As with most services of Uber's size and scope you can sign on and get rides easily but finding someone to talk to regarding an issue is virtually impossible. This not due to the company's insensitivity to their customers, it more about how pathetically their CRM and IT guys arrange the navigation and accessibility of customers to customer service. Since CRM (customer relations management) is a costly service, all big companies try to minimize the use of their BPO (business process outsourcing) for such services. This means that Uber's BPO CRM in the Philippines is the major cost of their Uber customer service and as such, they try to minimize this cost by providing you with self service solutions. In fact, customers don't reach the Uber BPO, its reserved only for drivers.
Customers are still in the psychological frame of demanding to speak to someone, thinking that if they talk to a human, they are getting an informed result and one that is solved immediately. In most cases, this is not the situation since the person you would end up talking to is only a CRM representative, someone that sits at a cubicle with a headset and access to the company IT. You can get the same result by either following the FAQ or sending in an e-mail or online form. In fact, online forms can sometimes be a faster and better documented approach than seeking out a person to deal with your issue.
Here is the list of what NOT to do to:
- Never call the critical safety response line. It's for emergencies only. They are not CRM.
- Never try to call your driver unless it's about a lost item.
- Don't bother replying to your ride receipt e-mail, it's a bot, which means there is no one to receive it.
- Don't try to use other e-mails your received from Uber for a new issue; they will be closed threads, which means that no one will read it or even receive it.
Now let's take a look at the Uber CRM way of things.
Uber customers cannot perform the following:
- You cannot call directly.
- You cannot e-mail directly
Uber customers can perform the following:
- Visit the help.uber.com
- Use the “Help” option of the Uber App
The fastest methods for getting Uber's attention are:
Trip issues
- pen the Uber app, tap the menu, then tap "Your Trips."
- Select the trip, then browse the Help section for the help articles.
- Or, go to uber.com. Click "Trip issues and refunds," and select the trip.
- Choose from the help articles that will contain instructions and contact forms.
- For general issues and questions start at help.uber.com and use the search function to find the help article that best meets your issue. There is a contact form inside some help articles
- Uber will always reply to a request after you send a form. The reply comes to your e-mail, and you will then continue to discuss your issue with them via e-mail.
Bottom of Form
Get Uber customer service through help.uber.com
Uber is trying to save on overheads, and that means cutting out as much human interface as possible. This works if you are willing to use your mind and try to find the solution online in their extensive library of help articles.
Help.uber.com is an Uber library of help issues that has taken them years to collate update and make accessible for one sole purpose. Find and offer a solution to every question.
Unfortunately, the help section is not managed by a librarian, so it is not in any specific order. Finding the right answer requires asking the right question. Asking search engines questions is a science unto itself and is the key to successful online searching.
The rule for successful online searching is to articulate your question as close and concise to the issue without using too many unnecessary words. Remember, Uber is not Google, their algorithm is not AI. If you wanted to search for a lost item in a ride, you would enter the word "lost" or better yet "lost item," and this will give you an immediate list of subjects to link to. The first one when putting in "lost item" is a link to is "contact a driver about a lost item" which is what you would most probably want.
Once you reach the screen of your issue, you can read it and find the solution there, and in some instances, there is a contact form at the bottom of the article. When an article doesn't have a contact form, try searching for one that does, but using the same search string and choosing a different but similar option.
The only steps to get Uber CRM
- Make contact through the contact form found in articles in uber.com
- Wait around 24 hours for their response
- You can reply to their response via the email you received or through the "Support messages" feature in the Help section of the Uber app
CRM Etiquette
One of the biggest issues and faults that face many customers is knowing how to be focused and concise. You have to understand that the person at the other end of the help contact form has limited time to manage each issue. CRM operatives are timed, and the longer it takes to understand the issue, the harder it on the CRM. So here are the rules of CRM etiquette for customers seeking efficient responses:
- Be concise, focused and polite.
- Do not raise other issues than the one you wish to discuss.
