Okay, let me start by saying this is just ridiculous, and I really don't know if this post belongs in the Pay or Complaints category...since it's basically a complaint about the pay cut.
I've been driving for Uber since December, and this is the third pay cut I've seen in LA. First, they dropped the prices in January to stir up more business, and that was fine because A) It was legitimately pretty dead at that point and B) They ALSO dropped the commission they took from the drivers from 20% to 5%. Honestly, I thought all that was pretty heroic at the time. Then, a few months later, they put the commission back to 20% but kept the rates the same, BUT WAIT, they told us, it's okay, because we're getting an incentive of $1 per ride! Still a pay cut, but they were trying to soften the blow, I guess.
Now, in the past month or so, it's been one thing after another. First, we're informed that the $1 incentive will not last forever and will be yanked away whenever they feel like it. Next, oh, by the way, we're charging $10 a week for use of the phone. And they tell us this was always a thing that was never enforced, and they're just telling us about it now, but it's okay, because they're comping it until, once again, they feel like stopping. And then they tell us that, for MONTHS, they've been charging the riders less and just never told us about it (I heard from one of the riders about a month ago), and they've been paying the difference out of pocket and "Oh, did you notice you've been making more money? Wasn't that nice? Well, surprise! That's done now, but weren't we nice for paying the difference out of pocket?"
Driving at the new rates is a nightmare. One $4 fare after another, and with each of them, I'm just thinking, "This should be $6-7, and just last week, it was." It adds up or, more properly, really doesn't, very fast. But almost as bad as the pay cut itself is the smile the company continuously tries to paint on it. Each time there's been a cut, there's an email saying, "You see, though you'll be making less each trip, you'll actually just be making the same amount of money because you'll have more trips! Uber is getting bigger! Isn't that great?!" Yes, I'll be doing more work for less money and you expect me to smile and be happy the company is doing well, despite the fact that this is my only job and it was a pain BEFORE all of this? I signed off earlier than usual last night because I was honestly almost in tears because of my frustration. I just could not continue to put a happy face on this insanity for the sake of the riders. It makes me think that the company thinks I am deeply stupid.
Also, has anyone else experienced more clientele that are...problematic? When I first started, I didn't get a ride that I felt deserved a one-star rating for the first two months, and I got maybe two more after that. Three one-star rides in 8 months sounds great. (For the record, I only work a couple nights a week, so that might explain the low numbers). Anyway, I've had that many one-stars in the past two nights, and a bunch more that don't get more than a three-star rating. And in general, it takes a lot for me to rate someone below a five. So yes, more business is great, but as a female driver in Los Angeles at night, the last thing I want is riders that make me feel unsafe.
I don't know if a strike is the answer because I honestly don't believe that Uber cares, but I know there is no one person I can go to to air these frustrations. What, am I gonna send this essay to the partnersla email? I'll just get a copy-paste reply that answers nothing. In my eight months with Uber, I've met maybe three other Uber drivers in person, and those were all by chance. The nature of our jobs makes organization very difficult, and the god-awful economy assures that too many people are afraid of not having the little money we're given to do anything about these pay cuts.
But seriously, something needs to be done.
P.S. To any person who read all the way to the end of that, bravo. You're kinda my hero on this awful weekend.
I've been driving for Uber since December, and this is the third pay cut I've seen in LA. First, they dropped the prices in January to stir up more business, and that was fine because A) It was legitimately pretty dead at that point and B) They ALSO dropped the commission they took from the drivers from 20% to 5%. Honestly, I thought all that was pretty heroic at the time. Then, a few months later, they put the commission back to 20% but kept the rates the same, BUT WAIT, they told us, it's okay, because we're getting an incentive of $1 per ride! Still a pay cut, but they were trying to soften the blow, I guess.
Now, in the past month or so, it's been one thing after another. First, we're informed that the $1 incentive will not last forever and will be yanked away whenever they feel like it. Next, oh, by the way, we're charging $10 a week for use of the phone. And they tell us this was always a thing that was never enforced, and they're just telling us about it now, but it's okay, because they're comping it until, once again, they feel like stopping. And then they tell us that, for MONTHS, they've been charging the riders less and just never told us about it (I heard from one of the riders about a month ago), and they've been paying the difference out of pocket and "Oh, did you notice you've been making more money? Wasn't that nice? Well, surprise! That's done now, but weren't we nice for paying the difference out of pocket?"
Driving at the new rates is a nightmare. One $4 fare after another, and with each of them, I'm just thinking, "This should be $6-7, and just last week, it was." It adds up or, more properly, really doesn't, very fast. But almost as bad as the pay cut itself is the smile the company continuously tries to paint on it. Each time there's been a cut, there's an email saying, "You see, though you'll be making less each trip, you'll actually just be making the same amount of money because you'll have more trips! Uber is getting bigger! Isn't that great?!" Yes, I'll be doing more work for less money and you expect me to smile and be happy the company is doing well, despite the fact that this is my only job and it was a pain BEFORE all of this? I signed off earlier than usual last night because I was honestly almost in tears because of my frustration. I just could not continue to put a happy face on this insanity for the sake of the riders. It makes me think that the company thinks I am deeply stupid.
Also, has anyone else experienced more clientele that are...problematic? When I first started, I didn't get a ride that I felt deserved a one-star rating for the first two months, and I got maybe two more after that. Three one-star rides in 8 months sounds great. (For the record, I only work a couple nights a week, so that might explain the low numbers). Anyway, I've had that many one-stars in the past two nights, and a bunch more that don't get more than a three-star rating. And in general, it takes a lot for me to rate someone below a five. So yes, more business is great, but as a female driver in Los Angeles at night, the last thing I want is riders that make me feel unsafe.
I don't know if a strike is the answer because I honestly don't believe that Uber cares, but I know there is no one person I can go to to air these frustrations. What, am I gonna send this essay to the partnersla email? I'll just get a copy-paste reply that answers nothing. In my eight months with Uber, I've met maybe three other Uber drivers in person, and those were all by chance. The nature of our jobs makes organization very difficult, and the god-awful economy assures that too many people are afraid of not having the little money we're given to do anything about these pay cuts.
But seriously, something needs to be done.
P.S. To any person who read all the way to the end of that, bravo. You're kinda my hero on this awful weekend.