Don't Get Ubered: Focus On The Customer Experience Instead Of On Your Internal Operations

By Billy Marshall, CEO of ServiceTrade and author of The Digital Wrap

Ubered – verb – to kick the crap out of something using a computer. To beat someone in any game without them barely having a chance at winning.

— from the online Urban Dictionary

If you were to eavesdrop on a management meeting at a taxi company back in 2010, you probably would have overheard a series of questions about improving operating efficiency:

• “How can we increase profits relative to each driver payroll hour?”
• “How can we have less idle time and spend less on fuel?”
• “How can we have fewer dispatchers for each fare revenue dollar?”
• “Should we be investing in electric or hybrid vehicles to lower fuel expense?”
• “What can we do to lower the cost of vehicle maintenance and repairs?”

Meanwhile, the folks at Uber in San Francisco were asking these questions instead:

• “How can we create the absolute best customer experience for a taxi ride?”
• “What hassles can we eliminate using technology in order to create an amazing and highly differentiated service?”
• “How can we use this new technology experience to attract customers that we keep forever?”