Nobody Likes Uber Anymore, Recent Reviews and Ratings On App Store Suggest (qz.com)

Alison Griswold, writing for Quartz: The public is not happy with Uber. Incensed by allegations of sexism and harassment in the company's corporate halls, people are once again #deleting Uber, while one-star ratings and withering critiques of its service are piling up in Apple's iOS App Store. From Jan. 1 through Feb. 22, Uber accumulated 4,479 one-star reviews from US users in the iOS App Store, according to data from analytics firm App Annie (the highest possible rating is five stars). Several of the most recent reviews cite the horrifying and explosive account of sexual harassment published by former Uber engineer Susan Fowler over the weekend. "Was harassed and scammed by an Uber driver for two hours in the car," reviewer "Jorwl" wrote on Feb. 20. But far more reviewers have another gripe: Uber's apparent disregard for user privacy. The monthly volume of one-star ratings for Uber in the App Store first spiked last November, after the company redesigned its app and infringed on user privacy by eliminating an iOS setting that let users grant Uber access to their location only "while using" the app. Users are now forced to choose between letting Uber track their location "always" and "never".

Comments

This Means Very Little.

[Frosty Piss]

The App Store ratings for Uber are meaningless in the same way that a restaurant or other service provider that attracts the ire of the media for some reason suddenly gets one star reviews â" from people that have never eaten at the restaurant or used the service. Those who are regular Uber users or non-users looking for traditional taxi alternatives will continue to use or look to Uber. Lyft should be leveraging this too-doo, but as before the Uber issue, Lyft is absent from serious media promotion, and I wonder how they stay in business.

Re:This Means Very Little.

[ShanghaiBill]

Lyft is absent from serious media promotion, and I wonder how they stay in business.

I use Lyft, and I know many other people that do as well. Uber and Lyft provide a near identical service at near identical prices. In that situation it is better to use the smaller company to help maintain a competitive market. Lyft is also a less scummy company, and all these stories about ethical lapses at Uber must be helping them.

Re:This Means Very Little.

[93 Escort Wagon]

Given everything that's been in the news for the past... forever, Uber sounds like a horrible company that I don't want to patronize. It may be the 800-pound gorilla, but there are alternatives readily available.

However, whenever I see multiple similar stories start popping up on Slashdot within a short timespan, my "somebody's pushing an agenda" radar goes off. But hey, at least we're not seeing bitcoin stories every 30 minutes anymore, amirite?

Re:This Means Very Little.

[theIsovist]

I'll bite on this one. Uber and Lyft are similar, but as shitty as Uber is as a company, they offer a better service. My reasoning? Lyft does not set the rate up front. It's still a range, and you still see surge charging. You still have the option of tipping (and are encouraged to), which is a shitty way to not pay your employees and to pass that responsibility onto your customers. Uber on the other hand ties all of that up into an upfront package. You have a set price before you accept (meaning the driver can't drive you out of your way to increase the bill), and there's no tip question at the end. If Uber raised their rates to treat their contractors better, there would be no contest, performance wise. I realize these are minor changes, but uber has taken a lot of the trouble out of the cab industry. I wish Lyft would copy their (trip) payment model. That said, Uber's CEOs an out of touch asshole, and neither Uber or Lyft treat their employees like proper employees.

The sexism is the straw the broke the camel's back

[Anonymous Coward]

Doxxing reporters, digging up dirt on critics and smearing, ignoring state laws, screwing over local governments. They have a long history of terrible actions before this happened.

It's not even the racism or sexism...

[darkpixel2k]

I was going on a trip to DC and needed a ride from the airport to the place I was staying. I pre-loaded Uber about a week before I left, put in a credit card number, and thought I had everything set up. But the app wouldn't let me pre-save an address. So I had to write it down to type in to my phone later. Strike one.

The morning I was leaving, I got an e-mail from Uber that my credit card wasn't 'supported' and I'd have to enter a new one. What the hell? I used it twice on the way down. It works fine. (And I used it throughout my entire trip with no problems.) Put in a second credit card number before boarding. Strike two.

Got in to IAD, fired up the Uber app and it said there were errors submitting my ride request. Trying to continue typing in 13 degree weather sucked. Strike three.

