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A profound apology

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Re: A profound apology

#191

Post by btian »

_xhok wrote: post #153
_xhok wrote: post #124

Here's the conversation that took place: Travis: So we are reducing the number of black cars in the next few months. Fawzi: It’s good. Travis: You probably saw some email. Fawzi: I saw the email [that says] it starts in May. But you’re raising the standards and dropping the prices. Travis: We’re not dropping the prices on Black. Fawzi: But in general. Travis: In general, but we have competitors. Otherwise we’d be out…

Personally, I didn't find this disproportionately disrespectful. The driver makes a couple unsubstantiated claims (perfectly ok--it's a car discussion). Travis does the same. The driver starts making accusations ("you keep changing every day"). Travis asks for clarification. The driver keeps up his attack ("You changed the whole business! You dropped the prices.") If someone accused me in such a fashion, and persiste…

From the Bloomberg 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.

The least a CEO could have said is to thank the driver for his feedback and promise to look into it.

Just because you're disrespectful doesn't mean the CEO of a consumer facing company can treat its partners like that.

Re: A profound apology

#192

Post by throwaway91111 »

argonaut wrote: post #152
smcmurtry wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Kalanick: You know what? >Kamel: What? >Kalanick: Some people don't like to take responsibility for their own shit. They blame everything in their life on somebody else. I think that is a very insulting and superior thing to say to someone.

Something that struck me is: almost half of the country would disagree with you (the more conservative half). A lot of the American public believes what Kalanick said to be very true when it comes to low-ish income people complaining about what wealthier people do to them.

Yes, because conservative people don't complain.

In reality, it's a dismissal indicating a lack of respect and/or lack of any fucks to give. Yes, I'd say that's about half the country.

Re: A profound apology

#193

Post by diebir »

I did not find this video problematic at all. If anything, I am impressed that Kalanick went for a conversation with the driver and on the same level. This could be a cultural difference, but I perceived the driver tone as aggressive and bullying, when Kalanick was eager but civil. I think Kalanick handled the confrontation (which is what this was) pretty well. This fits his style and my perception of him and while he may not be a person I would want to hang out with, this is why Uber is successful with Kalanick as a CEO.

Re: A profound apology

#194

Post by mojowo11 »

_xhok wrote: post #153
_xhok wrote: post #124

Here's the conversation that took place: Travis: So we are reducing the number of black cars in the next few months. Fawzi: It’s good. Travis: You probably saw some email. Fawzi: I saw the email [that says] it starts in May. But you’re raising the standards and dropping the prices. Travis: We’re not dropping the prices on Black. Fawzi: But in general. Travis: In general, but we have competitors. Otherwise we’d be out…

Personally, I didn't find this disproportionately disrespectful. The driver makes a couple unsubstantiated claims (perfectly ok--it's a car discussion). Travis does the same. The driver starts making accusations ("you keep changing every day"). Travis asks for clarification. The driver keeps up his attack ("You changed the whole business! You dropped the prices.") If someone accused me in such a fashion, and persiste…

It's not because he's a billionaire, it's because he's the CEO of Uber talking to an Uber driver about Uber. Even if the guy isn't making particularly solid points or is being accusatory, it shouldn't be that hard to hold it together, be conciliatory, and avoid saying something nasty. This should be child's play for a CEO discussing/defending their company.

(That said, on the whole, I agree that it's being blown pretty out of proportion.)

Re: A profound apology

#195

Post by gingerbread-man »

argonaut wrote: post #152
smcmurtry wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Kalanick: You know what? >Kamel: What? >Kalanick: Some people don't like to take responsibility for their own shit. They blame everything in their life on somebody else. I think that is a very insulting and superior thing to say to someone.

Something that struck me is: almost half of the country would disagree with you (the more conservative half). A lot of the American public believes what Kalanick said to be very true when it comes to low-ish income people complaining about what wealthier people do to them.

In my experience, it isn't the wealthy who think the poor are lazy/irresponsible-- it's the working poor and the lower middle class. The "more conservative half" of the country isn't particularly the wealthier half of the country. Speculating as to why that is would probably overflow this comments section.

Re: A profound apology

#197

Post by HugoDaniel »

_xhok wrote: post #153
_xhok wrote: post #124

Here's the conversation that took place: Travis: So we are reducing the number of black cars in the next few months. Fawzi: It’s good. Travis: You probably saw some email. Fawzi: I saw the email [that says] it starts in May. But you’re raising the standards and dropping the prices. Travis: We’re not dropping the prices on Black. Fawzi: But in general. Travis: In general, but we have competitors. Otherwise we’d be out…

Personally, I didn't find this disproportionately disrespectful. The driver makes a couple unsubstantiated claims (perfectly ok--it's a car discussion). Travis does the same. The driver starts making accusations ("you keep changing every day"). Travis asks for clarification. The driver keeps up his attack ("You changed the whole business! You dropped the prices.") If someone accused me in such a fashion, and persiste…

He did clarify:

Fawzi: We started with $20.

Re: A profound apology

#198

Post by gingerbread-man »

ethbro wrote: post #46
unityByFreedom wrote: post #12

> This is the first time I’ve been willing to admit that I need leadership help and I intend to get it. That's bold. I can't remember hearing any recent CEO saying this. Best of luck to Uber and their CEO.

That's because normally the CEO is fired after presiding over a fuckup of this magnitude. (The rampant racism and sexism, not just this latest)

You think Uber's sexual harassment problems are unique? (If only!) I can't think of a time in recent memory that a founder was removed for something like this. He'll certainly need "leadership help" to reign-in the madness that's been described, but it seems more likely that will take a Sheryl Sandberg-esque form. (An awesome new 2nd-in-command with real leadership experience and chops.)

Re: A profound apology

#199

Post by victorhooi »

I fail to see the issue here.

If anything, this whole thing makes me respect Kalanick and Uber more.

I watched the video of the driver ambushing Kalanick - and yes, it was clearly an ambush:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTEDYCkNqns

If anything, he handled himself quite well - especially considering he probably just wanted to go home.

Can any of you say you would have handled a tense situation, with somebody abusing you any better?

It's all well and good to sit in your chair at home, comfortable - but how many of you had to deal with

The fact that he took the time to actually talk with the driver says something. At worst, he said b*llshit at the end, when he's clearly frustrated at what's becoming a rant. The driver obviously just needed to vent.

Re: A profound apology

#200

Post by gingerbread-man »

bogomipz wrote: post #148
simplehuman wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Travis is already successful. He is worth billions.

So being a successful human being is gauged solely on the size of one's bank account?

No, but saving thousands (millions?) of lives through philanthropy goes a long way towards making up for being kind-of-a-dick-sometimes.
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