A woman in China who tried to bully a ride-hailing driver into travelling 50km to return the phone she left in his car without rewarding him has been subjected to fierce criticism on mainland social media.
The unidentified woman from Guangdong province in southeastern China realised she had left her phone in the car while travelling from Guangzhou to Zhaoqing, a smaller city nearby.
When she contacted the driver, she demanded that he drive back to where she was staying and return the phone for free, Toutiao News reported.
In an online video, the driver answers a call from the woman who immediately asks him: “Can you return my phone?”
“I am not available at the moment, and I’ve left the location where I dropped you off a long time ago,” the driver replies.
The driver remained calm while the woman ranted at him but eventually lost his temper and hung up on her. Photo: Weibo
He says he will return the phone if she pays the 100-yuan fare (US$14) to return to Zhaoqing, which she refuses to do.
The driver says that he has done nothing wrong and that she should take responsibility for forgetting the phone.
“I am not driving for charity. I need to pay for petrol,” he says.
The woman says she does not care about his costs and that it is his duty to return the phone. The driver then says she is welcome to travel to him and collect the phone.
“Then I’m going to call the ride-hailing platform to make a complaint against you,” the woman warns him.
“You can do that,” the driver answers without losing his temper, adding that he plans to drive to a police station in Guangzhou where she can collect the phone.
After more arguing, the woman accuses him of stealing her phone, which angers the driver, who says she could meet him along the road or at a police station in Guangzhou before hanging up.
The woman has faced a barrage of criticism for her attitude on mainland social media. Photo: Shutterstock
The woman’s attitude sparked an online backlash.
“This woman is very selfish,” said one online observer.
“She is asking the driver to pay for her mistake,” said another.
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