+1 on all counts. 50% of the time I get a form letter that's barely tangential to my actual query. Instead of getting emotional, I just reply saying that my original question was not addressed, and eventually it gets to someone who reads my note and helps me resolve.

I generally agree with this as well. The only exception is UberPool rides. Occasionally I'll have a ride where my ridemate was totally out of the way or the driver just took a nonsensical route (sometimes driver error, sometimes drivers app had a mind of its own). I'll always get the form letter saying, "you're always charged the upfront price," and I reply back saying "yes I understand that - but that doesn't give you an excuse to unnecessarily add 20 min to my ride." (Normally after 1-2 more notes, I get a "real" person to reply.)

I think I am ready to quit Uber. Out of my last 6 rides, 4 had higher fares than the "upfront price" and none involved me making extra stops or giving the driver better directions. No notice saying traffic or anything else caused it, just a few bucks extra here and there. I think this is a major issue with Uber trying to pull one over. Whenever I message support, they offer the automatic $5 but it doesn't solve the issue. Also it now takes 20 minutes to get an Uber, even though it says it will arrive in 4 minutes almost every single time!

Uber (and to some extent Lyft) have been lying about arrival times from day 1. They don't want to display a realistic arrival time because they don't want to lose your business. Complain and you'll always get a canned response that they're always working on improving their algorithms.

As for them giving you a bogus estimate, I'm surprised they're not trying to dismiss it as "traffic." I would not be surprised if that "estimate" doesn't include the trust and safety fee, and/or any other fees tacked on.

Frustrating, but is "a few bucks extra" > $5? If not, then it's a freeroll on extra credit. Takes 30 seconds to submit the issue on the app. Solid hourly imo