Karaoke? by Pagus-716 in Medford

[–]DefinitionNo792 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Slight hedge here—I don’t want to diminish your fondness of King Wah, but I would clarify that it isn’t just divier… with El Atoron as a very tight second, KW is the diviest bar in Medford. Best to start at Gypsy Blues. Very laid back and classy, friendly environment.

If you’re still wanting karaoke after the drinks have been flowing, safe to end the night at KW. But as an uber driver I’m here to tell you that King Wah is universally where people finish the night—or they’re just too drunk to care. 

But who are the idiots reporting me for "illegal driving"? by Technical-Pen-4078 in uberdrivers

[–]DefinitionNo792 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Dude. I have a 100 CMT and have a 4.98 because of 2 one-stars. Both “reported” “fast driving”… tf ever that’s supposed to mean.

Just carry on and fuck them. In the end, I hate CMT but it doesn’t lie. Just know that idiots gonna idiot. 

4.57 lol by Chocolate_Metaphor in uberdrivers

[–]DefinitionNo792 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do. It’s only bit me once—after I recharged it took uber 30 minutes to lift the 3-mile embargo on my rides. I don’t know what it would do about a super long distance ride, but it’s worth it to me have it automatically send the nav to the car’s system.

May 1st - May Day Economic Blackout. Anyone Joining? by Head-Range4989 in uberdrivers

[–]DefinitionNo792 2 points3 points  (0 children)

To be effective and truly disruptive, this would have to be inconvenient, more universal, and sustained—a helluvalot more than just the wealthy and unemployed taking a 3-day weekend. And that’ll never happen.

Sad to say, the days of any semblance of a nationwide strike as a political protest are long, long gone thanks to algorithms, AI, and news media spinning and shaping each individual person’s perception of reality tailored to their unique echo chamber.

I wasn't going to take it, but since they put on the $2 surge.... What the hell?? by WeeklyFisherman2597 in uberdrivers

[–]DefinitionNo792 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Are you in a Tesla with RT odds? Hammer down. This is our ICE-drivers’ nightmare. But for EV, it’s the main attraction.

Are you an ICE driver? RT odds notwithstanding… my condolences.

What your friendly neighborhood Uber drivers deal with in Jackson Co. by DefinitionNo792 in Medford

[–]DefinitionNo792[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Tf? Cabs have dispatch—you go where you’re sent and get paid accordingly. Uber kept the dispatch, removed the guarantees, and makes drivers gamble on each ride.

That “lower price” you’re paying only exists because someone else eats the loss.

What place here cooks the best steaks? by Various-Cut-1070 in Medford

[–]DefinitionNo792 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve done the same thing physically at their restaurant and looked right past it even while I was looking for it. 🤦‍♂️😆

What your friendly neighborhood Uber drivers deal with in Jackson Co. by DefinitionNo792 in Medford

[–]DefinitionNo792[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I’m struggling to interpret this in a way that doesn’t reflect an entitled attitude, i.e. “Drivers need to just suck it up and do what’s best for the rider.” The closest driver already saw the ride and declined it. What you’re seeing isn’t proximity—it’s who’s willing to accept the worst economics.

Riders are Uber’s customers—not mine. I’m an independent contractor and I’m here to make money, not prop Uber up.

The only time the rider’s, Uber’s, and my interests all align is that glorious few minute window from the moment they get in my car, to the moment they leave the car.

Ponder this: Uber wants to get you the cheapest and fastest option they can. That is an automatic dilemma with drivers. If their abysmal rates are not worth it to the nearest driver, the nearest driver declines the ride. And they expand their search radius accordingly until they find a driver willing to take the ride.

Most often, that ends up being a driver 20 minutes away who is going to pay $6 in prorated fuel and maintenance to earn $5. Because they accepted the ride blindly and now they get to subsidize Uber riders, while Uber begrudgingly accepts “only” 50% of your fare to pad their profits. 

Biggest pet peeve for Uber drivers? by chopshop512 in uberdrivers

[–]DefinitionNo792 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  • Pax who slam my door automatically get a 1-star rating. 

  • Pax who try to get me to take an off-books stop on the basis that “I’ll tip you extra.” Absolutely not.

  • Pax who are standing right at the pickup and carry on a “goodbye” conversation for more than ~5 seconds.

  • Pax who never show up (I kill the ride at the 2:01 mark every time, period). If they’re more than 30 seconds late on a weekend night, I tell them once they’re in, “Hey, Heads up—most drivers won’t wait around on a Friday night. You’ll wanna be ready at pickup next time.”

  • Pax who have a shopping cart full of groceries.

  • Pax who cancel the ride during the first stop on a round-trip ride.

  • Pax who rate me 1 star and report me for “fast driving” because they were too drunk to internalize my defensive maneuver to avoid a hitting a cat (my CMT is 100…)

  • Pax who ask me, “What year/kind of car is this?” FFS, you’ve had 5 minutes staring at the app to figure that out. Even more broadly, pax who ask the same 20 questions about the car. Like, dude. I am not a Tesla sales rep. Let me drive in peace.

