Hoc

I had an 8 am flight out of LAX, and it usually takes an hour to get there. So, I reserved an Uber for 5 am to get to the airport. She showed up 55 mins. late, getting me to the airport at 7:15 am. When she arrived, she said that, when she turned on the app, it told her it would take her 66 minutes to get to my house to pick me up. AA would not let me on the flight because I was late, and had no other available flights, today or tomorrow. So, I missed the whole trip. I have travel insurance, but I'm guessing it won't cover this. I tried to contact Uber to at least get a refund of the $245 for the trip, but there appears to be no help category covering this situation. And I can't find a customer service number. Does anyone have a contact, or any experience with Uber's policy when the driver is so late for a pre-reserved pickup?

arollins

Wow, seems that no one was picking up your ride request for it to bounce to a driver that was 66 minutes away. The $245, what is that for, the AA trip, or Uber rider? You don't specify.

I doubt Uber will cover the AA trip, maybe they can give a discount/refund on your Uber trip, but you will have to submit the claim via the app. customer service is one of those areas that has been reduced since pandemic, and it was not that great before any way.

Telephone number to Customer Service? Surprisingly when you go online to UBER.COM, there is no "contact" tab, that should say something about this "technology" company. As in other things, best to reach them via social media. Good luck.

Auto Enthusiast

When she turned on the app? When was she assigned to the ride? At your pick up time? Was she the only driver around? Was this the only way, let alone the most cost-effective way, to get to the airport under such high stakes?

Visconti

I've always wondered about this too. If necessary, how does one contact this company? I'd like a better option than Twitter, since I no longer use the app, and would prefer to not load it onto my new phone.

serpens

Sorry for the ignorant question, but how do you use Uber without using the app? (I have never used Uber but thought that app-on-phone was a requirement.)

Visconti

I do use apps sparingly, and Uber is, of course, one of them. What I meant was that aside from Twitter, is there another way to contact Uber customer service? Not that I've had many occasions to, but it isn't very intuitive on their app on how to do so.

By the way, my preference to keep Twitter off my new phone isn't any kind of statement against or for the company, but it has always been my practice to avoid any form of social media.

serpens

Rereading your post, I see that you meant Twitter.
Good for you! (I assume you mean other than FlyerTalk.)

arollins

This may not be an option to all, and certainly not the best, but, you can always see if there is a Uber Green Light Hub nearby. This is where drivers go for their annual vehicle inspections, and communicate with representatives regarding problems.

As I mentioned on my post to this, there is no "contact" information on their website. You do it online and wait for their response, or communicate via social media. Seems that most company are doing this.

Watchful

Reserving a trip is always a good idea but it is not foolproof. (I am an Uber driver.). Uber does NOT reserve a driver for you but you can get bumped up in the queue and increase your chance of getting a timely ride.

Where I live the number of drivers has decreased during the pandemic, and so the number of folks late to work, etc. has increased as well due to lack of drivers.

Your case was tricky because it looks like there was a chance you could have made it so it was probably worth taking the gamble of the trip.

Did you take a later flight or just turn around and go home?

There are times that Uber customer service by email is helpful but sometimes it seems like they do not fully understand the issue. Good luck.

bwallet

I've stopped using Uber or Lyft to get to the airport in the morning. It is too unreliable. I'll pay more to know that I don't have to stress over a ride and missing my flight.

MitchR

Uber customer service is pretty much non-existent. I scheduled an Uber from a restaurant to a train station. The entrance to the restaurant was set back about 150 feet from the street. It was pouring rain and the driver wouldn't drive the 150 feet to the restaurant breezeway and cancelled me as a no show so I not only didn't get the ride I was charged $5. Took a cab and the biggest surprise was that the cab fare was just $1 more.

n8-the-gr8

They have really stripped down their customer service so not aware of options beyond in app reporting or twitter. Also wouldn’t hold your breath for any sort of fair or generous compensation.

I would recommend next time trying to request a new ride on Lyft, Curb (old school cabs) or calling a cab company. After all if it took the Uber 66 mins to arrive you would have seen how far the Uber was away from you and in any case at the 15 minute mark past a scheduled pickup time I personally abandon that plan and scramble for alternatives. Waiting passively for almost an hour for the original plan to come through is not the best bet.

TIGA31328

Yikes! You should have a driver assigned to your reserved trip not too long after you make it. If you get up for your flight and don’t have one I’d be ready to request a regular Uber. My backup plan is to drive myself, I don’t give more than 15 minutes for them to be late, or have another driver within 30 minutes of the original time or I’m in my car driving myself. I do the 3hr buffer as well when taking a Uber to the airport.

As others have said, file a dispute, chose the closest reason and state what occurred. Good luck!

heffa

-- First, you should have taken the trip to the airport. Sometimes flights are delayed and you will get on. If not, American will use the "flat tire rule" and rebook you on another flight, including flights from different airlines. Even fully booked flights have space available from last minutes cancellations, travel delays etc.
-- Second, reserv a trip on Uber/Lyft doesn't mean it has an assigned driver. It will show up in the queue for drivers like 15-30 minutes ahead of your reservation time. If you don't have a driver assign at that time, you need to start looking for alternatives. Search Uber, Lyft, calling local companies.
-- If you really want to do a reservation, then it is much better to contact a local taxi company one day ahead. They will more likely have a driver assigned, especially if it is for a super early trip at 5 AM. There are not many drivers available at that time, especially on Uber/Lyft. And if you live far away like you wrote, then there are even less drivers available.
-- No need to make a statement about social media. Just create a throwaway email and use it for Twitter, Facebook, or similar. Then contact Customer Service and delete the account when the issue is resolved.

htodd

I had an issue with trying to enable 2-factor authentication. Actually, I think it started when Uber and Uber Eats seemed to have separate passwords. In any case, I can get to my account through the apps but I can't reset the password. Customer service is chat/email based and don't seem to be able to follow simple descriptions. They just recite off of a script. If your problem isn't on their list of answers, I don't think you get an answer.

Another time I wanted to complain that I thought I got the wrong order on Uber Eats and it just refunded me the whole amount rather than some small amount for the price difference. I went back and forth with the restaurant and finally just ended up Venmo-ing the guy a lot more money than the order because it wasn't his fault that Uber is so broken.

Oh, and lately, I seem to be chasing the car through the neighborhood because they don't stop where I ask them to.

I might start taking the "airport limousine" again if this happens more frequently.