u/Broad-Fish6502

(22F) I’m literally furious, today I ordered food normally as I do from Careem, with the “leave outside door option”. The rider came and rang the bell and was standing outside, I called to inform him to please leave the order out and thanked him.

He started telling me that due to GPS spoofing he took long and is hungry and was about to eat my order on the way (?? 😭) and was hoping I can help him with something.

Me being the stupid empathetic person I am and i understand times are tough and people should be kind, I opened the door and offered him food which he refused, I don’t keep cash on me so I told him I would send a tip via Careem. I was feeling extremely uncomfortable as he was behaving erratically saying he has suffered so much and demanded that he will stand outside my door till I send the tip.

While I was closing the door he said “You’re very cute” in Hindi which sent major panic thru me.

I didn’t have building security number so I panicked and sent him a 25 AED tip on Careem app because I just wanted him to go away 😭. He wanted more money I believe and just kept standing outside my door constantly calling me and sending heart stickers on WhatsApp and voice notes saying pick my call. I blocked him on WhatsApp immediately and filed a complaint on Careem.

He silently was standing in my door way for a good 10 mins hiding to the side so I couldn’t see thru the peephole but I could see the tip of his hat and the messaging notifications he was getting.

I had to call my building manager to come check if he was still there after a while because I was extremely afraid and he still was trying to call me on normal call.

The whole experience left me jarred because I don’t expect it in Dubai and knowing that this person knows where I live and Careem gives access to our phone numbers is extremely scary.

Anyways my building security said I should file a police complaint but I am scared to escalate this and have just reported via Careem and sent screenshots of his messages.

Pro tip to the girlies who live alone: DO NOT open that door regardless of what they say (I am always cautious and had initially felt bad for him but this time my empathy served to be quite dangerous) 😭

Anyways regardless it is not okay to demand tips from customers, especially if someone has sent and ur demanding more it is not my responsibility the company needs to look after its employees 🫩

Edit: Careem support has called me and have said they will provide all info for police complaint and I have cctv footage and screenshots as well. Will be doing the same thankyou for the help!

I (22F) came to Dubai for my first ever corporate job a year ago (marketing in a big hospitality chain) I used to often come to travel and party here before and assumed life would be the same and go upwards.

However I found myself trapped in a suffocating environment where you only live to work, bosses demand your life revolve around the job, 24/7 availability even on off days, called into office at anytime last minute. It’s been one year where I have not taken a trip. And when I did take my annual leave during the war, I was asked to work from home to “support the company during a difficult time”.

I saw people at ground staff level fired and forced on unpaid leave in the middle of a 1.5 month war period while we have consistently been doing great as a company for many years. People with 1.5k-2k salaries a month left to fend for themselves and then companies expect loyalty.

The salary cut or money did not bother me as I come from a privileged background but I could not help but think how little and replaceable you are to a company where you could dedicate the best years of your life and give up your peace of mind..for what.

I understood perhaps this is how the corporate world works, ain’t built for it. I love dubai but to work here you’re either married to the company and give up a balanced life or you burn out. Saved a good chunk, will perhaps come back eventually on my own terms and grateful for the opportunity but living like this long term is drastically bad for mental, physical and emotional health.

Anyways just my goodbye to the terrible toxic hustle culture here, would rather be sipping a drink by the ocean with no 50 outlook emails on a Sunday and putting this much time and energy into building something profitable for myself 💁🏽‍♀️ hustling does not have to mean draining the life out of yourself is what I’ve learnt

Edit: I completely understand not having the option to just quit and exit due to liabilities and responsibilities. For very long I kept gaslighting myself into thinking I’m the problem and bad at time management or lazy and I should be grateful to have a job especially with the on going situation in hospitality. But I have been working since I was 18 and have encountered my fair share of hard work, hence it’s not laziness or incompetence. I love my job I just hate the environment and unfair exploitation of boundaries that comes with it. (Also to answer the DMs I will lose my visa and accommodation so I will have to leave Dubai for now).