

I personally was not into tipping when i thought of cash tipping, because that goes against the whole cashless core business model of uber. But the idea to put it in the app, okay possible. Not my top pick though.

My top picks for improvement:
- higher minimum fare, i'm sick of rides under $10, especially the $4 min in LA, but one could do some research on cab company minimum fares in each city and propose a higher minimum than uber current min, and still undercut cabs.
- rates have to be higher, since aug 21 rate cut in LA my income is down 30% on weekly basis. getting a lot of very low fare rides, hate it.

There will be probably large numbers of drivers quitting due to recent cuts, and this will cut uber's income as well. This might be the only thing that will move them.

I applaud the idea of a letter, but don't bother sending to anyone but upper management. I've given rides to customer service peeps, and many of them are outsourced to cust svc firms, not uber employees.

I imagine uber management only goes by statistics and will only respond when their income goes down and drivers quit.

You could try the letters. After that probably only an organized strike would work. Take off a day in unison here and there.

I don't like labor unions, not suggesting that type thing, but just us drivers showing that we're serious. Of course we'd be cutting our own income, but it could be worth trying before quitting uber altogether.


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## ubrad (Jul 28, 2014)

Uber is a business. They're not a friend, a counselor, a relative, or anyone else who gives a rat's *ss how you FEEL about rates. Get it out of your head that Uber management will respond to letters, pleas, requests, or threats. They respond to one thing only: whether there are enough drivers on the road. This means, as a driver, your SOLE and ONLY recourse if you do not like Uber's wages is to stop driving.

I encourage everyone here to consider only the bottom line: is what Uber's offering enough for you? If so, keep driving; if not, turn in your phone. But don't delude yourself that writing a letter will accomplish one whit of good.


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## whoisjohngalt (Sep 4, 2014)

There is only one real way to affect change. Stop driving.

It's simple supply and demand. Supply is massively over-saturated. Complaining has never changed the laws of economics.


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## Musiccitypro (Aug 29, 2014)

I sent a message to local support yesterday to find out what I needed to do to turn the phone in. I already knew no one at Uber gives a s*** about drivers, but I figured a 4.94 driver rating would at least get a comment like " sorry to see you go" or something similar. Nope. Within 20 minutes an impersonal form letter with return instructions. As long as there are drivers lining up to give it a try, Uber has no worries. Their problems will come when they have used and discarded a massive amount of drivers. Who knows when that will be. But it WILL be. I'm starting to think Uber has ditched whatever their grand master plan may have been at one time. I think the new way they are looking at the business is similar to how pyramid schemes are set up. Get in early, milk everyone else dry, retire to Aruba. If they have long range plans for maintaining a viable business, it is way beyond my comprehension ( which is entirely possible lol).


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## whoisjohngalt (Sep 4, 2014)

Musiccitypro said:


> I sent a message to local support yesterday to find out what I needed to do to turn the phone in. I already knew no one at Uber gives a s*** about drivers, but I figured a 4.94 driver rating would at least get a comment like " sorry to see you go" or something similar. Nope. Within 20 minutes an impersonal form letter with return instructions. As long as there are drivers lining up to give it a try, Uber has no worries. Their problems will come when they have used and discarded a massive amount of drivers. Who knows when that will be. But it WILL be. I'm starting to think Uber has ditched whatever their grand master plan may have been at one time. I think the new way they are looking at the business is similar to how pyramid schemes are set up. Get in early, milk everyone else dry, retire to Aruba. If they have long range plans for maintaining a viable business, it is way beyond my comprehension ( which is entirely possible lol).


So long as they have a nearly infinite supply, prices will remain low. Btw, drivers aren't the supply; they are the labor. The supply is rides. Right now, they are hoping to push cabbies and Lyft out of business. Only once the lack of rides starts to impact their demand or at least the demand starts to noticeably outweigh the supply, will any changes be seen. It's an unfortunate reality.

Drivers have to start quitting or at least restrict their hours severely. The problem I foresee is that cab drivers who are being driven out of business will and already are just switching to Uber. They've been driving their whole lives and have no other prospects so good luck getting them to quit. The median wage for a cabbie (this study was Chicago I believe) was anet income of $12 or $13/hr. Something like 20% were driving at or near a loss. That and they are used to driving insane hours.

I'm sad I'm going to have to quit after only a couple months, but as I said before the laws of economics bow down to no man.


