(VIDEO) Uber CEO Fights With Uber Driver Over Falling Fares During Uber Ride

(VIDEO) Uber CEO Fights With Uber Driver Over Falling Fares During Uber Ride

Uber has been taking some heat over the past few months for a number of issues, but this video is sure to cause even more trouble for Uber CEO Travis Kalanick.  He apparently got in a war of words with an Uber driver while taking an Uber earlier this month.  (WARNING: There is some explicit language in the video)

According to the Boston Globe:

When Uber Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick takes an Uber, he prefers a black car, the high-end service his company introduced in 2010. On this particular night in early February—Super Bowl Sunday—Kalanick is perched in the middle seat, flanked by two female friends. Maroon 5’s “Don’t Wanna Know” plays, and Kalanick shimmies. He clutches his smartphone as the three make awkward conversation. The two women ask when his birthday is, and marvel that he’s a Leo. One of his companions appears to say, somewhat inaudibly, that she’s heard that Uber is having a hard year. Kalanick retorts, “I make sure every year is a hard year.” He continues, “That’s kind of how I roll. I make sure every year is a hard year. If it’s easy I’m not pushing hard enough.”

Uber declined to comment on the video, but it really surfaced at a terrible time for the CEO.  The CEO’s short temper is also evident in the video, which is a problem unto itself.  It is a shame because this could have been an opportunity for the CEO to have a respectful conversation with the driver and explain the company’s position to him.  I think it’s a shame he missed that opportunity to possibly win over the driver and provide a reasonable explanation to his concerns, or at least hear him out and understand his side of the story.