
Uber pleads with users deleting the app: 'We're hurting' - manojr
http://www.ksat.com/news/uber-emails-some-users-deleting-the-app-were-deeply-hurting
======
dang
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13712530](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13712530)

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MBCook
If only there was something they could have done to avoid this. Like take
complaints and allegations seriously for the past few years.

It's not like some really unpopular celebrity said "They're my favorite
company" and people started to ditch them, they _earned_ this themselves.

And since deleting the app and not using the service is the only real power
users have... they're taking advantage of it.

Sounds like the system works.

~~~
67726e
> It's not like some really unpopular celebrity said "They're my favorite
> company"

Didn't the "delete Uber" campaign start the other week because of connections
with the Trump administration? At least that's how folks I know on Facebook
phrased it.

~~~
MBCook
There was a bit of a mess around their messaging (I don't know exactly what)
and Trump's immigration ban, that was one of the flare ups.

I was thinking something more like if Bill Cosby had said he takes uber all
the time when the allegations came out about him or a 'Uber Serial Killer' was
found. If they were associated through no fault of their own with something
VERY unpopular.

I'm not sure if the Trump thing qualifies, but it was a bit of a mess and I'm
not clear on exactly what went down, but my sense is it wasn't exactly the
kind of thing I was thinking of.

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alphonsegaston
Uber is an object lesson in thinking you can get away with destroying all your
social capital because you're pig-in-shit deep in piles of VC cash. Whether
they survive or get taken to the slaughterhouse, they're never gonna shed the
stink.

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penglish1
In which the Uber stockholders discover that extremely aggressive, sometimes
illegal behavior is no substitute for a proper economic moat, and that "an app
that calls a nearby taxi" is not too hard for someone else to do. And that
building a market based on brand reputation only works if your brand really IS
good, and people never find out that you've always been a bunch of "just
wanting a C-Class" dickbags.

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sidlls
I feel terrible for the employees there who aren't part of the mess that
management created.

Not so much for the management or investors. This industry (it's mainly in the
Bay area and "startup culture" in general, but it exists outside it as well)
is rife with intolerant, sexist, ego-driven boys in adult male bodies. It's
well past time to correct that problem.

~~~
legulere
Well they are part in a company that is trying to destroy the livelihood of
hard working taxi drivers partly by pushing illegal practices. And please
don't assume that the taxi business needs disruption globally because the
place where you live can't regulate taxis properly.

So no reason to feel terrible for them.

~~~
sidlls
That's a separate issue from this. One I have mixed feelings about, because in
general employees, even software sector employees in the Bay Area, have less
choice and agency when it comes to employment than the capital owning class
has. So while they are helping a company break the law I'm not so quick to
make them accomplices per se.

~~~
alphonsegaston
It's not really separate because their problem is the baseline amorality of
their company culture. The disregard for laws, threatening journalists,
subprime lending, and abusive work practices are all part and parcel of this.
Maybe years ago you could have excused this all away, but at this point you're
throwing your lot in with this pattern of sociopathic behavior, hoping that
Kalanick's gaslit apologies will guarantee your stock options.

~~~
sidlls
I'm hoping you're using "your" to refer to Uber employees and shareholders.
I'm not either of those things. I can't really agree or disagree with you. You
make some valid points, but I think it's also valid to note that employees--
even ones who sign up with Uber going forward--generally haven't as much
choice and that some of them, at least, are signing on for lack of
alternatives.

~~~
alphonsegaston
Apologies. Yes, I meant it in the general sense.

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kefka
They hide the "Delete My Account" outside of your account, and link to it on
some 'help page'. Some help.

So, here's the link:
[https://help.uber.com/h/24010fe7-7a67-4ee5-9938-c734000b144a](https://help.uber.com/h/24010fe7-7a67-4ee5-9938-c734000b144a)

You have to "beg" for them to delete your account. It's not automatic. But I
have a feeling that once they do so, and marking them as spam in Google would
do even more damage.

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debatem1
Interesting phrasing. Very self-focused. Seems more consistent with their
behavior to date than with a newfound sense of remorse, but it's easy to focus
too much on too little.

Uber employees, do you think there's meaningful change coming?

