'The Office'-Style GPS Fail Strikes Unlucky Uber Driver

Michael Scott sends his regards.

March 27, 2018

dunder mifflin infinity — Image via Getty/NBC

Well, sometimes life truly does imitate art. On Monday, an Uber driver in San Fransisco surrendered his better judgment to follow the commands of a piece of technology and ended up getting himself, and his passengers, into quite the embarrassing situation—and it reminded us of a very familiar scene from The Office.

We all know GPS> systems can sometimes suck, but when this driver ended up getting his car stuck in the Castro District of SanFran you have to wonder at what point should common sense have kicked in to override the blind loyalty to machine's voice calmly insisting on a left turn into a concrete staircase.

On The Office's "Dunder Mifflin Infinity" episode, Ryan returns to push his fancy new technology on the Scranton branch. Michael and Dwight insist that a personal touch is a better sales technique than going high tech, so they set out to bring former clients gift baskets. On the way back from an unsuccessful trip, Michael follows the GPS, despite Dwight's screams, and drives their rental car into a lake.

It's reported that the Uber driver, a man named Fred, said his navigation app was telling him to go down the stairs, despite the logical signs like crosswalks and the yellow-painted curb that stood in the way of performing this action. While Michael Scott was just stubbornly trying to prove another point, Fred had actual faith in his GPS; he ended up stuck on the stairs across from a nearby Safeway supermarket where onlookers had to call in a tow truck for assistance.

Business Insider reported that the driver and passengers involved did not sustain any injuries, although Fred's ego is likely a little bruised after this Scott-ian blunder.