‘I hate Uber now’: Woman orders ride at 4:30am for work at 5:00am, but what happened next cost her the job

A woman named Jaycee lost a job opportunity after her Uber took way too long to connect her with a driver. She needed to get to a trial shift at 5:00 AM, so she ordered her ride at 4:30 AM. But the app took 15 minutes just to find her a driver, making her late.

According to Motor1, Jaycee posted a video about this on TikTok. In the video, she’s ready for work but stuck at home as time runs out. She said, “I hate Uber now, because what do you mean I ordered my Uber at 4:30 and I have a trial shift for a job at 5am and it took 15 minutes to connect me to a driver and now I’m gonna be late.” She confirmed in the caption that she lost the job opportunity, writing, “That’s my chance blew. Uber, get it sorted.”

The video got over two million views and started a big debate. Some people blamed Jaycee for poor planning. But many others defended her, saying the app should work faster since it’s supposed to be a quick service.

The real problem is how drivers pick their rides now

Other users shared similar experiences. One person said, “idk why but ubers have been taking WAY longer than usual atm.” Another commenter shared, “literally i had a shift at 12 and i payed for a taxi at 11.15 it said they would find a driver by 11.34 keep in mind it’s only a 10 min drive away but im learning to drive anyway – never gives me a driver and im super late.” 

Someone else added, “This happened to me with a hospital appt recently. Didn’t want to get there too early so planned to get there 20 mins before. Kept checking the app and then booked when it said ‘will arrive at 13:40’. But when I booked it decided to tell me the driver wouldn’t actually arrive until 13:45 and the hospital is 20 mins away.”

While this situation involves connection delays, other riders have faced awkward emergencies during their trips that made them regret using the service. Drivers now get more information about rides before accepting them, so they can choose which ones they want. They might skip rides if the destination is inconvenient, the passenger has a low rating, there’s heavy traffic, or if the pickup takes too long.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi confirmed in 2023 that drivers often cancel rides based on these factors. This means the app gives drivers too many options, which hurts riders who need quick pickups at odd hours. Some passengers have dealt with even worse situations, like when drivers left with their luggage still in the trunk.

The lesson here is simple: don’t rely on instant ride requests for important events. Uber lets you schedule rides anywhere from 30 minutes to 30 days ahead of time. You just enter your destination, pick your vehicle, choose the date and time, and confirm your location. While Jaycee is right that 15 minutes is too long for a quick service app, ordering a ride just 30 minutes before a critical job shift is risky. Always schedule ahead or request with extra time to be safe.