r/uber • u/Realistic_Account787 • 1d ago
Disgusting odors.
What is the problem with Uber drivers nowadays?
When the car doesn't smell like cigarettes, it smells like disgusting perfume.
When I rate a ride low, I only have the option "disturbing smell." And if the driver sees this feedback from Uber, he just pours even more disgusting perfume/deodorant inside the car.
What the fuck is going on here, Uber?
Can you please fix this?
2
u/tryppidreams 1d ago
my car smells like peppermint, holy basil, vanilla, honey, and rose (any one or combination of those) essential oils.
I get compliments on it probably like 90% of my rides. great conversation started and makes most people feel more comfortable.
bring your own essential oils with you everywhere. it works outside of the car too
2
u/Ok-Vacation1941 20h ago
How do you defuse them?
0
u/tryppidreams 15h ago
I don't 🙂 I just put 1-3 drops into the carpet ever few hours. sometimes I'll rub a couple drops into my clothes or hands if I want the smell but don't want it soaking into the car.
the floor of my car is black so I'm not really worries about it staining. just have to make sure I don't do it too often cause it can get strong
4
u/AyAySlim 1d ago
If you can tell thru your experience that there are lots of drivers not washing their ass then what makes you think the same isn’t true of passengers? After a driver picks up someone who smells bad what should they do? Losing money by waiting for the smell to dissipate naturally is not realistic or reasonable
2
u/Top-Spinach-6067 1d ago
Yesterday i had a rider directly after the smelly dude…like same location…..I drove away from her and around the parking lot around her for 30 seconds while spraying…..and told her you’ll be glad I did that if you smelled the last guy 😂😂😂
3
u/ifyouseemerunning 1d ago
a lot of drivers are functionally homeless and sleeping in their cars.
no shade though, it’s tough out there. just gotta really lean into the sanitizing and daily cleaning/washing/bathing rituals.
2
u/Top-Spinach-6067 1d ago
Oddly enough those be the cleaner ones; that go into stores. The ones that are really bad you can tell they’re not homeless because there’s always “house” smells involved like heavy cat person and they tend to be anti social when you talk to them. The “normal” homeless people tend to be more…ahem…personable. There’s a lot of people I assume doing this job because they can’t get past HR. 🤷🏽♂️
1
u/ifyouseemerunning 23h ago
agree. definitely a lot of nutters driving as well. plenty of overlap too
3
u/JIMB01776 1d ago
You need industrial-grade disinfectants; that's just a reality. The good shit that's not abrasive to the nose is expensive.
Most drivers don't know to get Ozium; they get what's at the dollar store.
2
u/Electric-Sheepskin 1d ago
Uber has cut driver pay to the point that your odds of getting a bad driver or a filthy car or some other unpleasant experience is ever-increasing.
Even so, you would think that basic courtesy would prevent people from stinking up the place.
2
u/Bindy12345 1d ago
I’ve been in Ubers that smelled and looked like the driver had been living in the car for months. Just no.
4
u/Silly-Product6304 1d ago
Sounds like you need a car………. While it does suck uber isn’t a professional service. They’re part time or full time gig workers 😂 uber isn’t inspecting their cars. Take a regular taxi service that have rules and regulations for cars and drivers or buy your own car. I got tired of it also so I bought my own car and ironically I moonlight for uber some weekends…
1
u/Realistic_Account787 1d ago
Yes, this is exactly what I'll do. The service was good in my area some years ago, but now it's worse than taxis used to be.
1
u/diesel78agoura 1d ago
Our cars end up smelling as an amalgamation of all the precious riders by the end of the night fyi. Last night a lady came in with so much perfume on, my eyes started watering and my nose started burning.
1
u/Cookiecakes71 1d ago
Does that explain a smelly car at 6:30am?
2
u/Independent_Star_299 23h ago
Definitely. 2-6am? That’s the worst time. I get up early naturally, but between 4-6am it’s airport rides only.
2
1
u/Civil_Stop3213 1d ago
Sometimes I come into the uber and you can smell their breath so bad like halitosis or something. They don’t have the air on AT ALL.
1
1
u/ItchyAd9149 16h ago
I do delivery and I smell bad after awhile if there’s no orders and it’s hot out.. try sitting in a hot car for hours and not smelling bad. If I did rideshare id probably take a shower at halfway point through shift.
1
u/Realistic_Account787 16h ago
You can do those things. You can use deodorant, change your T-shirt, open the windows from time to time while driving to let fresh air in, brush your teeth, and keep the AC on if it’s hot. Every little thing can make a difference.
But I’m not talking about natural body odors. Those are completely normal for humans and animals. I’m talking about cigarette smoke and spraying perfume or deodorant inside the car to try to cover up odors.
1
1
u/OrganicandUgly 15h ago
Passengers need to wash their pussies before getting in my car. Some of you women don't wash that sh*t and it stanks up me car.
1
u/Realistic_Account787 15h ago
Well, you can cancel the trip if the client isn't clean. But the way you're responding makes it pretty clear that you're afraid of women. Honestly, that's just sad.
1
1
u/Back2thedesert 9h ago
If the previous rider had an odor our options are limited. I, for one, don't have the world's greatest sense of smell. So I might not notice.
How would you suggest I fix something I'm unaware of?
1
u/safespaceinvaderrr 1d ago
Using a service that pays the service provider the equivalent of third world wages, expecting for the service being provided to live up to first world standards. There seems to be a bit of a disconnect.
