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Animosity toward other drivers here.

4K views 99 replies 44 participants last post by  Mr. Yuck 
#1 ·
I posted this by itself in a reply but felt it needs more attention.

There is really no reason to hold animosity toward other drivers. The only negative reason I can think is people depressing other drives in hope there will be one less driver competing with them on the road.

Yes, Uber does not pay well. Uber is not a great company. We get it.

Walmart does not pay well and is a crappy company, yet they are the largest non-gov employer in the US.

Without them, many people would be without a job. Walmart employs 1.5 MILLION people in the US alone.

Yes, there are better jobs out there, but there are not enough for everyone. Otherwise people would be working at them and not Walmart.

The old worn out "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" is outdated baby boomer logic when manufacturing jobs dominated the US economy. We are now mainly a service economy.

The US has about 130 million full time employees. 81 million of them are paid $20/hr or less. $20/hr is the threshold for what I consider "good paying"..because even though Amazon workers are paid $15/hr, many of them are impoverished. Many nurses do not even make $20/hr.
The average hourly wage for a factory worker in a US auto plant is $16 an hour.
50 years ago the same wage (accounted for inflation of course) would of been decent money. My father made roughly the same amount and had his own house (paid for) and a brand new car (paid for) around 26 years old.
Hell...my aunt rented an apartment as a single female in the early 70's on MINIMUM WAGE.
My fiance and I work 3 jobs and have trouble staying afloat.

My dad also got a full retirement, something that less than 7 percent of full time employees get today. In fact many of my older family members received pensions as a factory worker.

Anyway..this means over 60 million employees are currently stuck making under $20/hr. The vast majority WILL NEVER EARN MORE. This is the failure of the circular logic when anyone mentions obtaining a better paying job. It's like cutting a pie into equal thirds and arguing one slice is bigger than two.

It makes absolutely no sense to judge people for what they do for income. It makes no sense to judge people, period. Yet on almost every thread, the same old comments of "stop driving" "your getting screwed" "find a job that pays better" comes up again and again.
 
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#10 · (Edited)
Part of the driver animosity is we are:

  1. Giving Nubers "tough love" to CHALENGE them to be better.
  2. Giving crap to the UberCoolade drinker, as they are just kicking the beehive here. Aka trolls.
  3. Strong passionate disagreements, like those who want to stay independant contractors, and those who want to be hourly.
  4. The lack of training for U/L drivers, combined with most drivers are new. Experienced drivers do things a certain way, because we learned the hard way. People may ask for real advice, so we may feel we need to counter someone else's bad advice.
  5. Different reasons/prioraty for doing U/L. Some do it full time, and have a goal for maximun profitability. Other's literally do it out of boredom. Those 2 groups will often clash.
  6. The competition IS the other drivers. Do these "on demand" type IC work long enough, and you will see it. Some things you have to figure it out yourself. A smart driver will not give away all the local honeyholes. He depends on them for a living, and the other drivers in his city are his competition.
Overall I must give UBERPEOPLE credit, as they have an excellent platform for us to discuss everything, even it is edgy. Mods generally let us say what we need to, while keeping threads from getting out of hand.
 
#12 ·
Experienced drivers do things a certain way, because we learned the hard way. People may ask for real advice, so we may feel we need to counter someone else's bad advice.
The issue I see on this forum is there is a different school of thought for every topic as a driver.
Do drivers get throttled? Do some drivers get priority pings?
Do I drive or sit still? Etc, etc.
Even the most experienced veteran drivers have different opinions.
 
#13 ·
The average hourly wage for a factory worker in a US auto plant is $16 an hour.
I didn't fact check all of the "statistics" you are throwing out but they sounded incorrect. So I quickly checked this one, way off. The average pay for an auto worker in US is $29.76 an hour. I assume the rest of your statistics are incorrect unless you can find data supporting your claim.

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#15 · (Edited)
I didn't fact check all of the "statistics" you are throwing out but they sounded incorrect. So I quickly checked this one, way off. The average pay for an auto worker in US is $29.76 an hour. I assume the rest of your statistics are incorrect unless you can find data supporting your claim.

View attachment 336271

That is because many factory jobs have a two-tier or multi-tier wage system.
They literally hire new people at a hourly rate that is much less than their tenured employees.

