For the last few weeks, penning down apology letters seems to be becoming habitual for Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Today, in another staff email, Kalanick is apologizing for his disrespectful and rash behavior towards an Uber Black driver back in January. The same has been shown in the video released earlier today, where he can be seen yelling at the driver for his complaint about low compensation.
The conversation starts off when Kalanick thanks the driver for his service and is about to depart from the vehicle. But the atmosphere inside takes 180-degree turn when the CEO fails to recognize the driver Fawzi Kamel’s concerns and comfort him. When Kamel claims that the decrease in Uber Black ride prices is hurting his business and making him go bankrupt, Kalanick denies the same and blows up in anger before leaving the cab.
Well, Kalanick might have lost his composure and spoke freely because he didn’t think that the said conversation would ever resurface. It, however, did make its way to the interwebs and that too at a time when the ride-hailing giant is already hurting badly. Sourced from Uber’s official blog, here’s the apology letter in its entirety:
By now I’m sure you’ve seen the video where I treated an Uber driver disrespectfully. To say that I am ashamed is an extreme understatement. My job as your leader is to lead…and that starts with behaving in a way that makes us all proud. That is not what I did, and it cannot be explained away.
It’s clear this video is a reflection of me—and the criticism we’ve received is a stark reminder that I must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up. This is the first time I’ve been willing to admit that I need leadership help and I intend to get it.
I want to profoundly apologize to Fawzi, as well as the driver and rider community, and to the Uber team.
—Travis
If such troubling situations continue to persist, then it could be fairly damaging for Uber’s brand image in the long run. The company has already found itself huddled in one corner due to allegations of sexual harassment from a former employee, repercussions of the massive #DeleteUber campaign and surprisingly a patent infringement lawsuit by Alphabet’s self-driving division Waymo. Now, the video has further fanned the hatred and it could blow up in Uber’s face if not brought under control soon.
Being the leader, which he’s now doubting, Kalanick seems to be caught at the core of all this hubbub surrounding the culture and the image of his $63 billion organization. Even the investors are unhappy about the amount of bad press the company has been gathering over the last couple of months. Building a successful business doesn’t mean you can forget your morals and standards. Instead, we all should keep in mind that it takes just one single incident to make it crumble and fall.
