If you are one of the many thousands who will take an Uber in Chicago this season whether to holiday parties, shows or to load up on shopping, you might just meet Tanya Serrano-Bargas and Marisela Bargas.
They are a newly married couple who not only found a common love but a line of work that they say is equally fulfilling.
"We met through a dating website last year." Serrano-Bargas said. "I had seen [Marisela's] picture a couple of times but I didn't think she would actually talk to me. I finally sent her a message and told her she had a beautiful smile. She worked nights at the time at [a flooring company] and I was a preschool teacher during the day."
But Serrano-Bargas wasn't about to let opposing schedules get in the way of such instant attraction and the possibility of true love.
"I set my alarm for 1:25 am so I would be awake when she would message me," she said. "So then we went out on a first date."
"For movies and dinner," the usually shy Bargas added with a smile. "I was nervous and giggling all the time."
"You weren't giggling, you were hard to read!" Serrano-Bargas countered. "You made it difficult for me. At the end of the date, I asked for a kiss because I'm a cheesy, hopeless romantic like that. So we had that kiss and we just knew. A couple of weeks after, I took her to my Uncle's Christmas party. I'd never taken anyone with me to that. It was the first day I met her son. A couple of days before that, she met my daughter."
The couple were married Sept. 25 in Forest Park.
But, saving for the ceremony and a new life together as a family of four meant more income was needed.
"I started driving for Uber in May of this year," Serrano-Bargas said. "A couple of people I know were already driving for Uber and they were like, 'Come on, you should do it.' But I was nervous because I was worried about protection for myself. But the more I learned about it, like the way they track us, the more I knew I was never alone. So I felt safe."
Serrano-Bargas began working for the company three hours per day and on weekends learning the peak hours to drive and the best places to park.
The result was so lucrative that she went full time with Uber and even managed to get a car out the deal. The lease payment for the couple's 2016 model Honda with all the extras comes out of their earnings. After three years, they will have the option to buy it.
Meanwhile, the wedding bills were still mounting up. So Serrano-Bargas recruited her then fiancé.
"I was really nervous at first," Bargas said. "I didn't know what to say to people. After the first week, I got the hang of it. I started talking to people and all the nervousness went away. You just go with the flow."
"That's when you realize that it doesn't feel like a job," Serrano-Bargas added. "When we get to the stop, I've had customers who are like 'we're already here?' They tell me stories and we'll have conversations across the board."
The couple added that they have never felt unsafe as out lesbians. They haven't even experienced negative conversations despite a contentious election season.
"Everyone's been pretty cool with me and I haven't had any incidents," Serrano-Bargas said.
Uber spokesperson Molly Spaeth said that the safety of their drivers is something Uber takes very seriously.
"We want everyone to feel safe and comfortable," she noted. "We have a lot of features that are built into the technology that are designed to provide a feedback system. If anybody does have a [negative] experience, they can let us know right away."
"Both riders and drivers rate each other after each trip," Spaeth added. "So that helps reinforce the system of accountability and transparency. Drivers can feel free not to accept requests if, for any reason, they feel unsafe and we ask them to immediately pull over and call 911 in the case of a threat."
For Serrano-Bargas, Uber's full support of both her orientation and the way she chooses to express herself has made a word of difference.
"I don't appear very feminine," she said. "With other jobs I've had other people look at and treat me differently but I've never had that experience with Uber. They make me feel good about myself. I don't feel like I have to dress or act a certain way when I represent them."
"The reasons we here from drivers as to why they work with us are as diverse as they are," Spaeth said. "Some people are trying to save for a wedding, some people are saving to buy Christmas presents. It's always up to you. You can turn the app on and off depending on your schedule."
For more information on working with Uber, visit: www.uber.com/careers.
