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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

#241

Post by [deleted] »

LargeCompanies wrote: post #189
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…

The CEO of Uber is a public figure and has as much right to privacy as he gave Sarah Lacy whom he let Uber stalk her and family for a negative article. He is a ruthless, greedy, ignoramus, misogynistic pig who needs his ass handed to him and Uber to crumble before his eyes!

[deleted]

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

#242

Post by st3v3r »

pjwal wrote: post #217
Phlarp wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You seem really intent on defending Kalanick here so I will only post this as a reply to one of the several similar comments you've made regarding this: > Travis is right on a technicality they did not lower Uber Black prices much if any. What they did instead was coerced Uber Black drivers to take Uber X request. Yes drivers can reject Uber X request, but if you reject a certain amount of Uber rides, they kick you o…

That's fair enough and I see that point. My intent is not to defend Kalanick, but I do instinctually defend free markets. I think Uber and its drivers found itself in a situation with falling demand amidst rising competition.

"My intent is not to defend Kalanick, but I do instinctually defend free markets."

Even when said "free markets" cause people extreme hardship?

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

#243

Post by computerex »

matt4077 wrote: post #185
dragontamer wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

> the way Uber is set up, there's absolutely no reason for Kalanick to give an Eff about the driver's situation. Except, you know, "being a human" > 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. That's actually not that different from being an employee, where you can usually quit on short notice and start worki…

I don't know whether we need unions or not - but until we do, Uber can hardly be faulted for playing the free market. The CEO has a board to answer to and they care about maximizing profits, like any other for profit organization.

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

#244

Post by mikeash »

dkonofalski wrote: post #229
mikeash wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In a properly functioning market, drivers would be going bankrupt due to not having enough fares, not by being forced to take unprofitable fares. If customers are voting with their wallets that they want more UberX and less Uber Black, then Uber Black drivers should be faced with a choice of chasing volume or margins, not forced to subsidize customers.

They're not being forced to take unprofitable fares, though. They're being offered UberX customers when there are no Uber Black customers available. Whether or not they have the ability to change that priority is the question here. It seems that taking a slightly lower fare is better than taking no far at all at a higher rate.

If they refuse too many UberX fares, they'll be dumped. I'm sure Uber will argue that doesn't qualify as "forced," but it does to me.

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

#245

Post by ChuckMcM »

pjwal wrote: post #88
chickenfries wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This will probably be an unpopular opinion Well what do you know, at the time of writing this, it's the top comment! > The fact that the footage of him with two women wasn't cut out is frankly disgusting and a total invasion of his privacy. He didn't do anything wrong except flirt a bit. How tawdry of Bloomberg to show that material. It's relevant because he said things like this: “That’s kind of how I roll. I make…

Obviously, he did not know he was being filmed...so it was a secret.

Apropos of nothing all of the sites that talk about driving for Uber seem to recommend a recording setup both a dash cam and 'passenger cam' to provide backup in the event of a dispute or accident. I would be really surprised if he didn't expect this to be recorded at some level.

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

#246

Post by st3v3r »

computerex wrote: post #230
frgtpsswrdlame wrote: post #16

To me this illustrates one of the biggest problems we have in america which is the crazy firewall between rich and poor. Kamel wanted to have a serious discussion with Kalanick about how his decisions as CEO were affecting Kamel's life and Kalanick gets upset about this. That's your job! At least it should be. If you can't even handle light criticism from the people you employ, you shouldn't be at the top.

He was clearly off duty. Being the CEO of a company like Uber is very difficult indeed. Surely the guy doesn't have to answer to literally every single person he meets 24/7 because he is the CEO. He deserves no personal free time?

Bullshit. He gets paid the big bucks for exactly that.

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

#247

Post by frgtpsswrdlame »

computerex wrote: post #243
matt4077 wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the way Uber is set up, there's absolutely no reason for Kalanick to give an Eff about the driver's situation. Except, you know, "being a human" > 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. That's actually not that different from being an employee, where you can usually quit on short notice and start worki…

I don't know whether we need unions or not - but until we do, Uber can hardly be faulted for playing the free market. The CEO has a board to answer to and they care about maximizing profits, like any other for profit organization.

>Uber can hardly be faulted for playing the free market.

Why? Seems like we should be holding them responsible in any way we can (even if that's just talking bad on a message board) for their bad actions. I don't know why we need to give them a pass on actions we don't deem moral just because it's legal.

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

#248

Post by computerex »

placeybordeaux wrote: post #58
stagbeetle wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Travis isn't responsible for the driver bankrupting himself. That's poor life decisions. I'd never buy a brand new luxury car just for Uber Black. I don't know the circumstances of how that driver lost $97k, but that's a lot of money to lose over Uber Black as a driver. I don't know how he did it. Whatever he did, blaming the CEO of Uber is hardly appropriate.

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

#249

Post by mbrumlow »

sedachv wrote: post #135
8ytecoder wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure I follow as to why they have to accept Uber X requests. If there is less supply for Black cars, what's wrong with them sitting idle? What if they miss a request for a black car while they are driving their uber x customer around?

Forcing Black drivers to accept X requests invalidates any claims Uber has about their drivers being independent contractors instead of employees.

I don't think that is a good reason to say they are employees.

What happens when you look at it like this; A Uber driver must accept some % of request sent their way (any class), but if you want to be sent uber black request then you must have an appropriate car.

I feel like you are looking at it from a top down view, vs a bottom up view. I am not saying ether view is right or wrong. I just find it hard to follow the logic to how that makes them employees.

But I have struggled with the employee argument from the start, so I am a bit bias at this point.

A big part of why I think people feel the way you do is because the system is programmed, and automated. If i was a guy looking for contractors to do jobs for me naturally people who were more consistently available and that I have worked with in the past would get jobs before people who can only be available "whenever". The only difference is that was some sort of decision I made in my head vs a system who had thresholds programmed.

What I feel like uber has done is automated the process of hiring contractors for on the spot jobs. And somehow people don't like the automation of it, or the rules. I feel like the solution is simple. Don't drive for uber if you don't like the terms. Go get a taxi medallion if you want to make your own rules, or drive for one of the competitors.

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

#250

Post by random314 »

1_2__3 wrote: post #173
frgtpsswrdlame wrote: post #121

Earlier 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.

> He made a decision which affects this mans livelihood. You don't get to challenge everyone in your life who makes decisions that directly or indirectly affect you.

> You don't get to challenge everyone in your life who makes decisions that directly or indirectly affect you.

Where did you get that idea?

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