To say the least, these past few weeks I've been 'dealing'. A lot has happened some stemming from my vacation blues, others from other happenings in my life. Most notably and timed perfectly with the launch of their
"safety fee", I was locked in a uber suv with & by the driver and I wanted to share my story.
I have been a HUGE supporter of
Uber Cab service. You may remember me mentioning I needed to cut back a few times. The week of the incident I spent near $200 on uber's alone. One of my favorite things about the service was that in addition to being more reliable that San Francisco cabs, it also seemed safer. It takes the whole standing on a corner alone at 2am trying to get a cab to pick you up out of life, you know who the driver is and have records through the company at your finger tips. Uber has also always been very responsive to any complaints or comments I send in.
2 weekends ago at the end of the night, a friend of mine kindly ordered me an uber. I was a little emotional due to events of the evening, but definitely had my wits about me #smartgirlsknowwhentocallitanight. Throughout the ride I was talking to the driver about my night. He seemed sweet enough, but upon arrival at my house he drove to the opposite end of my block....which coincidently doesn't have any street lights and began to parallel park. I asked him what was going on and he said he was pulling over so we could talk, that he was 'single', could offer some perspective and then asked me to climb over the partition to the front seat. I refused, said I was waiting for a phone call from my friend and had to get going. The driver then locked the doors and himself crawled through the partition to the backseat. Around that time my friend was calling and I once again told him that my friend was calling and I needed to be let out. He told me to answer the call and tell her I'd call her back. I hit ignore, I don't know if it was out of defense or what. Part of me tells me that maybe I should have picked up the call, but after seeing me do that he grabbed my hand and kissed it. I tried to grab it back but he held on and at that point I said, more sternly than I had said before, if he didn't let me out I was going to break a window and report this to uber. He climbed back through the partition and unlocked the doors and (kindly?) opened mine to let me out. As I was walking away, he grabbed my arm and asked for my phone number. I again refused and he then gave me his card if I 'decided I want to talk more'. Being disgusted and focusing on calling my friend back, I threw the card away.
I have reported the incident to uber, but they haven't been able to identify the driver yet. They needed the account holder's name, which I gave them. Then after 2 follow ups they got back to me saying they needed the account holder's phone number and had credited my account a whole $10! Thats where things are right now.
I was shocked to see I was not the only victim, that just by googling uber one of the first results to come up was
this article ! The author had a similar response by uber. I've been doing my best to deal, although it took me a few days to even feel comfortable enough in closed spaces to get on BART to go to work. I know it isn't everyone who is like this, but it shatters your safe-feeling when something like this happens. My roommate was just gifted
Safety Cat for Easter and I've already put in my order! They're cute, fit on your key chain and are easier to use in a locked vehicle than pepper spray.
Stay safe ladies!
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