

The WSJ was accidentally too honest about Uber in print - radmuzom
https://twitter.com/NeilAnAlien/status/627873374505562112

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nandhp
Sounds like they need a loyalty program, so customers have an incentive not to
simply take "Uber or Lyft, whichever isn't surging right now."

So: UberMiles -- earn and redeem miles when you take an Uber. And there can be
Gold, Silver, and Platinum levels you earn for taking more Ubers -- at the
higher levels, you could get complimentary space-available upgrades, special
discounts, or insulation from surge pricing. And they could partner with a
bank to market an UberMiles credit card (earn one mile for every dollar you
spend), and with Hilton to offer Points&Miles™ to hotel guests. And the miles
can expire if there's no account activity for 18 months. And people can rant
and complain and swear they're going to take all their business to Lyft when
Uber inevitably changes the miles redemption chart to become more profitable.

~~~
runamok
IIRC Capital One had some sort of Uber promotion recently so they are likely
testing the waters for such a move.

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justinsaadein
They only have their name brand, and Uber has to be aggressive because they're
operating in a space with little barriers to entry. They cannot raise their
prices - people do not depend on Uber and can switch at zero costs.

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engi_nerd
What worries me is that the online version will become the definitive version
of the story. There is no way to know, without directly comparing against the
print version, how the online version differs from the print version.

At least there is newsdiffs.org for tracking changes for the online version of
the New York Times (and cnn.com, politico.com, washingtonpost.com, and
bbc.co.uk).

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_delirium
The print version has the virtue of actually explaining a plausible mechanism
by which they can become profitable. Building enough loyalty (or other form of
competitive moat) to allow them to set a larger margin between customer price
and driver pay, is a coherent strategy. The online version of the article, by
contrast, just vaguely says that maybe if they grow they will (somehow) become
profitable.

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yuhong
At least it is not as bad as banks. I wonder what would happen if for profit
banks did not have interest bearing savings accounts.

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curiousjorge
"Build loyalty to charge people more and pay drivers less". The fact they
redacted this paradoxical statement is all telling.

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luso_brazilian
It's not paradoxical, there is no contradiction in it.

They really hope to capitalize on their first mover advantage and name
recognition to be able to raise prices, lower compensation and still keep the
customers and drivers.

~~~
curiousjorge
how does one build loyalty by fucking people over?

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ams6110
How is profit "fucking people over"?

They aren't profitable now. Clearly that's unsustainable. To become profitable
they need more revenue than expense. There are not many ways that this can
happen, and one given is that the fare charged must be higher than what the
driver is paid for that trip.

~~~
throwaway2048
say, theoretically prices double, and you hear reports of uber drivers getting
rate cuts.

How likely is this to engender feelings of brand loyalty in you.

~~~
ethanbond
You mean like virtually every corporation in America over the past 20-30
years?

No one will notice.

The few who do will be "spineless socialists."

