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What happened when the CEO of a Boston burrito chain became an Uber driver

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Re: What happened when the CEO of a Boston burrito chain became an Uber driver

#51

Post by robryan »

marvin wrote: post #8

I'm curious about the no-remorse, humans-are-replacable ethos which is evident through the author's description of the recruitment process. I see this time and time again in stories about software startups, and it really gives me a queasy feeling. It does not make life at a startup company seem very inviting.

I worry with a system like this that you could find yourself removed not because you provided bad service but because people think about the scale in different ways.

On amazon for example 4,5 is considered positive and 1,2,3 negative. You really want to keep 90%+ positive. So when someone comes along and decides to give a 3 because they thought the transaction was good but nothing out of the ordinary it hurts you.

The lack of nuance doesn't feel great either. For instance when you look though the bad reviews on trip advisor for a good hotel they are often people that have enlarged expectations of what the hotel could reasonably do for them. In some cases the hotel even going above and beyond couldn't please them.

Re: What happened when the CEO of a Boston burrito chain became an Uber driver

#52

Post by dmix »

marincounty wrote: post #49
rdl wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd personally be annoyed if my UberX driver came in a Wrangler; one of the most uncomfortable-as-passenger cars on the market. A Camry or something is totally fine; doesn't have to be a Tesla, but should be something relatively quiet and comfortable.

Really? Americans have gotten soft. I once had a date who questioned what I was driving; I took out her roommate instead. I guess we all have our own "Comfy" zone though?

But the question is mass market comfy zones, not niche "extreme off-roading" ones.

Re: What happened when the CEO of a Boston burrito chain became an Uber driver

#53

Post by oostevo »

theorique wrote: post #46
ultrasaurus wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sidecar does something like this, They ask if it was bad, good or exceptional. If you say good, they ask what could've been improved -- and I usually find myself selecting "nothing in particular" That gives a very accurate picture of the driver. It's cool that sometimes my sidecar driver gives me candy and tells jokes, but that's not why I use the service.

I wonder what "exceptional" even means? I expect a driver to get me from A to B, and notice whether I'm interested in talking (in which case talk and be friendly) or not interested in talking (in which case don't talk please). A half-pint of water is nice but hardly necessary - it won't convert a horrible ride into a great one, and its absence doesn't make a great ride a bad one. So much is outside the control of the…

An example of an exceptional driver:

I once took a longer Uber Black ride to pick up my wife a few towns away, who was quite sick. Once I mentioned this to the driver, he drove noticeably more 'efficiently', offered me his phone to call to check on her once mine had died, and waited outside the building briefly to make sure everything was ok.

Also, I've got a bit of prior race driving experience, and this guy clearly grokked car control. I wouldn't be surprised if he'd spent a good bit of time on a track. He also, without drawing any attention to it in any way, adjusted the suspension settings from 'firm' when we were going around on- and off-ramps to comfort on the highway, to keep the ride comfortable and level.

I gave him a five-star rating and sent Uber customer support an email raving about him. Wish I could have done more.

Re: What happened when the CEO of a Boston burrito chain became an Uber driver

#54

Post by [deleted] »

marincounty wrote: post #49
rdl wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd personally be annoyed if my UberX driver came in a Wrangler; one of the most uncomfortable-as-passenger cars on the market. A Camry or something is totally fine; doesn't have to be a Tesla, but should be something relatively quiet and comfortable.

Really? Americans have gotten soft. I once had a date who questioned what I was driving; I took out her roommate instead. I guess we all have our own "Comfy" zone though?

[deleted]

Re: What happened when the CEO of a Boston burrito chain became an Uber driver

#55

Post by lars512 »

vm wrote: post #7

"it feels really productive to take my kids to school and get paid to drive home" Drivers using Uber to fill free time or excess capacity is a radical shift away from how Uber started, with professional drivers using it to make a living. A friend of mine does this with Lyft. Imagine how many cars are on the road right now with only one driver and the rest of the seats empty. Lots of potential new drivers...

AirBnB for the road?

Re: What happened when the CEO of a Boston burrito chain became an Uber driver

#56

Post by superuser2 »

marincounty wrote: post #49
rdl wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd personally be annoyed if my UberX driver came in a Wrangler; one of the most uncomfortable-as-passenger cars on the market. A Camry or something is totally fine; doesn't have to be a Tesla, but should be something relatively quiet and comfortable.

