The service economy is ubiquitous. Need to get somewhere? Install
Uber or Lyft and you’ll be on your way. Hungry? There are enough delivery services
to use a different one every day of the week. Too lazy to do laundry or clean
your apartment? Don’t worry, there’s an app for that. To differentiate
themselves, service economy companies must either provide a superior product,
cheaper prices, or build a unique culture around themselves. Through my
experiences with Uber and Lyft, I will attempt to examine culture: how each
company brands itself, why they chose so, and how those decisions affect the
workers, who are the public faces of each company.
Uber is clearly the big brother to Lyft’s little brother
act, and their websites provide powerful indications for how they carry
themselves. Uber is all about professionalism, as their initial description on
their websites claims, “Your ride, on demand. Transportation in minutes with
the Uber app” (Uber, n.d.). Contrast that with Lyft’s statement: “Need a ride?
Take Lyft for a welcoming, affordable, and memorable ride” (Lyft, n.d.). Uber
strives to create an image of a professional chauffeur, who will be there
whenever you might need him, and disappear afterwards. Lyft, on the other hand,
tries to conjure images of calling your buddy at 2AM for a ride home from the
bar. He’ll definitely be there, and will be happy to chat with you and ask how
your night was. Uber have a newsroom (Uber, n.d.), while Lyft have a blog
(Lyft, n.d.); the Lyft app is stylized in pink, while Uber is overwhelmingly
black and white.
Chatting with drivers drives home the same notion. First and
foremost, Lyft drivers appear to be much happier to talk! Some of them engage
in conversation even without being prompted, behavior I found very rare with
Uber drivers. Carlos estimates he was one of the first one hundred Lyft drivers
in San Francisco, and while he used to drive for Uber as well, he stopped at
some point. Lyft feels like a family to him: he mentions the friendly rivalry
the “day walkers” have with the “nightcrawlers,” groups lunches in the middle
of shifts, and a weekly Lyft driver happy hour. Daniel is a photographer, who
drives at nights for supplementary income, or as he put it, “I drive so my
girlfriend is less unhappy with me when I buy expensive photography equipment.”
He mentioned that he too prefers driving Lyft, as passengers are nicer and more
talkative. He says it’s simply more fun.
Lyft seek to differentiate themselves from uber by culture. As
I found when examining the apps and websites, some of the culture stems from
intentional decisions made by the two companies. Annuar, originally from Kazakhstan,
drives for both, but notes that, “with Uber, I’m just another driver… for Lyft,
I’m a friend.” Another former driver received a party pack from Lyft after
reaching the one thousand ride milestone (Muender, 2014). Isn’t that awesome? However,
some part of the culture also appears to be emergent. Annuar described it as a “pay
it forward” culture: the first drivers were kind and friendly to the first
passengers, who passed it on to their next drivers, and so on, even referencing
the famous monkey learning experiment (which according to Maestripieri (2012), might
not have occurred as famously described).
Annuar’s experience describes the network effects very
clearly; a chain of drivers treating riders like friends, which causes these
passengers to treat their next drivers similarly. Even with guidance from the
company, this would never have worked without the cooperation of the drivers.
The motivations on all sides are clear. For the drivers, work is fun when it
doesn’t feel like work; driving friends around beats sitting in silence with
strangers. Moreover, they probably get better tips, and and help build the Lyft
brand. For the passengers, rides become enjoyable, rather than neutral. Technology
obviously affects these interactions, as without it the drivers would be
driving around like headless chickens, looking for someone to pick up. However,
the effect does not have to be negative; Lyft provide a clear model for technology-fueled
interactions can feel friendly and welcoming.
If Lyft’s culture is so superior, why does it lag far behind
Uber? Uber is definitely better suited for those who prefer not to interact
with strangers, or want to make use of the ride to think or work. Inertia is
another powerful force; Uber came three years before Lyft, and made a very strong
name for itself. Uber also offers a far wider range of services, particularly catering
to more exclusive clientele: Lyft has no match for services such as Uber Select
or Uber Black. Moreover, Uber allows calling regular taxis, for the more
traditionally minded. Oh, and while the prices are similar, if there is a difference,
Uber tends to be cheaper. Each category probably covers a significant amount of
people; together, we can induce that they cover enough people to make Uber
significantly farther reaching. Indeed, while both appear to be growing strong,
Uber’s valuation is 27 times more than Lyft’s (Kelly, 2015). Some drivers also
feel the financial power; Mohammad, who drives for both companies, mentioned
that Uber is more profitable: “with Lyft I rarely leave the city, or have long
drives. Uber often gives me longer trips, once I even took someone to Google,
in Mountain View.”
For me, however, the culture of Lyft makes it a much nicer
alternative. Beyond the good feeling of supporting the upstart (albeit a $3
billion one), riding a Lyft gives me more social utility – it just feels
better. Annuar told me why he left Kazakhstan, and we bonded over our desire to
work in software, but on a project with true meaning. Carlos gave each of us
Lyft bandanas and a fantastic, fuzzy, pink Lyft mustache. Like a caring parent,
Calvin made sure we got off from the right side of the car. Lyft succeeded in
creating a culture that feels like they care, and for me that made the whole
difference.
Bibliography
Kelly, J. (2015, September 3). The Uber vs. Lyft War Has Been Won in
Silicon Valley. Retrieved 26 October 2015, from
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/09/uber-vs-lyft-war-has-been-won
Lyft. (n.d.). A ride whenever you need one. Retrieved 26 October 2015,
from https://www.lyft.com/
Lyft. (n.d.). Lyft Blog. Retrieved 26 October 2015, from
http://blog.lyft.com/
Maestripieri Ph.D., D. (2012, March 20). What Monkeys Can Teach Us About
Human Behavior: From Facts to Fiction. Retrieved 26 October 2015, from
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/games-primates-play/201203/what-monkeys-can-teach-us-about-human-behavior-facts-fiction
Muender, G. (2014, December 3). Uber vs. Lyft: A former driver compares
the two services. Retrieved 26 October 2015, from https://pando.com/2014/12/03/uber-vs-lyft-a-former-driver-compares-the-two-services/
Uber. (n.d.). Uber. Retrieved 26 October 2015, from https://www.uber.com/
Uber. (n.d.). Uber News, Events, Partnerships, Product Updates and More.
Retrieved 26 October 2015, from http://newsroom.uber.com/
