#uberdc

Dear Uber,

I am really, really trying to remember the extreme love I once had for you. But mornings like the one I just had are making that nigh impossible.

I called Uber today, because I hurt my knee, and I'm limping. The driver called me when he seemed to be downstairs and I asked him to confirm whether he was actually at my building as opposed to in the alley behind it (down SEVERAL sets of stairs) or even better-- on a totally different street behind my own. You see, your app REGULARLY puts drivers in either of those places and nowhere near my front door. It's really annoying and definitely detracts from the customer experience.

The best part is when your more argumentative drivers INSIST that they are in front of my building, when I can clearly see them in the alley or your app shows them on the street directly behind the block where I actually live. I mean, I would think that I know my own address and where 18xx  ******* Street NW is, but several of your drivers have argued otherwise and insisted that they are correct, because they have your completely fool-proof GPS. Right. So when the driver called, I greeted him joyfully and asked whether he was in front, in the alley, or on the wrong street. I started to explain that this has been a recurring issue with Uber-- for at least the last dozen rides, if not more-- and he interrupted me to say he knew to stay out of alleys. Great! I told him that I would be down shortly. I live on the top floor, so I had to negotiate three flights of stairs, one step at a time, to accommodate my knee. When I went outside, there was no Dodge Durango to be found. I walked out to the middle of the street. Nothing. I craned my neck to see if he was perhaps parked at the curb further down the road. Nothing.

My chest started to hurt. I was going to be late for work, specifically for an 8am meeting that was very, very important. I felt an enormous surge of stress and anxiety,and it doubled when I realized that my physical and emotional response were wholly unnecessary-- and your fault. I hadn't done anything wrong. I had planned my morning carefully. The whole reason I use Uber is to get to work early. Stress-free. With an extra 15 minutes to finish my makeup or answer work emails. I count on you guys and on too many occasions, you have disappointed me.

Remember that one driver this summer? Who was at 19xx  ******* Street, but spat caustic words in my ear about how he was at the right address? He saw me waving frantically in the middle of the street, and then fought with me some more about how I needed to come to HIM. When I asked him to just drive down the street towards me (and the direction I was supposed to travel in), he abruptly said he refused to drive on ******* Street BECAUSE IT IS TOO NARROW. We regularly see 18-wheel moving trucks and ambulances negotiate that street. His compact car should have been fine and yet...it wasn't. Then, to put an undigested corn-"cherry" on this shit sundae he canceled the trip. With me standing right there. Your app told me that, and that it would be a minimum of 13 minutes before another car could find me. I remember worrying about whether that disastrous interaction was a harbinger of things to come, but I stupidly believed it was an anomaly. Nope. Harbinger. Things. Bad.

Very bad.

At 7:40 today, after realizing I had been betrayed by my favorite mode of transportation, I limped to 16th street and frantically hailed a taxi-- thankfully the third one I spotted was empty. I got in, grimly realizing that there wouldn't be a surge charge, either. The cabbie drove like Satan upon learning of my distress and imminent tardiness and I was only five minutes late for my meeting-- but that was still unacceptable in terms of the impression I made when I walked through those doors.

So not only am I in MORE pain now, I started my day on a very unpleasant note, disappointed my boss and several coworkers, and best of all, YOU CHARGED ME FOR THIS UGLINESS.

Stop for a moment. How would you feel? How would you feel?

I would take Uber EVERY DAY if I knew I could depend on it. And keep in mind, that every. time. something like this happens, I walk into an open-plan office and over a dozen people hear about it. Now, when I'm late, I walk in and instead of saying, "Norm!", like I'm at Cheers, they chorus, "Uber?" Three of my coworkers have decided not to try you because of my constant difficulties. They were especially cheered by the client we entertained last week, who worked for Lyft and left everyone $30 credits for their service.

I really want to support you guys. I want to be a patron. I want to Uber all day and party all night (and then Uber home happily, after), but more than that, I want you to succeed. I was so excited when you started up in D.C. and I miss that feeling. I'm not sure what's going on, but the last few weeks have been awful, and the months before that weren't great to begin with. I've had several drivers say they were coming, then cancel on me unexpectedly, leaving me stranded. This never used to happen. Please tell me that you care. You should care. What are you guys doing to fix this plethora of issues? Anything?

With great disappointment,