Those in the UAW hired before 2007 make roughly twice what new hires make.

That is why employers don't like people discussing their pay.

Again, my dad made the inflation adjusted hourly wage of $26.17 an hour in 1969.
That factory is still open. I looked on Indeed and the hourly wage is $13.67 an hour.

Not to mention:
-My dad and thousands of others did not need to burden themselves with student loan debt to get this wage.
-Those who make $26/hr with student loans actually make less due to student loan payments. Roughly $3-$4/hr less.
-The median price of a home at the time was $62,000 less than it is today (adjusted for inflation).
-Rent in the area (and in most areas in the US) has DOUBLED against inflation.
 
#18 ·
Just for fact's sake, Walmart is not just the largest non-governmental employer in the US.

Largest employers in the world.
1. US Department of Defense
2. China Department of Defense
3. Walmart

Trivia
In 2015, the six Waltons on the Forbes 400 list were worth $136.1 billion, making them the richest family in the United States. They have more wealth than 43% of American families combined. Their net worth is nearly equal to the combined wealth of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.
 
#19 ·
Fact is:

If u haven’t invested in yourselves and Worked at acquiring:
A Skill
Certificates
Education
Credentials

You’re basically relegated to Your Chosen Level:
Low Skill Low Wage. Working Poor

⚠It’s common public knowledge that ?FT careerist Uber drivers
Have no ambitions (other than demanding more money for sitting in their cars) and are lazy. Not even Mcdonald’s Will hire Uber drivers.

U should thank the heavens for Uber & Walmart, without ‘em you’d be living
in a box ? or dead.
 
#25 ·
The issue I see on this forum is there is a different school of thought for every topic as a driver.
Do drivers get throttled? Do some drivers get priority pings?
Do I drive or sit still? Etc, etc.
Even the most experienced veteran drivers have different opinions.
Its at least partly because markets are different.

Part of the driver animosity is we are:

  1. Giving Nubers "tough love" to CHALENGE them to be better.
  2. Giving crap to the UberCoolade drinker, as they are just kicking the beehive here. Aka trolls.
  3. Strong passionate disagreements, like those who want to stay independant contractors, and those who want to be hourly.
  4. The lack of training for U/L drivers, combined with most drivers are new. Experienced drivers do things a certain way, because we learned the hard way. People may ask for real advice, so we may feel we need to counter someone else's bad advice.
  5. Different reasons/prioraty for doing U/L. Some do it full time, and have a goal for maximun profitability. Other's literally do it out of boredom. Those 2 groups will often clash.
  6. The competition IS the other drivers. Do these "on demand" type IC work long enough, and you will see it. Some things you have to figure it out yourself. A smart driver will not give away all the local honeyholes. He depends on them for a living, and the other drivers in his city are his competition.
Overall I must give UBERPEOPLE credit, as they have an excellent platform for us to discuss everything, even it is edgy. Mods generally let us say what we need to, while keeping threads from getting out of hand.
Add to the list..

7. Braggy posts where people claim to make great money that is virtually impossible given the pay rates. They are ether lying, doing false accounting, or not divulging the circumstances (high paying market, XL, special event in town, etc.)
 
#27 ·
I forgot the source, but someone recently said what good are all the jobs, if someone needs to have two or three to get by?

The "big corporate jobs creators" have been shaving off the various forms of compensation decades. No more pensions, 401k's that some companies contribute to at rates that are capped by the laws that created them. Things like "full time temporary" positions, or outright part time workforces. Walmart might employ a huge number of people, but few of them are allowed to work a full week. The company doesn't want to have to pay benefits, or risk overtime situations. But they will happily extend an emoloyee an in store discount, and walmart banking services. These last two things are convenient. The company gets a chunk of the employees money back, and gets to play with the rest.
 
#29 ·
To all the people who are in a lot of debt, living paycheck to paycheck or working three jobs just to stay afloat: can the majority of you really say, with a straight face, that you're in this position because of the economy? Or how the job market has changed? Or the Walton Family?

Most people in tight financial situations got there due to poor decisions and/or bad choices. Does it make them bad people? Of course not. We all live a little bit beyond our means and most bad decisions happen in our youth. It's part of growing up and learning from mistakes; older and wiser.

