Bad Experience With Uber

[pj123]

My niece is staying with us for a few days and has been using Uber to get back to our house in Lamlukka from Bangkok. The first time, the driver dumped her after 10 minutes saying his car had broken down. This was just before entering the expressway at about 5pm. The following day, the driver was again clearly unhappy with the trip but did take her back home. I always thought that drivers knew the passenger's destination before they accepted the fare but my niece says they only find out your destination after they collect you. Is this correct? Would Grabtaxi be a better option for this type of trip? My guess is that drivers don't want to come out this far as they will find it difficult getting a fare back into town.

Edited October 8, 2017 by pj123

[SooKee]

Never had a problem with Uber but I use Grab as the first choice these days unless I want an Uber Black for some reason.

Sent using Tapatalk

[pj123]

So no problems with Uber or Grab to go out of the city (and I don't count Suvarnabhumi)?

[Coconut007]

Quote

 I always thought that drivers knew the passenger's destination before they accepted the fare but my niece says they only find out your destination after they collect you. Is this correct? Would Grabtaxi be a better option for this type of trip?

Uber drivers can't see the destination until you are in the car.

 

Grab, I believe, can see the destination.

[Just Weird]

Might be better for her to use a legal, insured taxi.

[Monomial]

Uber does not show the destination in the initial ping. It is very easy for the driver to check after accepting the ride by simply looking at the invoice however. They do not need to wait until you get in the car as suggested above.

 

That is why you see so many Uber rides accepted and then cancelled shortly thereafter.

 

Recommend you use All Thai Taxi. Truly great service. Wish there were more of them.

 

 

Edited October 8, 2017 by Monomial

[ricklev]

Uber drivers do not know the destination before they pick you up.  However, UberX drivers don't have to take you outside their service zone after they learn your destination.   I know this because I used to use UberX to go to Thammasat Rangsit and had a couple of drivers refuse after I got in.  Uber then sent me a map of the service zone for UberX when I complained.  

 

The service zone ends about at Future Rangsit.  However I found that if I called the driver first to check if he wanted to go to Thammasat Rangsit about 90 percent had no problem with the trip.  

 

Interesting think about AllThaiTaxi.  When they first started all drivers were employees on salary, now they've moved to all owner operators.  The employee model didn't work out.  

Edited October 8, 2017 by ricklev

[Coconut007]

6 hours ago, Just Weird said:

Might be better for her to use a legal, insured taxi.

Yea you really weird, congratulations 

[pj123]

4 hours ago, ricklev said:

Uber drivers do not know the destination before they pick you up.  However, UberX drivers don't have to take you outside their service zone after they learn your destination.   I know this because I used to use UberX to go to Thammasat Rangsit and had a couple of drivers refuse after I got in.  Uber then sent me a map of the service zone for UberX when I complained.  

 

The service zone ends about at Future Rangsit.  However I found that if I called the driver first to check if he wanted to go to Thammasat Rangsit about 90 percent had no problem with the trip.  

 

Interesting think about AllThaiTaxi.  When they first started all drivers were employees on salary, now they've moved to all owner operators.  The employee model didn't work out.  

Thats helpful. Thanks.

[richard_smith237]

Regardless of the service zones no driver should be dumping any one after accepting the ride, much less a young girl.

Your nieces account will have a record - make a complaint to UBER.

 

I have also encountered difficulties, it seems the systems are not infallible and subject to a little 'Thainess'. In the past I have ordered an UBER from Ram Intra, it became clear the driver did not want to take me after several drive by's pretending he couldn't find my location, which is extremely easy to located, especially after speaking on the phone with me. The driver then parked up a few km away but kept the ride open so I had to either cancel or wait him out !!!  However, I quickly realized what the driver was up to and was already home (after calling a GrabTaxi) by the time the UBER driver cancelled on me 1 hr later !... I took screenshots of my phone to show UBER what the driver had been up to but UBER's showed no interest in them. I guess large companies such as UBER have numerous complaints and they handle them as efficiently as possible. 

