Worst. Uber. Trip. EVER. (Also: Be careful what you wish for.)
I had a two day work conference/training event/team building thing to go to up in San Francisco. The company was paying for hotel rooms for three days/two nights for everyone, but people who couldn't stay away that long (people with kids or pets or whatever) could travel back and forth instead.
I really, really didn't want to go to it. It'd be boring and long and lots of other reasons.
Since I can't leave my cat alone for three days, I elected to Uber back and forth each day.
I called my car, and for some reason it got canceled? I don't know if I canceled it by mistake or the driver did... he was right on the same road with me, then I got the popup window to rate the ride. Whatever. I ordered another Uber.
The second one was odd. I don't know if this had anything to do with anything, but he took almost five minutes to move at all, then he drove passed my road and way down the other way, stopping in a Starbucks (was he getting coffee? he could have turned around much sooner than that...). Anyway, he finally got to me and off we went.
A few minutes into the ride, and we got into an accident. We were going up a highway, so at normal highway speeds, and apparently there was an accident in front of us. Someone hit it, we hit them, someone (or two someones) hit us from behind. I was reading at the time, so I'm not completely sure what happened.
Luckily I had my seatbelt on. My Kindle went flying. (For much of the time, I was more worried about getting it back than anything else. It flew into the front seat somewhere, and I didn't want his car to be towed before I could find it.)
It took a long time standing on the side of the road for the cops to come (So Many Cops), then a few firetrucks, then some medics.
Thankfully one of the cops gave me a ride home (home-ish), because otherwise I'd be stuck there on the highway. He pulled over someone while I was in the back, and it was close enough to my apartment complex that I could walk, so I thanked him and left.
I never rode in the back of a cop car before! It was pretty interesting, so much to see. The cop was chatty as hell, too.
So anyway, once I got home, I went straight to my doctor. She was able to see me right away, sent me for X-rays, gave me painkillers. I'm not feeling too awful yet, but she said tomorrow I'm going to feel much worse. "Wish I would die" was her words to describe what my pain level will probably be.
So... I don't have to go to the conference today or tomorrow, but a darned high price for getting out of it. She said I'll probably be hurting bad for two full weeks, and perhaps beyond that.
Plus side: I could have been hurt a lot worse. It could have been my car. (Poor Uber driver!)
I haven't been sent a receipt from Uber yet, so I really hope they're not going to try to charge me for the trip.
I feel a little guilty for giving the driver one star, but man, the 'rate this ride' popup showed up on my phone while I was still standing on the side of the road. Maybe the accident wasn't his fault (I don't know), but I hit one star without thinking. Though I suppose if there's a reason to give one star, an accident is a good one...
It's funny to think what could have been. If that first Uber had showed up, I never would have gotten into an accident to begin with and this Uber driver would still have his car.
Edit: No issue on the being charged issue. They just sent me an email:
We received a message that you were involved in an accident on a recent trip. Your safety is deeply important to us and we wanted to check to see if you’re okay. We’re also following up with your driver.
Due to this experience, I’ve fully refunded your fare for this trip, which will apply to your original payment method in 3-5 business days. You'll also receive an updated receipt via email.
I really, really didn't want to go to it. It'd be boring and long and lots of other reasons.
Since I can't leave my cat alone for three days, I elected to Uber back and forth each day.
I called my car, and for some reason it got canceled? I don't know if I canceled it by mistake or the driver did... he was right on the same road with me, then I got the popup window to rate the ride. Whatever. I ordered another Uber.
The second one was odd. I don't know if this had anything to do with anything, but he took almost five minutes to move at all, then he drove passed my road and way down the other way, stopping in a Starbucks (was he getting coffee? he could have turned around much sooner than that...). Anyway, he finally got to me and off we went.
A few minutes into the ride, and we got into an accident. We were going up a highway, so at normal highway speeds, and apparently there was an accident in front of us. Someone hit it, we hit them, someone (or two someones) hit us from behind. I was reading at the time, so I'm not completely sure what happened.
Luckily I had my seatbelt on. My Kindle went flying. (For much of the time, I was more worried about getting it back than anything else. It flew into the front seat somewhere, and I didn't want his car to be towed before I could find it.)
It took a long time standing on the side of the road for the cops to come (So Many Cops), then a few firetrucks, then some medics.
Thankfully one of the cops gave me a ride home (home-ish), because otherwise I'd be stuck there on the highway. He pulled over someone while I was in the back, and it was close enough to my apartment complex that I could walk, so I thanked him and left.
I never rode in the back of a cop car before! It was pretty interesting, so much to see. The cop was chatty as hell, too.
So anyway, once I got home, I went straight to my doctor. She was able to see me right away, sent me for X-rays, gave me painkillers. I'm not feeling too awful yet, but she said tomorrow I'm going to feel much worse. "Wish I would die" was her words to describe what my pain level will probably be.
So... I don't have to go to the conference today or tomorrow, but a darned high price for getting out of it. She said I'll probably be hurting bad for two full weeks, and perhaps beyond that.
Plus side: I could have been hurt a lot worse. It could have been my car. (Poor Uber driver!)
I haven't been sent a receipt from Uber yet, so I really hope they're not going to try to charge me for the trip.
I feel a little guilty for giving the driver one star, but man, the 'rate this ride' popup showed up on my phone while I was still standing on the side of the road. Maybe the accident wasn't his fault (I don't know), but I hit one star without thinking. Though I suppose if there's a reason to give one star, an accident is a good one...
It's funny to think what could have been. If that first Uber had showed up, I never would have gotten into an accident to begin with and this Uber driver would still have his car.
Edit: No issue on the being charged issue. They just sent me an email:
We received a message that you were involved in an accident on a recent trip. Your safety is deeply important to us and we wanted to check to see if you’re okay. We’re also following up with your driver.
Due to this experience, I’ve fully refunded your fare for this trip, which will apply to your original payment method in 3-5 business days. You'll also receive an updated receipt via email.