I love Uber.. (Review)

Pic Credit: Techcityng.com

Im a little excited about nothing in particular this morning, but I'm grateful for the gift of life, and the opportunity to write another review which you  can learn one or two things from.

First, let me ask you, do you live in Lagos? Have you heard about Uber? Have you got the Uber App? Have you gone on a Uber ride? It doesnt have to be in Nigeria alone, you could be anywhere in the world where there is Uber, let me know if you have experienced them yet.



If your answer is No or mostly no to the above questions, then its time for you to try Uber either as a passenger or a driver looking for a way to be self employed. Let me tell you about my Uber experience in Lagos.

A couple of months back, I needed to be somewhere in Victoria Island for an unscheduled appointment which was totally unplanned for. I had just resumed work for the day, and this was 9am, and the appointment was set for 10.30am, I just couldnt drive from Apapa to Victoria Island, when I could easily get on a speed boat from Apapa to Victoria Island in less than 20 minutes, the next question was how do I move from Ozimba Mbadiwe (Cactus) to Akin Adesola, knowing fully well that you can hardly get a cab from Cactus.

So I called up a Colleague of mine, who usually parks at Cactus to let me use his driver for the remaining part of my journey from Cactus, and my colleague said he wasnt at work that day, and said hey Abi, why are you stressing yourself, why dont you call Uber. I said okay,let me have their number and my Colleague says there is an App I needed to download first, so I was like you know what dont bother, no time for that now.  As soon as I hung up the phone, I dialled my younger sister's number who I know is a good Uber user, so I told her where I was, and in less than 10 mins, She called back to say the Uber driver was within the premises (Cactus) waiting for me. So fast!

I got the details of the car, and spotted it. The car was a clean gold Hyundai Elantra, with a young looking, clean shave man. I got into the back seat, like the madam that I am, then he says can we start your journey now, being that my sister had furnished him with all the necessary details, and I responded in the affirmative.

At this point, I was like today na today, by the time this guy charges N5k, then I will wake up from my slumber, because, you dont see an educated young guys doing a job like this for the same sum a normal black and yellow cab will collect in Lagos. The drive was smooth and the guy was courteous, the car was clean inside and outside, and the A/C was working perfectly. We got to my destination, and he ended the journey on his phone (possibly on the Uber App), then I heard your money is Five Hundred and Fifty Naira (N550), Hello Mr Uber, did I hear you properly? I was stunned, dazzed, shocked, please feel free to use other adjectives that shows how perplexed I was. In that moment, I knew, I just made a new friend. I paid the driver cash, and alighted from the car.

By this time, I made it to my meeting in good time, so as soon as the meeting ended, I called my sister and said to her, so this is what you have been enjoying everytime you are out and about in Lagos, oh my goodness! She wanted to call another Uber to take me back to Ozimba Mbadiwe to get a boat back to my office, and I said, she shouldnt bother, since there were cabs where I was, little did I know that I was going to call her back 5 minutes later. So I walked out of where I had the meeting and saw a number of cabs lined up, I beckoned on one, and I told him my destination, and the baba taxi said N1500 ni ma, I said something I entered N550 now now, how can? I said baba thank you, let me call Uber, the baba said, nooo madam, dont call Uber oo, they are collecting our customer, oya enter N1000. I told him not to stress himself, and walked back to the office I had the meeting.

I dialled my Sister's number again, told her my situation and the need for emergency rescue from Uber,within the next couple of minutes, probably 4mins, she told me to step out that a blue Rav 4 was waiting outside for me.  Uber na baba ooo, Rav 4 ke? That's an SUV now, okay ooo. I stepped out and I saw the car, told him he was here to pick me and we zoomed off, just like the interior of the first car that picked me, this one was also very neat, although the driver didnt look as suave as the first one, but he looked very clean and decent. The drive was very smooth and I ended up paying N500, being that the traffic light on our way back didnt delay us so much.

Since my first encounter, I have introduced my hubby and a number of friends to Uber by word of mouth, and every one has had a great experience with them so far. Funny thing is because my Sister and Hubby are just a speed dial away, I still havent downloaded the App yet,(very funny!)

This is how Uber works, you download their App, Set up your payment method,whether cash or card,imput where you are and where you are going  in that moment, then you click on request Uber, next, you see available drivers that are close to you in terms of location and the expected time of arrival at your location, this will help you in choosing the closest to you, all you need to do is wait for the arrival of the Uber driver. Simple , Easy and Fast.

If you want to become an Uber driver, just click UBER to get started.

Meanwhile, I'm yet to hit a ride on Uber on a day traffic will be on standstill in Lagos,I'm sure that will be a defining moment for me, but until then Uber it is on my lazy days when I dont feel like driving!