• Aatube@kbin.melroy.org
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    1 month ago

    “The men came over to the car again and stood in front of it for a few minutes. Finally when they left, the car was still stalled but I clicked the ‘in car support’ on the screen and they seemed to be aware of the issue,” Amina said. “They asked if I was OK and the car began to drive towards my location. They asked if I needed police support and I said no.”

    When she was almost to her destination, Waymo support called her again to ask if she was ok, she said. “I assured him that I was fine and he told me I would be given a free ride after,” she said. “After many hours I was called one last time by their support team. They asked if I was OK and told me that they have 24/7 support available. They also said I would get the next ride or next two rides (uncertain) free.”

    “In an instance like this, our riders have 24/7 access to Rider Support agents who will help them navigate the situation in real time and coordinate closely with law enforcement officers to provide further assistance as needed,” a spokesperson for Waymo told 404 Media in an email. “While these sorts of events are exceedingly rare among the 100,000 trips we serve a week across Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix, we take them very seriously. We continuously look for ways to improve rider experience and remain committed to improving road safety and mobility in the cities where we operate.”

      • Aatube@kbin.melroy.org
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        1 month ago

        Agreed, but to play devil’s advocate, the support wasn’t branded as such and customers could’ve not reported out of shame, which wouldn’t happen if they knew they could do that at the beginning before it became anything substantial.

      • Etterra@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        Honestly a proper panic button would have an alarm go off and speed dial 911. But I’m sure people would abuse it.

        • erwan@lemmy.ml
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          1 month ago

          She talked to an operator who asked if he should call the police and she said no. It’s in the article.

          Not sure what a button would have changed…

      • Kalysta@lemm.ee
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        1 month ago

        It’s blocked for me unless i want to sign up. And I don’t for one article.

      • empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        1 month ago

        They have customer support that provides words of platitude, an ineffective police call with a 15minute response time, and no control over the situation. She got lucky this time, but my point remains standing.