 

I like both UBER and Grab because of the recourse for complaint if things do not go so well, but the systems are also a little imperfect if you are in an area the drivers do not like to go to or from. 

 

I also have the AllThaiTaxi app but have never been successful in ordering one, I guess there are just not enough around.

 

 

[Andyfez]

Yes. I discovered this recently.

Grab can see the destination.

Uber don't know it till you tell them.

[user82374298374]

8 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 I guess large companies such as UBER have numerous complaints and they handle them as efficiently as possible.

The Uber staff for Uber Thailand are Thai, so Thainess applies.

[at15]

there is a lot of witchcraft going on. in my experience best bet is grabcar not grabtaxi. just make sure it is an actual grabcar not a meter guy saying he is a grabcar. 

 

uber the drivers say they have have a 2016 corolla but show up in a beat up 1986 corolla. or they will not stop the app when you get out of the car and instead of being 50 baht, the driver decides they want 100 baht so stop it there. and ive tried contacting uber they dont care, cannot fix it.  mai pen rai

[at15]

1 hour ago, disambiguated said:

The Uber staff for Uber Thailand are Thai, so Thainess applies.

Good point. who handles grab? Grab has actually called to make sure i am not being scammed. telling me dont get in this guys car.

Edited October 9, 2017 by at15

[Minnehaha]

17 hours ago, Just Weird said:

Might be better for her to use a legal, insured taxi.

Insured? 

What on earth is that with Thai taxis? 

 

If you mean meter taxi then she still gets to enjoy hailing a taxi and telling them the destination, waiting a few minutes roadside looking in the open door while driver considers if he wants it or not.  Taxis still refuse fares I Bangkok.  

 

The one way around it is to call the taxi and book it ahead of time.  They register locations and it usually works out well.  I think it is 1681 on the mobile.  Google will provide more info. 

[ricklev]

20 minutes ago, at15 said:

there is a lot of witchcraft going on. in my experience best bet is grabcar not grabtaxi. just make sure it is an actual grabcar not a meter guy saying he is a grabcar. 

 

uber the drivers say they have have a 2016 corolla but show up in a beat up 1986 corolla. or they will not stop the app when you get out of the car and instead of being 50 baht, the driver decides they want 100 baht so stop it there. and ive tried contacting uber they dont care, cannot fix it.  mai pen rai

Your experience is so different from mine it makes me wonder if we are using the same company called Uber?

[at15]

41 minutes ago, ricklev said:

Your experience is so different from mine it makes me wonder if we are using the same company called Uber?

This was way back in the day when uber was still pretty new and actually cheaper than normal thai meter taxis. Maybe things have changed, but I dont even consider uber anymore since they jacked the prices way up. a 250 baht meter trip is about 400 on uber. You can tell in the marketing uber is all about HiSo or foreigners . Ads are in English with some ridiculous Thai translation. So people have the illusion of exclusiveness and superiority. 

Edited October 9, 2017 by at15

[mike324]

If you know you live far away, why not offer additional 100 baht or so for them to take you. You are getting a better car than taxi, and if its UberX its normally cheaper too. So it doesn't hurt. I always offer driver extra on top knowing that they may cancel when I travel to further destinations. Or I would call ahead once driver accepts and talk to him before he cancels.

 

It is what it is, you have to find ways around it if you want good service. Given that many Uber driver car fills up with normal petrol vs taxi using lpg/cng, they are not making that much more money as well.

[richard_smith237]

9 minutes ago, mike324 said:

If you know you live far away, why not offer additional 100 baht or so for them to take you. You are getting a better car than taxi, and if its UberX its normally cheaper too. So it doesn't hurt. I always offer driver extra on top knowing that they may cancel when I travel to further destinations. Or I would call ahead once driver accepts and talk to him before he cancels.

 

It is what it is, you have to find ways around it if you want good service. Given that many Uber driver car fills up with normal petrol vs taxi using lpg/cng, they are not making that much more money as well.

