So, I broke my Uber cherry the other day, requesting a pick-up just after my luggage came off the carousel at London Gatwick, and thought I would share my experience.
Timeline
00:07 Load my bags onto a trolley and request a pickup to take me home
00:07 Immediate confirmation "9 mins away" along with driver name and registration number (license plate)
00:15 Arrive at pick-up point to find car already there
00:47 Pull up outside my house, thank driver and go in
Pros
- Excellent expectation management - the car was there slightly earlier than estimated
- Car a late model and clean inside
- Driver pleasant & driving style "postive pace" i.e. he didn't hang about but it all felt safe and controlled
- Invoice was available online as I came out of the shower
Cons
- Fare pricing was a bit misleading - intially on the app, it quoted me 24.10, which is competitive against my local cabco (29.00), and when we arrived the driver's phone stated 20.14. However looking at the invoice I see that the total was actually 35.14 with my intro discount voucher of 15.00 netted off...
- This makes them about 6.00 more expensive than my local (and very reliable) cabco, who have never once let me down in 50+ pickups
Conclusion
Pretty impressed with how slickly everything worked, but would probably only use them for convenience when for whatever reason I was unable to book ahead...