Empower Reviews

My 7 year old daughter and I were picked up around 10:41P on March 11 to be dropped off at the Ritz Carlton-Pentagon City in VA. When the driver was on his way I noticed in the this app app he wasn’t following the suggested route on the map. We met him outside with luggage and he agreed to let me use his trunk. My daughter hopped in the vehicle as the driver popped the trunk from the drivers seat and I started to walk to the back of the vehicle with the suitcases but he forgot to put the car in park so the vehicle started to roll back. He hopped back in the suburban and slammed on the brakes then shifted gears. My daughter was frightened and I was in shock. We finally are on our way and he again is not taking the suggested route on the map. His music is way too loud and he’s joking with my daughter that he’s going to to take her home with him. We get to the Ritz Hotel and he’s taking the luggage out. He hands me the large suitcase and he was about to hand over the mini suitcase to my daughter but hesitates and asks her, “I thought you were coming home with me. You aren’t coming home with me?” So I go to grab the suitcase from him and he actually has a slight grip on the handle but he sees my intent and finally let’s go saying, “Have a good night” and leaves. I emailed this app twice and tried to call but have not heard back. The safety of their customers doesn’t seem to be a priority! Stay away!

I talked up this app and thought for sure this would be the game changer and be more customer service oriented. At first they were on it resolving solutions and fixing problems. My problem todayI was out waiting for my ride it was not even two minutes away they’re in the process of turning on Stanton Road and the driver canceled. The ride like he already took me to my destination and took my $20 my job is by far not 7 miles away so this is a type of service this app is producing what type of drivers this app is producing again they’re right up there with Lyft and Uber taking customers for a ride and taking care of their money

Both my friend and I were recently locked out of our accounts. We both reached out to customer service (separately) and were told the same thing — that our accounts were flagged for fraudulent activity. I asked customer support what information I could provide to unlock my account, but was simply told that my account will remain locked. I see several recent reviews on here that say the same thing. The automatic response from the developer then is that they have the right to lock out any rider who attempts to create multiple accounts to take advantage of promotional offers. I have never even tried such a thing — in fact, all I ever did was refer my friends to the platform and encourage them to give it a try. So I actually got them more business. It’s a pity that customer service won’t hear me out. this app has the poorest “customer service” I have ever encountered. I’ll make sure to get rid of Empower and encourage my friends to do the same.

For one I thought Empower would be better than UBER & LYFT but it’s actually NOT it’s a get over . and if I knew it was a get over I WOULDNT HAVE USED IT . when I book a ride for a certain price & it calls the driver between 5-10 minutes once I get the driver THE PRICE GOES UP it’s not my fault that not to many people drives for YOU so why should my price go up because it takes you guys 5-10 minutes to call it? When booking UBER OR LYFT it gives you a price & if it takes 5-10 minutes IT STAYS AT THE PRICE YOU AGREED ON WHEN HITTING BOOK IT .. further more you guys have no contact number when my account has been charged multiple times FOR RIDES I DIDNT TAKE . $23 back to back trust me if I was going book a $23 or $25 ride I could’ve just went with Uber . Because a lot of people know about Empower now you guys are taking advantage .. and that’s not right if somebody hit book for the price you don’t over charge them because of your DRIVER & YOUR LOW BUSINESS.

I had only used Empower a few times before I was suddenly locked out of my account for “fraudulent activity”. This was a mistake so I reached out to the customer service team asking why this was. They responded and only told me I will remain locked out of my account. I asked them again why I am suspected of fraudulent activity and got the same answer. Don’t recommend using Empower. We should all probably be using public transportation anyway.

UPDATE:

When I asked customer service to please delete my payment information from Empower since I will no longer be using it. They replied that it is “not possible to delete my payment information” but that I will remain locked out of my account indefinitely. Empower isn’t worth it and is managed poorly. Not to mention I began to see significant price jumps before I was locked out of the account.