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## Musiccitypro (Aug 29, 2014)

whoisjohngalt said:


> So long as they have a nearly infinite supply, prices will remain low. Btw, drivers aren't the supply; they are the labor. The supply is rides. Right now, they are hoping to push cabbies and Lyft out of business. Only once the lack of rides starts to impact their demand or at least the demand starts to noticeably outweigh the supply, will any changes be seen. It's an unfortunate reality.
> 
> Drivers have to start quitting or at least restrict their hours severely. The problem I foresee is that cab drivers who are being driven out of business will and already are just switching to Uber. They've been driving their whole lives and have no other prospects so good luck getting them to quit. The median wage for a cabbie (this study was Chicago I believe) was anet income of $12 or $13/hr. Something like 20% were driving at or near a loss. That and they are used to driving insane hours.
> 
> I'm sad I'm going to have to quit after only a couple months, but as I said before the laws of economics bow down to no man.


You're right, it is unfortunate that it is no longer feasible to do it. I truly enjoyed it. I guess I'm just fortunate not to be in a desperate enough situation that I feel forced to continue down this path.


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## DriverJ (Sep 1, 2014)

UberPissed said:


> Love the effort, but a waste of time. For a few reasons, some mentioned here, but the most prevalent - you will never reach CRITICAL MASS. Any propoosed strike, boycott, letter, will fall on deaf ears. How many uber drivers are there? How many read the forum? even if 10% did, which is laughable, it doesn't even show up on their radar.
> 
> We are clearly over matched. Its like boxing someone we can't beat. Best we can do is just dodge and duck, absorb the hits.... we'll never win, but we may make it 12 rounds.
> 
> The forum is simply an outlet to yell at strangers in a playful way.


How right you are. It's just so frustrating to see what this could *REALLY* be, but watching Uber making it into what it is becoming. Even if they had to lose, if you will, a small bit of their profits to drivers now, I truly believe it would pay off many times over in the long run. Also, how much effort and common sense would it take to implement a fair ratings system? I just don't understand. The same complaints that you see over and over happen for a reason. Diver complaints, turnover, etc. will start to be known, and that hurts any company, at least somewhat, in the public eye. Of course I'm not worth 18 billion dollars, so I'm the idiot.


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## Albert Stan (Aug 31, 2014)

You should not write to Uber. We should let the public know about how Uber does its business with drivers. Bad PR will eventually catch up and have them pay the price.



Woody Mornings said:


> Hi all
> 
> I've quickly put together a letter to Uber for your consideration. Please add, edit, comment etc. Once we have a consensus on the quality of the letter I would like to encourage everyone to copy and paste it to support.
> 
> ...


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## Daniel4162 (Sep 6, 2014)

This is the email I sent to Uber regarding the fare cuts. I encourage all drivers to email them and voice your opinion.

Dear Uber,I would just like to voice my concern about some issues I'm having as a driver with the recent 20% fare cuts. I have been an Uber driver for the past few months. I used to be a Yellow Cab driver in the LA area for many years. I made the switch to be an Uber driver because of all the fantastic comments I heard from friends who had made the switch to Uber. I heard that Uber is a great company to work for with competitive wages and great customer service and partner care.The first few months I worked for Uber was great. I was making enough money to maintain my car and to be able to afford my cost of living. The recent 20% fare cuts have significantly impacted my income and my fellow drivers' income. I hope you realize that with the price you're charging the riders, the drivers have been hit really really hard. It's simply not enough income considering the high demands of our economy today. Gas prices and the price of vehicle maintenance are so high right now. Not to mention the cost of living is also very high. It just doesn't make sense to be charging rider $1.10/mile. Uber is expanding, and more and more riders choose Uber each day. A 20% cut doesn't affect the riders as much as it impacts driver income. 
Not to mention, Uber doesn't provide an option for riders to tip the drivers. I can't tell you how many riders have asked me if there's an option to tip me using the Uber App. It seems like the riders value us riders much more than the management at Uber do. As a driver, I am feeling used and mistreated by Uber. Driving through the LA traffic is not an easy job, and it's very unfair to be compensated with such low wages for the type of work we do. For many, including myself, being a driver for Uber is our only job.
How long will you keep the fare price so low? Will there be a change soon? Personally, I can't continue to be an Uber partner if the situation doesn't change fast because I am really struggling with the recent changes.


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

https://uberpeople.net/threads/hey-uber-continue-to-closely-monitor-my-earnings.2345/


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