A couple of weeks back I finally got to try out Uber while in Atlanta. After the ride, I couldn’t figure out what the big deal was and asked if anyone could explain.
During our Uber ride, we were given an estimate of $28-$36 to take us from the Delta Flight Museum to Turner Field. Since I had a $35 Uber credit this seemed like a great time to use it. After a bit of traffic, it turned out that our fare came to $55.
A short while after the ride ended, a short survey came up in the Uber app. It asked to rate the driver from 1-5 and leave comments about the ride (or something to that extent).
This is what I had to say: Clean car, nice driver but I didn’t see Ranjit hit the end ride button until we were walking away from his car. I thought cabs usually ended the fare upon stopping to get out.
After sending in my comment, I didn’t expect anything to come from it but boy was I wrong!
I received an e-mail from the Atlanta Community Manager asking me to respond to the message with some info. He wanted to know the address or name of where we were dropped off. He also wrote that he would double-check to make sure I was not overcharged.
Since Uber Atlanta reached out to me, I didn’t see a reason not to write back!
The response was surprising and really impressive:
Thanks for writing in to us! So sorry for any confusion on this trip. It looks like the driver may have accidentally ended the trip a bit too late which caused this discrepancy in fare.
I checked it out, and this ride should have only cost $31, so I’ve adjusted the fare accordingly. You’ll receive an email confirmation shortly and should see the difference refunded back to your card in the next couple of business days. We’ll check in with your driver to see where the mistake was made.
Let me know if there’s anything else I can do – always happy to help!
A short while after receiving this amazing news, I received another e-mail from Uber with the subject “We corrected the fare for your May 26 trip”.
My original charge for using Uber in Atlanta was $54.99. This trip was paid with a $35 Uber credit and my credit card on file. In the latest e-mail I was informed that I got $4.01 in Uber credit refunded and $19.99 refunded to my credit card.
Talk about impressive customer service! However, if I were to ever use Uber again, I’d be a bit worried about getting overcharged during other rides.
Have any of you had a positive (or negative) experience with Uber customer service? If so, please let us know what happened in the comments below!
Jeffrey- Definitely good to know! Uber impressed me in how they dealt with my situation.
Elena- Awesome! I think I read that if you have Uber credits in one type of currency it must be used in the same one.
Patrick W- When taxis are hard to come by then I get the value of Uber. You haven’t found the prices to be a bit on the high side?
Jean- Interesting to see that Uber was so much cheaper for the airport transfer. On the other hand, rides to the airport usually seem to be cheaper than rides from the airport (at least for us when taking car service in Brooklyn).
JJ- This is a situation where I totally see Uber being beneficial. Thanks for sharing with us. How have you found the pricing to be compared to a regular taxi or car service?
As a blind traveler, I love the convenience and accessibility of the rideshare services. Trying to flag down a cab or figure out when one may be available is not a simple ordeal. The app lets me know when the car is pulling up, lets me call the driver if we need to find each other, and takes care of payment (I hate paying cash). Plus, I can get out of the car as soon as I arrive instead of having to deal with paying with my card. As for your question, I’ve had 1 bad experience out of about 15-20 and they did the same thing. They’re a newer company so one has to wonder if this will alwys be how they operate, but so far, so good.
Just used Uber for the first time yesterday. We had taken regular taxi from BUR to Century Plaza Hotel a few days earlier, $75 including tip. Used Uber on way back. Began with a hitch as we told the driver Bob Hope Airport-Burbank. He got on the 405 heading south towards LAX Thankfully I had Google Maps going so I questioned him and we quickly got off the freeway, re-entered going North. To be fair we had got him distracted by talking about his home country . He was a very nice man. He then turned off his “meter” early so the trip ended up costing us $46. While the estimate was $26-32 there was traffic that had us divert to local streets. Gave him a “5” rating as hey, anyone can make a mistake.
The big deal is the ability to get reliable “taxi” service in underserved cities. I live in San Francisco where, one would think by looking around the downtown and tourist areas, that we are well-served by taxis. Unfortunately that has never been the case. Unless you’re lucky enough to live in a popular area with lots of bars and restaurants, flagging a cab when you need one is nearly impossible. And calling them by phone is an even bigger gamble as most of the companies don’t ever answer their phones, and if they do you’re either put on an interminable hold, or told your cab is on the way … and it never shows up.
Enter Uber who, while they absolutely have some questionable tactics and busines practices, and suddenly you can very reliably get a ride when you need one, for about the same price or just a little more than a taxi. Add the convenience of not having to have cash (SF taxis, until about a year ago, weren’t even required to take credit cards!), and you have a fantastic service that is really a big deal in a city where taxi service is very useful but not very reliable.
I had the same problem in Abu Dhabi and I was refunded the difference as well. I really can’t complain especially for the service and price. It was my first time trying them out and will definitely use them again.
Only problem for me is that I had £ credits that I couldn’t use in AED as they don’t have converter.
Uber customer service is consistently responsive; I have only had a few fair-to-poor experiences (after dozens and dozens of rides in dozens of cities), and if you have a question or concern they respond quickly. They are also quick to respond to Twitter feedback (@Uber and/or @Uber +name-of-city). They never quibble with a rider who feels wronged. It’s no wonder cab drivers and associations hate them – Uber has turned their business model on its head!