I smell an expert PR move!
In Video, Uber CEO Argues with Driver Over Falling Fares
191–200 of 348 posts
Re: In Video, Uber CEO Argues with Driver Over Falling Fares
#192This 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…
Also, while it's perfectly okay for the driver to tell Travis what his concerns or pain points are, it's rather rich of him to assume that he has any context to tell Travis what business decisions make sense. As if Uber won't have charged higher prices if they could get away with it. The CEOs being disconnected with the masses is bad, but so is the masses assuming that somehow THEY know just the right thing the CEO s…
Replace CEO with King and business with country and you got yourself a winner.
Re: In Video, Uber CEO Argues with Driver Over Falling Fares
#193This 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…
"I lost $97,000 because of you." This is exactly how entrepreneurship works - you take risks, sometimes enormous risks with huge capital investments, and it doesn't pan out. Sometimes it does work out and you reap great rewards for a long time. The driver signed up for this and the gamble didn't work out... now he's blaming Uber?
I agree that you don't really have a right to complain when willfully you join a platform you don't control.
But driving for Uber isn't entrepreneurship. You don't control your marketing, brand, you don't acquire your own customers, no control over price or business model, etc. Drivers are really just cogs in the service, provide a car, drive the routes, get paid.
Re: In Video, Uber CEO Argues with Driver Over Falling Fares
#194Earlier quoted context omitted.
Turning that question around, what sort of a leader do you want to work for? Or folks usually like to work for? This whole idea of growing a company as the only (or most important) thing that matters is something that should die. We want people who we genuinely respect and imitate as our leaders. We want to build products that are genuinely useful and bring about a positive change in the society.
Yes, that's a personal decision in deciding where to work. But it's easy to come up with specific examples of CEOs that are assholes who grow gigantic companies. I was just using this specific example with Kalanick to raise the question. Perhaps a better example is Steve Jobs, someone who had something of a cult following but from what I've heard was an all around terrible person. If these people truly weren't tolera…
I guess some of these leaders have strengths that we probably can't easily put into words. For ex., a leader who can bring about the best from people, a leader who has a knack for understanding people, etc., I wonder how much of those other qualities played role more than them being assholes.
Re: In Video, Uber CEO Argues with Driver Over Falling Fares
#195Earlier quoted context omitted.
I work for a gigantic corporation and you're right that the CEO wouldn't respond to me. In fact, if we were in a car together and I started talking to him about how my pay wasn't so hot this year I would expect him to be extremely uncomfortable. He should be! He makes huge decisions which affect thousands and thousands of lives. CEOs should be in constant contact with peons like me and Kamel. Maybe they would adjust…
Except the CEO works for the board whose goal is to keep the company profitable so it can continue to exist. If you are upset about pay, you go to your manager or in the case of Kamel, you go work for a competitor Lyft. You have every right to voice your complaints but don't be surprised when they fall on deaf ears.
Or ears that yell BULLSHIT!
Re: In Video, Uber CEO Argues with Driver Over Falling Fares
#196This seems like a slam piece following the #DeleteUber bandwagon. 1). The title doesn't match the contents. Instead of reporting on the specifics of the fare changes, Newcomer rehashes the more prominent Uber scandals and some short commentary on TK's "short temper." 2). A very short paragraph (around 1/20th the article) breifly elaborates on the fares: > And the gig has gotten harder for longtime drivers. In 2012, U…
[deleted]
Re: In Video, Uber CEO Argues with Driver Over Falling Fares
#197Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Normal people are filmed as they take the bus, ride the subway, go on the elevator, walk through the graveyard (seriously), go shopping, so why should a rich person who can afford a cab be granted an exclusive right to privacy which the rest of us don't have?" What are you talking about? Normal, non-rich people totally have the same expectation of privacy when they take a cab. Would YOU be ok if your cab driver film…
Would YOU be ok if your cab driver films you without any knowledge? Most taxis I've been in the past, oh, let's say 15 years, have had interior/passenger cams.
usually they have signs that say so. It's illegal to not notify your passenger that they are being filmed. It's possible that this driver had signs (but no way to know from just the video).
Re: In Video, Uber CEO Argues with Driver Over Falling Fares
#198This is a kind of categorical thinking, which is sometimes misatributed as being "autistic". You have a clear logical distinction, I'll grant you that. You have a declaration of your opinion, which on its face seems resonable. But you fail to examine the details of the situation. You are reducing your morality to a few simple and rigid rules. Those rules can be seen as something akin to a computer program. If your mo…
It's funny that you seem to be insinuating that I am using simplistic decision trees instead of analyzing a concrete situation when you were the one who made sweeping arguments about classism and about the rich and the poor.
I did 'use the entirety of my brain power to analyze this situation and think whether something was right or wrong in this given concrete case" and I reached the conclusion that while I am not sure about the legality of it, I'd definitely consider it a dick-ish move.
Re: In Video, Uber CEO Argues with Driver Over Falling Fares
#199Earlier quoted context omitted.
Where else should he grind it? Kalanick is the CEO. He made a decision which affects this mans livelihood. Kalanick certainly gets paid enough to face up to people like this. And if he wants to stop facing up to it, maybe he can do something about their pay.
> Kalanick is the CEO. And the driver is not an employee. Yeah, I know this has been discussed a lot of times, but the way Uber is set up, there's absolutely no reason for Kalanick to give an Eff about the driver's situation. And indeed: the loyalty cuts both ways. Uber drivers can immediately drop Uber and simply work for Lyft. They have complete and utter independence from the Uber company. Its just the nature of h…
If you agree that the driver is not an employee, how do you think that would have played out if TravisK had blown him off on video? Do you think everybody would see it your way, and would that be fair of them to do?
Re: In Video, Uber CEO Argues with Driver Over Falling Fares
#200Earlier quoted context omitted.
If the consumers are voting with their wallets that they want more Uber X rides and less Uber Black rides, well, that's what should happen. To bring supply back in line with demand, some drivers who used to drive Uber Black should either leave or downgrade, and if they won't do it willingly, then some drivers going bankrupt is a way how the market forces "driver supply" to go in the direction where it apparently need…
What a bizarre way of looking at it. There's vastly more economy class passengers on a plane; but it doesn't mean that first or business passengers don't exist. You are right that some drivers going bankrupt is how the market would correct, but forcing them to take uberx fares at below cost is a dreadful idea and definitely not free market economics. If anything, it's like a govt regulation that requires businesses t…
Im not disagreeing, can you explain why (or point me to reading material)? If customers aren't traveling business, won't the airline company either have to give away seats or keep them empty?