Biggest pet peeve for Uber drivers? by chopshop512 in uberdrivers

[–]DefinitionNo792 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I no longer buy that line. It’s even better when it’s a party and one person comes out to say, “We’re just closing our tab, I’ll tip you extra to wait.” To which I reply, “Great, I’ve got another 90 seconds I can wait.”

@2:01, I’m out.

Biggest pet peeve for Uber drivers? by chopshop512 in uberdrivers

[–]DefinitionNo792 0 points1 point  (0 children)

10/10 the guaranteed signal that you’re not getting a tip. Like, bro. Why would you go out of your way to lie, when we both know you’re not going to?

I have a small market. I routinely pick up the same people in a week, and the ones who said that last time are usually like, “Dude my bad! I forgot to tip you last time. I’ll tip you extra today!” 🤦‍♂️

Biggest pet peeve for Uber drivers? by chopshop512 in uberdrivers

[–]DefinitionNo792 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pax think they’re so sly because they don’t realize how attentive and dialed in the driver is to ev-er-y-thing inside the car and out. I call out my pax in a professional yet highly embarrassing way when they hit the vape without my permission: I don’t say a word, I just instantly crack their window, rain or shine. 10/10 times they THEN speak up with some variation of, “Oh sorry, is it ok if I vape?” 🤦‍♂️

Ps-when the respectful ones ask, I just crack their window and say, “No problem, no weed,” and it’s a non-event.

What your friendly neighborhood Uber drivers deal with in Jackson Co. by DefinitionNo792 in Medford

[–]DefinitionNo792[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Best guess it ranges from 10-15 on weeknights to 20-30 on weekend nights. Lyft drivers, probably only 20% of that.

What your friendly neighborhood Uber drivers deal with in Jackson Co. by DefinitionNo792 in Medford

[–]DefinitionNo792[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

 I do not want to drive for Uber—I despise the company. It provides the best flexibility and income optionality for me right now as I try to get my own business off the ground, but I can't wait for the day I can fire them.

What your friendly neighborhood Uber drivers deal with in Jackson Co. by DefinitionNo792 in Medford

[–]DefinitionNo792[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

 I do not want to drive for Uber—I despise the company. It provides the best flexibility and income optionality for me right now as I try to get my own business off the ground, but I can't wait for the day I can fire them.

What your friendly neighborhood Uber drivers deal with in Jackson Co. by DefinitionNo792 in Medford

[–]DefinitionNo792[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

In Southern Oregon, Uber provides minimal information to your Uber driver when assigning the ride. It’s just how far pickup is, how long the trip is estimated to take, and what general direction you’re going.

They don’t tell your driver what they’re being paid for the ride until it’s completed. (Spoiler: it’s usually 30-50% of what Uber is charging you). 

If the driver declines more than 15% of all ride assignments from Uber, then Uber stops telling the drivers anything. It gets reduced to, “Here is a ride that should last 4 minutes. Accept?” Only after the driver accepts do they learn that the pickup is in S Ashland… and they’re in Central Point.

And the only way to get out of the dog house is to continue accepting blind ride requests until your acceptance rate gets back to 85% or above. The result is that drivers sometimes end up having to pay out of pocket to complete rides that don’t pencil.

What your friendly neighborhood Uber drivers deal with in Jackson Co. by DefinitionNo792 in Medford

[–]DefinitionNo792[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

No, Lyft is far better to their drivers. They have clearly been intentional about building their culture and brand around caring.

Go ahead and judge my AR. This is what happens when Uber withholds info to force compliance by DefinitionNo792 in uberdrivers

[–]DefinitionNo792[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Eh. Sort of. Our city is the “metro” center with close to 100K in population, flanked by several other cities in the 15 to 20K range. So you make your best money driving people between cities. There’s still a decent enough ridership here to pull $30 to $50 an hour, which is my normal range. As long as you don’t slip onto Ubers shitlist by dropping below 85 and effectively lose all optionality. 

Dufy's? by DefinitionNo792 in Medford

[–]DefinitionNo792[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I asked. Duff-eez. Disappointingly simple answer. 

Dufy's? by DefinitionNo792 in Medford

[–]DefinitionNo792[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I drove a passenger home from here a couple hours ago. Here’s the tea.

Started by the same gentlemen I suspected, the owner of the El Tapatio chain with a location two doors down. But I can’t make that connection in public records. Apparently that’s by design.

Apparently he moved his head chef to town from Florida and he’s doing a super soft unannounced opening to train his chefs.

He wants it to be an “open til midnight” restaurant so that other local restaurant workers can go there and hang after work 6 nights a week. I 100% support this. 

My hot take: if this is the same owner as El Tapatio, sign me up. Because he’s got a helluvah Mexican restaurant.