Uber Stockholm throw a PR-tantrum when refused unfair advantages
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Uber Stockholm throw a PR-tantrum when refused unfair advantages
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Re: Uber Stockholm throw a PR-tantrum when refused unfair advantages
#2this approach has worked well for uber in the usa. wonder if they've made a mistake by assuming that anti-govt sentiment in other countries is similar? or by simply copying the technique without thinking?
but this is from a single english-language post. what is the rest of the local reaction like? [ah, see reply below - i missed "response was huge" (in the sense of support for uber)]
Re: Uber Stockholm throw a PR-tantrum when refused unfair advantages
#3I find it odd that Uber is constantly fighting various countries' laws to be considered "a taxi service, but not a taxi service", when they could just change their business model a tiny bit and fall straight into the middle of the "limousine service" classification.
Why not charge just-time instead of time+distance? Would it screw over the drivers?
Re: Uber Stockholm throw a PR-tantrum when refused unfair advantages
#4this approach has worked well for uber in the usa. wonder if they've made a mistake by assuming that anti-govt sentiment in other countries is similar? or by simply copying the technique without thinking? but this is from a single english-language post. what is the rest of the local reaction like? [ah, see reply below - i missed "response was huge" (in the sense of support for uber)]
TFA notes
> The response was pretty huge. What surprised me was that people who are bright and often critical of sources jumped on the wagon without asking obvious questions:
Since the original Uber post was in swedish and targeted at swedes, I expect it was local reaction.
Re: Uber Stockholm throw a PR-tantrum when refused unfair advantages
#5I was on Uber's side for a long time initially. But with what's have been going on in the past few months, I am more than willing to believe the author. Especially after that protest by some drivers, outside their office in SF. "It was only a handful of drivers", you might argue. But the fact that none of the company officials came down to listen to them, just points out their "we don't give a fuck" attitude. And it is this arrogance, that brings down corporates and even empires.
Re: Uber Stockholm throw a PR-tantrum when refused unfair advantages
#6this approach has worked well for uber in the usa. wonder if they've made a mistake by assuming that anti-govt sentiment in other countries is similar? or by simply copying the technique without thinking? but this is from a single english-language post. what is the rest of the local reaction like? [ah, see reply below - i missed "response was huge" (in the sense of support for uber)]
The mistake was not researching local laws before entering a new market. It has nothing to do with anti-govt sentiment.
Re: Uber Stockholm throw a PR-tantrum when refused unfair advantages
#7Some quotes from the article:
"The market is unregulated, meaning that you can set any price for your services."
"You can safely say that there’s healthy competition on the market."
"You do need a permit to have a taxi service."
"The fact is that Uber are asking for an exemption to be able to compete on unfair grounds"
Notice some contradictions here?
Author claims that market is unregulated and competition is fair, but then admits there is regulation and legal requirements (that cost real money). If you want to make a nice private taxi service with 2x lower prices, you cannot because you have to pay local government for all licenses and whatever taximeter they provide you, not the one you design for your own company and your customers' safety.
When talking about "unfair advantage", author makes presupposition that existing regulations and licensing are "fair". Well, that needs to be proven. Saying "somebody voted for it in a democracy" is not a proof, sorry. Try that with a scientific study: "scientists voted that P != NP with 58% majority".
Re: Uber Stockholm throw a PR-tantrum when refused unfair advantages
#8Some quotes from the article: "The market is unregulated, meaning that you can set any price for your services." "You can safely say that there’s healthy competition on the market." "You do need a permit to have a taxi service." "The fact is that Uber are asking for an exemption to be able to compete on unfair grounds" Notice some contradictions here? Author claims that market is unregulated and competition is fair,…
>whatever taximeter they provide you
The author mentions that Uber could have tried to get their App approved as a taximeter, but they did not even try.
> Author claims that market is unregulated and competition is fair, but then admits there is regulation
Getting a license is not a "regulation". What the author means is, that the prices are not regulated and the taxis are free to charge whatever they want. So Uber can offer their service at any price, without being forced to a minimum or a maximum.
Re: Uber Stockholm throw a PR-tantrum when refused unfair advantages
#9I don't understand it. Why the constant drama around their every (lack of) license? Can't they just obtain ones just like the rest of driver services or do the authorities owe them something?
Re: Uber Stockholm throw a PR-tantrum when refused unfair advantages
#10Some quotes from the article: "The market is unregulated, meaning that you can set any price for your services." "You can safely say that there’s healthy competition on the market." "You do need a permit to have a taxi service." "The fact is that Uber are asking for an exemption to be able to compete on unfair grounds" Notice some contradictions here? Author claims that market is unregulated and competition is fair,…
> you cannot because you have to pay local government for all licenses and whatever taximeter they provide you, not the one you design for your own company and your customers' safety.
The reason you can't provide a service with 2x lower prices is that you would make a huge loss doing that, and it has nothing to do with regulations.
You are allowed to design your own taximeters btw.
And the regulation is "fair" in the sense that it applies equally to all companies (note that Uber is trying to get exepmtion from a rule that their competitors comply with).