Is Uber Always Crap or Am I Just Unlucky?

gromit on 19/09/2022 - 10:24

Only tried to use Uber a few times over the years and always been extremely negative experience. Latest in Perth I decide I will pre-book an Uber for 8am. Expected time of pickup between 8 and 20 past. Driver arrives 6 mins early and messages he is outside. Message back we will be down in a couple of mins. We get down at 7:58 and he has already cancelled and left leaving us urgently calling a taxi.

Is this normal? Used Uber 4 times over years and every time has been very bad. Think I am permanently back to taxis.

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Comments

  • Quantumcat on 19/09/2022 - 10:30
    +1

    My first experience with Uber was bad too (ended up having to get a neighbour to drive me, it was to a driving lesson!), decided to only use Uber if it wasn't important when it came (eg going home after an evening out) but I would use a taxi if the timing was important (eg going to the airport or any sort of appointment). You were a bit unlucky, the chances of something going wrong are smallish but a lot larger than with taxis. Based on my own experience I would guess the chances of any negative experience (eg delayed by 5+ minutes, or the driver having difficulty finding you for a few minutes) is about 1 in 5, and the chances of a really bad experience (eg it never turning up or delayed by 15+ minutes) is about 1 in 40.

  • tabz on 19/09/2022 - 10:39
    +4

    From my experience, the quality of Uber service varies by location.

    In Melbourne I've hardly had any issues. In Sydney however, I notice it averages around 3-4 driver cancellations before I find someone that doesn't.

    • nzbot on 20/09/2022 - 08:38

      I tried to use Uber a few times while in Sydney 3 years ago. Every time the car looked like it was going the wrong direction, and eventually they'd cancel.
      Gave up on Uber and used a local taxi for the rest of our stay.
      Had similar experience in London, especially bad at the airport/s.

      But had good experience using them in Dubai, both times good English speaking drivers, prompt and friendly (and picked me up in some kinda sports car type car each time, even though I didn't pick any special option. I'm not a car person, but it looked fancy).

  • AustriaBargain on 19/09/2022 - 10:41

    Sounds like he waited five minutes then cancelled the trip. Probably had doubts you were coming down at all.

    • Quantumcat on 19/09/2022 - 10:42
      +12

      It was booked for 8 so there's not really any excuse for believing that they weren't coming when it wasn't even 8 yet?

      • capslock on 19/09/2022 - 11:17
        +7

        Does the driver get told that it was booked for 8? Or does Uber just find a driver at around 7.45 and tell them to go to this address now?

        • Quantumcat on 19/09/2022 - 13:16
          +2

          That's an excellent question. If it is the latter it explains what happened perfectly

    • gromit on 19/09/2022 - 12:19
      +2

      He definitely did not wait 5 mins. We were outside looking for him within 4 mins of him saying he arrived and he was no where in sight. Even so that was 2 mins before earliest estimated time, if that is normal for Uber and me being unreasonable then I Definitely won't bother again with them.

      • AustriaBargain on 19/09/2022 - 12:48
        +1

        Then he didn't get the "no show" fee if he didn't wait five minutes. He really must have doubted that you were coming down.

  • coffeeinmyveins on 19/09/2022 - 10:42
    -7

    Yes it's normal.

    The margins on anything to do with Uber (or gig economy in general) are either razor thin or non-existent. By making them wait for ~5 min you're eating into their ability to make money.

    • trapper on 19/09/2022 - 10:46
      +9

      By making them wait for ~5 min you're eating into their ability to make money.

      The driver came earlier than the booked time though.

      • coffeeinmyveins on 19/09/2022 - 10:47

        Probably finished another job and wasn't expecting to come so quick / was hoping you'd come out earlier and help his stats

    • gromit on 19/09/2022 - 12:36
      +7

      I didn't make them wait they turned up early, I was ready and outside several mins before scheduled time and they had already cancelled.

  • trapper on 19/09/2022 - 10:45
    +10

    Uber quality has dropped a lot since they first started out.

    Also they seem to cancel a lot these days, maybe Uber changed the internal rules over this because I'm sure it used to cost the driver some kind of fee if they canceled a trip.

  • jv on 19/09/2022 - 10:48
    +5

    Is Uber Always Crap or Am I Just Unlucky?

    It's always crap.

    Dodgy company. No regard for laws. Enter the market illegally. Wouldn't be surprised if under the table deals were made to 'convince' certain politicians to endorse them.

