Over the past few years, Uber has been an up and coming company that is becoming very popular in the ride service industry. People are able to use Uber through their application on smartphones. Riders are able to connect with a driver and then input their pick up spot an destination on the app. Riders are also eligible to provide feedback about their experience and their driver with Uber after their ride is over. This data is stored by Uber and it is anonymous. The drivers are not able to see who gave them feedback and what was said about them. In some instances, if a driver receives to much negative feedback, they can loose their job as an Uber driver.
In
recent news, some Uber drivers are demanding that they be able to see the data
that Uber collects from riders. They think that it is unfair that they are
unable to see the feedback that riders give them, especially if it is negative. Uber
makes it seem that Uber drivers are their own boss, but in reality, they are
really being managed by the top of the hierarchy. Drivers should be able to know
why they are blocked from the app.
In
my opinion, this type of data should be accessible to Uber’s employees. The
drivers are the ones that are making the company money. Having this data stored
in secret is only preventing Uber’s drivers from improving themselves and learning
from the feedback that riders provide. One way Uber can try and fix this issue
is, most importantly, is show drivers feedback that they receive. Uber would
probably have to protect its customers by keeping their comments and ratings
anonymous, but this would help drivers feel more comfortable in their job
position. At the end of each month, Uber could develop a way to organize each
drivers data at the end of the month, and give them an overview of their
performance. This would put drivers’ minds at ease and would at least give them
some sort of warning if their job is close to being terminated.
Aidan, I really enjoyed your blog and believe that this topic of Uber drivers is very relevant to College students today. I am sure that the majority of College Students use Uber at least once a week if not more. I personally feel that I am very familiar with the app, and have left feedback for drivers both good and bad over the course of the 4 or so years I have been using Uber. It is very interesting to me that Uber is withholding some or all of the data they collect from the riders. I agree with your thought that Uber drivers are most certainly unique employees. They are essentially their own bosses, but you are right they are now subject to high corporate powers given the fact they can not access their own data.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I am in a unique position to relate to these drivers. For the past year or I have been an Instacart grocery shopper. I have a very similar job as the Uber drivers. I will get an order from a customer, shop for their groceries, then deliver the groceries to their house. However, Instacart allows me to see the feedback that different customers have given to me. I appreciate the access I have to this data as I believe it makes me a better shopper. If a customer has any concerns I know I can do better the next time, and if they are pleased I enjoy seeing that feedback as well.
I completely agree with the stance you have taken in this blog. I agree that Uber drivers most certainly should have access to the data regarding their ratings. I really think that Uber would believe this ti be advantageous if they offer the chance for Drivers to see their feedback. I know if it was me driving the cars I would want to see my feedback, and avoid the anxiety of wondering who was rating me what.
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ReplyDeleteAidan this was a great blog that we can all certainly relate to. I have mixed feelings about this. I believe that Uber should provide its drivers with a summary or generalization of what their customers gave them as a review rather than a word for word explanation. This is due to the safety of the rider as well as perhaps seeing if there is a pattern in the positives/negatives brought up in their reviews. The same could be said for the public as Uber passengers. We too receive ratings as passengers yet receive no form of explanation why we receive the ratings we do. I do believe that if an Uber driver violates a law or rule, they should be well-aware of their wrongdoings and exactly what was done. Now do I believe the users exact words should be said to them? Not exactly. There are many cases of sexual assault/harassment amongst Uber drivers and their passengers. Passengers who experienced this may want to remain confidential or not have the driver know that they're reporting them but rather have it only handled by the company who will communicate with the driver. My stance is that if Uber drivers are granted access to data regarding their ratings, there should be confidentiality and concluded statements that are gathered at the end of their work shift with general statement or patterns so that the driver has an idea of what their passengers experienced.
ReplyDeleteAidan, this is a great article that not only highlights data management, but another example of a big tech company maintaining questionable practices against its employees. As Haleema, pointed out, I think one good reason to hide rider feedback is for their safety so that their is no concern for retaliation against a bad review or pressure to give a good review. However, I think this could be avoided if drivers received their feedback in randomized, delayed, and anonymous batches. No matter when they are received the number of stars a driver gets is a relatively useless piece of information if there is no comment explanation attached to it. Yet, if drivers received anonymous comments and their respective star ratings they could likely still understand why they got negative ratings. For example, if someone said "car was dirty" or "music too loud" those are things they could keep in mind and fix with future riders. Similarly, if a driver receives positive comments like "great driver, very responsible" or "very fun, great conversation" then they will know what their strengths are and to continue doing these things. However, if they have no access to these comments and riders don't tell them their problems in the moment, then drivers understandably can't do anything about their bad ratings which is entirely unfair. I also agree that this is despicable because a driver can lose their job over a low rating yet potentially not know why. Additionally, this is something that would obviously never happen with a traditional job. You might get laid off due to budget cuts or fired for stealing supplies, but I've never heard of unannounced, unjustified firings.
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