
Uber launches rider loyalty rewards like credits - mkolodny
https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/14/uber-rewards/
======
overeater
If this is anything like frequent flier programs, my cynical interpretation is
that if you're a casual rider, you'll get:

\- less leeway on cancellations since you now need to earn them

\- worse support, since the higher status folks will get the higher priority /
premium support

\- slower airport pickup times as high status folks get to "cut in line" while
you wait

\- lower quality drivers as the higher rated ones are given only to the
frequent riders

This is based on the chart showing the benefits of higher status in the
article.

~~~
dmix
I don't see why people who spend 10-100x more than the average person should
be treated the same as a casual user who uses it once in a while though.
That's basic economics.

~~~
wyattpeak
No, but I see every reason as an average user to oppose a strategy which will
worsen the service for me.

There's no moral obligation to support economic good sense. Yellow journalism
is economic good sense. Removing contact details from websites is economic
good sense. Exhausting common goods is economic good sense.

~~~
xapata
Angering customers may not in fact be good economic sense. You may be thinking
more short-term than you should.

~~~
wyattpeak
While I'm arguing against them doing it in my comment, I do think it's a
perfectly good long term strategy economically.

Experience suggests to me that the standard of service at which customers will
stop buying a product is very low, so long as it's cheap.

A hundred years ago grocers thought that self-service supermarkets were too
customer-unfriendly to last. That seems to have stood the test of time just
fine.

Buying a business class fare on a plane absolves you of almost all the
unpleasantness of an airport, yet fewer than 5% of people, eyeballing it, take
the airlines up on that.

------
Guest9812398
So if I spend $250 on UberX rides I get $5 in credit? Hmm, that's going to be
a pass on my end. In my city a local taxi company created an app similar to
Uber, and it's typically 10% cheaper. Most people I know switched over to it,
because it only takes a few seconds to do so. I'll take that 10% over 2% in
Uber credit.

Also, isn't it already determined that Uber offers higher prices to frequent
travelers, and people that take the same route on a regular basis? So, if I
spend $250 on UberX, they probably added more than $5 in there because I'm a
regular traveler. Now, they're just pretending to be a hero by returning some
credit. If they had flat $10 trips in my downtown, and I would get a free trip
after 10 rides, then it would make more sense. As of now, I don't trust them
at all to provide equal pricing for different users, so I don't trust their
entire concept of a loyalty program.

------
i_am_proteus
"Frequent user/loyalty" programs are, across sectors, implicit acknowledgement
by companies that their products are indistinguishable from those of their
competitors.

------
kylelibra
I'm surprised it took so long for rideshare companies to launch this feature
(Lyft's version will be unveiled in December).

~~~
x0x0
Lyft already has something like this deployed for business rides -- you get
some credit for personal use after enough business rides.

~~~
iancarroll
Lyft also gives Delta SkyMiles now, which is enough for me to not use Uber
again.

------
mooman219
This is pretty standard marketing and you see it a ton with insurance
companies. They gamify their service to increase spending and decrease the
number of users leaving for a different platform. I wonder how effective this
will be for preventing users from using both apps to find the lowest price.

~~~
k_sh
Insurance companies?

I'm not sure I've ever seen an insurance company gamify anything.

~~~
freewilly1040
Not sure if this is what parent is referring to but most insurance companies
offer a discount for having multiple lines of coverage with the same company
(ie a discount for having your house, car, boat, whatever all with them).

------
Simulacra
I switch to Lyft, but was surprised to see a semi-autonomous Uber drive by the
other day in Northern Virginia. Pretty cool, but I still don't trust the
company's corporate culture, and how they treat their drivers and the public,
to consider going back.

------
hammock
I was in the focus group where they tested this six or so months ago. Ask me
anything.

~~~
MadTitan
What was the overall feedback from your group/ concerns etc?

------
cm2012
My app doesn't have it yet (NYC)

~~~
cenal
NYC user here as well and no credits either.

The current 25% off discount on Lyft makes it tough to even try Uber at the
moment.

