Being the boss of a very large company, it’s smart PR to be a public fan and user of your own product. It’s just that in times where you’ve cut the amount of cash that winds up in your frontline contractor’s pockets, you might want to take a casual step back from face-to-face contact.
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, who is having a hell of a time trying to steer his company out of yet-another scandal, has been caught on film while riding in one of his own Uber Black cars in a heated argument with his driver over Uber’s constant cutting of fares, which reduces the amount of take-home pay drivers can potentially earn.
The video, captured by in-car security footage and obtained by Bloomberg, shows Kalanick and two unidentified acquaintances riding in a car (with Kalanick controlling the aux cord with some Maroon 5 and The Weeknd, for those keeping score at home) before the car pulls up and the driver begins to interact with his big boss.
The conversation begins reasonably calm and cordial, with Kalanick explaining to the driver – identified as Fawzi Kamel – changes being made for drivers in the Uber Black service. But when Kamel questions the issue of pay – including the allegation that fare reductions have cost Kamel somewhere in the vicinity of $100,000 – Kalanick’s notoriously short temper flares.
How’s this for a back-and-forth with the CEO of the company you work for:
HIM: “Some people don’t like to take responsibility for their own shit. They blame everything in their life on somebody else. Good luck!”
YOU: “Good luck to you, but I know you don’t gonna go far!”
Balls of steel, this guy.
In news that should be absolutely shocking to none of you, Kamel gave Kalanick a 1-star rating.
Uber declined to comment on the video.
Source: Bloomberg.
