Argument between Uber driver and passenger shows that customer is not always right

A video of a heated argument between an Uber driver and his passenger has gone viral on social media.

In a post on Tuesday (Mar 7), Facebook user Kelly Lim alleged that the Uber driver had rudely asked her why she was late.

Kelly claimed that when she booked her ride at 8.48am, the Uber app’s built-in estimated time of arrival function said that the driver was still ten minutes away from her pick-up point.

However, ten minutes later, at 8.58am, the driver texted the mobile number attached to the Uber account to say that he was leaving in two minutes and told her to pay the booking fee for not showing up.

According to Kelly, the phone number attached to the Uber account is not hers, and she was relying on the Uber app to estimate the driver’s time of arrival.

When she got to the car, Kelly said the driver “rudely” asked her why she was late.

The video that Kelly uploaded shows their argument.

Kelly first asks the driver why he is being so rude to her, to which the driver answers: “You were late for ten minutes!”

Kelly asks: “What ten minutes? It’s not ten minutes at all!”

The driver asks her to get out of the car, while Kelly tells him to look at the time that she had booked her ride. The driver then said that he had already texted her, and that Kelly had not replied him when he asked why she was late.

The argument then continues, with each of them accusing the other of being rude. Kelly then leaves the car.

She later had to pay a cancellation fee of $6.

Kelly wrote in her post:

“Does it mean 8.58am he waited 10 mins already and that means 8.48am he accepted the ride and he reached my doorstep instantaneously despite his location being 9mins away.

“I wonder. Teleportation is invented already?”

In her Facebook post, Kelly also wrote:

“Rudest driver I ever met and I wish to pursue this issue with regards to this driver as attached and I couldn’t believe I had to pay that stupid cancellation fee.”

The post was shared over 3000 times on Facebook, and there were over 1200 comments on it before it was deleted today (Mar 9), but opinions are divided.

Most netizens, however, pointed out that most of the fault lay with Kelly.

They slammed Kelly for only sharing part of the argument, and pointed out that she must have done something to spark the driver’s anger.

Others reminded her that the Uber driver was not a “personal driver” who was obliged to wait for her, and that most Uber drivers only waited for three to five minutes for passengers to show up.

They also pointed out that Uber rides should be booked when the passenger was already at the pick-up point and ready to leave, as the Uber app’s estimated time of arrival was not necessarily accurate all the time and the driver might be earlier than expected.

They also questioned the need for her to share the video on social media, if her only intention in posting the video was so that she could get her cancellation fee refunded.

On the other hand, some netizens felt that the driver was at fault for losing his temper and shouting at a passenger.

As one Facebook user commented on the post:

“Riders, please learn to respect drivers.

“Drivers, please appreciate riders as they are your bread and butter!”