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Uber speeds away from support email in favor of in-app features

Uber
Aleksey Boldin/123RF
Uber is a great service, but only when it works. If you’ve ever messed up a payment, attempted to get a refund, or taken the wrong Uber ride, then you probably know how messy Uber’s customer service really is.

Well, it seems as though support@uber.com is being jettisoned in favor of something better. Uber has made some substantial changes to its app and now, instead of sending an email to the company, you’ll be able to simply message someone in the customer service section of the app.

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Uber will phase out email support over the next three weeks, first in the U.S., and then on a global level. According to the company, by making this move, customer satisfaction should go up, and more people should get their problems resolved within the first response.

The decision to get rid of email-based support makes sense considering the company’s rapid expansion around the world over the past few years. Uber mentions in its blog post that email support doesn’t make very much sense, especially in countries where email adoption isn’t high, such as China and India.

Under the new system, you will also have access to your rating whenever you want to see it. Previously, customer ratings were only available upon request, but now you’ll be able to see how popular or unpopular you are with drivers by simply tapping a button.

The new system may appear confusing for some. If you have an issue about a trip, you’ll be brought to a menu with 12 different options. Tapping one of those will bring you to another menu. It’s not yet known what you should do if your issue doesn’t fall in any of the given categories.

Although some could be confused by the new system, overall it is likely to be much more helpful to riders. So there’s reason to hope that this change will go some way toward making the Uber experience less frustrating.

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