Uber

[Stevo985]

10 minutes ago, lapal_fan said:

I know it's bad and that, but if you look at any large company you'll find them all to be complete shits to either their staff, the customers or the tax man. 

This is just today's news and it'll all blow over in a week. 

I know I think it's wrong, but if I can get a cab for a £10 or £19, I'll go for the one which is £10 every time.  I'm sorry Mr cab driver, I'm sorry little kid in Indonesia, I'm sorry high street retailer, I'm sorry Mr Mechanic and every other person in a profession where big companies have **** over the little guy - but I don't earn the corn where I can be high and mighty about feeling guilty not to save myself money. 

I'd rather spend that saved money on my 1 holiday a year, my kid getting clothes or a little toy to make him happy, myself if I'm on a night out or on my wife or anything else which I deem more important.

My experience of Uber is quite positive, I'm sorry to say (I'm not, but I feel as though I'm meant to).  I've used Uber about 8 times in the last 2 years and on each occasion the drivers have seemed happy with the set up compared to their old jobs (taxi driving).  What other evidence do I need?  The staff seem happy (out of fear of bad ratings maybe) and the ride is cheaper - my consciousness doesn't go any deeper than that when all I'm looking to do is get from A to B. 

I also use Amazon, I've been to Starbucks a few times, I use out of town retailers and shop in Primark, rather than the little high street retailers - I'm a complete word removed, but oh well.  I'm not feeling guilty about putting a man into poverty, because I haven't.  And quite frankly, I resent the comments alluding to my limited purchasing power doing just that.  

Sums it up for me.

They're a big, bad corporation. Just like all the other big bad corporations I use every day.

[Wainy316]

Funny how it gets banned in the city with quite possibly the most expensive taxi and subway fares in the world.

[bobzy]

23 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

Sums it up for me.

They're a big, bad corporation. Just like all the other big bad corporations I use every day.

Personally, I think they're different and particularly "bad".  Sort of like Primark.

 

But, hey, they're cheap and trendy and the modern person is generally lazy so there'll be middle class outrage.

[Stevo985]

2 minutes ago, bobzy said:

Personally, I think they're different and particularly "bad".  Sort of like Primark.

 

But, hey, they're cheap and trendy and the modern person is generally lazy so there'll be middle class outrage.

Uber are more than just cheap though. I'd probably use a local taxi service if it was better in any way. In fact when uber first came around in Birmingham I did still primarily use A2B. But then A2B gave me some particularly bad customer service so I vowed not to use them again.

On the whole, other taxi firms are more expensive, less reliable, less convenient, less friendly and less available. 

I get it, Uber are the bad guys. But they do ACTUALLY offer a good service for the customer. I'm sure someone like Bicks will be along to tell me their service is terrible. But I'd wager the vast majority of Uber users would agree with me.

[Davkaus]

I've got to say, I've not had a single issue with them, whereas every other minicab company I've tried in Nottingham are absolute shits. 

If I have to get a taxi somewhere and it's time sensitive, I can call one of the local companies a day in advance to book, then have them not turn up and be "just a couple of minutes away" for half an hour (happened several times, with a few different companies), or I can have an Uber here within a few minutes, which I can track on the phone.

Even the other companies that have apps are crap. One let's you 'book' via their app, but it just goes through to some schmuck to manually book, and if there's nobody paying attention, you think you've booked a taxi and it never turns up. There's only one I know of that lets you track the drivers, and it gets gamed by their staff all the time. Not to mention the hassle of them trying to double charge you once through the app and once in person because "the app payment doesn't work, you have to pay cash".

I'm sure if I lived near Bicks, my taxi woes would be solved, but Uber is hassle free, and other Nottingham taxi companies are run by incompetents, and the drivers are worse. I've never had ab Uber turn up stinking of takeaway while the driver spends the whole journey chatting on the phone. That's routine with the other taxi companies around here.

Edited September 25, 2017 by Davkaus

[tonyh29]

13 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

Uber are more than just cheap though. I'd probably use a local taxi service if it was better in any way. In fact when uber first came around in Birmingham I did still primarily use A2B. But then A2B gave me some particularly bad customer service so I vowed not to use them again.

On the whole, other taxi firms are more expensive, less reliable, less convenient, less friendly and less available. 

I get it, Uber are the bad guys. But they do ACTUALLY offer a good service for the customer. I'm sure someone like Bicks will be along to tell me their service is terrible. But I'd wager the vast majority of Uber users would agree with me.