Americans have more free time on their hands now than ever. Is it such a bad thing to pick up an extra shift here or work a little OT there? No. Let's not confuse ourselves with the Industrial Revolution. We are living fat and happy, perhaps a bit too fat and a bit too happy (luxuriously speaking & the haves versus wants).
 
#31 ·
To all the people who are in a lot of debt, living paycheck to paycheck or working three jobs just to stay afloat: can the majority of you really say, with a straight face, that you're in this position because of the economy? Or how the job market has changed? Or the Walton Family?

Most people in tight financial situations got there due to poor decisions and/or bad choices. Does it make them bad people? Of course not. We all live a little bit beyond our means and most bad decisions happen in our youth. It's part of growing up and learning from mistakes; older and wiser.

Americans have more free time on their hands now than ever. Is it such a bad thing to pick up an extra shift here or work a little OT there? No. Let's not confuse ourselves with the Industrial Revolution. We are living fat and happy, perhaps a bit too fat and a bit too happy (luxuriously speaking & the haves versus wants).
Wise words.

My wife has no money in her purse, but the purse itself is worth a few thousand. And that's just the one she's using this week.
 
#30 ·
If u haven't invested in yourselves and Worked at acquiring:
A Skill
Certificates
Education
Credentials

You're basically relegated to Your Chosen Level:
Low Skill Low Wage. Working Poor
That is a lame argument and a very simpleton way of rationalizing cause and effect, or justifying the existence of the "Haves" and "Have nots" - a purely capitalistic and conservative way of thinking. Or did you just post this to justify your choice of a nickname or User-id?

There are a whole host of reasons that drive people to accept a lowly IC position at Uber.
How about people who are otherwise qualified and experienced but have become "unemployable" or are discriminated against due to "age" and other social factors, but they still have to struggle to make ends meet??
 
#53 ·
This.

Its not like I could get a job in retail or service. They know I'd be gone as quick as I find another job, IF they even hired me (overqualified). Construction is out because of age. My profession has a youth bias . Its not exactly easy to find a fit.

Young people (and less educated) have so many more options in terms of service jobs. If you are "professional" and find yourself age discriminated, what are you going to do?
 
#32 ·
The average hourly wage for a factory worker in a US auto plant is $16 an hour.
Not true. I know the minimum wage for even a temp. worker at an auto assembly plant is around $30/hr. and that includes unskilled, part-time students with no prior experience doing summer jobs manning security gates. Also, on weekends the rate goes up time and a half and, and double-time on public holidays. I can't comment on the other figures that you have quoted but unfortunately I am now compelled to doubt their accuracy too.
 
#39 ·
Hi Uberdise / just skimmed / need to hit the road here. Don't disagree but this is no $20 per hour job unless you're routinely pulling in $30-40 p/hr so not apples to apples if another $20 p/hr job doesn't involve gassing up, tolls and the destruction of one's vehicle (and possibly has benefits!). All but a few high IQ drivers who know how to hustle and when and where to work shouldn't be doing this full time.

It should also be clear to prospective drivers that only a small % of us will ever work our way into that group. I'm all for experimenting with Uber on the side if it doesn't involve a significant investment. It's certainly more fun part-time if you're not desperate for $$$. I made some poor choices yesterday and essentially drove for free on a few trips. That's easy to do if you're not careful and/or unlucky. But I got to see the Metroplex!

I agree America has serious problems. That said, the number of single 20 somethings earning high five figure to low six figure incomes in Dallas is mindblowing. Work hard, party harder. Take an international vacation every month or quarter, leave your Aston Martin parked on the street in Deep Ellum etc. They might as well be from another planet.

I wonder how many of those earning under $20 are doing so as the result of an undiagnosed learning disability (that's another discussion)
 
#41 ·
There is really no reason to hold animosity toward other drivers. The only negative reason I can think is people depressing other drives in hope there will be one less driver competing with them on the road.
If you know that a certain driver here is in your market, that MIGHT make sense. Most the regulars posting here are scattered throughout the United States. I'm not competing with people in NYC or LA. I couldn't care less what they do.

I don't even care what other drivers in my market do. There's plenty of pax to go around.
 
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