Picture the scene if you will. It’s gone midnight, I’m in central London after having a few drinks with friends and I can’t hail a black taxi for love nor money.
I’m getting desperate as I’m cold, a little the worse for wear and am tired (cue the violins I know).
Then it dawned on me I might just have the answer to my logistical lament in my pocket.
My good friend Mike Cole has been waxing lyrical about how good the taxi company Uber is.
For those of you who haven’t heard of Uber it’s a mobile phone app which promises to connect you with a taxi driver within minutes.
Having registered for it ages ago but never got round to using it I thought now’s the time to try it and see if Mike was right.
So I tapped in where I was and pretty instantaneously I was told a car would be with me in four minutes. And it was.
A car pulls up, polite chap says ‘hello Nik, you’re going home.’ Now I’m not suggesting Uber employ drivers who have psychic abilities.
The driver, his name was Mo, knew who I was and where I was going because the app sent the him a photo of the person requesting the ride and tells them where they are headed.
I also received a photo of Mo so I knew exactly who to look out for.
The car was clean, the drive home uneventful and the cost of £75 was reasonable considering it was 1am and he was my last resort. As I had pre registered my bank card the payment was taken from that so I didn’t even have to stop off at a cashpoint.
I spoke with a black cabbie mate of mine who told me he would have charged around £110 for the same journey.
Now I’m not saying that black taxis are too expensive. The point I’m making is how Uber have made it so easy to order cabs.
You don’t even get the ‘it’s just round the corner’ line which some mini cab companies give you after waiting for half hour despite being told ‘it’ll be with you in five minutes’.
This is because you can monitor the Uber cab making its way to you in real time via the app.
It got me thinking about what I need to do in our business to use the best technology available to make sure our clients are left feeling Uber the moon.
I’m aiming to make advertising with my news simpler, more affordable and enjoyable.
Just like Uber.
Thanks for reading.
Nik
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