• PR Perspectives: Will Uber Go Under?

    Full disclosure: I have never used the Uber service. Also, I am a GenX (barely) suburban guy who prefers driving own car and has no problem with mass transit in Boston or other major metros. Right there I am in in the wrong demographic for the suddenly most reviled brand – “sharing economy” or otherwise – on the planet to care about what I think.

    But this post is not about the Uber service. It’s not even about the alleged behavior of some of its drivers – that’s an entirely different matter. It’s about their brand and their integrity (or lack thereof). One of which seemingly does not exist and the other could cease to if the company doesn’t act quickly and decisively and demonstrate some existence of a soul.

    Its also about their complete and utter failure to take any meaningful, genuine public responsibility for both recent actions and words by their executives. Or the manner in which they’ve communicated with, and about, the media and how they are going about their business. And growing that business, which seems to be the only thing that Uber cares about.

    Like everyone else in media and communications, I’ve watched with interest the past the few days as Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has been justifiably pilloried by the very media he shows complete disdain for. PandoDaily’s Sarah Lacy was first out of the gate, railing repeatedly against Uber’s modus operandi. @sarahcuda has encouraged women everywhere to just delete the app. BuzzFeed’s Ben Smith attended a supposedly off the record “influentials” dinner last Friday night with other media, investors and high profile types. Smith reported that Uber’s Emil Michael suggested that the company should consider hiring a team of opposition researchers to “dig up dirt” on any media members who dare to be critical of Uber. Here’s Lacy’s Monday morning take on the dinner and what was disclosed.

    If you can believe all that’s been written (the casual observer has no reason not to) by both traditional media outlets like WSJ and USA Today and blogs everywhere, Uber is under a ridiculous firestorm and no amount of dirt on Bill Cosby, Roger Goodell or any other people behaving badly are about to nudge off the proverbial front page.

    The latest from Kalanick came yesterday when he told a group of technology investors that the company’s problems stem from growing too fast. I’m sorry but that is weak, it still a cheesy cop out from the young CEO.

    So what’s the prescription for extinguishing the many brush fires engulfing Kalanick and Uber?

    David Plouffe’s the guy pushing the buttons now, but here’s “three for free” in the PR recommendations department:

    1. Appeal to the board to fire Kalanick today. Scoble and others have made the same call. Start anew. Get a respected CEO who knows how to grow a business with integrity in there. Today.
    2. Drop the surge pricing model for the holiday season. Uber must regain goodwill with consumers everywhere. Happy Thanksgiving. Merry Christmas. Happy Chanukah!
    3. Issue legitimate apologies to media member and outline policy changes with some teeth to clean up the mess.

    What would you do if you were in Plouffe’s shoes?

     

    Matter

    , ,

  • Uber Cabs Finds Opportunity in a Crisis

    Last week, United Steel Workers of America Local 8751, the labor union representing Boston city school bus drivers, created a crisis situation for themselves and every parent and child in Boston when they refused to pick up 33,000 school children at their bus stops Tuesday morning. Their intention was to voice grievances over supposed safety and performance improvements, but their actions made them look heartless, selfish, and despicable. Okay, so you’re angry about certain aspects of your job. The way you decide to let everyone know about it is by taking it out on innocent children who are just trying to get to school? You shouldn’t need a Public Relations professional to tell you this plan isn’t going to work out in your favor. But, I don’t think the Boston bus driver’s union did a whole lot of thinking, or planning for that matter, before executing their surprise strike.

    As a parent, I can only imagine the panic and worry I would have felt after arriving to work and receiving news my child’s bus driver had purposely left him or her stranded at the bus stop. I can also picture the anger and headache of having to rush home, come up with an alternative plan to get my child to school or miss a day’s work. Perhaps if the school bus labor union had held a planned rally or written a well thought out letter to the community they may have received sympathy, or at least made the community aware of why they were unhappy. Instead, they brought bad publicity to themselves, and managed to anger the very people who may have been able to remedy the grievances they were trying to protest.

    As the school bus drama was unfolding last week, Uber Cabs, an up-and-coming smartphone cab company known for their sleek black cars, came up with a brilliant Public Relations plan amid the chaos. While most of Boston had come to a standstill, and parents and children were left improvising on ways to get to school, Uber Cabs swooped in and came to the rescue. They began advertising on their blog and social media sites that they were offering free rides for kids to get to school and back, no promo codes required, and no questions asked. The perception that Uber was swooping in to help out parents and children in a difficult situation generated lots of positive publicity for them, including coverage in the Boston Globe, local news stations, and social media. They did a great job of thinking quickly on their feet and taught other companies a lesson; always look for ways to turn a crisis into an opportunity.

    Matter

    , , , , , , ,