    • coffeeinmyveins on 19/09/2022 - 12:52
      +1

      Yet everyone was singing their praises intially about how good they were and better than cabs while totally overlooking all of this

      Funny how things change

      • jv on 19/09/2022 - 13:05

        Yet everyone was singing their praises intially

        Nope, fakenews…

      • trapper on 19/09/2022 - 22:09
        -1

        Yet everyone was singing their praises intially about how good they were and better than cabs

        Because they actually were great initially, and still much better than normal cabs even now.

        • coffeeinmyveins on 20/09/2022 - 06:47

          Eh, don't know about that.

          A lot of the Uber drivers are former cabbies, so you get that lovely cabbie experience in an unmarked vehicle.

          As well I think they've changed the vehicle conditions? It used to be quite strict about vehicle age etc. i saw a banged up Yaris that was at least 10 years old the other day with an Uber sign.

          • kiitos on 20/09/2022 - 07:29

            @coffeeinmyveins: How do they police that? I presume the cars aren't inspected in person by uber?

          • trapper on 20/09/2022 - 10:54

            @coffeeinmyveins: It's not about the vehicle lol

            The traditional cab 'experience' was horrible.

            • Very unpredictable pricing with large 'flag-fall' and other charges mysteriously added by the driver fiddling with buttons on the meter.
            • Almost always the meter would be on the more expensive tariff and unless you hunted through the tariff fine print you would never know. (Used to be higher rates after midnight or if four passengers.)
            • No idea who the driver is and almost no chance of recovering any item left inside the cab.
            • Drivers taking longer routes than necessary.
            • Drivers refusing short trips.
            • Cash only for a long time, and then when they finally started getting card payments it charges 10% extra.
            • When calling a cab they could take 30mins or more, or may not show up at all. Was a nightmare if you had to go somewhere quickly.
            • No real way to complain about a driver unless you went to a lot of effort. So no incentive for them to care at all.

            Uber fixed almost all of this. Just getting an emailed receipt showing your journey time, route, fee, driver details is amazing. It really is incomparable to the old days.

  • fredz0r on 19/09/2022 - 11:10
    +1

    I normally order when I'm ready. They normally rock up within a few minutes. Been caught out too many times, when I have been pissing around.

    • fredz0r on 19/09/2022 - 12:43
      +5

      BTW where have the mints, mini chocolates and bottles of water gone?

      • coffeeinmyveins on 19/09/2022 - 12:52
        +7

        We've entered the next phase of uber now that they have a captive market

  • Drakesy on 19/09/2022 - 11:13
    +1

    Yeah, lately drivers have been more picky. I pre-booked before a flight at 4am for a roughly 20 minute trip to the airport. Get out the front and after 20 minutes of waiting and 5 drivers cancelling on me i switched to DiDi and had a driver within 3 minutes.

    I think it's across the board though.

    Fwiw my rating is 4.8 stars

  • Cheaplikethebird on 19/09/2022 - 11:19
    +4

    Don't bother pre-booking Uber, all it does is send a request out a few minutes before pickup.

    Uber quality has dropped off a bit in the last few years but I have to deal with taxis a lot for work and I can tell you that they are still much MUCH worse in every possible way.

    • blonky on 19/09/2022 - 11:59
      +1

      I use Uber pre-booking often and it definitely does not do this - it sends out the request to drivers as soon as you book. Longest wait I've had to confirm a driver was 45 minutes, otherwise normally around 10 minutes from my request for a next morning pickup

      What I do find annoying is it does quote between 8:00am and 8:20am, but the drivers tend to show up early and only have a 5 minute wait time before they can/will cancel - otherwise Uber begins charging you for waiting time

    • gromit on 19/09/2022 - 12:05
      +1

      I have had a few bad taxis over the years. But so far struck out 100% of time with Uber. 1 no show for scheduled pickup, 1drop off several hundred metres away from location in rain as he didn't want to get stuck in traffic. 1 rude lunatic driver and now driver that arrived early and cancelled.

      • Cheaplikethebird on 19/09/2022 - 12:30
        +2

        Eh, I catch ubers at least once a week and about 4 taxis a week for work. I have way more issues with taxis and their call centre/apps.

  • kekw on 19/09/2022 - 11:30

    Most of my Uber trips are positive, but recently I was with my mates (4 of us) trying to get to the airport with 2 luggage. We ordered UberX, the guy came with Mitsubishi Outlander forced us to cancel the trip and reorder the XL only then he will drive us to the airport.

