An Uber Update – Escape From Manhattan
On Tuesday, I shared my tale from the weekend about having Uber charge me 25% above the top of the fare quote range largely due to our driver taking us to the wrong destination first.
Yesterday, I took a new extra step when booking – I captured a screenshot of the fare quote at the time I was reserving.
That was, in hindsight, a great idea. Why? Because my driver got pulled over on a moving violation before we made it out of Manhattan (for blocking the intersection) but the police officer was delayed in giving the citation because she had to assist her partner who was dealing with an irate woman who refused to move her vehicle.
My end fare looked like this:
Again (ironically?) about 25% higher than the top of the quoted range.
I gave feedback to Uber (again) when I rated the ride and this time they rebated the $15 over the top end of the quote.
Now THAT is the kind of service that I’ve come to expect from Uber – responsive to the situation and fair in making pricing adjustments for unusual circumstances within the scope of control (such as driver error).
It’s important to keep in mind that strange things happen on travel constantly. And when they do, Uber usually stands behind their service. They also can track both the route and timing of an entire journey so if you believe there has been an unusual occurrence, let them know.
So what lessons have we learned this week?
- Do not rely on the app to transmit destination data to the driver – or for the driver to know exactly how to get there if he/she is not using a GPS. Follow along in Maps or confirm specific instructions as best you can.
- Take a screenshot of your original fare quote. You may need it later.
- Don’t hesitate to report anything unusual to Uber after the ride had been completed.
I’ll be using Uber again with the week. Meanwhile, if you have yet to try Uber, feel free to use this special promotion code to get $30 off your first ride – 2jtm6 – (disclaimer: I also receive referral credits with this code)
I’ve used Uber-Xtwice to go from my home in Far North Dallas to Love Field. Both times, we used the same route down the Dallas North Tollway. This is a road with electronic tolling, with gantries that all lanes cross, plus tolls at on and off ramps in between the main gantries. My receipts shows that Uber incorrectly charged me for every toll on the ramps we went passed, even though we didn’t enter or exit. It did this both times, so it wasn’t a one-time GPS glitch but rather a flaw in how the toll calculations are programmed on that route.
I emailed Uber customer service, and they promptly issued a credit. But they blamed the GPS, and showed no interest in fixing the issue. As many trips as they must do on that tollway, I’m sure it’s a lot of extra overcharges for folks who don’t look at the receipt carefully.