I've also used Uber in about 8 or 9 other countries , no more of this what the heck will I get charged for this ride to the airport , how the heck do I pronounce this street name  , you don't even need to worry about not having any local currency ... it almost feels like cheating not having to worry about all those trip advisor reviews of dodgy taxi drivers  

 

even got to use the pre-booked Uber in Edingburgh the other week , checked out the hotel , booked the airport cab for 15:00  and went and did a bit of sightseeing with the kids and they sent me a text at 14:50 to say the driver would be there shortly

 

[Wainy316]

If you're worried about the driver's pay, there is now the option to tip them too.

[Davkaus]

The wages thing does make me feel shitty about using them though. The drivers do seem happy enough, but perhaps that is the new, naive ones, as Bicks says.

The thing is, I don't just use them because they're the cheapest (which they are by a mile). They could raise the prices and pay the drivers better, and I'd be perfectly happy to keep using them as long as the standards stayed as they are, for the same reason I'm happy to pay more to shop at Sainsbury's rather than Iceland.

[bobzy]

33 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

Uber are more than just cheap though. I'd probably use a local taxi service if it was better in any way. In fact when uber first came around in Birmingham I did still primarily use A2B. But then A2B gave me some particularly bad customer service so I vowed not to use them again.

On the whole, other taxi firms are more expensive, less reliable, less convenient, less friendly and less available. 

I get it, Uber are the bad guys. But they do ACTUALLY offer a good service for the customer. I'm sure someone like Bicks will be along to tell me their service is terrible. But I'd wager the vast majority of Uber users would agree with me.

The pricing on the app is incredibly handy - that's a definite bonus (although I always found bartering the price of a taxi to be half the fun on a night out...) - and if you've had bad experiences with a certain company then the shift is understandable. 

Nothing else would persuade me to use them tbh. 

[Wainy316]

Apparently Lyft are looking at moving into the UK market.  It is more or less exactly the same service and sometimes even slightly cheaper.

Not sure about their ethical practices but Uber will be no loss if Lyft can get up and running quickly.

Edited September 25, 2017 by Wainy316

[blandy]

2 hours ago, lapal_fan said:

I also use Amazon, I've been to Starbucks a few times, I use out of town retailers and shop in Primark, rather than the little high street retailers - I'm a complete word removed, but oh well.  I'm not feeling guilty about putting a man into poverty, because I haven't.  And quite frankly, I resent the comments alluding to my limited purchasing power doing just that.

I haven't seen any comments from anyone saying that Uber users are words removed (though I haven't read all of the thread). But they're not, or at least using Uber doesn't make anyone a word removed. It's clearly a good thing if people with limited funds are able to get a service they want for a price they can afford, isn't it?.

But on the other hand being able to buy trainers or clothes made by child labour in Indonesia or wherever, for a pittance....? The bad person isn't the buyer of the trainers, but the manufacturer which instead of lifting people out of poverty exploits them because they're so desperate.

Uber is not the same levels of immorality, but it's undeniable that it's not exactly a shining example of how the future ought to be. Like I said earlier, hopefully they'll reform their practices and so on as a result of this losing their license thingummy. Then no one need feel guilty or be called names for getting a cheap cab.

[lapal_fan]

5 minutes ago, blandy said:

I haven't seen any comments from anyone saying that Uber users are words removed (though I haven't read all of the thread). But they're not, or at least using Uber doesn't make anyone a word removed. It's clearly a good thing if people with limited funds are able to get a service they want for a price they can afford, isn't it?.

But on the other hand being able to buy trainers or clothes made by child labour in Indonesia or wherever, for a pittance....? The bad person isn't the buyer of the trainers, but the manufacturer which instead of lifting people out of poverty exploits them because they're so desperate.

Uber is not the same levels of immorality, but it's undeniable that it's not exactly a shining example of how the future ought to be. Like I said earlier, hopefully they'll reform their practices and so on as a result of this losing their license thingummy. Then no one need feel guilty or be called names for getting a cheap cab.

Sorry, not very well worded on my part, but the "I'm a word removed" line was said because I knowingly buy things from these companies, even though I know that said companies infringe my moral line.  It was said by me, at me, in effect. 

[ender4]

Love Uber in Solihull/Birmingham. 

Must have used them 50 times so far, always a good experience.

They turn up within minutes, no need to carry cash, you know how much it will cost beforehand, the drivers are generally polite and get you to your destination with a minimum of fuss.

The only time that i haven't used an Uber is on the Saturday night before Christmas at 1am in Bham City Centre.  There were no Uber's available at all even with x3 surge pricing, and A2B could get me a cab within an hour.