4
u/Serious-Rain-9772 1d ago
I’ve been to third world countries and people are still hygienic
-2
u/safespaceinvaderrr 1d ago
Out of curiosity, which third world country have you been to other than Reddit?
1
u/kyl792 1d ago
They could just… not pay for the overpowering air fresheners? It’s literally cheaper. This is a health & safety issue.
-1
u/safespaceinvaderrr 1d ago
Or you could just... make peace with the fact that you won't always get first world service at a third world price?
2
u/kyl792 1d ago
You can keep repeating it but that makes no sense, as I said it’s literally cheaper to not buy the things.
Complain about the app stiffing you all you want, but if excessive perfume in your car gives me a massive migraine or sends me to the hospital for anaphylaxis, I’m definitely not tipping “first world prices” or whatever.
1
u/safespaceinvaderrr 1d ago
I'm not one of the third worlders this is about. If you rode with me, you'd have no issues whatsoever. But I stopped driving when pay failed to allow me to cover my expenses, let alone turn a profit.
Good luck to you and OP and the rest of r/uber, though. As rates continue to plummet, I imagine customer service and reliability of Uber will only worsen.
1
u/Fifty0ne5O 1d ago
People stink, that won't change anytime soon. I only drive part time, about 20-25 rides a week, and can tell you that a majority of those people smell. Some just odd, some smell bad, and maybe 10% smell terrible. Only about a quarter of riders smell good or don't have a scent at all. The rating system exists for a reason but don't abuse it or your ratings will be filtered out.
0
u/Bubbly-Following-966 1d ago
LMFAO 🤣 🤣. The majority of riders smell like ass and stale cigarettes.
1
u/Realistic_Account787 1d ago
I don't disagree. Open the windows and let the car air out. If you pour perfume on top of shit, you're just making another flavor of shit.
0
u/dollfaceashley 1d ago
I can't wait for the stank driverless cars to roll around
1
u/Amuse_Me444 1d ago
Yeah it’ll be even worse. They aren’t cleaned until they are low of charge and go back to the charging station. Even then they do not spray for odor lol
0
u/Realistic_Account787 1d ago
Honestly, me too. But then another problem will start to happen. These cars get vandalized and become disgusting very quickly.
0
u/Amuse_Me444 1d ago
I stopped doing rides because it’s actually the riders that smell bad. And I have taken a Waymo, they smell worse. They aren’t even cleaned until they are low on charge and go back to the charging station.
1
u/Realistic_Account787 1d ago
Well that happens, but guess what? They are the ones paying. And also, after they leave, you open the windows and clean the car.
1
u/Amuse_Me444 1d ago
A little breeze isn’t going to remove that shit. I’d rather deal with McDonald’s odor than people.
-1
u/twinpeaks86 1d ago
Oh only the foreigners reek of cologne. They talk on the phone the whole time too. I wish there was a no foreigner option.
Don’t care how it sounds. Every stinky, rude driver is foreign
-4
u/AZPHX602 1d ago
I've never had any issues. you know you can always just buy a car and drive yourself.
2
u/GSPKHABIB 1d ago
Some people have medical conditions to where they can't drive. Have you ever considered that?
-1
u/AZPHX602 1d ago
most of those people are grateful. that sure as hell didn't sound like op.
op sounds like the person who's had an eviction and two repos and can't afford a car.
3
u/GSPKHABIB 1d ago
As someone who has a medical condition that causes them to be unable to drive, I completely agree with OP. There's a lot of stinky drivers that pick me up. And I hate it. They always get one star from me. I don't care about their ratings
0
u/AZPHX602 1d ago
you should be more tolerant and grateful for these drivers to enable you to get around.
2
u/GSPKHABIB 1d ago
There is absolutely no excuse to smell like ass and cigarettes. I will never be tolerant of that. You're crazy
-2
u/Top-Spinach-6067 1d ago
This seems rather nit picky , no? I’m not sure if the driver could do anything that would satisfy you since you seem to dislike it two opposite extremes. Or maybe you’re early justifying the robots….”I don’t have to deal with them he variety of human smells”. 😂
So yesterday I had a guy that smelt like a thousand cats get in my car. Fine, I’m not going to kick him out. I put up with it but I have air freshener that I use after rides like this. I told the next rider; yes the smell is sort of strong, but if you smelt the last guy you’d be glad I had to do this….The day before I had a lady smell like she hadn’t bathed in months, and this was a lady, so that smell was involved. But she was older and seemed alone and poor. Fine, had to spray on strong. So you never know. It’s not that serious that you should feel like you have to have a driver with a specific smell; as long as it’s not extremely offensive and anti social just be a kind human and just adjust to it and not put too much thought into it. I fear our tolerance of others is waning.
4
u/Realistic_Account787 1d ago
What's so extreme about that? Not putting any disgusting scents inside the vehicle and not smoking in it would be really good. If he could open the windows occasionally to air out the bad smell, that would also be good. Cigarette smoke is disgusting, but adding perfume on top of the smoke doesn't help at all.
0
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u/Joeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeyy 1d ago
Take Waymo. Your in someone else’s car moron, those are the things you have to deal with.
1
u/Realistic_Account787 1d ago
"Your in someone else's..."
"Your" what? I have no clue what is Waymo. I am talking about Uber.
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u/Then_Juggernaut3154 1d ago
I had one driver smell so badly of BO, I nearly threw up several times. It was truly an awful experience