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Uber's community management isn't doing them any favors

evanhamilton.com

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Re: Uber's community management isn't doing them any favors

#11

Post by theg2 »

This article missed so many of it's own points its hard to see why it's being voted up. I've never seen how surges and pricing are vague, it's right in front of you in the application. Home Depot has accidents and deaths in their stores and you don't see the author complaining about a lack of community there, and arguably, driving is a much more dangerous than shopping.

The title is link bait and the complaints are a shallow attempt at expanding the authors personal exposure as a community manager.

Re: Uber's community management isn't doing them any favors

#12

Post by theg2 »

evanhamilton wrote: post #10
throwaway45779 wrote: post #6

Last time I checked, Uber wasn't an autonomous, driverless automobile service. Given that fact, I really don't understand how the responsibility of pedestrian fatalities resides with anyone except the person who assumes direct control of the car. When you drive the car, you, and you alone are responsible for anyone you might kill. What a stupid headline. Yellow journalism. Mud slinging. and for what? To parade a dead…

Thanks for reading. I explicitly state in the article that I feel no legal responsibility rests with them. I state that in the first few paragraphs. What I am trying to make clear is that treating a tragedy like a legal technicality is not a way to build community. People are disgusted by their reaction. For the record, I don't use any of the car services...this is not meant to promote Lyft or degrade Uber in any way…

And latching onto a tragedy to complain about a company and community as a "community manager" yourself is in poor taste.

Re: Uber's community management isn't doing them any favors

#13

Post by evanhamilton »

tomphoolery wrote: post #9

The issue here is that it really would not be in Uber's best interest to take all of the hit for this. This bullshit about "community" or whatever is a nice sugar coating for the whole issue, but it really has to do with legal jurisdiction and economics. Uber drivers are not employees. They are independent contractors. They can be part of a limo company or they can be literally independent, and drive the car they own…

This is a line from my article:

"Is it Uber’s responsibility to do something here? No."

So no, I don't think they should take the hit for this, and I don't think they're legally culpable.

Perhaps I didn't make it clear in the article: I think Uber is making people dislike them through their lack of empathy in this and other situations.

This is bad for Uber, and I'm suggesting they change this. That is all.

So, now that we've covered that...

I think your point about Uber staying out of your business is valid. Some people prefer that, and perhaps Uber doesn't need to try to build a strong connection with their community. As I said at the end of the article, I don't think this attitude will kill Uber, but I do think it'll make it lose some customers. Maybe, to your point, that's totally ok because they're keeping the type of customers they want. Would be interesting if that was their strategy!

Re: Uber's community management isn't doing them any favors

#14

Post by blhack »

theg2 wrote: post #11

This article missed so many of it's own points its hard to see why it's being voted up. I've never seen how surges and pricing are vague, it's right in front of you in the application. Home Depot has accidents and deaths in their stores and you don't see the author complaining about a lack of community there, and arguably, driving is a much more dangerous than shopping. The title is link bait and the complaints are a…

I agree completely with you last statement. Honestly I find it a little bit disgusting that somebody would use a car accident as a means of marketing themselves.

Shame on you, Evan Hamilton. You even submitted this yourself.

Re: Uber's community management isn't doing them any favors

#15

Post by evanhamilton »

Thanks to everyone for your feedback on the title of this post. I was trying to catch the eye and, in doing that, misrepresented my point. This article is not designed to hurt Uber...it was born out of frustration at their public response to this situation, and designed to point out that they, like many companies, would benefit from a stronger focus on their community.

Re: Uber's community management isn't doing them any favors

#16

Post by andymoe »

This is a horrible tragedy but it is coincidence that it was an Uber driver. I live in SF and it could have easily been a taxi cab, regular driver, a cyclist, or a even a muni bus that hit this poor family. Every day I see at least one, two or more people that fall into those groups treat stop signs and reds as yields and regularly make turns without looking or slowing down for pedestrians or cyclist. Poor driving (and pedaling) is a damn epidemic here.

Re: Uber's community management isn't doing them any favors

#17

Post by evanhamilton »

theg2 wrote: post #11

This article missed so many of it's own points its hard to see why it's being voted up. I've never seen how surges and pricing are vague, it's right in front of you in the application. Home Depot has accidents and deaths in their stores and you don't see the author complaining about a lack of community there, and arguably, driving is a much more dangerous than shopping. The title is link bait and the complaints are a…

I definitely see things through the lens of community management, as marketers may see things through the lens of marketing. I haven't seen Home Depot's response to the deaths in their stores so I don't have any comment on that, but it's likely I would if I saw them. I wrote this post based on my disgust at Uber's response and the lesson I think companies should learn from it.

Lots of folks have complained about the surge pricing notifications, which is why I'm repeating those complaints. Perhaps Uber has improved that messaging since the last, highly-publicized round of complaints.

I appreciate your feedback on the title and I agree. I've updated the post and HN title. Thanks for keeping me honest...that was a lame move on my part.

Re: Uber's community management isn't doing them any favors

#18

Post by revelation »

tomphoolery wrote: post #9

The issue here is that it really would not be in Uber's best interest to take all of the hit for this. This bullshit about "community" or whatever is a nice sugar coating for the whole issue, but it really has to do with legal jurisdiction and economics. Uber drivers are not employees. They are independent contractors. They can be part of a limo company or they can be literally independent, and drive the car they own…

It is questionable if "independent contractors" that do 100% of their work for Uber will be considered such.

In general, companies are responsible for accidents caused by employees performing work duties under the respondeat superior doctrine. Notice that the "performing work duties" part has been stretched pretty far in cases; a drunk driver coming from a company party where alcohol was served could still cause liability for the company.

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