A Waymo rider in San Francisco said the door of the autonomous vehicle would not open when she arrived at her destination. In a TikTok video posted by the creator known as Grace of the Moment, whose handle is @graceofthemoment, she said she contacted Waymo support and spoke with an agent named Lance. According to the video, Lance was able to unlock the door remotely after she told him the door was stuck.
The video opens with a close-up of the woman in the back seat of the Waymo. On-screen text reads “thank god i’m not claustrophobic.” She appears concerned as she looks around the interior of the car. The camera then shows her hand on the door handle before returning to her face.
In the video’s caption, the rider wrote: “the door to my waymo didn’t open when i got to my destination lol this feels like a serious safety violation #waymo #sf #sanfrancisco”
Support agent Lance said he unlocked the door remotely
In the clip, a voice identified as Lance with Waymo connects with the rider. Lance said, “Connected to rider support. This is Lance with Waymo. How can I help?” The rider replied, “Hi, the door isn’t opening.” Lance then said, “Oh, everything— oh, let me go ahead and have the door open for you.”
Lance asked the rider whether she had tried pulling the lever inside the vehicle twice. The rider confirmed she had. Lance said, “Okay, got it. Thank you for that. So just give me a sec here.” After a short pause, he told her, “Oh, I’ve unlocked the door. Can you try it now?” The rider responded, “Yep, thank you.”
Lance then asked if there was anything else he could help with. The rider said, “Uh, that’s it.” Lance ended the call by saying, “Okay, take care now. Have a good day. Bye.” After the call ended, the rider appeared to express frustration, though the specific words are not reproduced here. The footage then shows her looking out the window as the car appears to be moving, and the video ends with her looking up at tall buildings. Riders stuck waiting on support aren’t the only travelers facing an unpleasant stay, as one woman found a bat in her VRBO rental bedroom and was told bats were expected.
Commenters debated the rider’s reaction to the support agent
The video drew a range of responses in its comment section. Several commenters focused on the rider’s tone during the call with Lance. One commenter wrote, “Bruh he’s just a customer support agent. Why you gotta have that attitude for.” Another wrote, “Don’t take it out on him he’s just a worker,” and a third simply commented, “Rude.”
One commenter appeared to defend the rider’s reaction, writing: “so rude” she’s trapped in a car wtf do yall want her to do????? Another commenter quoted the exchange, writing, “‘the door isn’t opening’ ‘OH-‘” and a separate comment also read, “So rude.”
Waymo did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the incident. The company’s autonomous vehicles operate in several U.S. cities, including San Francisco, and riders can contact support through the app if they experience issues during a trip. Support calls can leave travelers scrambling, with one woman told by Hilton to move to another hotel at 10:15 p.m. after a nursing conference left her room unavailable.
