Jeffrey Weiner, At Your Service
I was in a taxi in New York Wednesday morning, heading to work in the usual 8am traffic on Second Avenue, reading the “Today’s Headlines” email that I get every morning from The New York Times, when an ad in the middle of the page caught my attention. The big draw was the word DRIVE! in big, bold letters. Under that enticement the ad went on to say: A fun new way to make money with your car has arrived. You guessed it – it was from UBER. And I was invited to SIGN UP TO DRIVE.
So I thought to myself, our busy season will be coming to an end in just about 5 more weeks and what can I do with all the new found extra time I’ll have on my hands? So I did what any of you might have done. I clicked on the link and was brought to the UBER site, where I could sign up to drive for dollars using my own car. As Marcum’s Entrepreneur-in-Chief, I figured it would be a great way to set an example, or, as of some may think, show just how crazy I actually am.
I started filling in the online driver application while still in the taxi. Before I knew it I was at the office, got to my desk, and twenty minutes later, I had completed my application; taken the video tutorial for new UBER drivers; and submitted my driver’s license, vehicle registration and proof of insurance from my iPad. I am now anxiously awaiting my seal of approval to become the newest driver in the UBER empire (subject to a background check, of course). I realized it’s been 34 years since I actually applied for a job, having worked at Marcum since 1981. How things have changed.
They say it will take 7-10 days to conduct said background check. I’ve already received the exclusive UBER Partner app (maybe it’s a hint that I’m in?), as well as an offer to rent a phone from them for $10 per week if I prefer not to use my personal cell. In addition, if my car is more than 5 years old, they can set me up with a local Toyota dealer and help finance a brand new vehicle for me. Do you thinks there’s a Camry Hybrid in my future?
So now I’m counting the days, hoping to become the newest UBER entrepreneur in my soon-to-be-found spare time. Who knows? Maybe it’ll be Jeffrey Weiner picking you up next time you hit the UBER app on your mobile device.
