Inside the new Uber: Weak coffee, vanishing perks and fast-deflating morale

Washington Post ^ | September 30, 2019 | Faiz Siddiqui

[C19fan]

Tech IPOs have long been viewed as a boon for Silicon Valley workers, ushering in a new era of corporate stability and stock-driven wealth.

That’s not been the case at Uber, where the stock price has fallen roughly 30 percent since going public in May and employees say they’ve noticed cuts to amenities as basic as the brands of coffee available for brewing.

Uber is changing as it shifts from a closely held unicorn start-up to a publicly traded company that appears to be losing investors’ confidence, according to interviews with current and former workers. Those changes include laying off more than 800 workers over the summer.

Meanwhile, stock units are valued at a fraction of what many employees were led to believe. And executives are imposing workflow changes aimed at improving the company’s efficiency, adjustments that strike some employees as stifling innovation.

[AppyPappy]

I doubt they mean watered-down coffee. I think they mean coffee with a name you would recognize rather than some small-batch hipster organic Equal Exchange bean grown on a Caribbean island with no electricity where they pay a living wage.

[Hotlanta Mike]

I’ve been driving for UBER and Lyft for over 3 years now, since the company I worked for cut staffing and ‘retired’ me.

In my late 50’s I am very grateful that this soure of income is available—convenient, I make my own hours and can hop on or off, at will.

I’ve made good money doing it. The grousing comes from pro-union activists.

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I’ve been driving for Uber over a year. I recently turned 61 and similarly was retired a couple of years back when the foreign company I worked for was sold off and the operations consolidated with the new owner. I too am thankful for the opportunity to work where and when I want, also giving me the flexibility to schedule time around my kids’ activities.

No driver is going to get rich working for Uber or Lyft. But it can provide a good stream of income, which of course is dependant upon the amount of effort one puts into it as well as developing winning strategies for maximizing revenue while minimizing expenses. Finding ways to keep more money in your pocket is critical to the overall picture.

Most of the disgruntled talk comes from the part timers which make up a majority of the drivers (90%). Most of them last for less than 6 months. These are the drivers that most people have complaints about, not the full time and long time drivers. These pt’ers/short timers have less incentive to maintain a clean vehicle or provide a good service and experience for the rider.

[LibertarianLiz]

right down to the stinky drivers.

I dunno. Hubby and I and our daughter used Uber for transport to our eldest daughter's wedding, three years ago in Chicago.

It was a very nice and clean SUV and the driver was quite polite. Had a good experience with him.

The company, itself, I cannot comment on; but, I have noticed a whole lot of these new "tech" companies have huge IPOs, even though their bottom lines do not reflect that confidence. I have been surprised at how mamy of these new companies have not ever made a profit. How do they go on existing?

[ConservativeWarrior]

Uber was great a few years ago. It attracted enterprising individuals who saw it as an opportunity to provide a pleasant alternative to taxis.

But as others have posted, it’s difficult to stay ahead of the depreciation on a decent car, which is why it’s become what it has.

Management has been sued by all 50 state’s attorneys general for covering up a hacking incident which exposed all their driver’s licenses, and all their customer’s personal billing information. Uber decided to pay off the hackers instead of notifying their customers.