Uber is a relatively new service that simply connects riders to drivers, and it has made a huge impact on the world. In Australia, the taxis are renowned for not showing up on time, having drivers that take you the wrong way on purpose to increase the fare, or take the wrong way anyway because they don’t know where the hell they are going.
So understandably, when Uber comes along with a significantly better service for a lower fee, the Taxi’s run out of work. The Taxi drivers see their livelihood being taken from them and decide to rebel against Uber. On the 21st of April 2015, 200 Western Australian Taxi drivers went on strike at Parliament House to protest against Uber.
This is what they did:
They stopped providing their service.
They handed their customers to their superior competitor.
And they went and complained.
Face palm.
When a new competitor comes on the market, you don’t go crying to the Government to try and fix your problems! Sure, the taxi drivers pay excessive fees to the Taxi companies, but complaining about it and handing your customers to your competitor won’t fix the issue.
What an absolute face-palm moment to be a taxi driver. The protest gave Uber a 500% increase in riders. 500% more people to experience a superior service!
This is a perfect case of people being more focused on being right, rather than being better. When you provide a service to a customer, THEY are the ones who determine your worth. If another service comes along, and your customers go to them, you need to focus on being better and providing the customer with what they want. Stomping your feet and complaining about it won’t fix the problem. You take the right action and for god sakes you don’t give your customers to your competitors because you have a sore ego – you get BETTER.
Complaining about being RIGHT about the fact that Taxi drivers pay too much in fees due to Government regulation is not going to make your customers seeing you as being better! I am SO glad a superior service has come to the transportation industry. For too long Taxi drivers have been a disgrace in providing an inadequate service.
Please learn this lesson from this ridiculous event.
Find what your customer wants. Provide what your customer wants. Provide better than what your customer expects.
Rinse and repeat.
Business does not have to be overly complex. You find a GAP in the market, and you fill it. The more value you bring to your market, the more they will bring value to you. Look at Facebook – It has simply connected THE WHOLE WORLD in a better way. Did you see companies that make stamps go and complain to their governments? Did you see Telecommunication companies throw their hands up in the air and stomp their feet like a spoilt child? No you did not!
Now Facebook is worth around $200 BILLION. To answer the question of how much value has been given to the world from Facebook, I’d estimate it to be about $200 Billion worth of value in the form of Dollars.
Focus on being BETTER not RIGHT. As they say in the gym – “Check your ego at the door”.
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