Uber NYC and the Surge: Right, Wrong, Lessons Learned
hunterwalk.com
hunterwalk.com
Nonetheless, our cultural norm in the US is strongly against "price gouging" during emergencies, which means, I suppose, that merchants should continue charging pre-disaster prices for gasoline, plywood, generators, and car service, and that the lucky customers who get there first get served, while the rest suffer.
The author's suggestions on ways to thread this particular needle are why even lean start-ups need a good marketing lead.
Airbnb waived transaction fees while some hosts (encouraged by the company itself) significantly dropped their rates so that people in areas affected by the Hurricane could find an affordable place to stay.
Both the company and hosts could've easily taken advantage of the situation and jacked up their rates. But they didn't.
Not everyone can do that though, for some emergencies for you are emergencies for them too and raise their prices.
While this is true, it's surprising that they do not have a PR/customer service/support person that specifically keeps an eye out for incidents (or opportunities) like these. As much as their business is based on algorithms, it is run by humans, at least one of which who could have understood how the situation would appear to the average person.
Especially when you see pure-PR stunts Uber is pushing like this: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/election-day-fre...
"Uber: On Election Day, this car-service company will be offering customers a free ride to or from a national polling place, up to $20.12. Any amount above $20.12 will be charged, and the offer is only available during the city's voting hours."
I can guarantee no matter how many kudos Uber gets for encouraging people to vote-- "The average person just heard that Uber was charging New Yorkers more" post-disaster.
It's a very small cost in exchange for making a strong impact towards existing and new customers.