 

Its incredible isn't it ???... A service which works seamlessly in other countries can at times become corrupted by the lazy and entitled mindset of a few. It is a shame that we have to jump through these extra hoops and 'negotiate' for a standard service !!!...  That said, UBER & GrabCar are still far more reliable, safe and polite than regular taxi's... 

 

To be honest, the only frequent issue I have is a driver accepting the fare who is too far away. the App will suggest they are 7mins away, but knowing Bangkok they are closer to 30 mins away stuck in traffic. 

 

I've used UBER all over and only ever encountered one issue outside of Thailand in London with a  Nigerian driver who got clearly upset after thinking he was taking me to Gatwick Airport only to discover I'd written Gatwick Express and not Gatwick Airport !!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pj123]

I guess the rating system doesn't help as if you give the driver 1 star for a good reason then they can respond by giving you a 1 star even though you did nothing wrong.

[ajarnmarc]

I was in Malay, scheduled an Uber ride for 11:15 am. Uber states they arrived @ 11:05 am. Asked where am I ? So I walk outside my hotel, text the driver, what the plate number of the car, since it didn't show up on the app, when I scheduled the ride in advance. Driver text back that the ride has been canceled due to waiting more than 5 minutes for me to appear. I try to order up another ride, this time from Grab. Uber driver text back that I owe the driver 5rm for the canceled ride. Grab ride shows up, and I text back the driver, that my scheduled ride was for 11:15, and only now am I in another ride going to the Thai Consulate, hoping to make it there before they close the gates @ 11:30am. I text that I asked for the license plate, as I did show up once I was notified the driver arrived, even though it was before my scheduled time. Driver states "Sorry", but I still owe 5rm for a 7rm ride to the Thai Consulate. 

Get to the Thai Consulate @ 11:37am gate closed, security won't let me in. Told have to wait for the following day to submit the paper work, which would in effect cancel my return flight home, that was scheduled already. Driver continues to state I need to give the next ride I use with Uber, the 5rm to pay back the canceled ride.... Like I want to hear that, when I now have more issues with what I came to Malay for in the first place. 

Not the best experience, that's for sure with Uber, and will not use again, even if I had a choice, since now I'm most likely blocked for not paying the 5rm for the canceled ride, which I'm not about to be stupid enough to do. 

[richard_smith237]

12 minutes ago, ajarnmarc said:

I was in Malay, scheduled an Uber ride for 11:15 am. Uber states they arrived @ 11:05 am. Asked where am I ? So I walk outside my hotel, text the driver, what the plate number of the car, since it didn't show up on the app, when I scheduled the ride in advance. Driver text back that the ride has been canceled due to waiting more than 5 minutes for me to appear. I try to order up another ride, this time from Grab. Uber driver text back that I owe the driver 5rm for the canceled ride. Grab ride shows up, and I text back the driver, that my scheduled ride was for 11:15, and only now am I in another ride going to the Thai Consulate, hoping to make it there before they close the gates @ 11:30am. I text that I asked for the license plate, as I did show up once I was notified the driver arrived, even though it was before my scheduled time. Driver states "Sorry", but I still owe 5rm for a 7rm ride to the Thai Consulate. 

Get to the Thai Consulate @ 11:37am gate closed, security won't let me in. Told have to wait for the following day to submit the paper work, which would in effect cancel my return flight home, that was scheduled already. Driver continues to state I need to give the next ride I use with Uber, the 5rm to pay back the canceled ride.... Like I want to hear that, when I now have more issues with what I came to Malay for in the first place. 

Not the best experience, that's for sure with Uber, and will not use again, even if I had a choice, since now I'm most likely blocked for not paying the 5rm for the canceled ride, which I'm not about to be stupid enough to do. 

 

When you pre-book an UBER you are provided with a 'Window'... Thus, if you booked an UBER for 11:15am UBER will have provided you with a 15 minute 'Window' (anything from 11:00-11:15 to 11:15-11:30am)

UBER show up in that 15 minute Window and wait 5 mins before cancelling the ride if you are a no show or uncontactable after 5 mins. 