- Provide specific dates, times, amounts, ride numbers, and any other actual data that will help the CRM understand.
There is one frustrating result that sometimes comes back; this is partially due to laziness and partially due to not understanding the query properly: A pasted copy of the help article you already read. Don't get too upset, yes, it's annoying, but it happens all the time. Just reply with a more concise and focused reply, and state that you know the help article, you want a reply to a specific issue that the article does not explain properly or cover. Just remember to be polite, it helps everyone.
All about refunds, fare adjustments, and answers about fees and tolls
help.uber.com
- Choose "Trip issues and refunds," you'll get a map with a drop-down list.
- Click the dropdown and find the ride in question.
- Support topics appear below the fare receipt.
- Find the support article that addresses your issue.
- Use the contact form to send a message to Uber.
Uber App
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Tap the menu icon in the upper left
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Tap "Your Trips."
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Scroll to select your trip.
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Choose the link to support articles that contain forms
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Use the contact form to send a message to Uber.
Lost Items
Lost items cost $15 to recover here are the steps to take:
help.uber.com
- Choose "Trips Issues and Refunds,"
- Select the ride where you lost the item
- Select "I lost an item."
- Enter your phone number
- You will receive a message from Uber giving you the drivers number
- Contact the driver and arrange a pickup location and time.
- If the driver doesn't pick up, try to call him/her again later the same day.
For rides that ended within a few minutes, you can check the text message you received that the driver has arrived to pick you up. It has the drivers number on it; you can see him/her all directly and arrange a pick up.
Uber App vs. help.uber.com
The Uber app does not help friendly; this means that if you don't have access to a tablet or PC, expect to swipe through a lot of screens to reach the article you need. If the issue is not urgent, such as a lost item, it is best to wait till you get to a PC and then easily use the help system there.
Uber Driver CRM
If you are an Uber driver, you have more options to reach support personnel, and these include calling Uber service representative is in certain cities, getting their BPO in the Philippines and going to visit a Greenlight Hub office.
24/7 Driver support
- Open the driver app
- Tap the Account
- Go to the help screen
- Tap the phone button in the upper right corner.
- You will be patched through to Uber's driver CRM BPO in the Philippines
How to ask a question in the driver app
- Tap Account > Help > Account and Payment > Change Account Settings > I have another account issue
There are more ways to get help; the above one is for general issues.
You can also follow your current issues by going to Account tab > Help > Support Messages
This will give you a list of the questions you have in support, and you can check to see their status at any given time.
Drivers that want to use help.uber.com
- Go to uber.com
- On a PC: press the "For Partners" button on the left
- On a mobile device : Tap "For Partners" at the top of the screen
- On the Account and Payment screen click "More."
- On the "Changing Account Settings," click "I have another account issue."
What happens next?
Drivers will receive an e-mail from the Uber rep within a few hours, although in some instances replies have taken 2 days to be answered. If you are not pleased with the response, you can reply to the e-mail message, or you can reply using the support messages area in the Uber app.
Tips for a better support service
- Be concise, focused and polite.
- Do not raise other issues than the one you wish to discuss.
- Provide specific dates, times, amounts, ride numbers, and any other actual data that will help the Support personnel understand.
Greenlight Hub offices
Some cities have Greenlight Hubs. These are supported offices for the drivers and applicants, and you will always find an Uber rep waiting in these offices to help drivers with their issues. The support at these offices is more extensive, and you get more time explaining your problems. You can also ask for hep on a number of issues at one time.
To locate a Greenlight Hub office:
- Go to help.uber.com.
- Click "For Partners,"
- Search for "in person help" and look for the relevant article that contains the address to your local Greenlight Hub.
Conclusions
As I started out this article explaining, CRM is a complex and costly issue, and for some reason, Uber prefers to delegate the customer to a self-service option rather than a human interface. This could be due to the massive number of rides performed a day around the world. With over 1 million rides a day, imagine the queue in waiting for an answer from a CRM person. This is perhaps the reason why Drivers get a human BPO and customers get a computer screen.