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In Video, Uber CEO Argues with Driver Over Falling Fares

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Re: In Video, Uber CEO Argues with Driver Over Falling Fares

#51

Post by noobermin »

pjwal wrote: post #47
noobermin wrote: post #40

Watching as someone who already doesn't like Kalanick due to recent news, but at first, I didn't really take sides. The driver engaged first, and his tone was a little more tensive than Kalanick's. Moreover, Kalanick's argument seems sensible[0] regarding why he might have had to lower rates. However, once Kalanick's retort essentially becomes "you're not taking personal responsibility and blaming others (ie., me)" h…

I don't consider it a fair discussion when the driver falsely insists the fair is $2.75/mile, when it is $3.75/mile and continues to pound the theme when Kalanick had already given his explanation. What is the driver expecting? For Uber to go back and raise fairs on Uber Black?

As I admitted, I am not privy to the details you refer to. For all we know, he merely misquoted or forgot. The point I'm making is it is just a discussion until Kalanick accuses the driver of playing victim when he has no right to do so. It's a matter of degrees.

Re: In Video, Uber CEO Argues with Driver Over Falling Fares

#52

Post by pjwal »

dokein wrote: post #24

A bit of a tangential point: last week there was a post here about Facebook "changing the rules" and a significant number of small businesses disappearing as a result. Whether or not Uber's black car reimbursement really did change, it strikes me that drivers probably made business decisions (e.g. car purchases) based on Uber's initial reimbursement and are now seeing the rules change and grossing far fewer profits t…

The problem with this is that it ignores the economic realities that went into the decision of Uber to lower fairs and assumes that their demand would have remained the same with or without doing it. Drivers would have not been happy with higher fairs if they couldn't, well...get a fair because of lowered demand.

Re: In Video, Uber CEO Argues with Driver Over Falling Fares

#53

Post by [deleted] »

dokein wrote: post #24

A bit of a tangential point: last week there was a post here about Facebook "changing the rules" and a significant number of small businesses disappearing as a result. Whether or not Uber's black car reimbursement really did change, it strikes me that drivers probably made business decisions (e.g. car purchases) based on Uber's initial reimbursement and are now seeing the rules change and grossing far fewer profits t…

[deleted]

Re: In Video, Uber CEO Argues with Driver Over Falling Fares

#54

Post by wopwopwop »

seertaak wrote: post #46

This will probably be an unpopular opinion, but I actually thought the driver was exceedingly rude. He clearly took advantage of Kalanick being in the public eye, and thus a "target". Filming him without acknowledging it was totally immoral, it should reduce any fair person's bayesian priors as to the credibility of the driver. I'm no fan of Kalanick, but I thought he comported himself reasonably, taking the time to…

> This will probably be an unpopular opinion, but I actually thought the driver was exceedingly rude. He clearly took advantage of Kalanick being in the public eye, and thus a "target". Filming him without acknowledging it was totally immoral, it should reduce any fair person's bayesian priors as to the credibility of the driver.

Why? If I were a driver, you can be sure I would be filming everyone. Does that mean I would have no credibility?

Here in London I've assumed that cabs are always filming.

Re: In Video, Uber CEO Argues with Driver Over Falling Fares

#55

Post by nickff »

bearcobra wrote: post #45
MegaButts wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you can't even handle light criticism from the people you employ, you shouldn't be at the top. I ask this in all seriousness: what qualities make for a good leader assuming the ideals of capitalism? I understand many people here will say they would prefer to work for a moral leader who can handle criticism and adapt to make sure his employees are taken care of, but do those leaders perform better at growing comp…

There are studies that have shown that CEOs are more likely to be psychopaths than the general population. If you assume being a psychopath also makes you an asshole, and some level of success is required in order to become a CEO, it wouldn't be unreasonable to claim that being an asshole makes you more successful. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/13/1-in-5-ceos-are-p...

That really is an atrocious article; they compared numbers which are loosely correlated at best:

>"The study of 261 senior professionals in the United States found that 21 per cent had clinically significant levels of psychopathic traits. The rate of psychopathy in the general population is about one in a hundred."

They should have applied the same standard to both groups, but instead used a very loose definition for the professionals, and a very stringent definition for the general population.