In this case it seems that the driver was dead set on getting out of their quickly.

The no-number plate is a new one for me, in any country the number-plate always shows once a ride has been confirmed. 

I'm also surprised you couldn't check your drives arrival progress on the App which always shows the drivers location once a ride has been accepted. 

 

With regards to arriving at the Thai Embassy late - If the doors for applications close at 11:30am and you aimed to leave your hotel at 11:15am you are clearly leaving it too late and only have yourself to hold responsible for not planning in a little contingency time. 

 

As far as UBERs claim of 5RM... you can file a complaint with them of an unfair charge, you can tell them you were waiting for the UBER to turn up and the driver never contacted you and you couldn't locate him or find his license number on the App.

 

I have been late a couple of times and the driver has left already - I can understand this otherwise people would be expecting the drivers to wait much longer and ultimately start taking liberties with the service. 

 

Equally so, I've cancelled drivers and been charged 50 baht, contested the charge and had it removed. Contesting the charge in the app is a very simple process and UBER always seem to remove it without question. 

 

[mike324]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Its incredible isn't it ???... A service which works seamlessly in other countries can at times become corrupted by the lazy and entitled mindset of a few. It is a shame that we have to jump through these extra hoops and 'negotiate' for a standard service !!!...  That said, UBER & GrabCar are still far more reliable, safe and polite than regular taxi's... 

 

To be honest, the only frequent issue I have is a driver accepting the fare who is too far away. the App will suggest they are 7mins away, but knowing Bangkok they are closer to 30 mins away stuck in traffic. 

 

I've used UBER all over and only ever encountered one issue outside of Thailand in London with a  Nigerian driver who got clearly upset after thinking he was taking me to Gatwick Airport only to discover I'd written Gatwick Express and not Gatwick Airport !!!

Given how bad traffic is in Thailand and how expensive cars are, you can't compare Uber with other countries around the world. Perhape Uber should give better incentives for drivers who are willing to go the distance. I wouldn't go as far as to call them corrupt and entitled yet as majority are still a whole lot better than your average taxi. They are offering their service below or same as taxi, yet their fix costs are higher as well.

 

I do agree with you that app estimate pickup times, many times take up to double of whats shown.

[CMBob]

I'm a bit puzzled by some of the comments.  Whenever I use Uber here in Chiangmai, I have to first put in my destination, it shows me the route (sometimes not the most direct one!), and then I confirm the ride.  When the driver shows up, he/she already knows where I'm going and I can see the same route on their dashboard phone/gps unit/whatever and, while sometimes the driver will ask me to confirm the destination, sometimes they don't and just go there.  So I'm puzzled when so many posters say the Uber driver doesn't know the destination.

 

With respect to the OP's post....and presuming in that case the driver didn't know the destination....wouldn't it have been asked when the rider got into the car?  And wouldn't normally the driver say "no" then (presuming he/she didn't want to go there?).   Weird.

 

[ricklev]

1 hour ago, CMBob said:

I'm a bit puzzled by some of the comments.  Whenever I use Uber here in Chiangmai, I have to first put in my destination, it shows me the route (sometimes not the most direct one!), and then I confirm the ride.  When the driver shows up, he/she already knows where I'm going and I can see the same route on their dashboard phone/gps unit/whatever and, while sometimes the driver will ask me to confirm the destination, sometimes they don't and just go there.  So I'm puzzled when so many posters say the Uber driver doesn't know the destination.

 

With respect to the OP's post....and presuming in that case the driver didn't know the destination....wouldn't it have been asked when the rider got into the car?  And wouldn't normally the driver say "no" then (presuming he/she didn't want to go there?).   Weird.

 

The driver sees the destination and map when he starts the trip by confirming on the app that he had arrived at the pickup location and the trip has started. 

[shanesox]

Well today really finished me with Uber in Bkk!Called an Uber X and accepted by a driver 10 mins away but then doesn’t arrive and I get a message from driver asking “ where I’m going” when I tell him he cancels the trip! What a pile of crap this is now! Uber needs to let drivers see where customer destination is and if the driver doesn’t want to go there then don’t accept!

