Uber Customer Service Story

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Whenever you request for an Uber on your phone, you have no idea what to expect, most people make their judgement using details on the app like the vehicle brand or model, driver’s rating. The driver on the other hand doesn’t know what to expect. When they receive a ping for a ride request on their phone, all they see is your location, and how far away you are. They don’t even know where you want to go.

While there are many stories of horrible Uber rides, where either the drivers or the customers are not on their best behavior, it is always good to share stories about the experiences that went right.

Athreya Surya Prakash shares with us his experience with an extra-ordinary Uber driver.
 
Place: Charlotte, NC, USA

Time: 3:30 AM; 22nd December, 2016

I had just finished my semester exams and was all excited. I was travelling to Richmond to visit my brother during the winter holidays. I had a greyhound bus to catch and I hadn’t got proper sleep because of the worry that I would oversleep 😛

I had booked the Uber ride using my brand new iPhone 7. After a couple of minutes, my Uber driver arrived and I was on my way to the greyhound bus station in uptown Charlotte.

Though it was 3:30 AM in the morning, the Uber cab driver was very happy, bubbly and full of energy. The smile with which he welcomed me into his car put all my apprehensions of travelling, early morning, in a cab to a complete rest. He was a middle aged man who had shifted to Charlotte 3 years ago after staying in New York for 11 years. He asked me about my studies, where I was from and all other friendly questions which puts you at ease. He asked me about different Bollywood songs and he even sang a Bollywood hit for me!!

In my opinion, it is not within the job description of a cab driver to get into a friendly conversation with his customer. I have travelled in many cabs across the world but this person was indeed a class apart!!

I reached Greyhound, thanked him for his ride and got down from the car. About 5 minutes after reaching the terminal, I tried to take out my phone to ping my brother.

Damn!! In the midst of thanking the Uber driver and in a hurry to not miss my bus, I had left my iPhone behind in the cab. My heart was in my mouth!! There I was, stuck at the greyhound terminal in the middle of uptown Charlotte at 3:30 AM, neither having my brother’s number by-heart nor having any recognizable face around in the vicinity. To make things worse, my bus was going to leave in 20 minutes.

I frantically ran around thinking what to do. I suddenly saw a familiar face coming into the terminal. He was a senior at the university. I explained him my situation. He, in a jiffy, gave me his phone. I logged into my Uber account on his phone and tried to call the Uber driver.

I was praying to God that he had my phone and that he would pick up the call. Thanks to the God of all cabs, he picked up. He told me that he had already realized that he had my phone in his car and that he will reach the place where I was dropped in 15 minutes. Now, according to the Uber website, “Neither Uber nor drivers are responsible for the items left in a vehicle after a trip ends”. And it was an iPhone 7 for heavens sake!! He didn’t think twice before driving back!!

After about 15 minutes, he stopped his car right in front of me outside greyhound station. He gave his usual but awesome and warm smile and handed over my phone. I was filled with immense gratitude. I took out a 20$ bill from my wallet and I offered it to him as a token of gratitude. In a split second, the smile vanished!! He said he drove all the way back from the Charlotte Douglas Intenational airport (Yes, it is quite far!!) to ensure that his customer wouldn’t have to travel without his phone, which might have many important stuff in it, and not for the money that he would get out of it and that he wants his customers to be happy!!

He smiled again, waved at me and drove away!! I stood there shell-shocked!! In this world, where people are out there looking to make easy money, here was this man!! Hats off to him!!

This, according to me, is the epitome of customer satisfaction, value added services, going-the-extra-mile and all other customer satisfaction related jargons!! Uber is lucky to have such employees.

I have hoped to travel in his cab again, to tell him how good a human being he is and compliment him for the same. I still haven’t had the luck!! I am waiting for that day. I am sure I will get into his car again and hopefully I will not leave anything behind that day. 🙂

The Uber driver didn’t have to do it, he could have played a fast one and ended up with a new iPhone instead he went beyond being just an Uber driver to becoming a friend and a hero to his customer. Most times good service comes down to simply doing the right thing.

See also  Birthday In The Sky - Customer Service Story
Kelechi Okeke
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