- 14 Jan 2022 17:46
#15207261
Finally got through here. The activation process takes forever...
Anyway...
I'm a 3x seasonal Diamond Uber/Platinum Lyft driver from New York who moved down to North Carolina and said enough is enough after 10 months. My typical work week was over 80 hours long, and I've worked over 100 hours in a week three times. I used to do the 2+ hour trips across state two or three times per week, and my typical week saw me drive over 200 passengers around.
I've dealt with a death threat, explicit phone convos, defecation in the car, two hit and run accidents, one case of insurance fraud, half a dozen sorority chicks piling in tons of times, countless underage passengers, and passengers who twist the added/changed stop rule inside out in too many ways to count as well as passengers who give bad ratings when they break the rules and don't want to be held accountable for their antics.
To put it remarkably lightly, I think the ridesharing industry needs to be either heavily regulated, nationalized, or shut down. It's no wonder annual driver retention is in the single digits, and I'll find it a miracle if either company manages to ever become profitable. On one hand, they want to be excluded from paying taxes by treating drivers like contractors, but on the other, they treat the drivers like ordinary employees from allowing rampant abuse in customer service.
People have constantly told me I should write a coffeetable book about the reality of ridesharing. Don't get me wrong, I've had plenty of great experiences too. 95-99% of passengers are at least decent people, but it's that needle in the haystack which stabs and makes you bleed.
The other thing is living down here is... weird. North Carolina takes pride in being a "progressive" state, but it's really not. Its typical government department runs between $150m-300m to operate, but it spends over $2b on law enforcement and has some of the worst crime rates in the country whether in Greensboro, High Point, Winston Salem, Charlotte, or Fayetteville. Raleigh is one of the safest places in the country in contrast, and it has nothing to do with wealth, race, or urban density disparities. All of its cities are relatively homogeneous, but there are considerable attitude differences among them.
People here barely know how to drive since the state hardly tests people on anything; the insurance industry has lobbied the state legislature so if you make a claim, YOUR insurance rates go up; and communication skills leave a ton to be desired. Tons of people in NC will give you the silent treatment for literally no reason, and I've talked with plenty of passengers about this from out of state who confirm that there's something very snooty and nasty here. It's not a southern way of life thing either. People from Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia all confirm there's something uniquely sinister about this state.
Granted people can be nasty up in New York too, but at least they'll give you a piece of their mind if they have a problem with you so you know what's wrong. Down here, people just leave you guessing. It's like they sadistically enjoy seeing others bumble around in the dark.
Anyway, that's why I'm XDU. Ex-Diamond Uber.
Anyway...
I'm a 3x seasonal Diamond Uber/Platinum Lyft driver from New York who moved down to North Carolina and said enough is enough after 10 months. My typical work week was over 80 hours long, and I've worked over 100 hours in a week three times. I used to do the 2+ hour trips across state two or three times per week, and my typical week saw me drive over 200 passengers around.
I've dealt with a death threat, explicit phone convos, defecation in the car, two hit and run accidents, one case of insurance fraud, half a dozen sorority chicks piling in tons of times, countless underage passengers, and passengers who twist the added/changed stop rule inside out in too many ways to count as well as passengers who give bad ratings when they break the rules and don't want to be held accountable for their antics.
To put it remarkably lightly, I think the ridesharing industry needs to be either heavily regulated, nationalized, or shut down. It's no wonder annual driver retention is in the single digits, and I'll find it a miracle if either company manages to ever become profitable. On one hand, they want to be excluded from paying taxes by treating drivers like contractors, but on the other, they treat the drivers like ordinary employees from allowing rampant abuse in customer service.
People have constantly told me I should write a coffeetable book about the reality of ridesharing. Don't get me wrong, I've had plenty of great experiences too. 95-99% of passengers are at least decent people, but it's that needle in the haystack which stabs and makes you bleed.
The other thing is living down here is... weird. North Carolina takes pride in being a "progressive" state, but it's really not. Its typical government department runs between $150m-300m to operate, but it spends over $2b on law enforcement and has some of the worst crime rates in the country whether in Greensboro, High Point, Winston Salem, Charlotte, or Fayetteville. Raleigh is one of the safest places in the country in contrast, and it has nothing to do with wealth, race, or urban density disparities. All of its cities are relatively homogeneous, but there are considerable attitude differences among them.
People here barely know how to drive since the state hardly tests people on anything; the insurance industry has lobbied the state legislature so if you make a claim, YOUR insurance rates go up; and communication skills leave a ton to be desired. Tons of people in NC will give you the silent treatment for literally no reason, and I've talked with plenty of passengers about this from out of state who confirm that there's something very snooty and nasty here. It's not a southern way of life thing either. People from Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia all confirm there's something uniquely sinister about this state.
Granted people can be nasty up in New York too, but at least they'll give you a piece of their mind if they have a problem with you so you know what's wrong. Down here, people just leave you guessing. It's like they sadistically enjoy seeing others bumble around in the dark.
Anyway, that's why I'm XDU. Ex-Diamond Uber.