 Grabcar have more promotions and discounts!

 

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

 

 

[ajarnmarc]

6 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

When you pre-book an UBER you are provided with a 'Window'... Thus, if you booked an UBER for 11:15am UBER will have provided you with a 15 minute 'Window' (anything from 11:00-11:15 to 11:15-11:30am)

UBER show up in that 15 minute Window and wait 5 mins before cancelling the ride if you are a no show or uncontactable after 5 mins. 

In this case it seems that the driver was dead set on getting out of their quickly.

The no-number plate is a new one for me, in any country the number-plate always shows once a ride has been confirmed. 

I'm also surprised you couldn't check your drives arrival progress on the App which always shows the drivers location once a ride has been accepted. 

 

With regards to arriving at the Thai Embassy late - If the doors for applications close at 11:30am and you aimed to leave your hotel at 11:15am you are clearly leaving it too late and only have yourself to hold responsible for not planning in a little contingency time. 

 

As far as UBERs claim of 5RM... you can file a complaint with them of an unfair charge, you can tell them you were waiting for the UBER to turn up and the driver never contacted you and you couldn't locate him or find his license number on the App.

 

I have been late a couple of times and the driver has left already - I can understand this otherwise people would be expecting the drivers to wait much longer and ultimately start taking liberties with the service. 

 

Equally so, I've cancelled drivers and been charged 50 baht, contested the charge and had it removed. Contesting the charge in the app is a very simple process and UBER always seem to remove it without question. 

 

Just what I needed...a different perspective. 

Thank you for your time, 

with this constructive response.

 

Now I have to figure out how to set up credit card payment, 

and get the driver his / her money for my errors.

 

I can now see and agree where all they were; on my side.

Again, thanks to this well communicated response; 

highlighting the features which are available, 

that would of helped me avoid this.

 

I'm clearly a novice user,

as Uber isn't available where I live. 

 

I can now see how I had gotten used to the prompt service,

and simply relied on it all going perfectly as it had in my past experiences, 

therefore limited my timeline for any issues which might of presented...

 

 

[Just Weird]

12 hours ago, Minnehaha said:

Insured? 

What on earth is that with Thai taxis? 

 

If you mean meter taxi then she still gets to enjoy hailing a taxi and telling them the destination, waiting a few minutes roadside looking in the open door while driver considers if he wants it or not.  Taxis still refuse fares I Bangkok.  

 

What is it?  Insurance is something that all the taxis owned by co-operatives (that's most of the taxis on the road) provide and something that the huge majority of private taxi owners have.  That's the complete opposite of what Uber drivers have, none of them are insured to carry fare-paying passengers because they are unregistered and illegal.

 

It's always been the tiny minority that refuse fares but she doesn't have to wait a few minutes, the refusal takes seconds.

[Just Weird]

23 hours ago, Coconut007 said:

Yea you really weird, congratulations 

Glad that you think that travelling in an insured vehicle is really weird.  Personally, I think that anyone opting to travel in an illegal uninsured Uber when there is a legal, insured alternative is the really weird one.

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

12 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Its incredible isn't it ???... A service which works seamlessly in other countries can at times become corrupted by the lazy and entitled mindset of a few. It is a shame that we have to jump through these extra hoops and 'negotiate' for a standard service !!!...  That said, UBER & GrabCar are still far more reliable, safe and polite than regular taxi's... 

 

To be honest, the only frequent issue I have is a driver accepting the fare who is too far away. the App will suggest they are 7mins away, but knowing Bangkok they are closer to 30 mins away stuck in traffic. 

 

I've used UBER all over and only ever encountered one issue outside of Thailand in London with a  Nigerian driver who got clearly upset after thinking he was taking me to Gatwick Airport only to discover I'd written Gatwick Express and not Gatwick Airport !!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Victoria Station was where you were going I guess...