4. So last night, I get to a pickup and there is this lady there with 2 little kids. She opens the door and the kids start getting into the car. She then in broken English asks me if I can take just the kids. I tell her that she needs to come or another adult.
She goes to get her boyfriend, who starts grilling me on why I wouldn’t take them. He says they have done this over 40 times. I convince them to make it a round trip and ride with their kids.
I wanted to cancel, but the kids weren’t moving, and the boyfriend seemed hostile. They do the trip and rate me 2 stars.
5. I took an order in the morning, it was passenger traveling to a large shopping mall. About half a mile from the point of destination, the passenger says, “Drop me off here, I’ll take a walk, and you won’t have to go round the parking lot.” Later I notice that there is less money on the balance than there should be.
I call support, and it turns out that the passenger complained that she was not dropped off at her destination and had to walk around the whole shopping mall with a sore leg! I explained the situation, they sympathized with me, but they couldn’t help me, because I finished the order before I reached the final destination. Of course, I never got the money.
Now, if a passenger wants to get off earlier and pays with a card, I always ask to change the end point. Or I drop them off where they ask, but complete the order only where I am supposed to.
6. I often have to call a taxi. It’s very annoying that there are many incompetent drivers working there! I specify the destination point of the route, and they arrive at a completely different place, call me and say something like, “Cross the road, I’m waiting for you.”
One driver didn’t want to get to the destination which was a quarter mile away and said, “You can walk, it’s not far.” Do I call a taxi to walk? Why do you get this job if you can’t do what you’re supposed to do? Annoying.
7. My sister told me once how she told a taxi driver off. She called a taxi after taking her child from the daycare. They had to wait for a long time, so the app changed the “economy” status to “comfort.”
They got in, and the taxi driver said, “You got lucky today, Cinderellas. You’re going to have a fancy ride.” She got flabbergasted and said, “Is it your company policy to be rude to customers or is it your personal choice?”
He tried to excuse himself by saying that he just wanted to make a joke. She quickly explained to him that such jokes didn’t work with her. The guy bit his tongue, drove the whole trip in silence, and at the end of the journey he got out and silently opened the doors for them.
8. I was sitting in the back, all windows closed, and wondering why I hear noise as if the window was open. Then I looked down and between my feet there was a hole in the floor! I could see the road!
9. I had an argument with a taxi driver because I gave him more money that I should have. He said, “Take your change.” I replied, “It’s fine, keep it.” He said, “Lady, just because I work in a taxi doesn’t mean I need your charity.”
10. I had an Uber driver who didn’t stop talking and wouldn’t let me get a word in for 15 minutes. And then he started singing the Carter album, word of mouth style, with no rhythm, just saying the lines. Very awkward ride.
11. I called a taxi from home to work. According to the GPS, the taxi was waiting at the specified spot. I get to the spot, but no one is there. I wrote to him and called him, he didn’t answer, and the paid waiting has already started.
I look at my phone, and he’s already left and turned on “on the way.” I took screenshots, wrote to the support and called another car. On the second try, everything was fine. And the first driver cancelled the order when I got to work. At least, they didn’t charge me for that ride.
12. I picked up a 4.60-rated pax. I was extremely hesitant at first, but it was a good paying trip. As I roll up to the pick-up zone, I realize it’s a young Somalian girl in a hijab. We had a great conversation, and she was overall a very nice and pleasant person. Probably one of my best rides of the night.
So I had to ask, how come your rating is so low? It’s one of the lowest I’ve personally seen. She told me she had no idea her rating was low, but used to take Ubers all over the east coast and the app would never give her the correct drop-off location.
Don’t get me wrong, I still get hesitant when I pick up someone below 4.8, but it’s not always accurate! Use due diligence of course, but don’t always judge a book by its cover.
13. I’m taking an order, the notes say “a small dog.” I arrive, there are actually 2 dogs. The owner looks at me pleadingly, “Please take us. No one wants to take us. My dogs are obedient, clean.”
I say, “Okay, get in. But if something goes wrong, we’ll look to it when we arrive.” She’s like, “Of course, everything will be fine. If there are any problems, I will compensate for everything.” On the way, one of the dogs starts running around on the back seat, on the floor, on its owner. I didn’t pay much attention, just asked the woman to calm it down.
We arrive, she pays me and gets out. And I see that the interior is completely covered in fur. Everything: the seat, the backrest, the floor. I come out and say, “Lady, look, my car is covered in your dog’s hair, please pay for the vacuum cleaning, and I’ll go.” She just scolded me and that was it.
14. I pull up, there are 2 passengers. They open the right rear door and both get in through this door. There are 2 back doors in the car! Why climbing in through one and jumping around the car
Sometimes even 3 people get in through the same door. Where’s the logic in that? Like there’s only one way in and out of the apartment, so you have to get in through the same door in a taxi? I recently saw a sticker on a taxi, “Seating on both sides.”
15. I asked the taxi driver if he knew how to get to the address I needed. He got very offended and said, “Sweetheart, I’ve been in the taxi business longer than you are old.” He fixed his tie and turned away upset.
16. A guy in a broken down Mercedes. He just loved his honk. He honked for every single person he saw, even if they were going the other way. He also honked for the cars, trees, road signs. And I couldn’t understand anything he says.
In the end, before reaching my destination, he saw a lady on the other side of the road, so he broke hard and honked, which got 2 cars to crash into him.
17. Once I got a taxi after a party, and a woman was driving. We approach my house, and it’s located near woods. The pavement ends, and a couple of hundred yards are a dirt road. It was late at night, and the neighborhood was not illuminated and looked quite creepy.
The woman looked frightened and said, “I’m not going there!” It was funny, but I stepped into her shoes and walked.
18. The guy was mad at his boss and was driving like hell. Well, furious would be a better word, maybe. He was out of control! I kept asking him to slow down and he wouldn’t. He was driving me to the airport at 1 in the morning, and I thought I was going to die.
19. I called a taxi. We’re on the way, but the driver looks at me in a weird way. Suddenly he starts asking about my family, my dad’s job, my brother. And I start to feel uncomfortable. I think, “That’s it.”
But as soon as we pull up, he asks me abruptly if I recognize him. Obviously, I don’t. He starts laughing and says he’s our neighbor from the first floor.
20. I was late and called a taxi. I climb into the car, and the air conditioner is on full blast in the cabin, it’s literally freezing. The driver himself had a hat and a down jacket on. I say, “Could you turn off the air conditioner? I’m freezing here.”
And he replies, “It’s my first time driving this rented car. I got it this morning, and the air conditioner had already been on. I don’t know how to turn it off, and the owner of the car doesn’t pick up the phone, so I’ve been driving like this for 3 hours and freezing myself.”
I put on my hat and gloves and buttoned my coat. We drove in silence for the rest of the journey. I got out, and the guy went on freezing.
21. Yesterday I got a taxi driver who was too talkative. Talked non-stop all the way. I was happy to get out of the car. And here I am at home, eating, and suddenly hear a phone call.
I pick up the phone and there’s a man’s voice saying hello. It was that taxi driver! And he shamelessly says, “I haven’t told you the most interesting part of the story, listen…” I was stunned.
