[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

I'm in the habit of keeping 'Location Services' turned off unless I specifically need it, which isn't often.

Wife, "How long did you spend at the doctor's today?"

Me: "I don't know, but google does, hang on... [brings up timeline] 17.22 to 18.52."

Yes, I sold my soul!

[Caramba]

Have been a pretty loyal uber customer. However, am bit surprised at the fall in quality of their Uber XL's in Bangalore. Have had really beat up cars, Xylo's in particular, turn up every time.

After a particularly harrowing time with an Uber XL driver not turning up and forcing me to cancel at the airport in pure frustration I looked to Ola after a really long time and have discovered Ola Lux. Apart from an X1 that I got from the airport, have got a camry, accord and a sante fe for other rides. It is pretty expensive but has some novelty factor for now. Wonder how long this will last though, i.e, the offering and the novelty factor.

[Chetan_Rao]

we

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Wife, "How long did you spend at the doctor's today?"

Me: "I don't know, but google does, hang on... [brings up timeline] 17.22 to 18.52."

Yes, I sold my soul!

Oh I know I'm not fooling anyone but myself if I want to believe (which I don't) I can get Google off my scent by selectively using Location Services. They have enough data on the grid to string together every moment of my life if they choose to (I also don't buy the 'we respect your privacy and will never access your private info' nonsense). They're obviously tracking everything they possibly can; some with our willing consent, others with intentionally vaguely worded EULAs that presumes no liability on their part.

It's just a pseudo-rebellious streak I guess, plus the GPS chips/services are battery hogs so it's also a necessary logistical choice.

[speedmiester]

My Father in law a bad experience with Ola Share today.
He took a Ola Share from my place near Royal Meenakshi Mall to Satellite bus station on Mysore road, which is a distance of 15Kms or 17Kms depending on the route you take. But ola selected the longest route possible through NICE road which is of 28KMs to charge accordingly. He is not aware of the distances in Bangalore and accepted it. He was charged for 28Kms, but the cab didn't go through the longest route, only charged for it.
What is the difference between ola and unscrupulous auto driver who take people for a ride?
Customer care is hopeless as they always talk about terms and conditions, I have asked for a copy of terms and conditions which they have not yet shared with me.

Beware of Ola

[FrozeninTime]

Ola has introduced a amazon prime sort of service where you pay monthly amount if you want cab ahead of others without surge. Package starts at 300 a month. Also ola have introduced short rides feature in their app for short commutes.

[speedmiester]

Originally Posted by FrozeninTime

Ola has introduced a amazon prime sort of service where you pay monthly amount if you want cab ahead of others without surge. Package starts at 300 a month. Also ola have introduced short rides feature in their app for short commutes.

Do check all the terms and conditions before getting one, Ola has become notorious with fleecing people

[hrman]

I booked an Uber from my house at Hulimavu to the KIAL at around 9.30 pm on 11th Dec. The driver accepts the ride and at the last minute cancels it.
Since I had to travel international, I decided to take my car instead and park it at the airport for 5 days and pay hefty parking charges .

Sent a message to Uber through the app as they do not have a phone number. I got a reversal of the Rs.50 they had charged for ride cancellation at the last minute, although it was their driver's fault. I tried to rate the driver 1 star, but couldn't as it showed ride cancelled by driver.

Will be more sceptical of Uber going forward and look at other options. But I guess this is common across providers.

[cpbopanna]

Originally Posted by hrman

I booked an Uber from my house at Hulimavu to the KIAL at around 9.30 pm on 11th Dec....Will be more sceptical of Uber going forward and look at other options. But I guess this is common across providers.

Taxi service providers like Meru are more reliable for airport travel!

[pacman2881]

These Taxi services have made so much inroad that Maruti's Bhargava feels Cab sales will overtake private ownership.
http://www.livemint.com/Home-Page/OO...ors_picks=true

Another related article-
http://www.livemint.com/Companies/Qc...les-plans.html

[aditbelw]

Another one to the Cab list in Bangalore is Hyhop Hyper Local Shuttles. Saw their cars running In Kormangala area: Will try them out once in that area.Any one with reviews on it?

[mykal shoemaker]

Do OLA or Uber have a customer care and escalation process? Do they have nodal officers or similar escalation matrix? Their apps are so limited and focused only on booking side. I am struggling with OLA to find out the reason for blocking my ID. I did a trip to central India recently, and used OLA and Uber there. When I returned to Bangalore, OLA blocked my ID ,while Uber still works good. OLA first level ( and that seems the only level they have) repeatedly replied that :" system automatically blocked". They are not able to assist further even after contacting them though email, Twitter etc. If anyone know their escalation matrix, please let me know.

[DCEite]

Originally Posted by mykal shoemaker

Do OLA or Uber have a customer care and escalation process? Do they have nodal officers or similar escalation matrix? Their apps are so limited and focused only on booking side. I am struggling with OLA to find out the reason for blocking my ID. I did a trip to central India recently, and used OLA and Uber there. When I returned to Bangalore, OLA blocked my ID ,while Uber still works good. OLA first level ( and that seems the only level they have) repeatedly replied that :" system automatically blocked". They are not able to assist further even after contacting them though email, Twitter etc. If anyone know their escalation matrix, please let me know.

In the Ola app, navigate to support - my account- troubleshooting -my account has been blocked and follow the steps described.

[mykal shoemaker]

Originally Posted by DCEite

In the Ola app, navigate to support - my account- troubleshooting -my account has been blocked and follow the steps described.

I did go through that line and had 12 or more email exchanges with them. They all have a standard template reply: " Blocking is an automated process and they don't have any control or manual override on that system. Only option is to register with a new email ID and mobile number." I don't want to take a fake number just for one app. But, I feel that these taxi aggregators should have an option to override automated blocking or a process where they can help the user with more details or reasons for the block. At this stage , I am not sure if someone else is misusing my number or mail ID, or if someone cheating OLA using my credentials. A nodal officer or an ombudsman like set up would be helpful in such situation, where first level people are having limited options to help a customer.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by mykal shoemaker

......standard template reply: " Blocking is an automated process and they don't have any control or manual override on that system......

That's hogwash!

We recently had the same issue with Uber, where they locked out my wife's account for 'suspicious activity' (whatever that means to them), even before she could book her first ride. Support gave me the same 'automated algorithm with no manual override' story, but they did reset her account after I tagged Travis Kalanick (and a bunch of other Uber twitter handles) on my Twitter rant.

While that worked in our case, this is no way to get someone to hear out a customer. I appreciate they have smart automated algorithms to track and act upon suspicious activities, but no system is infallible and there should be (and usually is) a manual override for customers not upto mischief.

As for having a full-fledged support system, there's a reason why Uber & Ola are cheap(er) compared to traditional taxis (Meru, Mega, KSTDC etc). They save overhead costs by having an app-only setup backed by minimal support, and customers gain by cheaper rides (until something goes wrong ).

They're aggregators and don't take liability beyond connecting drivers to customers (even that comes with 'no driver may accept your ride request' rider). Like it or not, that's how it is until legislation forces them to assume more liability.

[deehunk]

Ola and Uber drivers are planning to go on strike on Dec 30th & 31st, this was told to me by a Ola driver yesterday. He was saying that Ola is asking drivers to bear the toll expenses and not willing to reduce its share of 25% from the trip charges. This is not applicable to cabs purchased from Ola.