RIDEGURU
Once I thought it was a fluke. Then it happens the second time, and I am pissed. The driver never shows up and I get charged the cancellation for $6.00. I waited in the location of the pin, I was on time, and even texted the driver. What a scam.
I am not sure if this is the same, but I also had a driver call me and told me his car broke down. Asked me to cancel. How fair is that?
Comments
I'd hate to say it but yeah, this is a thing. Some drivers come near your location, stop a block away around a corner, and wait for the time to come, usually 5 minutes, and then cancels to collect the fee. In order to make sure you guys don't connect, the driver may even ignore your messages. How harsh.
Then to add a cherry to the top? The rider will request again, and the request will go to that lazy driver. (Some people say there's an algorithm where this doesn't happen, but the jury is still out on that one.)
Why do they do this? You may argue that drivers would want to drive rather than sit and collect small fees. That may be true but some fares are not worth taking. For example
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I'd hate to say it but yeah, this is a thing. Some drivers come near your location, stop a block away around a corner, and wait for the time to come, usually 5 minutes, and then cancels to collect the fee. In order to make sure you guys don't connect, the driver may even ignore your messages. How harsh.
Then to add a cherry to the top? The rider will request again, and the request will go to that lazy driver. (Some people say there's an algorithm where this doesn't happen, but the jury is still out on that one.)
Why do they do this? You may argue that drivers would want to drive rather than sit and collect small fees. That may be true but some fares are not worth taking. For example
Many drivers do not feel bad about this because time is money, and they did spend the time waiting for you. Yeah, not sure if that's legit.
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Just so you are aware, @LCarpenter, if you challenge these incidents (and the fee) to Uber, they will review it and potentially waive the fee.
Remember Uber monitors everything and they have GPS. If they noticed that you were at the pin, they may consider the driver being in the wrong, and they can reverse the fee. If they noticed that the driver was around the block and hiding out, they will also refund the fee and maybe fire the driver.
Some drivers do have questionable tactics and principles. Here are the steps I take when picking up a passenger.
1) I arrive at the destination. If the app doesn't automatically pick it up, I click on arrive.
2) I wait at least 2 minutes for them to arrive. (I suppose I could contact them right away, because after 2 minutes and they cancel, they will be dinged with fees. I guess that isn't my probem though.)
3) Call and/or message the passenger-to-be.
4) If they answer, I tell them where I am and wait.
5) Wait 3 minutes more for a total of 5 minutes.
6) Call again and give them another minute or two. If they didn't anwer earlier, I don't even bother.
7) Cancel and mark as "No show."
Can you just pretend that you picked up the rider and start drving?
Yes, theoretically possible, but that would guarantee me a 1-star rating and Uber will reverse the charge when the customer complains anyways.
I've never done it so I don't know, but I wonder if there is a mechanism where if the passenger isn't near the cab (per GPS) it won't let me start the trip.
No there isn't. You can start the trip as long as you are near the pickup location.
I am gonna side with the driver on this one. You probably weren't at the exact location and the driver couldn't find you. You were late. Please do not disrespect us drivers. Time is money, and we don't have time to be dealing with your unorganized mess.
You know, this is why I take the no-show fee over the minimum fare on any day. It's pax likes these that make me just go to the pin and do nothing. I don't even bother messaging the pax anymore. Just wait out the time I am upposed to, and I cancel.
If the pax disrepects me by making me wait or too stupid to find out where I am, they deserve to be charged. Only real consequences will teach these people. I am doing a better deed for other drivers by forcing them to educate themselves.
How do you know it'd be a minimum fare? You don't know where the passenger is trying to go until you pick him or her up. For all you know, you just cancelled on a $40 ride.
and I see problem in you hiding out just to let the time expire. That's messed up and unethical.
You are missing the point. They need to make a point to be on time and to find the driver. We have limited places we can go, and we always arrive at the pin.
and there is no hiding out. You can find me in the app on a GPS. If you are so entitled or too stupid, you don't deserve to be driven.
First thing first, was your pickup location accurate? Did you type in the name of the location or the exact address? Did you confirm the dot was in the right location on the map? Were you standing on the dot? Did you look all around you on both sides of the street?
If you answered yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, then okay, perhaps your driver was in the wrong location. Did you call or text them to try to resolve this?
If you answered no, then I blame the rider not the driver. Only the rider has control over the pickup location. If you entered the wrong address, if you used your GPS location and your phone thought you were a couple blocks away, if you mis-typed your address, if you clicked the wrong location as you requested....I don't blame the driver for any of that. Hopefully you were charged a cancellation fee to compensate the driver for their time & mileage, and hopefully it reminds you to triple-check your pickup location in the app next time.
What I don't get is that people think drivers are hiding from their passengers-to-be. You guys can see us on the GPS. How the hell do we hide?
We the drivers can't see you. So it's sorta your responsibility to spot us and approach. We got to the specified location, so we did our part. Get on the car, or just be cancelled
If you contact Uber, they will give you the reason for the cancellation. I forgot if it shows up on the rider receipt or not. Basically, the driver can cancel without penalty after five minutes, then they would enter a reason for the cancellation, and one of the choices is "No show."
It can also be "Incorrect address." That also triggers a fee for the userI
To be clear, that's five minutes after you arrive at location. not to be confused with the time from when I accept the ride. (The latter is used for fees when riders cancel. i.e. If they cancel after 2 minutes from the time driver accepts the ride, they are dinged.)
Drivers don't want your $5.00 cancellation fee. They want the ride. It'd be pretty ineffective for a driver to hide and wait for several minutes just to make $1.00 a minute. Remember, we get paid more like $2.00 a mile plus like $0.30 a minute. It's way bettr use of our time to drive you.
I don't know what market you drive in, but in DFW they just cut the UberX rates from $0.67 to $0.60 per mile. Time went up from $0.075 to $0.12 per minute (woohoo :-|)
We're not making $2/mile or $0.30/minute and we haven't in a long time.
I'm neutral on completing the ride vs cancelling. I'd rather not waste miles driving around in circles, but I'm also not going to sit there all night hoping the rider eventually shows up. You got to draw the line somewhere. 5:00 minutes is where they drew the line. At 5:01 I'm out.
#5&Drive
ALL CANCEL TRIPS DRIVERS NO SHOW I WAN A REFUND PLEASE
You have a 2 minute grace period, not five to cancel. If you don't cancel within 2 minutes from the time you are matched up (i.e. driver accepts your ride), you are charged $5.00. The app should warn you though.
I think in this example, I think the driver cancelled on the poster.