"The Psychopath Test" is a great book on this subject, and recommended reading on it; all these popular blog posts are just meaningless polemical drivel.[1]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Psychopath_Test

Re: In Video, Uber CEO Argues with Driver Over Falling Fares

#56

Post by AlexandrB »

ProfessorLayton wrote: post #36

I hope that at the end of all this, we as a society realize that we need to actually enforce, as well as update the rules we set regarding employment. We're effectively subsidizing companies that find loopholes, or simply ignore laws. - Contractor-not-a-contractor employment merely pushes costs and risks on to the worker. We all end up paying for the worker's social safety net, and costs of doing business (Such as in…

> In the end, somebody is paying for these costs. Why shouldn't it be the companies doing business?

Exactly. We have allowed companies to externalize entirely too much risk/responsibility onto the public - from "too big to fail" banks to companies that use "creative" labor classification to save money on health plans and benefits to advertisers that collect reams of sensitive information but are not held to account when that information leaks.

Re: In Video, Uber CEO Argues with Driver Over Falling Fares

#57

Post by envy2 »

coloneltcb wrote: post #10
envy2 wrote: post #5

Unfortunately, that driver is about to find out what "two party consent" for recordings means.

No, I think Travis has enough bad PR now. He doesn't need to punch down and sue a driver he's already bankrupted

I'm not sure about that. This isn't a 'scandal' in the way Uber's treatment of its female engineers is; it's just a driver leaking what was thought to be a private conversation, albeit one that isn't particularly flattering for Travis.

As a passenger, I think I'd be happy to have an example made of a driver who recorded and then published video and audio of a private conversation without consent. I've said and done plenty of things in the back of an Uber/Lyft/taxi that I wouldn't want the whole world to see.

Having issues with Uber's practices is fine, and talking about them publicly is fine—but a driver who makes and leaks illegal recordings is not someone I want to ride with. Throw the book at him, IMO, and frame it as standing up for riders' privacy.

Re: In Video, Uber CEO Argues with Driver Over Falling Fares

#58

Post by placeybordeaux »

stagbeetle wrote: post #50
idiot_stick wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I have an immigrant in my family who's just like the driver. He's not interested in "fighting over a good idea You may want to rephrase that, because it sounds an awful lot like you're attributing "stubbornness" to the fact that this guy's an immigrant. > Additionally, it's plain rude to engage in this sort of thing with a stranger. He's not a stranger. He's the boss.

> You may want to rephrase that, because it sounds an awful lot like you're attributing "stubbornness" to the fact that this guy's an immigrant. I am. This sort of behavior is common among older people from the country my family member -- and I -- emigrated from. > He's not a stranger. He's the boss. That's a bit of an exaggeration. Travis isn't directly overseeing this specific driver's operations (ignoring the whol…

Travis is the CEO that is responsible for the flow of money into the driver's paycheck.

Re: In Video, Uber CEO Argues with Driver Over Falling Fares

#59

Post by AlexandrB »

falloutx wrote: post #29

1. Uber should really put up a policy against drivers using cockpit cameras to record passengers. Most of them do it without any consent. I usually give them 1 star if someone uses cockpit camera. 2. I have been a big Supporter of Travis Kalanick since last 2-3 years, just for the fact that he's willing to take harsh steps to win. This ultimately helps Uber. Uber's Drivers are not its employees, it doesn't want them…

> I usually give them 1 star if someone uses cockpit camera.

Why would you do that? These drivers are just "taking harsh steps" to ensure their safety and the safety of their property. I thought you were all for that.

Edit: also why should Uber be allowed to dictate what equipment its "not employees" can and can't use in their own car?

Re: In Video, Uber CEO Argues with Driver Over Falling Fares

#60

Post by beejiu »

wopwopwop wrote: post #54
seertaak wrote: post #46

This will probably be an unpopular opinion, but I actually thought the driver was exceedingly rude. He clearly took advantage of Kalanick being in the public eye, and thus a "target". Filming him without acknowledging it was totally immoral, it should reduce any fair person's bayesian priors as to the credibility of the driver. I'm no fan of Kalanick, but I thought he comported himself reasonably, taking the time to…

> This will probably be an unpopular opinion, but I actually thought the driver was exceedingly rude. He clearly took advantage of Kalanick being in the public eye, and thus a "target". Filming him without acknowledging it was totally immoral, it should reduce any fair person's bayesian priors as to the credibility of the driver. Why? If I were a driver, you can be sure I would be filming everyone. Does that mean I w…

They would not be able to publish the video, however. That would be illegal.
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