Uber Pattaya

[Lancelot01]

Has anybody successfully made a complaint to Uber online? 

I have spent the last 30 minutes trying to find a way to contact them online. 

This morning (10.15) I tried to get from my hotel close to the Hard Rock Hotel to the Bangkok A/c bus station. I  was informed the driver would be with me in four minutes, after the driver asked me to reconfirm the route, silence. 

I was then informed that another driver would arrive in six minutes,  after the same reconfirmation as above, more silence. The third driver told me 15 minutes which would have meant I would probably miss my connection. 

I realise that it was only a short distance (fare) and probably not worth the bother from some drivers however as this was my first experience with Uber I felt very disappointed. 

In tge event, as I was travelling with three bags I flagged down a songtaew which arrived in time. 

Any useful comments would be appreciated 

[NanLaew]

Maybe there were some vigilante taxi baht bus/taxi mafia parked near your pickup point?

 

There are some city entities that have a hard-on for Uber goig so far as to say they're illegal. I know the concept of what's illegal in LOS is a bit nebulous but Grab taxi seems to get a (mostly) free pass. Maybe give up on trying to complain about a first-time, one-off, possibly last-time misadventure and try a service that (mostly) works.

[punchjudy]

Uber don't care over trivial matters like that.

[Dazinoz]

I called Uber via the app in Chiang Mai Thailand for a friend at my house. I watched the Uber driver goto the wrong gated community. My app clearly showed where she needed to go. She phoned and my thai friend spoke to her. Still could not find us. Driver called again and asked to send our location on Line. Still could not find us. In the end I told my friend to tell driver to wait where she was and I drove my friend to Uber driver. I then watched them and she went long way to take my friend home. Original quote was around 80 baht but she was charged 140 baht I guess due to time and distance. I complained to Uber, not so much about money, but the driver not being able to use the GPS and find us. They replied that they would talk to the driver and refunded me 60 baht.

 

The first few times I used Uber the drivers found me easily. The last few times they can not and goto a different gated community. I again complained to Uber as something in the driver app may have changed and making it harder for them. They replied with "thanks for the feedback" and that was that.

 

To complain you need to log into Uber (I did from my computer) and click on the trip you wish to comment on and find the relevant section.

 

[CMBob]

Don't remember how I did it but I contacted them online through their website a few months ago complaining about a cancellation fee*.  They responded very politely within 24 hours and reimbursed the charge.  So there is some method via their website to contact them as I did it.

 

[*I've been very happy with almost all my Uber experiences but this one time a rogue driver was simply taking the ride but never showing up and then grabbing the cancellation fee....think it was 35 baht or something like that.  I could see the driver never moved his car and even talked to him twice on the phone asking what was going on.  Uber told me that they checked it out, found out the driver was repeatedly doing this (never actually moving and somehow racking up cancellation fees only), and said they deep-sixed him as a driver.  And, of course, Uber reimbursed the charge to my bank account.]

[wump]

I once had to wait 45 minutes for my Uber to arrive (the app kept telling me 8 minutes but he kept driving away). I guess he accepted the ride before getting lunch? And that was for a 1150 Baht airport trip 

Edited November 13, 2017 by wump

[MartinKal]

It's easy in the app to order multiple times. Then you get hit for a 35-baht no-show.

Just saying, the app is okay, dont get irritated by lack of confirmation.

 

A LITTLE SECRET. Now what I have is a couple of drivers on LINE and just call them direct.

 

QUESTION. Why would anyone need a car,  with all its expenses, the traffic you have to negotiate, the difficulty of finding a parking space? No, I have done the maths and uber is cheaper than owning your own car. And if you want to go long-distance, just hire a car, it's 800 baht a day.

 

ANOTHER QUESTION. Why are songtaew so badly designed rhat you cant see out the window. And so polluting?

 

ANSWER. Redesign the songtaew and use Thailand's car industry to build a competitor to the black cabs of London or the yellow Cabs of the US. Thailand could meet all the taxi needs of China if it had a proper up-to-date songtaew, shared taxi, where you can ride in comfort, see out of the window, and enjoy free Wi-Fi. What do you think?

[wump]

Far too much logic in your write-up 

[dabhand]

1 hour ago, wump said:

I once had to wait 45 minutes for my Uber to arrive (the app kept telling me 8 minutes but he kept driving away). I guess he accepted the ride before getting lunch? And that was for a 1150 Baht airport trip 

Maybe he was gassing up for the trip?

My main gripe with airport rides is when the driver pulls into a gas station shortly after pickup. This despite turning up early and not using that time to get organised. Not connected with needing cash for the pump, they get paid at the destination point. I tend to cut things fine with airport trips so this kind of needless delay really irks me.

[Maggusoil]

4 hours ago, punchjudy said:

Uber don't care over trivial matters like that.

