When You Leave a Review and They Retaliate: Uber Driver Damages Property
If you’ve ever had a performance review, you know they can be some of the most aggravating, stressful, and pointless experiences you have on the job. You show up every day, you get your work done, you deal with customers, clients, coworkers, and now your supervisor (who may or may not be clued in) is going to tell you if you did a good job, and that 15 minute sit-down is going to affect your bottom line.
Now imagine you had a review for every single task, every single customer, every single day.
I’m not going to excuse the actions of this story, but I can kind of understand the stress.
There’s a reason that people pay for fake reviews of their businesses. There’s a reason that sellers participate in Amazon Vine and host Yelp Elite events (or include little cards asking you to leave a positive review in exchange for a gift card). When your livelihood, your very ability to sell, hinges on your review standing, that is very serious.
And so we turn to the Chicago Uber driver.
The tale goes like this.
A teenager gets a ride to the mall. The driver ignores requests to take the expressway, instead spending more time on surface streets, all the while driving erratically.
According to the teen: “"I was just trying to make it to the mall and I was trying to get there within a certain amount of time, and he decided to take the longer way to the mall.”
SO, the teen did what any dispassionate technology user would- he left a one star review.
AND HERE’S WHERE THINGS TURN SCARY!
You already reveal a lot in your reviews, whether you realize it or not. It’s effectively social media, in which you tell people where you shop, dine, and get your car serviced, where you celebrate your birthday, what you like to drink, and so on.
Add an additional wrinkle to that ever-connected nightmare; when you get an Uber or Lyft or DoorDash, they know where your DOOR is! If you leave them a poor review and they know it’s from you AND THEY’RE erratic and maybe a bit desperate, then you might wind up like the reviewers in this story. You might find a stranger on your doorstep.
The driver allegedly showed up in an attempt to return a forgotten item to someone they’d picked up from the house. When the homeowner wasn’t buying it, the driver yelled about the review, and as he turned to leave, threw a brick at her window and car.
What’s the takeaway? Just like complaining to the waitstaff/kitchen and worrying about them spitting in your food, be careful when damning the reviews of a rideshare driver. Their behavior may not be excusable, but if they know where you live, yikes.
