A woman went viral on TikTok after claiming that an Uber driver refused to take her to the airport after she asked him to turn his music down.
In a video with over 331,000 views, TikToker Marleville (@marleville) said she ordered an early morning pickup on Uber so that she could get to the airport. She added that she requested a “quiet trip,” which Uber says is a trip “without any music or conversation” from the driver.
When the driver arrived, the car was anything but quiet, with loud music blaring as they drove. Marleville said that she then politely asked the driver to turn down the music. She explained that he turned it down “like one click.”
After about ten minutes of driving with loud music, Marleville asked if he could just turn the music off for the duration of the ride. Instead of turning the music down, the driver gave her a surprising response.
“He said, ‘I’m just going to take you home,’ and turned all the way back around,” Marleville said.
@marleville Terrible Uber driver! #uber #quietrider #stranded #worstuber ♬ original sound – marleville
In a follow-up video, Marleville clarified that the driver did not know her address upon deciding to return her home, asking her to provide it.
“I had to give him my address, which is now a safety concern for me,” she said in the clip.
@marleville Worst Uber ride I’ve ever had! #uber #quietride #angrydriver #loudmusic ♬ original sound – marleville
Marleville said that she was able to find a new driver and a different flight so that she could still make it to her destination.
“I was confused & honestly concerned bc his reaction was so disproportionate,” she wrote in a comment. “[I] Called my mom to stay on w/me to make sure I was safe.”
She continued, “I try to keep things in perspective. I was confused but not angry. Luckily I had other options available to me. I hope he was kinder to his next rider.”
Many commenters were supportive of Marleville, including several Uber drivers.
“As a former Uber driver, I’m shocked! I’m so sorry that happened to you,” one user said.
“There’s a QUIET RIDE selection for a reason. Who Ubers in the morning and then gets upset that someone doesn’t want music, let alone BLASTING loud?” another commenter questioned.
“He’s providing a service for a PAYING CUSTOMER. He should have turned it down. Period,” a third added.
The Daily Dot reached out to Uber via email and to Marleville via TikTok comment.
Update 10:26am CT January 17: In a TikTok DM exchange with Daily Dot, Marleville says her contact with Uber in the days since has been limited.
“I spoke with them to ask them how to set my account so I don’t match with him again. But we didn’t talk about a refund. They just confirmed we wouldn’t match again,” she wrote. “I was refunded the $15+ dollars from the app. That was the extent of our contact.”
While she said she does not wish for anything else for herself, she hoped that Uber would do more to support other customers in the future.
“…I would hope they would clarify their policy for both drivers and riders so there is no confusion on either part. Offer more training to drivers on how to handle these low-conflict issues and how to be considerate of passengers that might have sensory issues or other health conditions,” she detailed. “And for that particular driver, just confirm he’s safe and well enough to drive others around. Perhaps his mental health was in a fragile place that morning. It could have been much worse. Perhaps he was viewing the exchange from a perspective I didn’t have, but him knowing my right to request a quiet ride might have made the interaction happen differently. I didn’t expect this video to create such a stir!”
“I certainly think my previous note about sensory issues or health concerns is important to mention [because] there are lots of people affected by that and it’s not always visible,” she continued. “I guess to add anything, I would say that everyone is owed basic courtesies. Treating a rider with kindness should be just as important as treating the driver with kindness. We all need more of that.”