At first I enjoyed the alternative to Uber and lyft as the prices were significantly cheaper and they gave me a $30 credit. Then i started to Empower for what it really is … IT IS PURE TRASH! They lie about the prices just to get you to accept it and then suddenly it jumps from $7 to $17 when it’s finally booked. The drivers are rude, their cars tend to be dirty, smelly, look like they just got out of an accident, broken windows , etc… the customer service is THE WORST IVE EVER EXPERIENCED of ANY APP! I lost my wallet one day and reached out to them it took them two -three days to respond and their process was very slow .. with lyft and Uber u can get connected right to the driver in the event u lose something like a wallet time is money, LITERALLY! Then after I complained about how slow they were with responded back to my wallet being lost suddenly my account has been closed and when I asked why this was the response….

David (this app Support)
Sep 13, 2021, 6:02 PDT

“Hi Jordan,

Thank you for reaching out. I reviewed your account for you and found that we cannot reopen your account at this time. We're constantly working on expanding options for our users so please check back later.

​​Please let us know if there is anything else we can help with. “

DO NOT WASTE UR TIME ! Stick with Uber and lyft !

I’ve tried Empower twice :

The first time it went well, but I had accidentally left my bag in the driver’s car. They gave me no way to contact the driver, and after calling their customer service line multiple times, I always got sent to voicemail and still have not been contacted back. So my belongings are basically lost.

The second time I used it, I got a driver and Empower kept saying he was getting closer, but when it said he was here, he was nowhere around me. I tried contacting the driver but had no luck. So basically Empower wasted 20 minutes of my time, and was glitching out about where my driver was. I canceled the ride after waiting another 5 minutes after Empower said my driver had arrived because he was nowhere to be found, I couldn’t get in touch with him and it was almost midnight. Unsurprisingly I have still been charged for the ride.

All in all I have had two terrible experiences with Empower and company. They claim to be a great alternative to Uber and Lyft but lack every decent feature and benefit that the other two have, including customer service. I am highly disappointed in this company and I hope this may be a warning to someone else interested in Empower.

Scam Alert: Over the past two weeks, I’ve had my rides move an extra $5-7 up from my requested amount. Most drivers had quit with no consequence and I paid more than what was initially stated. I want this company to succeed but these failures make me want to stay it Uber and Lyft. At least my ride is somewhat guaranteed. Updated: I was double charged for a one charge was for $29 and the other was for $36. I don’t know how they expect to compete with Uber and Lyft and make themselves untrustworthy. Also, looking at my ride history I’ve noticed a few cancellations charges in which I had never canceled rides, my drivers always had switched.

Ok the only pro about Empower is that it is slightly cheaper than Uber or Lyft, but Empower has soooo many cons, for starters most of the drivers are all slow and seem uneducated, they are super rude and always have an attitude, I had an incident where my driver canceled the ride and hung up the phone on me when I was trying to guide him to where I was. They have no patience. Another con is this app will give you a estimate on how much the ride will cost then when you finally get a driver after at least 5-15 minutes of waiting for someone to accept your request they will bump the price up at least $5-$10 more which is crazy, then you’ll have to cancel because who wants to pay $15 for a 8 minute drive, and you’ll have to find a new driver. Another HUGE con is their thieves, they stole over $95 in the span of 2 days from me because they decided they wanted to start taking $15 from your account as a “hold” to make sure the drivers get paid, but they charged me for the ride already and still take $15 that I still haven’t received back. This makes no sense because why take $15 when the persons card will decline if they don’t have enough funds! This whole app is trash and their company, I need to find a new ridesharing/riding app ASAP!

I live in DC and the prices for Uber/Lyfts has been ASTRONOMICAL. I heard about Empower from friends and decided to give it a try. Yes, rides are significantly cheaper than the other apps which is a pro.

Con, it sometimes takes me 10 minutes just for Empower to connect with with a driver, whereas with uber and lyft I’m matched instantly. Also, when it finally connects drivers are 10-15 minutes away.

Another con is that you are promised one price and then if they can’t find you a driver in that price they will bump you up to a nicer car and hike up the price! At least when Uber and Lyft have to put you in another class, they don’t change the price.

Empower needs serious upgrades. Why can’t I change my payment method during a ride? Why does this company put a $15 hold on my card as opposed to the $1 hold everyone else does?? Also, Empower needs some more safety features.

