UberEATS fumbles on Valentine’s Day

The day saw the new UberEATS app users attempt to surprise their significant other with lunch during the busy work day, with many ending up with cold food or delayed delivery.

North Eastern Tribune journalist Andrei van Wyk was one such victim after his girlfriend attempted to surprise him with lunch. He said, “My girlfriend ordered food through the app. The food which was supposed to arrive at 12pm arrived at 1.30pm. I found out about the surprise when the delivery man called me, shouting at me. The driver was supposed to drop it off at Caxton House on Jan Smuts Avenue but, for some reason, found himself in Braamfontein.

“My girlfriend told me he yelled at her, and when he got to my office, he yelled at me again. He even forced me to pay extra because of the petrol he wasted going to Braamfontein, or he wouldn’t give me the food. At this point I didn’t care about the late food, just a man yelling at us made the day quite horrible.”

Many users claimed to have had trouble with the app with some holding the same grievances as Van Wyk, while others claimed on social media that the Valentine’s Day promo code that was advertised on the app did not work, cancelling many orders without refunding payment.

Spokesperson for Uber, Samantha Allenberg said, “Since the launch of UberEATS in Joburg we’ve seen a great interest and growth of the business. The demand yesterday for Valentine’s Day was very high, from eaters and new eaters and, to be honest, it was much more than the team originally anticipated.

“Unfortunately, due to such huge demand, we had some eaters who experienced delays in their orders. We are chatting to all the eaters who were affected to apologise, and, as a team, are looking at what went wrong and how we can improve for the future.”

Read: Uber deivers in danger

Did you use UberEATS for Valentines Day? How was the service you received? Share your story on the North Eastern Tribune Facebook page.