

Here's How Uber's Co-Founder Is Going to Take on Amazon and EBay - yuvals
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-23/uber-s-co-founder-has-a-new-shopping-app-and-this-is-how-it-works

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therobot24
> For example, if a ­potential customer wants to replace a ­particular pair of
> shoes, she can snap a photo of the old ones and upload it to the app, which
> routes the request to a relevant store that’s also using the app. There, a
> salesperson can respond with info, prices, or photos of merchandise. The
> customer can then buy her replacement shoes through the app and arrange
> delivery

Is this search and exchange always worth the time of the business though? In
small bits here and there, sure, it's no different than asking a roaming
associate at a brick and mortar. But what about Amazon and eBay levels of
hits? Is it really the responsibility of the business to find exactly what
you're looking for?

I'm imagining many user frustrations from:

\- poor communication (on either end)

\- user indecision ('do you have any other versions?')

\- overwhelmed associates

\- associates just not caring enough to put in the effort. Yes, they can be
fired, but if you honestly think a (most likely) teenager making minimum wage
that is willing and diligent to help all customers is hired and positioned at
all retail outlets then you need to join the real world.

Solving this problem is clearly non-trivial, but the CEO does have a proven
track record, so i'm excited to see what happens.

