One fine day I was returning from one destination to home through a cab booked over Uber Cabs. While travelling, I snacked and drank water, and my hand was wet. Once I arrived, I made a trip payment through an online card or Amazon Pay.
About to get out of the car, I was scrolling on my iPhone through my wet fingers to rate that trip.
In the next second, I received an in-app notification that you had been charged INR 100 for tipping the driver for a safe ride. In disbelief, I thought about how that happened, as I was not planning to tip the driver.
I contacted Uber Cabs’ customer care support staff. I explained what happened and said I was wrongly charged for the tip I was not planning to give. And while scrolling through an app on my iPhone with my wet hand, I touched the ‘Tip INR 100’ button. As it was online payment charge was showing unpaid in Uber Cabs Wallet. I said to him to remove or refund my money. Support staff said Tip interaction is direct. Uber doesn’t get a share as the driver receives the total amount. I told him it was unintentional and was done by mistake. I even suggested to him the right way of user interaction. The app should confirm with the user if he has tapped the payment button. The app should the app proceed with payment, or should the price be cancelled immediately?
User Experience Design / Usability Design has a law called ‘Error Prevention’, published by user research company called Nielson Norman Group (NNGroup) in Heuristics of Usability Principles
But my charge or payment was never returned by Uber Cabs till today.
I hope they have improved user interaction by today or, as a user, be ready to tip random faulty amounts to the driver.
I hope I get my money back someday.
I hope so.
Online payments are scary and uncontrollable by a user who owns that hard-earned money.
I hope Uber Cabs reads this experience of mine and do the needful.
Thanks & Regards
Mandar Apte