Uber and Lyft have been crazy expensive lately. They know they have the market cornered and since metro and bus are closing early, they hike their prices up to $30/$40 for me to get home, which is an 8 minute drive away & less than 2 miles. I was excepted to try Empower. Empower gives you a price before you order the ride. When I ordered my ride it was $12. When Empower found a driver, it was actually $21. I don’t understand how they can hike it up $9....almost 100% more than it showed before I ordered. Then it said it would be $4 to cancel. Even though it was clearly a bait and switch. I don’t like the shady-ness. Even though Lyft is $30 and this was $21.... at least I know it’s $30 when I order it and it doesn’t change the price after the fact. If you’re okay with paying $10 more than it shows when you order a ride than this is Empower for you.

At first this app was a better alternative to Uber and lyft being as though they’ve been expensive since the pandemic started . However , there’s some improvements this app need to make . The cancellation fee when your driver isn’t even in route to come to your pick up and you’re forced to cancel . They don’t refund you bc you don’t have “ proof “ ! The threshold that is kept until the final dollar amount of the ride is covered is a problem .. bc there’s no set price ! Also , the fact that it only allows you to add one card , doesn’t work with Apple Pay etc . My final problem would be the not being able to request a ride for 400+ mins when your card declined

I started using this app because Uber/ lyft thought they was going to profit off me with they ridiculous as fares so I left. At first this app was great I got the $30 credit and the drivers were great too. Until they credit was gone. Idk I noticed that the prices be one thing and then when you book it’s a whole nother thing. Then when you try to cancel you gotta pay $4. Like no this app stop what you doing. this app be having the same prices as lyft and Uber fr fr after your credit is up. That’s why I started calling taxis Bc y’all mfers playing fr😒

The main issue I have with Empower so far is the pricing which can jump anywhere above or below the initial estimate after you request a ride and are connected with a driver. I’ve had it jump well above what I tend to pay on Uber and I don’t want to ride if I’m almost paying double what I normally do (I might as well call a cab at that point). I’m all for supporting drivers and am glad to hear that the money goes straight to the drivers, but with the random rates some of the drivers have varying so greatly, I don’t know how often I’ll actually use Empower 😥

I’ve only done two rides, but the experience will have me doing a lot more! It’s been far cheaper than Uber/Lyft with more professional drivers. The driver’s I’ve had carry themselves as independent business owners who are serious about their service instead of side-gigging complacency. Empower needs some UI improvements, but the drivers love it and it shows.

Thanks to my friend who referred Empower to me. I hesitated downloading it at first thinking, it was just another Uber or Lyft with regards to high charges on my credit card for rides. But I was wrong.
Rides on Empower are relatively cheap. I always do the comparison with Uber when taking a ride and it is always $3 or more dollars cheaper.
This works for me especially during this hard times. I love competition 💪.

Nice! Hope it remains like that.

I am a driver, and I love it because I got all my 100 percent of my money! Which means double than lyft and Uber.
Lyft & Uber paid 26-28$ from DC to Dulles international airport, BWI , but Empwer paid me 42$ ... so I love it and most of my riders also very happy because it’s cheaper.
Unlike Uber and Lyft , and this app doses not have multiple stops .
In addition because of fewer drivers you have picked long distance sometimes. And it is common among Lyft and Uber too.

The drivers are so happy when driving for this app because they are making more money that it makes the rides more enjoyable. The rides are also much cheaper which is great. It just started out so wait times can be a longer than Uber sometimes but it’s worth the wait. I also love how I can call a female driver for my daughter and feel comfortable with her in it!

I heard about this app from a Via driver who encouraged me to download Empower because it pays drivers more fairly than competitors. The drivers get 100% of the ride fare! As a rider, I enjoy knowing that the drivers are being compensated fairly, certainly more than the Uber/Lyft alternatives. I also love that I can favorite the drivers that I have great experiences with and specifically request them the next time. I think this app is doing big things and I’m excited to be a user of this up and coming app!

this app makes getting rides so easy, and does so in a much simpler way than both uber and lyft. The rides are cheaper than both uber and lyft, and there is always a ride available. I completely stopped using uber and lyft because rides are never available, with this app I know I can always get a ride from wherever and whenever. Great app, I would highly recommend it.

