Crown, June 11th

[GloriaF]

6 hours ago, billco said:

Sorry to read about this experience. I assume you have complained to Lyft. Also, I assume you are sure this was a Lyft driver and you were monitoring through the Lyft app. I have had experiences in NYC where taxi drivers would say they were Uber drivers. We have been using Uber for years both in the US and Europe and have never had an issue. In fact, I can relate two positive experiences, both in Fort Lauderdale, where I never take taxis since being charged $10.00 for address lookup, because I couldn't tell him the address of the Embassy Suites.

1. After being dropped off at my hotel, I noticed I had left my wallet in the car. I contacted Uber who contacted the driver. He arranged to meet me at a restaurant across from the hotel and returned the wallet.

2. After being dropped off at the Enchanted Princess prior to a transatlantic cruise, I noticed I had left my iPhone in the car. I called it on my wife's iPhone and the Uber driver answered on the third attempt. He said he had a fare, but could be back in an hour. I called in an hour. He was at security and I had to ok it, since he didn't have a passenger. 

Uber has many safety features and I can't recommend them highly enough.

I received emails from Lyft for feedback about the ride and another about the driver.  I plan to submit both replies.  I am sure they were actual Lyft drivers bc we received confirmation of ordering the ride from Lyft with the name and photo of the driver, and double checked when they arrived for pickup.  I am certain that  not using paid rides in our normal lives colored my views somewhat - but being told you have arrived when actually 25 blocks away from hotel in the ghetto, and being charged a surcharge just to pick us up were not imagined.

 

Glad you had such good luck getting your property back from Uber!!  

 

 

[WAvoyager]

25 minutes ago, GloriaF said:

being told you have arrived when actually 25 blocks away from hotel in the ghetto

Did the Lyft app show the correct destination when you booked it?  And did the driver attempt to drop you off at the location in the app, or somewhere else?

 

just trying to understand what happened - one reason I’ve liked using Lyft/Uber is that the app takes out most of the guesswork, and blind faith in the driver - with taxi’s, I’m always second guessing the route the drivers taking, but never with the ride shares.  But maybe there’s something new to watch out for.

[GloriaF]

He was using an app on his phone.  The address was 110-00 Rockaway Blvd, Jamaica, NY.  It was a Hyatt Regency 2 miles from JFK, that's why we chose it bc it was close to airport for early check in next day.  As we left JFK on what appeared to be an interstate, the driver passed by an exit to Rockaway Blvd, then wound through a lot of residential streets until he exited at 135th and Rockaway Blvd.  That's when he said we were at our destination, but the icon on his map was not right on that intersection. We asked him to show us where the hotel was and he couldn't bc it wasn't there.  I found an address on a business that said 135, so we asked him to please drive more blocks while we checked numbers, and thankfully we were going in the right direction, the numbers got lower slowly. Finally a multi-story silver and glass building came into view with a large brightly painted parking garage next to it.  The hotel also has a casino and is called Hyatt Regency at JFK Resort World or something like that.  At that point our driver knew all about it and how to let us out at hotel entrance.  I can't explain what he was thinking or trying to do.  He was 20, he said, and I told him I was old enough to be his grandmother.  He said he knew this and that is why he humored me to keep driving.  I told him his grandmother and Mama would be proud of him.  At that point, we just wanted to keep him happy so we could get to our hotel!  It was just crazy!  Then the next morning we met another woman using Lyft that told a very similar story.  Guess their app is wrong.

Edited June 22, 2022 by GloriaF

[WAvoyager]

Sounds like a very bad driver.  Both your app, and his app, would’ve been indicating you weren’t at your destination, but he chose to ignore that.  Glad you persevered and worked it out.