For first time, Uber offers phone support for drivers
Uber drivers with a question about working for the ride-hailing service now have an in-app phone number to call and humans ready to deliver answers.
This is the first time in Uber’s eight-year history it has offered drivers what would seem to be a baseline offering for the people who are a lynchpin for the com- pany — the drivers who log hours as independent contractors.
“This is just part of our sixmonth effort to radically improve our partnership with the 2 mil- lion people who drive for us,” said Aaron Shildkrout, the company’s head of driver product (of those drivers, 600,000 operate in the U.S.). “If there is a flood of calls, that’s great. We’re ready.”
Phone support is available now in Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New Jersey, New York City, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, Tampa Bay, Washington, D.C., and Austin. The remaining U.S. Uber locations will come online by the end of the year.
The feature is one of a few driver-focused perks Uber rolled out Tuesday as part of its socalled “180 Days of Change” program aimed at repairing a relationship that took a backseat as the start-up scaled incessantly around the globe.
The others include the ability to easily correct details about where a fare started and ended; no rating penalties if a rider complains about traffic or an app glitch; and an automatic $15 payment for returning a lost item, paid by the rider.
Last month, Uber announced it was finally adding an optional tipping feature to its app; last week, the company matched tips dollar for dollar, doling out $2 million to its drivers in a one-time benefit.
Rival ride-hailing company Lyft has had tipping as a feature from its inception and long has touted its pro-driver culture as a way to entice drivers and riders and differentiate itself from Uber.
Lyft has a telephone support number for critical issues and otherwise steers drivers to a website form to submit their questions.
Uber’s new number will welcome drivers with any type of query.