Been using rideshare apps for the past six years and I’ve always noticed how much the drivers hated the way Uber/Lyft has abused and taken advantage of them. Finally a new rideshare app in the market that allows the drivers to keep 100% of the profits. Time to end the rideshare monopoly and allow true innovation to happen!

Love this app - welcome to DC! Providing safe and reliable rides while allowing drivers to truly run their own businesses!

Great start guys!

Best ride app
Cheap
Better than Uber
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is going to be a game changer!

Empower is incredible! I feel so comfortable and excited to ride with this app!

Met some employees at the lot in Arlington V. Really good people and the business idea I great, it really does give back to the drivers.
Excited for it to grow.

Had some issues with Empower and told the CEO directly to resolve them. Amazing!

This is the future of the ride share industry. For drivers this makes them so much more money and as a passenger I feel much safer than Uber/Lyft.

The rider app is very well created and it’s berry easy to use. Must have add on to your ride share ability. They take care of both the driver and rider.

Love the idea of Empower. I’ve risen a few times already, and the tech is amazing. Plus, the concept of saving me money and empowering the drivers is a game changer!

Love the fact that you actually have some control over selecting a driver with Empower.

Empower is amazing! Makes us ladies feel much more comfortable by being able to select our driver! 10/10 reccomend it!

This is great!

Absolutely horrible. No customer service, they act like they are doing you a favor as if you are not paying. They don't follow the GPS and are quick to argue with you. I have worked in customer service for almost 20 years and this this is next level disrespect. They don't return calls concerning safety, they hold almost double the cost on your card. This service is absolute TRASH and most of the drivers are cant read or follow a simple map, I've never seen anything like this. how do I put in a specific address and a whole other address is where I'm being taken to in an area I'm not familiar with. It is UNSAFE to say the least. From the top all the way down need to take a few courses in customer service, customer care and general people skills.

This app while most times the ride will cost you less the app and service are horrible. The customer service department is a joke and riders have absolutely no recourse

Empower is a fuckin rip off. I have only requested 3 rides from them between May 20th and the 24th. In which was paid for thru my cash app. Wake up today and noticed that they were trying to snatch two separate amounts $15 and $20 several times today. If you were paid already then what is owed help me understand. Glad it wasn't my bank account or I would be stuck paying overdraft fees outta the ass. This is why I don't keep money in my cash app. Uber and Lyft might be a slight bit higher but at least you don't have to worry about them swiper no swiping your cash. I'm deleting the APP this shit is fuckin criminal mate.

Driver did not come to my location, then he cancelled my request & charged me $4.00. Second Driver asked me to get out of his car because the pickup ,& destination address was the same on his app. So he charged me $7.40 for nothing. When I ordered another ride, same Driver came back & charged me over $10 to drive me 2.8 miles.

Hello I’ve been emailing since friday my name is alaija , I left my purse in my empower drivers car on friday and I’ve been emailing and calling since to be able to get my items basic no one has returned back to me also my drives name is Frankline and he drives a black Chevy

I tried Empower on July 2nd, the app doesn't give the right address for the driver. By the time I had to be picked up and call the driver because I can't find him he told he is 25 minutes away a different location waiting for me. The ride is canceled after I spoke the driver but I got charged for the ride I didn't get. I try to contact Empower 3 times but no response so I left it alone. You need to work on to improve your app and response for customers complain.

As a driver I’m enjoying keeping the entire fair and at the same time providing a lower price than Uber and Lyft.

Driver charged me and I didn’t even get my ride. He was at wrong location and I had to walk to find him and once I found him he pulled off on me very aggressive and rude then had a nerve to charge my charge 14 dollars anyway. I need my money back now. I see that I’m not the only person who experienced this just by reading these reviews

I requested a ride through you guys and the driver continued the trip without me riding this is unacceptable i shouldn’t be paying for rides I didn’t take and have to deal with dishonest drivers!!!!

Complete trash app that’s taking advantage of people. Requested a ride the estimate was $9. Connected with a driver the cost was $16 ok fine he cancels. Connects with a second driver $14 ok fine. He cancels. Connects with a third driver $41 damn dollars. I’m sticking with Uber and Lyft at least I know what I’m paying upfront.