My favorite Uber ride
Over 600 trips, the following is my favorite ride, so far, thought I would share it and would love to hear yours!
August 30, I received this rather odd ride request in the morning. Usually, people either go to airports at 7 am or to work, but this was going towards the mountains in Saratoga, California. When I arrived, this lady was tiptoeing towards my car and when she got in, she was whispering "good morning". I immediately realized this is going to be an unusual ride. She told me "My 14-year-old son took our car for a joyride in the middle of the night, and the car stalled, and he took Uber back home and now we are going to the location where the car is at and take it back home before my husband realizes." We started driving to the location and I asked her why she didn't retrieve the car when her son came home and waited till morning, and she said "I had no idea. I assume he tried to come up with something the whole night and couldn't, so he woke me up in the morning to tell me the truth. Normally, it takes me at least an hour to wake him up for school, so I knew something was wrong."
We arrived at the pin her son gave her which shows where the car is supposed to be, but it wasn't. He told her the car is parked on a gravel road at the side of the main road, but it wasn't there. I told her maybe he couldn't pin-point the exact spot or maybe we missed it because we weren't paying attention before we reached to the location, which then I asked her what's the make & model, and she said it's a black Porsche Cayenne. I turned around, looking for the car, drove for another mile or so then she told me maybe it's further ahead of the pin, then I turned around, drove past the pin and still the car wasn't anywhere. She started getting worried. First she asked me if she should update the drop-off location so I would get paid and if they towed it or stole it, so then I tried to comfort her, saying "Don't worry about the location, we will figure it out once we find your car and I don't think a criminal, going up this mountain saw that car and stole it in a couple of hours it's been sitting there. I'm sure they towed it, maybe it was in the middle of the road so someone must've reported it. I think you should call a towing company and ask them if they did." Unfortunately, we both had weak cellular connection, so we couldn't Google the towing company's number.
While we were sitting still, I told her I am going to finish the ride because Uber was keep asking me "Are you OK, do you need assistance" but she was worried about if I was getting compensated for the wait time or the extra miles I'm driving for, instead of worrying about her own car, which I found very wholesome and told her we can figure everything out later so she should focus on finding the car.
Since we couldn't both Google anything, I told her maybe I should drive towards the city till we get better service, and she said, "Maybe I should call 911 and ask them." I pulled over while she was making the call, and the operator said she should call her insurance company and towing companies working in the area first, if it is not towed, then she should report it stolen. We started going towards the city, arrived at the original pin location, and then I got some bars on my phone, then pulled over again to Google the towing companies' number and started calling them one by one. After a couple of unsuccessful calls, she asked me if we could drive past the pin one more time to make sure it's not there. Turned around, once again, drove past the pin and started driving up people's driveways hoping maybe in the middle of the night, he pulled up to a driveway and thought it was the side of the main road. After a while, she gave up, asked me if I could drop her home and asked me how she can pay me for the ride back. I told her "I was going back here anyway, to get a new ride, so it's OK, you don't have to pay me anything." She insisted she is going to tip me then for which I thanked her in advance.
While we were going towards her home, following the same path, there it was! Her car on the side of the road. I parked next to it, she started her car, but it was sputtering and there was an oil sensor error on the dashboard. I said that I can take a look at it, if there is no oil in it, she shouldn't drive it. She popped the hood but unfortunately, there is no dipstick so I couldn't check it. She started the car again, which didn't sputter this time and started beautifully. I suggested that she should take it to a mechanic nearby and started going there together. I assumed she is going to need a ride back to her home after leaving her car, but she said "You already helped more than enough. I don't want to take any more of your time." I gave her my number, just in case she needs anything and continued working.
To be honest, I was expecting a tip soon, something decent but nothing. I was happy that I helped her, but I spent a good amount of time helping her, giving up on prime time for work and I was a bit heartbroken at first, but then I received that message, her thanking me for what I did. I was happy that she didn't forget it and honestly, didn't even want the tip after that point. I was contemplating if I should send her my Venmo but in the end I did. She didn't send me anything for 4 days and I just gave up on it, then she sent me $100 through Venmo.
I would like to hear your favorite rides or encounters you had driving for Uber/Lyft. Hope you all stay safe out there! (Sorry for the grammar mistakes if there are any, English is not my 1st language.)
Posted Nov 4, 2022, 1:42 AM UTC