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A profound apology

newsroom.uber.com

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Re: A profound apology

#91

Post by throwanem »

sjtgraham wrote: post #75
throwanem wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, welcome to the world, where there's a reason why the phrase "public figure" contains the word public . I tend to agree that, in an ideal world, it wouldn't be that way. But this is hardly an ideal world, and I'm kind of frightened that someone confused on this point should be building a read/write API on bank accounts.

I'm not defending Kalanick's behavior, although I do think it is regretful he ended the interaction in the way he did. Public figure or not I think it's unreasonable to expect anyone to completely waive their expectation of privacy. There are right and wrong ways to pursue a grievance, IMO this was not the right way and two wrongs do not make a right.

I think it's remarkable to suggest that the CEO of a company, when speaking in that role in a public place, has an expectation of privacy.

Re: A profound apology

#92

Post by comex »

huac wrote: post #17
meowface wrote: post #11

This doesn't excuse the way he talked to the driver either way, but who was factually correct in the conversation? http://www.recode.net/2017/2/28/14766964/video-uber-travis-k... >Kamel: “But people are not trusting you anymore. Do you think people will buy cars anymore? ... I lost $97,000 because of you. I'm bankrupt because of you. You keep changing every day. You keep changing every day.” >Kalanick: “Hold on a sec…

The Bloomberg article notes the decreased rates: > 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.

That's a good data point, but not perfect, since the amount Uber charges customers isn't necessarily directly correlated with the amount they pay drivers...

Re: A profound apology

#93

Post by [deleted] »

M_Grey wrote: post #10

Nothing like a mea culpa dragged from you by the threat of impending lawsuits and a truly vicious turn of public opinion. I'm sure that he's utterly sincere, and this is in no way just an empty reaction to external and internal pressures. Seriously. Right?

[deleted]

Re: A profound apology

#94

Post by codr4life »

Sorry Travis; once an asshole, always an asshole; all the leadership training in the world isn't going to change that. You're 40 years old, how long would you have us waiting? Even brother J. was on your tail in noting that bad trees don't give good fruit. Claiming 'profound' for PR-bullshit like this when you're in that kind of mess is just another nail in the coffin.

Re: A profound apology

#96

Post by rabidrat »

unityByFreedom wrote: post #41
throwanem wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you think that's because he has experienced a genuine change of heart and intends on doing all in his power to repair at least some of his myriad grievous failures in the exercise of his responsibilities? Or do you think it's because, this time, he's actually in the video, and really has no options beyond a) try to seem sincerely humbled and intent on improving, or b) do literally anything else , and look like suc…

> Do you think that's because he has experienced a genuine change of heart and intends on doing all in his power to repair at least some of his myriad grievous failures in the exercise of his responsibilities? I think that's impossible for anyone to judge but himself. He said he's going to seek help. That's (a) admission he did something wrong and (b) a proactive attempt to do something about it. That is precisely th…

The level of help he needs is beyond what he can get while serving as the CEO of Uber, and won't happen fast enough to matter to Uber's practices and culture. I support his desire to get help, after he's stepped down as CEO.

Re: A profound apology

#98

Post by alphonsegaston »

unityByFreedom wrote: post #85
alphonsegaston wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sorry, but its not. A "big deal" would have been not engaging in subprime lending that most likely put the driver in this desperate position, where he's recording the CEO in some last ditch effort to get the broader community to acknowledge his humanity. Or any of the other myriad atrocious things they've done to their customers and employees. This is up against the wall PR BS. But the fact that people believe it…

> This is up against the wall PR BS. But the fact that people believe it explains a lot about how we got where we are with Uber. Interesting. I'd say your unwillingness to accept someone who says they want help is what led us to having liars as CEOs. You want someone perfect, but, nobody is perfect.

This false binary you're pushing between Kalanick and perfect just doesn't hold water. There are plenty of CEOs whose values and track record I strongly disagree with, but don't hold in the same disregard(e.g. Zuckerberg).

When you're willing to send thugs to intimidate women who leak details about the prevalence of sexual assault at your company, it takes more than a blog post to climb back to credibility.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/former-uber-worker-cl...

Re: A profound apology

#99

Post by throwanem »

unityByFreedom wrote: post #80
throwanem wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I pretty much covered that when I said that option A was what he did, and option B was anything else. Deflecting would be "anything else". It would have had the result I described. Instead, by tossing off a couple short paragraphs of apparent and frankly rather self-congratulatory contrition, Kalanick's PR staff has managed to actually pick up a little credibility with, among others, you. That's an impressive accompl…

I don't live in SV because I didn't want to be in a bubble. I made that choice 15 years ago. You seem to have it all figured out, including how Uber has brainwashed me and how the only imaginable scenarios are the ones you've written. > Woman beats her husband regularly for years. Eventually, he gets up the gumption to ditch her. When he tells her he's done, she bursts into tears and promises between sobs that she'll…

Well, again, I did define option A as this and option B as everything else. That wasn't by accident.

You're doing the same thing, too, but on the sly. Don't think I didn't see you palm the card:

> Again, if you only seek perfection in CEOs

Don't you think it's a bit of a stretch to characterize Kalanick as merely less than perfect? Not that you're wrong in so doing, exactly, but it does seem to take the principle of charity to a pathological extreme. You might have a point here, if we weren't discussing someone who has such a long record, both personally and on the collective part of the company for which he is ultimately responsible, of bad behavior. But we are.

Re: A profound apology

#100

Post by aioprisan »

Care to venture a guess that he wouldn't have apologized if the video wasn't made public? Much like the recent sexually abusive culture revelations. Travis continues to do the least he can actually do without doing anything that would actually hurt himself, as resigning and putting a true and tried professional CEO in charge would - and let's be clear, he just made it clear that he never intends on stepping down.
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