Poor communication from corporate to depot management to training. Procedures get added at the depot and nobody tells you. I find most things are left untold and you have to rely on other drivers to get answers. Ex. all of a sudden you need to enter a PIN to get started. This is the last 6 digits of the vehicle VIN. No comms on this at all.
Training is poor because it assumes you understand how the Uber App works. There was almost NO training on how to use the app from a driver perspective. Driving around clicking on things not knowing what they do is dangerous and seems to be in conflict with their policy of no personal phone usage. At the end of the day safety is most important, yet due to the lack of training, they inadvertently put people at a safety risk.
Uber and Alto are not aligned in some ways. If you get caught anywhere near the airport, you will be assigned to the "Priority Lot". Every time! All the drivers say ignore it but the messaging on Uber App stays up and you cannot get new rides until you get more than 5 miles away. Everyone at Alto knows this issue, but nothing is worked out with Uber. Additionally, the "priority lot" has no instructions where it is nor any guidance map to get there. Just figure it out. Poor comms.
Alto requires you to wear black pants, black belt, black shoes and their polo. The only thing they provide is a grey polo (1). Having worked in the space of uniform requirements for company I can tell you this is illegal. A company cannot mandate you wear specific clothing ("uniform") and dictate things like color and then NOT provide them to you.
The pay: Alto presents a warm and fuzzy tip environment. It's a lie. 80% of people (McKinsey Report) tip 0%. That's been my experience...you will be LUCKY to make $3/hr in tips. Understand and accept you will make $17 and change in minimum wage and not much more. In Los Angeles, that's not income one can survive on. Before you question me, I am a 5-STAR driver. I get out and open the door every ride. It's not my service. People don't care to give you a tip. Lastly (and there's a lot more) when you get a call from an "agency" you are picking up a medical transport. Many times you must "contact rider" once you arrive and this can ONLY be done via phone. I had one that provided the wrong phone number to a mortgage company. I couldn't find the rider and had to cancel. Guess who gets dinged for cancellation at no fault of my own, me. These services NEVER tip. Ever. This is our livelihood and while I support picking up patience in medical conditions, Alto needs to assess a tip fee for drivers from these companies. It's ridiculous and I can guarantee most drivers earnings are affected. Something as small as $2 helps drivers. Nothing. One thing you should also know. This job isn't that flexible. Shifts are defined times of the day. Nearly impossible to get normal day hours. 4-8hr blocks but they are often weird time blocks. Ex. 8:15pm-3:00am. You won't find 9am-6pm.