Uber's Travis Kalanick argues with driver about dropping ridesharing fares in video: Report

Uber has not been in everyone’s good books lately and unfortunately for the global ride-sharing giant, things are only getting worse. In a video obtained by Bloomberg, CEO Travis Kalanick, is seen striking up a conversation with his Uber driver, which quickly turns sour. The video shows the Uber CEO in an Uber Black car (a premium service by the company) with two women. The conversations carry on and at the end of it just before exiting the car, Kalanick decides to shake hands with the driver and engages in a short conversation. Things however don’t go as planned. The driver of the ride, Fawzi Kamel gets in to conversation about the dropping rates of ridesharing fares. Kamel goes on to explain to Kalanick how these dropping rates have affected his finances. Kalanick however gets into an argument on the same. He says that the dropping rates are necessary to save the company from growing rivals like Lyft. Kamel then explains how Uber could have kept the prices higher upon which he get a not-so-friendly reply, stating that people like him, “don’t like to take responsibility for their own shit”. It was harsh and Bloomberg in its report was quick to point out how Kalanick’s short tempter may cause investors to question his own sense of responsibility and the ability to lead a billion dollar company. The following day Kalanick apologised to Uber employees in an email to staff for the incident.

By now I’m sure you’ve seen the video where I treated an Uber driver disrespectfully. To say that I am ashamed is an extreme understatement. My job as your leader is to lead … and that starts with behaving in a way that makes us all proud. That is not what I did, and it cannot be explained away. It’s clear this video is a reflection of me — and the criticism we’ve received is a stark reminder that I must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up. This is the first time I’ve been willing to admit that I need leadership help and I intend to get it.

Indeed all of this is just bad timing. This news comes soon after SVP of Uber Amit Singhal was asked to step down. Singhal was asked to leave on grounds of failing to disclose a sexual harassment allegation, stemming from his tenure at Alphabet Inc’s Google. The bad streak for the ride-sharing giant started recently with users deactivating Uber accounts after a taxi strike that Uber unintentionally undermined. Things took a turn for the worst when ex-employee Susan Fowler who worked as an engineer  revealed her disturbing story through a post on her blog claiming that she faced issues from her first day. Early investors in Uber Technologies Inc wrote to the ride-hailing company on Thursday to criticise it for failing to end a toxic culture of harassment.