Really? Americans have gotten soft. I once had a date who questioned what I was driving; I took out her roommate instead. I guess we all have our own "Comfy" zone though?

>Americans have gotten soft.

You don't get to justify providing poor service by accusing your dissatisfied customers of being soft.

Re: What happened when the CEO of a Boston burrito chain became an Uber driver

#57

Post by Nrsolis »

Karunamon wrote: post #48
HarryHirsch wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's happening here is that Uber and your favorite pizza taxi are littering. They know that a fair share of their drivers do not carry a commercial liability policy. When an Uber driver has an accident, the next thing that will happen is that their insurance denies the claim, and you have to claim against your uninsured motorist policy. Good luck to anyone who doesn't have such a policy because they don't own a car…

>Hey, uninsured motorist rates just went up! I wish they didn't do that, and instead Uber fares and pizza prices went up because I don't use them. They have no business imposing externalities on me. Indeed. If someone drives in such a way as to be uninsured, shame on them. Still not the company's fault for the individual's lack of responsibility.

>Still not the company's fault for the individual's lack of responsibility.

No. If they know, or more importantly from a legal liability standpoint SHOULD have known, then it's on them.

We haven't seen the test case that will decide the legal liability/insurability of P2P driver services, but it's clear that Uber and others are operating in a somewhat legal grey area and are not bothered by it. Indeed, you could argue that they are forcing the issue of regulation and insurability with their business model.

But I'd stop short of saying that they have NO responsibility. It's clear that Uber is hoping to delay any reckoning on that question until after their dominance is a fait accompli.

Re: What happened when the CEO of a Boston burrito chain became an Uber driver

#58

Post by fleshweasel »

It sounds like Uber's business model is essentially in sidestepping the consumer protections that exist for conventional private driver and taxi companies. It reminds me of how credit card companies and PayPal sidestep consumer protections created for banks.

Re: What happened when the CEO of a Boston burrito chain became an Uber driver

#59

Post by SomeCallMeTim »

goodcanadian wrote: post #35
marvin wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's even more unsettling than the fact that many companies have this attitude towards their employees, is the degree to which members of HN unquestioningly defend this practice whenever the subject comes up. As long as only Uber does this, there really isn't a problem. But it will be a problem if it happens everywhere. I am not saying that this is a black-and-white thing. There are certainly nuances here, and in a…

You raise some interesting points. As an employer, do I have a moral obligation to help an under performing employee through a bad period? Many, though not all, would say, "yes." Let me rephrase the question. Do I have a moral obligation to pay said employee more than the current value he is providing to me? Now, most economists would say, "No," though there may be an argument about the present value of what the empl…

That was really my point, though you said it more eloquently: If Uber does less well (because of image problems), then it will provide a living for fewer people in the end.

It's great to be loyal to employees, if you can. If you put your loyalty to your employees above the quality of the product you're providing, you may find you have no ability to pay any of your employees. Or in the case of Uber, that people stop hiring drivers.

Re: What happened when the CEO of a Boston burrito chain became an Uber driver

#60

Post by gamblor956 »

Karunamon wrote: post #11
Avitas wrote: post #2

I wonder what happens when his Tesla gets t-boned by a pickup truck, they guy speeds off and he has to claim it on his insurance. His insurance finds out he's driving for Uber and then...

I'd imagine the same thing that happens to people who work for the average delivery food place (i.e. most don't mark it a work vehicle for insurance purposes either) and get into an accident. I'd hardly call Uber immoral for this. It's up to each person to square up with their insurance company.

Delivery guys are covered under general commercial liability policies of their employer. They don't need auto-specific coverage since driving is incidental to the primary business (food prep/sales) rather than the point of the business. In some states, the companies are required to take out additional insurance to cover their delivery drivers, but the policies aren't driver-specific. Either way, the driver is covered by the company, which is how it should be. (Auto insurance policies don't prohibit food delivery employment--only package delivery and passenger transport, as those raise very different liability issues.)

Uber's business is connecting drivers to passengers, and it takes a commission for doing so that is in some cases equal to or greater than what taxi companies collect for roughly the same service. The difference is that taxi companies are required to have insurance, and Uber arbitrages insurance costs and books it as "revenue."

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