First, let me say I’m a big fan of Uber and use it when traveling in almost every city. Recently, I was in Washington D.C. for a few days, and took a Uber from my hotel over to Georgetown. I got into my UberX Toyota Camry and first thought how loud the radio was, and then realized that this wasn’t the radio, but the driver had on some religious preaching.
I really felt perplexed on what to do, as I didn’t want to offend the driver if I was gonna ask him to turn off the radio or even put on some music. I feel that since I’m the passenger I would at least have that right?
After about 5 minutes, I asked if he could lower the radio, and he ever so slightly turned it down. At this point, I received a phone call on my cell phone and answered it. I’d surely think he’d get the hint and lower it since I was on the phone, but nope not at all. It was so loud, that I had to apologize to the person on the other line asked what was in the background, yet he still didn’t lower it.
I finally arrived to my destination in Georgetown perplexed about this whole situation. Was I in the wrong for asking him to lower the radio? Do passengers have a right to choose what they listen to while riding? Surely, I shouldn’t have had to be subjected to this religious preaching he was listening to the entire time.
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Feel free to share your thoughts below, and what you’d do in this situation, or if you’ve ever been in a similar scenario yourself.
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He shouldn’t have been playing that kind of radio station when passengers are present unless requested by the passenger. I would have given him a low rating for the ride and stated it was due to his loud playing of religious preaching.
Uber drivers are self-contractors. You should use taxis or public transportation if you want to have a regulated product.
That’s what the star rating is for…
I think that courtesy dictates that the rider should be given radio on/off and volume control. If that courtesy is refused, it should be addressed in the driver’s rating. I don’t think Uber should get into the weeds of banning in-car audio based on content.
I’d definitely give him a 1 start rating. He’s free to practice his beliefs on his own time how at whatever volume level he enjoys. But i think being in the transport business the drivers need to make the customer’s needs a priority. Lets take the religion aspect out of it and say it was country music he was listening to at a high level. As the paying customer you should be able to request lowering of the volume. What if that call was from an angry client of yours. I’m sure hearing Achy Breaky Heart blaring in the background would not help the situation.
I would probably send an email to Uber alerting them of his actions, but would probably focus more on the volume level/refusal to reduce the volume and leave the content of the radio station out of the complaint. I think it will carry more weight.
The good thing about Uber is I bet this will get enough super low ratings that he will effectively take care of this problem himself.
Never forget who’s paying who … You have every right to ask them to turn it down, to give them a better route, or to not engage in a conversation (my uber drivers always want to chat and I almost never do).
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