Haven’t you found your UBER or LYFT drivers to be interesting people? I have. They engage you in a way that no cab driver is wont to do. I’ve heard fascinating stories from many drivers and I’ve always thought that by driving for UBER I would meet interesting characters and have fun along the way. Well, the good news is signing up to drive for UBER is ridiculously easy. All you need is pictures of your driver’s license, a car registration and proof of insurance. That’s also the bad news; virtually anybody can be your UBER driver. Yes, they do a cursory background check and by law must send you a copy of the results. UBER (and I) found out that: I am not a Sex Offender and I am not on the Global, Federal or County Criminal Watch lists (whew!). That’s it…in less than 24 hours I was open for business.

Now I never intended to dedicate significant time to my UBER driving career. I just figured I would turn on the app when I was out and about on personal business and would pick up a rider here and there. And that’s exactly what I did the very next day. I had an errand to run across town and turned on the app. Coming out of the store I was dinged by Rob from Michigan who was less than a half mile away at a Hilton Garden Inn. I quickly pulled into a business parking lot to turn around and who should I see walking from the parking lot into a salon but my lovely wife Jean. I rolled down the window and shouted to her that I was about to pick up my first UBER customer. Now, understand that she and my kids think I am crazy. They think this UBER driving thing, indeed my entire bucket list, is well…ridiculous. So it was karma that I would pull into this parking lot to see my wife on the complete other side of the town where we live. Alas, she turned to the sound of my shouts and turned back around, quickening her pace into the salon. No, she did not recognize my voice. No, she did not recognize my car. (she is not a car person…when asked what kind of car she drives she says “Grey”).

Undeterred I drove on to my first pickup and as I entered the entrance drive, out came Rob from Michigan. As Rob nestled into the back seat I told him this was a momentous occasion: My first UBER pick-up. He said it was doubly special because this was also his first UBER ride! What were the chances?!  Rob asked if all UBER cars were so nice. (After years of driving Company cars, I am now driving an Audi A7 which is a cut above most UBER cars). I explained the various levels to him and the fact that higher level cars can also pick up the lower level fares, but not to raise his expectations.

Anyway, Rob-from-Michigan was in a quandary. He and his family were in Indy to attend a weekend baseball tournament involving his 10 year old son. [Note: Future blog topic: Travel teams for elementary school kids]. The tourney was at Grand Park, an impressive new multi-sport facility in nearby Westfield. His son was already practicing at the fields but had inadvertently taken the key to the family car with him. Rob from Michigan had to go find his son, get the key and come back to the Hilton to take the rest of his family up the games. No problem; we can do this I told him; and off we went.

On the way I interview Rob-from-Michigan and he tells me about his job: He is a manager in a company that tests durability of automobiles. Car manufacturers supply his company with their fleet so they can test mechanical, structural and physical durability. His team puts over 100,000 miles on each car in less than 6 months. How interesting, right? So tell me Rob from Michigan, any lessons to share? “Yes”, he says: “Stay away from Fords.” A bit taken aback I tell him that my previous company utilized the Ford fleet for our company cars and that, especially over the last 6 – 8 years, I thought Ford had really improved their products and they were generally performing well for us. Rob-from-Michigan agreed that the product has improved, but he said the Fords they test do great for 50,000 miles or so, then begin to break down at a significantly higher rate than most others. He also said that in the last decade ALL car manufacturers have put out improved products, so don’t settle for Good when there is Great out there. (sounds like a familiar manager phrase). Fair enough. So what is Great, Rob-from-Michigan? “Chevys”, he says. Chevys! Rob says that Chevrolet has improved their fleet more than anyone and their cars now run forever. I certainly think they look pretty good, but didn’t know about their durability.

We arrive at Grand Park and find his son’s field. This place is impressive; large, well-designed, clean and neat. Being new to Uber I end the ride on my app and our plan is for Rob to request another ride. Rob is having trouble with the app so he hands me his phone as he gets out to meet his kid. He asks me to navigate the app to request a ride back. As Rob leaves, the ride concludes on his app and the feedback page comes up. I receive my first 5 star rating. (Hey, at least I fought the urge to provide comments!). I request the return ride for Rob fully expecting that since Grand Park is kind of in the middle of nowhere, I would receive the request. Nope. Up pops Miguel who is 20 minutes away and now heading in our direction. Rob gets back in the car and I explain the situation to him. He is beginning to fray and I suspect his conversation with his son did not go well. He asks me if we could just cancel it and try again. We do try again and a different driver, Ben, comes up who is also 20 minutes away. Cancel. Since I am an Uber Select car, I suggest that we try that. Alfredo comes up who is, get this…35 minutes away! Since Uber has no telephone support options, we are left to figure this out on our own. The obvious solution is for me to get moving and for Rob to pay the projected costs in cash to me directly. Uber OTB (off the books) is born. He is happy to oblige and we are off. My wife calls this ‘Uber New York’…she has a certain view of the ‘ways of working’ in NY (where I grew up). We arrive at the hotel and his family is waiting patiently (well, impatiently) by their large SUV. Mom with arms folded; daughter sitting on a cooler the size of a Volkswagen and son sitting on the parking lot pavement. They look like they got kicked out of the hotel (not true) and they look distressed (true). I tell Rob that he just did an amazing job executing a task in about a half hour that could have easily taken 2 to 3 times longer. There are simply not a lot of Uber cars in Westfield, IN. He looks resigned as he gets out and says “I don’t think I will tell them that”. OK, well, good luck Rob-from-Michigan and thanks for the great rating!

Up soon: Lord of the Hamburg

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