How Do I Call Uber Customer Service To Talk to a Real Person?

The question ‘How do I call Uber customer service?’ may arise from time to time as you take the popular ride-sharing service.

You’ll soon realize that this is easier said than done.  The sad fact is that Uber has no call center or a live chat line in the United States. This is a bit disconcerting for the clients.

I have to say that this is odd for a company that brings in revenues of $70 billion yearly.

When you think of the logistics, handling the sheer magnitude of complaints through the phone would be monumental. And also not to mention, a great financial cost.  A vast phone help desk system would no doubt seriously cut into Uber’s profits.

Why Would You Call Uber Customer Service?

There is a scenario that would warrant a call Uber Customer Service. Let’s say you summon an Uber driver and your credit card is charged for the fare. The driver picks you up and takes you to your destination.  You depart the car and all is good. You may even decide to give a rating to the driver on whether you had a good or bad experience. Transaction complete, right? 

But what if you later notice on your credit card bill that you were charged twice for that ride! At this point you’re really upset. You just really need to talk to a real person on the phone!

Usually though, a quick call to your credit card company may be all that is sufficient to get the charge taken off. 

To have Uber fix this issue though requires you to go into the Uber app. Find the Help section and click on the “I have an unknown charge” link. Then click on the “I have an extra trip charge” link where you can then plead your case there.

If you really are desiring to speak to an Uber phone representative, however, the question arises again…

HOW DO I CALL UBER CUSTOMER SERVICE?  WHAT IS THE NUMBER?

Uber does have a 24/7 phone support number that can be called by customers.  It is called the Critical Safety Response line and the number is (800) 353-UBER or (800) 353-8237.  It should be noted that Uber suggests this number to be only used for emergencies.  

Uber considers an emergency as one of the following situations:

• You feel threatened by a menacing Uber driver or another passenger in the car
• A serious accident has occurred.  (NOT a minor, non-life threatening accident)
• Someone in the car is having a medical emergency, whether it be you as a passenger, or the Uber driver.
• Some sort of criminal activity is occurring (Theft or assault)

The job of the support operator on this line will be to ensure that all Uber passengers are okay.  You and the driver should first call 911 before this number if direct police or medical care is needed.

That’s good that Uber is providing this number for the customer.  However, Uber frowns on the use of this number for non-emergencies.

For instance, complaining about your driver’s pungent body odor or something akin to this is a trivial matter.  

If calling for any matter other than emergencies, Uber considers it abuse of the number because you’re taking time away from them solving urgent matters for other customers.  

I’ve heard some reports of Uber support operators just flat out hanging up on customers for non-emergencies, so think about this before you call this number.

Also, Uber has made it easy to get help if you cannot remember the above emergency number.  It was recently reported that they are adding a new Safety Toolkit feature.  

The safety toolkit can be accessed while you’re in Uber via the home screen of the app.  There is a Safety Center section where you as a rider can peruse the Uber guidelines for drivers to make sure they are following rules.   

There is also an option for sharing that allows you to send information about your trip to a friend contact in your phone so you can let someone know where you are and what kind of car you’re in.  

This is pretty cool, but it is the in-app emergency button for the Uber rider that has made everyone take notice.  Not to be confused with the Uber SOS button unveiled in India, this is actually known as a panic button here in the United States.

You can get to this feature by tapping this option in the Safety Toolkit menu.  The app then shows a big, red emergency call button.  

To make sure you’re not calling for help by mistake, the app requires confirmation before placing the call, so there are a few taps to do in the app to get support. 

It’s running through the usual telephone dialer, not any VoIP call in the browser. However, even if an application provides 911 operators (via carrier cell networks), it will be difficult to find mobile telephone locations. 

When you’re in a car, and you probably can’t get out due to an emergency, it’s even more complicated. 

Uber announced a pilot program for direct connections in Denver, Colorado; Charleston, South Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Naples, Florida with GPS call centers for accurate location data. 

Uber claims that the panic button is available for drivers only at present. However, it plans to offer drivers a similar feature in the app.

Is there another Uber Number available?

I know you may be saying, ‘there’s got to be another number to call for basic customer service questions and help, right?’  Well…

Uber does indeed have another number that can be called where an Uber support operator can be contacted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

The Uber Driver Support number is (800) 593-7069. Did you catch that important fact just now? THIS NUMBER IS FOR THE DRIVER ONLY! Yes, this is the telephone number for Uber Driver Support, so the customer in this case is the Uber driver only. 

If an accident occurs or an unsafe situation arises during the rideshare, the above number is the one the Uber DRIVER needs to call.  The above number is also in the Uber DRIVER version of the Uber app. No such number is in the app the customer uses. This number is not even on the Uber website!

Apparently, this number was provided due to driver demand for the option of receiving support by phone for any questions, emergency and non-emergencies.  

WHAT ARE THE HELP OPTIONS FOR THE UBER PASSENGER?

For basic customer service only, there is the only Uber Customer Help website available.  It is here you can put in any non-emergent issues you are encountering with an Uber driver (like the aforementioned body odor issue) Just enter the issue into the ‘Describe your Rider issue’ box and click the search button to get help.

When I entered in the issue of body odor, I got a preliminary addressing of my problem.  Simply click on the issue to get further along.

ARE THERE OTHER WAYS TO CONTACT UBER? 

There are some other ways to contact Uber to make sure you get help.  We will address this in another post coming soon.