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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

#291

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure you're right, legally speaking. At the very least it's a grey area. I certainly have the "reasonable expectation of privacy" (the legal test) in a hotel room that I don't own - a hired car doesn't seem that different to me. When you see an actor get into a car to avoid the paparazzi - they rarely own the car, and reasonably expect the driver not to film them and upload to TMZ or something. (IANAL, TINLA)

Uber cars aren't technically owned by a business like a hotel is though. If you stay the night at my house, there's a DVR system in some of the rooms. Deal with it. Edit: Also, you probably are being filmed elsewhere in any major hotel (lobby, halls, etc). And I've seen plenty of that footage end up on TV.

There's also another person there. In public you're supposed to find a secluded spot, not sure how much privacy you can expect in that situation.

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

#292

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Kalanick's opinions and behaviour are obviously of interest to the public right now. There are quite a few anecdotes that, taken together, paint the picture of a thoroughly chauvinistic CEO with a bit of social darwinism thrown in for good measure. His comments here further that impression: he throws around jingoism in his awkward attempt to impress his companions ("every year is hard for Uber...") and is either unin…

It's amazing that someone who tried to deceive poor people into taking subprime loans in pursuit of his monopolistic dumping scheme, chooses to scream "personal responsibility" at a bankrupted immigrant. And the first thing people do is debate the ethics of recording him.

>And the first thing "astroturfers" do is debate the ethics of recording him.

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

#293
post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Welcome to HN: where Feudalistic thinking reigns supreme.

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

#294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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. That seems like semantics to me. The pay was lowered.

Why are you both unaware that the rate itself was in fact lowered. Straight from the article: > In 2012, Uber Black cost riders $4.90 per mile or $1.25 per minute in San Francisco, according to an old version of Uber's website. Today, Uber charges $3.75 per mile and $0.65 per minute. Nip arguments in the bud, not at the leaf.

But there's no indication that this has anything to do with how much the driver receives. This number is how much Uber receives.

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

#296

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…

> Filming him without acknowledging it was totally immoral, it should reduce any fair person's bayesian priors as to the credibility of the driver.

Sorry, why should we care about the driver's "credibility" here? Are you alleging the video has been doctored?

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

#297

Earlier quoted context omitted.

right. i think the point is, we should tolerate them less, so that they get to the top less.

I'm not asking what we should do from a moral perspective, which is highly subjective. I'm asking for data. Has anyone done an analysis on the traits of successful CEOs?

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

#298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

News and paparazzi are kind of an unfortunate consequence of being a public figure. You're not in a private place in someone else's car...

I'm not sure you're right, legally speaking. At the very least it's a grey area. I certainly have the "reasonable expectation of privacy" (the legal test) in a hotel room that I don't own - a hired car doesn't seem that different to me. When you see an actor get into a car to avoid the paparazzi - they rarely own the car, and reasonably expect the driver not to film them and upload to TMZ or something. (IANAL, TINLA)

Uber's position is that its ride sharing, and that's why the drivers are employees. Arguing that they have a reasonable expectation of privacy now that it would benefit Travis is just arguing out of both sides of the mouth.

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

#299
post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"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.

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

#300
post #251

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…

"there's absolutely no reason for Kalanick to give an Eff about the driver's situation." Considering that, without the drivers, Uber doesn't have a product, I cannot agree with that statement. "Its just the nature of how Uber has been set up. I understand the driver's frustration, but what more does the driver expect?" For the CEO of Uber to act like a human being. But given the news recently, that's far too much for…

>For the CEO of Uber to act like a human being.

I'm not sure what humans you're interacting with but the CEO of Uber acted just how I'd expect myself or any of the other people I know to act when confronted by someone being antagonistic while I'm trying to go home after an evening out.

Be unhappy with him if you want but don't try to paint it as human. You either want the CEO of Uber to act like a politician or a saint, not a human.

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