    I refused to do so and cancelled his ride and reported to Uber (doubt they will do anything). Reorder an UberX, another guy came with yaris pick us up no question asked.

  • SnowDragon on 19/09/2022 - 11:41
    +4

    I only ever use it to get home after a night on the town.

    Wouldn't trust it for anything else - I use taxis when pre-booking trips. Much more reliable.

  • [Deactivated] on 19/09/2022 - 12:10
    +1

    always been extremely negative experience…..has already cancelled and left leaving us urgently calling a taxi.

    Between cancelled bookings and unexplainable no-shows, I find Uber frustrating and infuriating.

    Taxis in Sydney and Newcastle have been infinitely more reliable for me and I deleted all of my Uber details a couple of years ago now.

    Aside: Might be a very good idea to change you Uber password given the recent hack.

  • pharkurnell on 19/09/2022 - 12:18
    +1

    I use a proper limo company if im going to the airport.. Have done for 15yrs been here.
    They always show up early and confirm the night before…

    Worth it for peace of mind not much more $ than a taxi or fudd driver.

    • gromit on 19/09/2022 - 20:16
      +1

      Yeah paying for airport transfer from hotel for tomorrow. It's a bit more pricey but at least I know they will be there on schedule.

  • spackbace on 19/09/2022 - 12:28

    The worst is the cars… it started off so well, now it's just any economical shitbox

    Was going out for the night and we were picked up in a Prius C. Just 2 of us squished in like sardines

  • Seraphin7 on 19/09/2022 - 12:36
    +2

    The quality of service has really gone downhill in the last several years.

    I can recall in the early days it was unusual to have to wait really any more than about five minutes. It's now lucky to be under ten (even in CBD/high volume locations) and getting out towards twenty in many instances.

    But much more importantly, the number of drivers that now seemingly either don't accept the ride, or that accept and then immediately cancel it, or that accept and then seem to not move for ten minutes is getting towards making the platform unusable. It really does make you wonder if there are phantom drivers built into the app.

  • Associatedvodamerc @ Uber on 19/09/2022 - 12:50
    +1

    I am a driver, Uber is near impossible to make a min wage on anymore. By making him wait at all you were eating into already non existent profit. Unfortunately Uber send us to reservation jobs 40 mins early and we haven choice but to go straight there or cancel the trip.

    Here in Brisbane, rates are lower than they were in 2016 due to the constant 'race to the bottom' approach of huge corporates. Quite simply, that's not sustainable when the cost of doing business is up 40-50%+ in that period.

    Feel free to AMA.

    • coffeeinmyveins on 19/09/2022 - 12:53

      Yep exactly

      What's their end goal though? Driverless cars?

      • Associatedvodamerc @ Uber on 19/09/2022 - 12:55

        The driverless car development business was recently sold off. The current push is 100% electric cars by 2030.

    • gromit on 19/09/2022 - 14:12
      +2

      So basically you recommend avoiding Uber. Sounds like their model screws both the passenger and driver resulting in both sides having bad experiences.

      • Associatedvodamerc @ Uber on 19/09/2022 - 14:35

        Well here in Brisbane taxi's are just as unreliable, so there's really no 'alternative'. The price of a taxi is also 1.9x the price of a normal UberX fare, yet they both share similar expenses/cost of business.

        • gromit on 20/09/2022 - 10:05
          +1

          In the end while price matters to me, it is secondary on a lot of trips to not being screwed around. Even more important is a wife that isn't steaming mad because we are late.

          • Associatedvodamerc @ Uber on 20/09/2022 - 10:16
            +1

            @gromit: And I think that's what Uber is yet to realise about the average Australian consumer. They would rather screw the drivers into the ground to keep the prices where they are, then raise prices and make the platform sustainable/reliable for everyone. The driver turnover rate right now is insane and they don't even last a full year typically, once they realise how much money they really make.

      • coffeeinmyveins on 20/09/2022 - 06:49
        +1

        Sounds like their model screws both the passenger and driver

        You can say the same for any gig economy business.

        Look at Uber Eats, the restaurant gets very little money (sometimes it costs them) and the drivers too.

  • happydude on 19/09/2022 - 14:00
    +3

    How good Uber is can be directly linked to the unemployment rate.

    • Current WA unemployment rate is 3.1% = Uber Bad.
    • When unemployment was 8% = Uber good.

