A Degree
It was Sunday evening, after having lunch with my past colleagues cum friends, visiting Vrushal’s new flat in Baner it was time to leave for home. I have been overreliant on Uber these days for my travel needs. An unfortunate incident from the past had lowered my confidence in my riding skills. So my fingers moved swiftly to press the “Book” button and record another Uber story. The pickup was not hassle-free, thanks to the new society, the location was not very accurate. However, I was amazed by the overall standards of the society and Vrushal’s brand new flat. I promised him to pay a visit again with my brother and boarded the cab.
It was a comfortable cab with an unconventional look. A separate isolated cabin for the driver attributed to Covid19. The talks about inaccurate location and reluctant drivers had already begun. I complimented his great looking isolated and hygienic cabin and he was humble enough to pass the credits to the Uber. He should be in this ’60s, partially bald, 5 feet 3 inches probably but jolly and confident. He warned me about the new toll plaza which was yet to be registered with Uber and requested me to allow him to take a slightly different route. He was very clear that I will have to pay toll charges in case we took the default optimal route. It was familiar with the other route so I instantly obliged his request.
The driver was more comfortable and started dictating a rather interesting story. A different perspective on a seemingly simple topic is what caught my attention. He was driving Uber for the past couple of years and had completed more than 4k rides. The job was going smooth until recently where he encountered a technical glitch in his Uber profile and was unable to login into Uber App. Even after raising multiple complaints, the issue was not resolved. He described how the complaint traveled from Pune to Mumbai to Delhi division, and finally landed with Hyderabad technical team. However, the issue was far from being resolved. He was forced to shift to Ola which does not like personally.
After a couple of months, the Uber team ultimately decided to scrap the previous account and create a new one for the driver. The driver surely wasn't happy with this adjustment; he had hoped for better. All the ride records, all the 5-star ratings, the compliments, his golden badge all had suddenly vanished into the blue. He profoundly missed the privileges that came with more number of completed rides. He quoted: “Sir you have an academic degree, a piece of paper which signifies your credentials, it is not written on our head that we are so and so degree holder. It was my degree, my hard work, the respect I had earned for years. I hope they return it to me soon”. With a deep sense of acknowledgment, all I could reply was a smile :)