I put my hand back in my glove, raised my arm and said "Taxi". The regular Taxi had no problems with my 'request', or my original card.

Next time I go to DC I'll try Lyft instead.

Functionality reviews social justice complaints

[DatbeDank]

These reviews mean nothing about the functionality of the app and are more about a vocal minority complaining loudly. If Google had the balls like Yelp does to remove reviews that aren't about functionality and are instead some hair brained attempt at "social justice" when an app or its company makes it into the news this would be a non-issue.

Take a look at all of the BS one star reviews for writers like Daryush Valizadeh or Mike Cernovich on Amazon. These people haven't even read their books yet get to do drive by whining and get the rush of being another sheep in a crowd.

The people who still use Uber will keep on using it and eventually these negative reviews will be forgotten. Uber isn't going anywhere.

"Anymore"?

[Zontar The Mindless]

Some us never liked them in the first place.

Re:The sexism is the straw the broke the camel's b

[TheRaven64]

You have to wonder a bit whether a boycott would actually help. Uber is currently cheap because they're using VC money to subsidise every ride and making a loss to build up market share. Is it better to use them and cost the company money, or not use them and help ensure that competitors stay in business?

Taxis suck too. And airplanes. And cell phones.

[xxxJonBoyxxx]

If we got to put a rating on other "first world" infrastructure we use to live our lives, they'd all have shitty marks too. And yet, we still buy them. (Well, except for cable - no one pays for that hot mess anymore.)

GPS/privacy was the deal breaker for me...

[steppin_razor_LA]

I was a heavy Uber user for years. I understand why they would like to collect additional GPS related information, but their decision to take away my choice and force me into "no GPS at all" or "GPS even when I'm not using the app" was a clear "f**k you" to its customers.

I contacted their customer service and let them know why I was leaving their platform and switched to Lyft.

The rest of the news about the organization in the months since may not have been enough for me to stop using the service, but it has reinforced my choice (i.e. if they reversed their position on GPS, I don't know if I would switch back right now)

Re:misleading

[sconeu]

Try Lyft. It allows tipping. And in addition, I can say from experience that they (or their dev team, at least) are responsive to feedback. I had made a suggestion to them about their app, and said suggestion was in the next release. (If you're interested, it was the ability to schedule multiple destinations -- useful when you're picking someone up on the way to wherever).

Re:The sexism is the straw the broke the camel's b

[ShanghaiBill]

Can't believe how much people just believe everything they read

In both the Fowler and Kamal incidents, Uber's CEO did not dispute any of the allegations, and acknowledged and apologized for what happened. So, yes, I believe the allegations. Do you have any reason I shouldn't?

Re:misleading

[ShanghaiBill]

And, I can't even tip using the app.

That is a feature, not a bug. Tipping is stupid. Drivers (and waitresses) should be paid a fair wage, and the cost of providing the service should be included in the price. People feel social pressure to tip even if service is mediocre. Many countries do not have a culture of tipping, and the service is just as good, or better, than what you get in America, and service people have a more reliable income.

The lack of tipping is one more reason that I prefer ridesharing over taxis.

FWIW

[JustAnotherOldGuy]

FWIW, I interviewed a while back with Uber, and although my ride experiences with Uber have all been good, the interview process was a case study in ham-handed incompetence. I've always thought that the interview process was a good indication of the company as a whole, and I can't report that they did well.

Some of the interviewers didn't have a clear idea of what they wanted from me or exactly what my role would require, some asked questions that had no real bearing on what my skill set entailed, and one wasn't sure what he was supposed to be asking me (and he said so in exactly those words). They insisted I bring a laptop ("you'll need it") but it never came out of its case. Also, "Make sure you bring writing samples", but they never asked to see them. Who knows, maybe they'd already hired someone and were just being polite.

This involved flying me down to San Francisco at their expense, nice hotel, meals, Ubers to and from the airport, etc etc. They seemed to be burning a *lot* of money on me without the slightest regard as to whether I was a serious candidate or not. I would have taken the job if they had made me an offer, but in some ways I was kinda glad that it didn't work out. The people were nice enough, but more than a little disorganized to put it bluntly. I can only imagine what the day-to-day work environment would have been like.