    Very few are doing Uber because they want to. As it is now relatively easy to find a job there are less drivers on the road. This means they can chase the "big fares", and by that I mean they can make minimum wage.

  • Gervais fanboy on 19/09/2022 - 14:17
    +2

    Honest take - Yes Uber drivers are being royally screwed by Uber itself. From their pre-fare system (rider accepts a reasonable pre fare at the time of booking and regardless of the traffic conditions Uber wouldn’t bludge and charge the rider more even if the trip takes considerably longer to complete, leaving the driver out of pocket for that gap), unfair account terminations of drivers by Uber based on unsubstantiated allegations(mostly Sa) by riders which are quite often not true but the drivers often gets screwed anyways, high commission rates charged by Uber and then their are invariable factors like a typical driver investing $15k-$60k to buy a car, get registered to only find 2-3 years later that because of an influx of too many drivers (unregulated by Uber) they aren’t making the money that they were once making.

    All factors that have contributed to drivers being disgustingly brazen and unapologetic in resorting to blatantly ripping off their riders. I am well aware of many of the tactics used by majority of Uber drivers to inconvenience and financially hurt the riders, just so they could personally profit from it.

    My take - Yes Uber is a rogue organisation and is getting away with it, thanks to their political contributions (especially in 2nd and 3rd world countries). But as a driver, you sign up to it and You chose to drive for Uber. Only people with weak moral characters resort to basically stealing from their fellow middle class members of the society.
    So regardless of how inconsiderate Uber might be, that should never absolve the drivers from their corruption. Even if you are a driver that’s spent his money on buying a better car than he normally would, hoping to recoup its value via Uber, you just need to realise that all businesses are undertaken with an element of risk and sometimes your income projections aren’t as accurate as you had hoped.

    Also, what no driver and no media outlet would tell you is that +75% drivers were eligible and hence received pandemic payments from the state, totalling over $20k/driver, this was on top of the usual weekly grants that the government was paying everyone to stay at home.

  • WreckTangle on 19/09/2022 - 14:27
    +1

    Did the driver have anywhere to park? If they were double parked I can see why they wouldn’t wanna wait around

    • gromit on 19/09/2022 - 19:05

      Half empty parking area just outside hotel door

  • dtc on 19/09/2022 - 15:49
    +1

    In Canberra Uber has proven 100% reliable, well a few late pick ups but they turned up. So much so that I only use Uber now even though work pays for all my trips and I can pick a taxi or even a 'silver cab'

  • Polt on 19/09/2022 - 22:06

    Paying the few bucks extra and booking Uber Comfort seems to help weed out the really crap ubers I find. It puts limits on the minimum size of the car and star rating of the driver. 9 times out of 10 it'll be a late model Camry.

  • Sinnerator on 20/09/2022 - 08:51

    From 2/2 uses uber is CRAP, they cancelled both times and jacked up the price.
    Smaller taxi companies are also crap.
    Vote with your wallet and only use services that actually deliver the intended service.
    I only use the large taxi services now, and that is rarely.

  • SydneySwan on 20/09/2022 - 09:40

    Used 3 times. Fare each time has always been about 30% more than quoted. Will never use again.

  • Storm2022 on 20/09/2022 - 11:32

    When I holidayed in Cairns last year I would pre book an uber for between x and x time. The driver would turn up early and I would come down and meet them between the booked time. Because they arrived early, I would still be charged a late fee which is a load of crap! Also, I have noticed that if you pre book a 5 min ride on a weekend they always charge you the high demand fee, but if you book the trip on the day when you're ready to leave, I always get charged the normal fare. In hindsight I would never pre book an Uber unless I had to get somewhere very important on time. Has anybody used InDriver which is Googles equivalent to Uber? You can set your own fare and then drivers decide whether or not to accept your ride. I'm keen to try it out one day!

  • nizzkid on 20/09/2022 - 12:21

    It's got me f'ed why people use Uber/Taxi for a pre-booking. You are asking to be let down. Use a private chauffeur service. They cost almost the same. Are far more professional and have much nicer cars. It's something that most people don't think of.

    • Gervais fanboy on 20/09/2022 - 12:27

      They cost almost the same.

      No they don’t

    • gromit on 20/09/2022 - 14:11

      I did that this morning. It is not cheap though. 25% premium over taxi cost

  • nizzkid on 20/09/2022 - 18:37

    Works out about 15% for me. Well worth it for the guarantee that they will arrive on time, in a nice car with a professional driver.

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