Monday, October 26, 2015

Cultivating Culture: Uber vs. Lyft

Note: this was an assignment for a class, but as it was intended be written as a blog post, it might as well become one. Enjoy!

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/

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