Uber's questionable business practices
Once again I find myself confounded how brazen and intransigent companies can be.
A few days ago I ordered some food via Uber Eats. A window popped up and gave me the option to add something else from another store without having to pay additional delivery fees. "Nice, not bad," I thought. Since I ordered Korean I quickly checked LCBO for soju and added 2 bottles. I got another popup that told me that the driver will check my ID and whether I am sober. Great, all good.
I am Gen X and even though I look younger than my age, I certainly do not look younger than 19. Nevertheless I showed the driver my driver's licence without him having to ask for it. He gives me the alcohol and then tries to take my ID to take a picture of it. What? Hold on. Full stop.
Of course there was no way to talk to anyone at Uber, so the driver used his app to chat with support or what I suspected was a bot.
I told the driver to mention the following points:
- The website stated that the driver will check my ID, not that the driver will take a picture of my ID. Otherwise I wouldn't have ordered alcohol in the first place.
- When I go to LCBO (or any other store that requires an ID for purchasing alcohol) and they ask for an ID (which they don't since I am undoubtedly over 19), they don't take a picture of my ID.
- When I order alcohol from other delivery services, none of them take a picture of my ID. They might want to check my ID, but that's it.
- They already have my credit card info on file, and many other companies do age verification via the credit card. The credit card shows the same name as my driver's licence.
- I don't trust Uber to keep my data safe. This is sensitive personal information that can easily be used for identity theft.
After 10 minutes or so I had to give the driver my 2 bottles of soju and he left.
My conclusion is as follows:
- Uber misrepresented (in fact lied about) the process for purchasing alcohol.
- Uber is more than just intransigent, but incapable of using common sense.
- Uber picks and chooses how to "enforce" their requirements: I did not have to take a breathalyzer test to receive the alcohol.
What's even worse is that you can't even contact Uber. There is no way to send an email or call to talk to someone. I don't have the app installed on my phone, I exclusively use the web browser for Uber Eats and on the web there is no way to open a ticket.
I guess I'll have to keep track of which companies do not lie on their web site. For now it is clear that I will never order alcohol via Uber Eats again.