I've stopped using them in Phils. Never used them in Thai. My suggestion is if you are anywhere that has tuk tuk motorcycles or taxis about use them or Grab and UBER AS THE LAST RESORT, because you are right. Getting complaints handled or cancellations handled is well nigh impossible or next to it. They do not even have an office there no doubt. Its in Singapore. Ruthless they are

[wump]

5 minutes ago, dabhand said:

Maybe he was gassing up for the trip?

My main gripe with airport rides is when the driver pulls into a gas station shortly after pickup. This despite turning up early and not using that time to get organised. Not connected with needing cash for the pump, they get paid at the destination point. I tend to cut things fine with airport trips so this kind of needless delay really irks me.

No, he's been driving around all the time with the exception of a short stop.

[wump]

4 minutes ago, Maggusoil said:

I've stopped using them in Phils. Never used them in Thai. My suggestion is if you are anywhere that has tuk tuk motorcycles or taxis about use them or Grab and UBER AS THE LAST RESORT, because you are right. Getting complaints handled or cancellations handled is well nigh impossible or next to it. They do not even have an office there no doubt. Its in Singapore. Ruthless they are

You wouldn't say that if you lived in Pattaya or Phuket. Every year hundreds of lives are lost because people ride around drunk as they refuse to get extorted by the taxi mafia. Uber is the only one that had the balls to take them on. Did it work? No. But things will change. The first step has been done.

 

Support Uber in Thailand wherever you can.

Edited November 13, 2017 by wump

[Grumpy Duck]

A close friend uses Uber often. Never had problems. Once we took uber to Arnos cheaper than a taxi, on time and a comfortable SUV. 

[NanLaew]

2 hours ago, dabhand said:

Maybe he was gassing up for the trip?

My main gripe with airport rides is when the driver pulls into a gas station shortly after pickup. This despite turning up early and not using that time to get organised. Not connected with needing cash for the pump, they get paid at the destination point. I tend to cut things fine with airport trips so this kind of needless delay really irks me.

This is how private hire transport generally works in LOS. They run around with maybe 200 baht's worth of fuel doing local runs. Filling up for an airport run that may cancel or be a no-show means his meager daily profit turns to an instant loss. Minivans are the same. We hired one to take 4 people from Pattaya to Impact Muangthongthani for a show. Despite being booked 3 days before and a security deposit paid, he still filled up at the first gas station on Sukhumvit after we all got in. My mate was apoplectic as I was tasked with booking the van and he made much of not wanting to '<deleted> around at the gas station' as it was one of many, many Thai things that despite over 20 years living in LOS, just ate away at him.

 

Point of note: He had high blood pressure and passed away prematurely.

 

PS. Cutting it fine for the airport is peeling out of Day & Night bar on Soi 4 at 6 pm for my mates 7.45 pm departure. On United! New land-speed record once we did the loop and got on the expressway. Luckily he was Gold with Star Alliance and schmoozed himself through a 'closed' check-in and messaged me from the gate about 20 minutes after I dropped him kerbside.

[Lumbini]

Yes , easy to do from the app and they immediately take off any charge associated with my complaint .


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[Top man]

Ubers days are numbered, you pay peanuts then you complain. 

[Maggusoil]

18 hours ago, wump said:

You wouldn't say that if you lived in Pattaya or Phuket. Every year hundreds of lives are lost because people ride around drunk as they refuse to get extorted by the taxi mafia. Uber is the only one that had the balls to take them on. Did it work? No. But things will change. The first step has been done.

 

Support Uber in Thailand wherever you can.

Uber has the 'balls'? as you put it, to provide an almost seamless, system that makes complaints very difficult to make because they have the 'balls' to cut costs everywhere, for profits and not provide a transparent complaint system.

 

The poster is right. Try getting through to "anyone" at Uber to make a complaint.

 

 Its an interesting model for public transport, and has forced the taxi industry to smarten up a bit, but at least in Philippines "others" like GRAB are doing a better job. For example providing a phone complaint service with "live" consultants. The first thing you get for a complaint at Uber, IF you can find the means to do it is a "form" letter, which replied to, will get you another "form" letter/email. 

 

UBER care about profits. Not people. To suggest otherwise is ridiculous.

 

 

[wump]

Your point is ridiculous. Have you actually ever dealt with mafia taxis? We are talking about hundreds of Baht rip-off on a daily basis and not just some 60 Baht extra charge on Uber that was incorrectly applied. I'd say in >95% of cases Uber works perfectly and it is dirt cheap. If you have a complaint, flag the driver in the app and with enough flags he'll eventually be suspended. Perfect system... that is if you are prepared to lose a couple of Baht because you can't get refunds on tiny amounts easily.