[bobzy]

23 minutes ago, lapal_fan said:

Sorry, not very well worded on my part, but the "I'm a word removed" line was said because I knowingly buy things from these companies, even though I know that said companies infringe my moral line.  It was said by me, at me, in effect. 

And completely true!!!

[bickster]

1 hour ago, ender4 said:

Love Uber in Solihull/Birmingham. 

Must have used them 50 times so far, always a good experience.

They turn up within minutes, no need to carry cash, you know how much it will cost beforehand, the drivers are generally polite and get you to your destination with a minimum of fuss.

The only time that i haven't used an Uber is on the Saturday night before Christmas at 1am in Bham City Centre.  There were no Uber's available at all even with x3 surge pricing, and A2B could get me a cab within an hour.

There’s plenty of alternatives to Black Cabs out there, in every city in the country.

They turn up in minutes = they’ve been sat around for ages desperate for work then give give them work any pay them peanuts

no need to carry cash = You’ve voluntarily given your card details to a company that have proved via the many accounts for sale on the Dark Web that they can’t keep that info safe.

you know how much it will cost beforehand = they'll take you the short way but have charged you for the long way. There’s a court case pending on this very issue in the US right now

The drivers are polite because of the star rating nonsense, slip below 4.6 once and they go to the retraining camp. Go below it  a second time and they need to find a new method of earning money. 

They get you to the destination using the highly woeful google maps, it’s genuinely worse than most commercially available sat nags, even Vuse which is free is better

Anyway, here’s a question for all the Uber users. Would you use a service whose current main aim is to wipe out the opposition, leaving them in a monopoly situation and then free to jack the prices higher than ever because it’s the only way the investors can ever recoup their money given the current level of subsidy in the fares? 

[bickster]

5 hours ago, blandy said:

ULL have the right to appeal this decision and will remain in operation until that appeal has been heard.

 

The remain working whilst the appeal process is underway is a legal hot potato. No one knows if it's true, it's never been tested under the 1998 act which applies to London

Also this idea that Uber can come back and just promise to change for the better is best summed up with this....

A pub landlord loses his licence for selling alcohol to underage children, does he get his licence back if he absolutely promises not to do it again.. 

Also did some more digging in work today and apparently its a condition of licence to inform the authorities of any major crime committed. Uber knew about the sex crimes, didn't report and obstructed Police investigations as much as they could. That there is what will sink them all the way along in this investigation and when the police object to their licence at every step, it will be a brave brave magistrate or judge that will go against the police in a licensing issue

[Xann]

7 minutes ago, bickster said:

Anyway, here’s a question for all the Uber users. Would you use a service whose current main aim is to wipe out the opposition, leaving them in a monopoly situation and then free to jack the prices higher than ever because it’s the only way the investors can ever recoup their money given the current level of subsidy in the fares? 

Funny ain't it? You find a family run hardware store and they're a fraction of the price of B&Q on bog standard screws, nails and ironmongery.

The prices crept up and crept up when the competition died.

China are doing it to the World.

[bickster]

Just now, Xann said:

Funny ain't it? You find a family run hardware store and they're a fraction of the price of B&Q on bog standard screws, nails and ironmongery.

The prices crept up and crept up when the competition died.

China are doing it to the World.

oh yes absolutely true

 

[bobzy]

21 minutes ago, bickster said:

You know how much it will cost beforehand = they'll take you the short way but have charged you for the long way. There’s a court case pending on this very issue in the US right now

...

They get you to the destination using the highly woeful google maps, it’s genuinely worse than most commercially available sat nags, even Vuse which is free is better

In fairness on these points, the "long way" charge is still cheaper than an alternative who charges you for the "short way"...

 

...and Google Maps has never let me down on a journey

[blandy]

7 minutes ago, bickster said:

its a condition of licence to inform the authorities of any major crime committed. Uber knew about the sex crimes, didn't report and obstructed Police investigations as much as they could. That there is what will sink them all the way along in this investigation and when the police object to their licence at every step, it will be a brave brave magistrate or judge that will go against the police in a licensing issue

Yeah, exactly. As the article say - they got a 4 month extension (only) in the summer because of all these concerns by the bissies. The regulator (TfL) is doing their job properly. Uber is a company whose only aim seems to be kill the rivals, make tons of money and stuff everyone else. For all that technology can advance things and help make the world work better, as (IMO) with all business Uber needs an approach that is focused on helping people, not harming their prospects. Or it needs to eff off.