Uber in Cleveland and Akron has been an interesting experience. In Boston and New York, nothing but rave reviews.
Here in northern Ohio, it's been hit and miss. Maybe more miss.
In downtown Cleveland my black car experiences have been lackluster. Beat up cars, gruff drivers, not the level of professional service you expect when paying for a black car.
In the Akron area it's only UberX, and it can be admittedly hard to come by available drivers. Northern Summit county can be extremely difficult to find a driver, as most tend to work in downtown Akron. I've tried it anyway as my own very unscientific experiment.
The first driver was tough to communicate with as English wasn't his first language. He was very eager to help, and through the app we were able to get critical things like destination past the language barrier.
The second driver was very friendly and clean cut and professional...only their car had a cracked windshield. Something that overzealous area cops could hassle you with when you're on a ride.
The third driver was pleasant, but his car was beat up. I get it, it's UberX, it's not going to be a limo, but it also shouldn't be a car with every warning indicator lit up like a Christmas tree. Get a code reader from an auto parts store and at least clear the codes from view of the customer even if you're not going to fix them.
Now my last experience. I requested the car with a 34-minute initial ETA on the app. I noticed about 20 minutes into waiting that the GPS on the map didn't appear to move. Then it moved to what appeared on Google maps to be a self-storage unit. Then it moved to what appeared to be a gas station. Then it finally made it's way to my pickup point. 1hr2m later the car turned the corner and picked me up. Neither the driver photo (female) matched the driver (male), nor did the car. Domestic in the profile (Ohio temporary license plate), import showed up (Ohio Pride permanent plate). The driver also had a passenger in the front seat.
I alerted Uber to this, and they promised credit for the ride...but seriously, after this, I'm about to swear off Uber for the second time. Just a shame that the Cleveland and Akron areas don't have their act together.
One little thing that no UberX driver in Cleveland or Akron appears to get, is the concept of keeping their trunk clean for luggage, and moving the front passenger seat forward for leg room. In talking to their driver's it's almost as if they're given the app and a little sign and no further training. For a company that Wall Street values at over $18B, you'd think they'd have the smarts to give the drivers a few pointers on how to present a good product. Instead, all they do is complain about Uber cutting their rates, and being super stingy and greedy. That will be a major problem for them going forward--they need to be more responsive to their drivers.
Also of note...don't expect a black car to ever be available at Cleveland Airport, each time I've opened the app they've been downtown, or in Lakewood. At Akron-Canton airport, don't expect an Uber at all. It's as if you're asking for a ride from the moon.