[NAGDU] LYFT versus Al Elia

[Leslie Hamric]

What an incredible story. I'm glad that it didn't just drag on and on. The nerve of Lyft to say that you violated safety policies when they ended up violating the lawn the first place. I'm happy to know of this new tactic with Lyft. I haven't taken them lately because I feel like I've had more denials with them than Uber.E abou about five or six years ago it was the other way around. Of course, there are times when I will just use Uber pet like if I need to to get to rehearsal right away and I don't want to deal with potential denials. It just depends where my energy level is on the Blind clock.
Leslie Hamric
Cello and Braille Music Teacher

> On Mar 1, 2024, at 11:23 AM, Vanessa Lowery via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> On February 15, 2024, I ordered a Lyft vehicle. I have some vision, so I was able to see when the driver arrived. He continued down the street past my house in order to get to an area where he could turn around and come back to the side of the street where my house is. That is not an unusual tactic. It makes it easier for everyone. But as he was executing his turn, he called me. I answer the phone, and we exchanged several hello back-and-forth. Then the call dropped. I called him back, he answered the phone, hung up the phone, and drove right by my house.
> 
> A new driver was assigned, and as soon as I was able to do so, I called the dedicated customer service line offered by LYFT for Guide and Service dog users who are denied rides. I was assured that the matter would be addressed. Things seem to go normally until I got an email much later that evening saying that I had violated safety policies and had been permanently removed from the platform. Keep in mind that when I check my profile on Lyft, my overall rating from the drivers from 2018 until the present is 5.0. So What in the world did I do wrong beyond reporting the driver? Absolutely nothing. I exchanged multiple emails with LYFT providing screenshot documentation of everything that happened including the call log from when the driver and I called each other. I also provided the screenshot showing when the next driver came and picked me up. Just gave a timeline as to when the first driver arrived and then drove off, and then the arrival of the driver who did take me to my intended destination. in spite of this, they still stuck to their decision.
> 
> I reached out to Melissa at The Seeing Eye, and she explained that this was one of the new tactics that LYFT drivers were doing… Calling the customer as a way of then determining that the person who answered the phone and has a dog is the intended customer and will not be picked up. Please be aware of the fact that that is a new tactic.
> 
> Melissa connected me with Al who was also aware of this new tactic being used by some Lyft drivers. I shared lots of information with him verbally and via email (minus the screenshots). Once he had gathered all the information from me, he let his magic fingers send an email to LYFT. You can guess the rest of the story. By the end of the day when he contacted LYFT, I was back on the platform.
> 
> That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
> Vanessa and the zoo  
> Sent from my iPhone
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