~~~
__jal
Whining self-pity is usually bullying jerks' other go-to mood.

I honestly don't expect their behavior to change. I no longer use Uber,
although this is a useful post - I never got around to actually deleting the
account.

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zmitri
the message I got when I tried:

    
    
      We're sorry to see you go, {first_name}. We've marked your account to be deleted. Please bear in mind that we cannot recover your account after it has been deleted.
    
      You can always create an account again in the future if you change your mind! You can do so by visiting get.uber.com.
    
      Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you need anything else.
    

Seemed pretty standard.

~~~
thenewwazoo
I provided a reason (scabbing during the NYC strike), and they sent me a
topical response:

\---

We share your concern that this ban will impact many thousands of innocent
people. That’s why Uber is committed to financially compensating drivers
affected by the ban, so that they can continue to support their families while
they are prevented from returning to the US. For more information you can read
our CEO’s statement at: [http://](http://) t.uber.com/eo. While I’m sorry to
hear about your concerns, I’ve gone ahead and deleted your account as
requested.

Of course, if I can assist with anything further please let me know.

\---

I thought it was interesting, anyway.

~~~
harlanlewis
Received the same response when I cited the same reason for deleting (among a
few others).

Interesting that this PR push comes in the very message that confirms your
account has been deleted (and after they warn it can't be brought back). It's
past the point of potential retention without attribution gymnastics.

They know you're gone, it's just an attempt to impact sentiment enough to
discourage you from encouraging others to quit.

~~~
zmitri
Yeah, or signing up again later. That's why I posted my response, to see what
else other folks had got in response.

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Arizhel
How's Lyft doing these days?

~~~
chrisper
Great. They just expanded

[http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/23/technology/lyft-
launches-54-...](http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/23/technology/lyft-
launches-54-new-cities/)

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dorfsmay
Forget Uber, that's history, but I hope management and H.R. in other companies
take note. I hope MBA and H.R. school read that blog post and study it
carefully.

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chrisper
I used to use Uber even if I disliked them because they were just so much
cheaper. But I think I am just willing to pay more just to avoid paying Uber.

~~~
bigiain
I used to think this - turns out when I deleted Uber and started using on of
my local taxi co-op apps, the regular-ish trips I used to do with Uber were
within a couple of dollars of the cab fare I've been getting charged -
sometimes less expensive in a cab.

~~~
chrisper
How can I find such co-op apps?

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mud_dauber
Take it up with HR. I'm sure they'll help.

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Blackthorn
Good God. This is liability 101.

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tradersam
Like I said yesterday, the company is bleeding users and they know it.

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EliRivers
Do these VC investors not install adult supervision of the companies they
invest in?

~~~
johan_larson
They used to, back around the turn of the century. Yahoo and Google, to take
just two examples, got older and more experienced CEOs to supplement the
youthful founders as the companies grew.

My impression is that doing it that way is a bit old-school now. Investors
would rather bet on the founders doing it Gates-style by pure intellect and
vigor.

~~~
bigiain
As it turns out - testosterone and alcohol are not adequate substitutes for
pure intellect and vigor... Who could have guessed?

------
randyrand
not necessarily referring to this specific Uber scenario:

How do we justify it being okay to date a coworker, but morally wrong to ask
him/her on a date or for sex?

full disclosure: I'm currently dating a coworker. Though she was the one that
asked _me_ out

Of course, asking repeatedly can become harassing. But for the other cases, if
you genuinely think the person you are asking might like you, I don't see why
it should be illegal to ask them out or to have sex. Isn't that all this Uber
guy was guilty of?

~~~
Blackthorn
You didn't just build a strawman there, you bought the whole straw farm and
built a colossus.

~~~
randyrand
I'm not referring to this specific Uber scenario, but just dating/sex between
coworker in general.