[wpcoe]

20 hours ago, dabhand said:

My main gripe with airport rides is when the driver pulls into a gas station shortly after pickup. This despite turning up early and not using that time to get organised.

 

The final price charged by Uber is based on a formula of actual distance traveled and actual time taken.  The cynic in me says that the driver wanted you to pay for the minutes that he was filling his tank rather than doing it for free before he picked you up.  It's a bonus if the gas station is not on a direct route to the destination, thus also adding to the distance part of the equation, as well.

 

One benefit of Grab is that they give you a fixed price before you accept the ride (Uber displays a suggested range of prices, but doesn't guarantee any of them).  Even if you sit in traffic for an hour with Grab, the price stays the same.  With Uber it's like a metered taxi where the meter ticks upward during a wait.

[Dazinoz]

13 hours ago, Top man said:

Ubers days are numbered, you pay peanuts then you complain. 

You need to complain if there is a problem so they can fix the problem. They don’t know they have problems if no one tells them. 

[balo]

UBER is still working fine in Pattaya , but you have to stay away from the taxi mafia pickup points .     So any hotels , any shopping malls should be avoided. Which basically mean you walk to the next soi , and wait for the car. 

 

So in a busy tourist town like Pattaya it can be difficult if you are not aware of the situation .  UBER and GRAB is illegal in Thailand.

But I do not pay the mafia any money when they charge 200 ++ for a small trip . 

 

 

 

 

 

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, balo said:

UBER is still working fine in Pattaya , but you have to stay away from the taxi mafia pickup points .     So any hotels , any shopping malls should be avoided. Which basically mean you walk to the next soi , and wait for the car. 

 

So in a busy tourist town like Pattaya it can be difficult if you are not aware of the situation .  UBER and GRAB is illegal in Thailand.

But I do not pay the mafia any money when they charge 200 ++ for a small trip . 

 

Visiting friends had recently booked at the new Marriott Renaissance which is way, way down Highway 3 past the Marina and were being charged 750 baht for a shared hotel sedan to get into Pattaya. Meter taxi's wanted 500 baht. I turned them on the the Grab Taxi app and they managed to get a much more agreeable 320 baht/trip.

[craigt3365]

Tried Uber, Uberx, GrabCar on Saturday night.  No luck.  Grab Taxi worked fine.

[wump]

Some update: First: Around lunchtime fares can be about 200% higher so a mafia taxi might be cheaper.

 

Second: Had a scammer yesterday who gave me quite some detour. When demanding money for the unnecessary detour he offered 20 Baht. I said 60 or I will complain. 

 

Can't complain (don't know how) but will rate him down. 

 

Also, tell the drivers to use back roads when there is a traffic jam. At this silly price structure I'd love to get stuck in traffic as a driver.

[Jingthing]

This is a Grab story.

The other night I booked a Grab, 5 minutes away.

I watched him drive massively out of the way.

Then 20 minutes away.

Then he just sat there.

Then he cancelled. I suppose he wanted me to cancel first.

I hadn't bother messaging him or calling.

Next time I will and say if you don't want the booking, you cancel it!

I think riders are downgraded for cancelling bookings. 

Similar things have happened before.

I don't know a way to low rate such drivers. Once it's cancelled, I don't think that's possible. 

 

Edited December 11, 2017 by Jingthing

[wump]

Did you use GrabCar? Would be interesting to know if their prices can compete with Uber, especially at peak times.

[Jingthing]

1 minute ago, wump said:

Did you use GrabCar? Would be interesting to know if their prices can compete with Uber, especially at peak times.

Yes.

I think they are probably comparable but worth checking.

But for me Grab is much better because the price is set no matter what, that is, if they actually ever pick you up. 

[wump]

That sounds a lot better than the Uber system. Being quoted 120-150 should really have 150 as a maximum fare and not over 200.

 

Just never tried it because before GrabCar the whole Grab thing evolved from a perfectly fine app to order a taxi and get the meter price to a booking system for mafia taxis at the usual 3-5 times the meter rate.

[Jingthing]

5 hours ago, wump said:

That sounds a lot better than the Uber system. Being quoted 120-150 should really have 150 as a maximum fare and not over 200.

 

Just never tried it because before GrabCar the whole Grab thing evolved from a perfectly fine app to order a taxi and get the meter price to a booking system for mafia taxis at the usual 3-5 times the meter rate.

No. Grab and Uber are competitive with each other now

Speaking of Uber --

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2017/12/uber_charged_a_customer_18_000_for_a_21_minute_ride_don_t_worry_he_s_getting.html

 

Uber Charged a Customer $18,000 For a 21-Minute Ride

[balo]

I used to take Uber only , but Grab could be a better option now, especially if you want a longer ride.

I need to get to Jomtien bus station on Thursday from Naklua in the early morning , so will probably choose them over Uber. But it depends on how quick they are to respond.