{"id":24027,"date":"2023-10-03T13:48:56","date_gmt":"2023-10-03T13:48:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microloannexus.com\/investing\/lyft-ceo-apologizes-for-awful-response-to-an-austin-riders-missing-cat\/"},"modified":"2023-10-03T13:48:58","modified_gmt":"2023-10-03T13:48:58","slug":"lyft-ceo-apologizes-for-awful-response-to-an-austin-riders-missing-cat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microloannexus.com\/?p=24027","title":{"rendered":"Lyft CEO apologizes for \u2018awful\u2019 response to an Austin rider\u2019s missing cat\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Lyft\u2019s CEO has apologized for the \u201cawful\u201d response the ride-share company gave to an Austin man whose cat went missing for almost two days after a Lyft
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\n driver sped off before the passenger could retrieve his pet from the back seat.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Owner Palash Pandey went viral on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, when he tweeted a plea for help over the weekend in finding his 2-year-old black and white cat, Tux. He\u2019d used Lyft to bring his pet to the vet on Sept. 30, but when he got out at the end of the trip \u2014 intending to go around to the other side of the vehicle to take his pet\u2019s carrier out of the back seat \u2014 the driver drove off, despite Pandey banging on the window of the car.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cI tried contacting the driver through Lyft. They were not helpful at all,\u201d he tweeted. \u201cYou can only send three messages and call the driver three times. The driver didn\u2019t respond for about 2 hours and then said that he didn\u2019t have her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The good news is, Tux was eventually found almost two days later thanks to the efforts of Lyft and the thousands of followers mobilized by Pandey\u2019s thread.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the company\u2019s initial response upset Pandey and many of his followers. In fact, Pandey tweeted screenshots of his conversation with a Lyft representative who, at one point, said the company would charge him a $20 \u201creturned item fee\u201d if the cat was found. This fee, which is part of Lyft\u2019s terms of service, is commonly charged to people who leave phones, keys or bags with a driver.<\/p>\n

Pandey\u2019s call to find his missing cat went viral and elicited thousands of responses on X.com.<\/p>\n

Pandey\u2019s thread detailing his nearly two-day struggle to get his cat back had drawn more than 20 million impressions as of Monday morning, and even Lyft CEO David Risher was compelled to respond.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been working on this for 24 hours. Our first response was awful, but we\u2019ve now alerted every driver and rider in the area, and we\u2019re not done. We\u2019ve also spoken to the rider and driver multiple times. It\u2019s heartbreaking for us too\u2014 please don\u2019t think we\u2019re taking this lightly,\u201d Risher tweeted.<\/p>\n

Pandey was not immediately available for comment, but he shared his gratitude with everyone who helped him bring his cat home. \u201cThank you everyone. I cannot thank each and everyone of you enough,\u201d he tweeted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lyft told MarketWatch that the company will be covering Pandey\u2019s vet bills associated with his cat.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re so happy to report that Tux has been reunited with her owner and we are focused on ensuring Tux has everything she needs right now, including covering all of her veterinary bills. We\u2019ll continue to work directly with Palash to provide the support that they both need,\u201d Lyft said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are actively working with all involved to fully understand the situation \u2013 to help prevent it from happening again,\u201d the company added. \u201cWe\u2019re evaluating our policies to improve support for our community, including in cases like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what should you do if you leave something valuable behind the next time you use a ride-share service like Lyft or Uber?<\/p>\n

If you lose or leave something behind during a Lyft ride, the company suggests you do the following:<\/p>\n