Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

A profound apology

newsroom.uber.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

331–340 of 406 posts

Re: A profound apology

#331

Post by AstralStorm »

tptacek wrote: post #309
synicalx wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why should he have to apologise for this? This is normal 'robust' conversation between an employer and an employee who have a disagreement. The driver is apparently bankrupt (well done), so I would not be at all surprised if he deliberately tried to bait Travis into this conversation so he'd have a story to sell. At the end of the Bloomberg article where this surfaced, they noted that the driver got 1 Star for that r…

Uber drivers are not employees. Uber is a vendor to its drivers. In fact, Uber's existence depends on no employee relationship existing.

More of a franchise than a vendor. They do not sell anything.

Re: A profound apology

#332

Post by [deleted] »

cyphunk wrote: post #220
btian wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 p…

> The least a CEO could have said is to thank the driver for his feedback and promise to look into it. saying "thank you, I'll look into it" is politics. I think many appreciate honesty more. In this case that honesty costs.

[deleted]

Re: A profound apology

#333

Post by nightski »

vecter wrote: post #240
michaelmrose wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you got rich wholly or partly through wrong doing I don't understand how you can assign them any of the credit for giving some of it away. Imagine if I mugged you for $100 and gave $20 to the red cross?

Terrible strawman. Travis didn't mug anyone.

The driver in the video claims otherwise.

Re: A profound apology

#334

Post by AstralStorm »

pyrale wrote: post #297
yazaddaruvala wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Making the correct short-term business decision without fully understanding the long-term market forces in that domain, can still be a bad long-term decision. It is the business owner's (investor's) responsibility to understand and plan for the long-term. Not planning for the long-term is exactly what happened here. I do not believe this man should have been disrespected, however, his decision to buy a car he could n…

So you're saying making sound decisions regarding driving for Uber requires good economic skills, long-term planning capabilities aswell as insider information regarding Uber's policy ? This sounds like an unrealistic expectation. One would argue Uber was either disloyal or disillusioned if they rely on such people to advance their business.

Welcome to real capitalism, where only insiders can really prosper for sure.

Re: A profound apology

#335

Post by AstralStorm »

vecter wrote: post #241
smallnamespace wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the other hand, the person he's complaining to had a direct role to play in the fall in his income (justified or not).

Is that true? Or did the market force Uber to lower prices?

Uber could have remained a premium cab company with a fancy app, but everything start-up is rated on growth numbers, not profit, and definitely not on profit of drivers.

If not for abusing growth, it would have not raised funding and would have likely failed.

Re: A profound apology

#336

Post by simplehuman »

piyush_soni wrote: post #271
simplehuman wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Years from now, he will donate to charity and do philanthropic things and all will be forgotten. Just like another billionaire we know.

I'm not sure. Unlike other millionaires and billionaires (lot of them donate money), Bill is actually working directly on the fields and giving almost all his time to improving Health and Education in the world. That's something big and I really appreciate him for that. Had he been 'only' giving money, I wouldn't be moved much.

For all you know, zuck and Travis will do the same in future.

Not sure if you know how many companies and lives, gates made bankrupt with his shady business practices. No different from Travis here.

Re: A profound apology

#337

Post by fragmede »

Hydraulix989 wrote: post #294
randycupertino wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The whole thing reminds me of when Tommy Carcetti becoming mayor scene from the Wire. The old outgoing mayor is giving him some advice and he basically explains that when you're mayor you have to smile and eat shit from everybody- the unions, the lobbyists, the press, the teachers, the churches... and smile and act gracious while you're doing it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjzqO6UOPFQ Travis should have just smi…

Even then, at some point, you're off stage so to speak when it comes to managing that "impression" for others. You can't always be fake all the time, it gets draining.

But of all places, the CEO of Uber should be considered "on stage" in an Uber.

Re: A profound apology

#338

Post by tptacek »

smdz wrote: post #326

> By now I’m sure you’ve seen the video where I treated an Uber driver disrespectfully. To say that I am ashamed is an extreme understatement. My job as your leader is to lead…and that starts with behaving in a way that makes us all proud. That is not what I did, and it cannot be explained away. > It’s clear this video is a reflection of me—and the criticism we’ve received is a stark reminder that I must fundamentall…

You copied this comment from another thread, where I responded:

Uber isn't the driver's employer. Uber is a vendor to the driver. The driver is complaining that its vendor made commitments, on which the driver depended, and then reneged. The driver might be right or might be wrong, but in no discussion with a vendor in the history of the Fortune 500 has it ever been OK for the vendor to accuse their customer of "not taking responsibility for their own shit".

What the video shows isn't wrong on the level of the Fowler post. It just shows Kalanick as petty and deeply unserious about his role, which is an alarming look for someone whose company is embroiled in scandals about mismanagement.

Re: A profound apology

#339

Post by gkya »

unityByFreedom wrote: post #63
ethbro wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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)

If social media wants his head, I'm sure they can get it. I think it's bad for tech and the country when we don't support people who say they made a mistake and are seeking help. If you do that, you only end up with really good liars in charge. Allow someone, somewhere, to admit a mistake and correct it in a leadership position.

It seems to me that mistakes have become an habit among high ranking staff at Uber, and that that's really hurting the business.

Re: A profound apology

#340

Post by c3534l »

sjtgraham wrote: post #16

The driver covertly filmed a passenger during a ride he was being paid for and disclosed the footage to a news organisation. This is extremely unethical IMO. Even if this is the CEO of Uber, it is entirely inappropriate, and he IMO is still entitled to an expectation of privacy equally as you or I would when we are paying for the exclusive private hire of a vehicle.

What are you talking about? Every uber car has a camera in it in case of disputes or insurance, which are common. There is no expectation of privacy in a car with clear windows and a stranger sitting in front of you.
Post reply on HN