I haven’t met someone who doesn’t like Uber. Drivers included. Every time I take a ride with Uber I chat up the driver to see how they like it. They love it. They rave about it. They feel liberated. They feel in control. They feel modernized. And they love getting paid faster (and more – Uber takes a smaller cut than a traditional limo/car company).
But what I really love about Uber is how they’ve smartly focused the full experience on the ride, not the ride plus a transaction.
This is a fundamental shift – and a stellar example of designing the whole customer experience.
Cabs and traditional limo rides have always ended with a transaction. They pick you up, but before they drop you off you have to transact. You give them money, or give them a card, you wait, they give you change or charge your card, you have to think about tip, and then you get out. It’s like a retail store, except that I’m not going in to buy something, I just want a ride. That whole process hasn’t been rethought for decades.
Since you store a credit card on file with Uber, and since the Uber rate includes the tip, you just get in the car and get out of the car. The transaction happens, but it doesn’t happen in front of you. It’s not a condition, it’s not a step, it just happens behind the scenes, automatically, so you don’t have to bother. You call for a ride, you get a ride. That’s Uber.
Yes, there’s a downside – you don’t know how much the ride is when you pay for it. But no matter what it is, you’d be paying anyway (you can’t choose not to pay after you get to your destination). This is just about where the transaction happens – in your way or out of your way. Uber bet it’s best out of your way. I think that was the right bet. It was a risk, but they took it and they made the experience better.
Jonta
on 05 Sep 12I can think of some people who don’t like Uber: 4HWW-blog: The Council That Kicked The Hornet’s Nest — Why TODAY Matters for Start-Ups.
Junta
on 05 Sep 12This also shows that tipping is ridiculous and appropriate pay should just be part of the fee for a service.
JC
on 05 Sep 12While I haven’t tried Uber yet, I will definitely try them out next time I’m in a city where their service is available.
I totally agree that not having to think about how much to pay/tip/making sure you have enough cash with you if they don’t take credit cards would make the customer experience better for me.
The service will also make me feel better knowing that I’ll be charged fairly as the vehicle is tracked via GPS. There had been times I ‘d take a taxi and I felt like the meter was rigged as I got charged way more than I expected (or they took a much longer route).
Jonta
on 05 Sep 12@Junta: Reminds me of YT:the opening scene of IMDb:Reservoir Dogs (1992). Still haven’t completely figured out my stance on tips (and yes, I have had a job where tips were a significant part of pay), but I find this argument compelling: “The employee should be paid by the employer. If e.g. the waitress isn’t happy with her wages, she should take it up with her employer, not with the customers”.
Can’t remember where I’ve got the quote from.
GregT
on 05 Sep 12I don’t find that argument very compelling, at least in restaurants. I like being able to tip more or less depending on how bitchy my waitress is. And if I were the waitress, I think I’d like being able to directly influence how much I get paid, vs. hoping my boss is sufficiently clued in to how happy my customers are.
Leonid Shevtsov
on 05 Sep 12This is the same shift that Amazon did to the ebook retail business.
Before: the mental cost of performing the checkout flow was much higher than the 10 bucks that the book itself costs.
Now you just click “Buy now”, pick up your Kindle, and read.
Phelps
on 05 Sep 12What’s so great about Uber?
You don’t have to wait outside in the heat or rain on a car, because you can see when it is coming on your phone. When the driver arrives, you wave, he greets you by name, you get into a clean, nice car and start going where you want to go. The driver isn’t surly or acting like you are an inconvenience to his night, and at the end, you don’t fumble with credit cards or cash and receipts, you just get out and wave at each other.
That’s genius. To me, the idea of luxury is not to have expensive things, but to not be nagged by inconvenience and nuisance. That’s what Uber does. I really think that rating both the drivers AND the passengers is the key. The drivers know that they aren’t going to get stiffed by a runner, and if they have a crap customer, they know they can get them bumped off the system.
Also, they seem to be really happy for the puke charge.
Kurtis
on 05 Sep 12The convenience of Uber is beyond amazing. I live in Atlanta which is not a Cab city. So the competition for quality is non-existant. The fact that Uber has provided a service that you are running out of the bar or a meeting looking to see if the cab is here is genius. I enjoy using Uber not only in Atlanta but other cities as well.
Puzzled European
on 06 Sep 12“since the Uber rate includes the tip…”
America is a strange place ;-)
Mike
on 06 Sep 12Jason, thanks for sharing this post. I too like this idea and the other areas it could exist, grocery delivery, fueling your car, amazon one click. It’s really a neat time to be alive.
Himanshu Sahani
on 06 Sep 12Deep insight Mr. Jason. Applaud.
Ellen Watson
on 06 Sep 12@Leonid, and iTunes as well. If I want to listen to a song or an album, all I have to do is enter my password and I own it.
It is interesting to think about what else could become effortlessly available on demand…
Tim
on 06 Sep 12I don’t understand what this is other than a site/app that makes the transaction easy. Am I missing some other facet of this that makes it “mind boggling” and worth the 32mil! invested in it?
Are they actually buying cars with that money? Why in the world would this kind of thing need that much investment?
Shinobi
on 06 Sep 12Uber is the best on busy Chicago streets. No longer does my driver have to find a place to pull over where we wont block the flow of traffic while he processes my credit card which takes thee hours and 4 pieces of paper. Now I just say thanks to my (so far always super nice) cab or car driver and dash into the restaurant to meet my friend or stumble drunkenly up the stairs to my door. A receipt gets e-mailed to me that I can immediately ignore, or forward to accounting. It is THE BEST.
The only issue I’ve had with it is that the GPS is not always accurate. It often shows me or the driver at he wrong locale. Fortunately the handy “Call driver” button usually allows us to resolve any inconsistencies.
B
on 06 Sep 12I used them once and got double charged, complete with a route map of a ride I never received. It was hell getting a refund because they only do email support and stopped responding to my emails. I ended up doing my first ever chargeback.
GeeIWonder
on 07 Sep 12Tim is on Madoff’s trail.
Peter Bowen
on 07 Sep 12@Phelps Loved this.
“luxury is not to have expensive things, but to not be nagged by inconvenience and nuisance”
texas adam
on 08 Sep 12Uber driver can’t see what race you are so no more discrimination.
Lucy Ray
on 10 Sep 12This ease of Uber is past awesome. I like employing Uber not simply with Atlanta but various other urban centers as well.
Milan
on 12 Sep 12Uber made up with great idea, but you guys should also try groundlink. Same “no transaction” experience but they are more focused on “ride later”, though they support “ride now” in NY. Different thing is that you have to define your destination and you’ll see full price with receipt break down so you know where your money will go before you confirm ride request. You can also track your driver and your ride on mobile app, receive emails, sms’s and so on. Worth to try
This discussion is closed.