Sample Report On Uber Report

Introduction

Overview
The aim of the report is establish the services offered by Uber and how they can be improved. The report also evaluates the general benefits and problems associated with these services. One way it does this is to evaluate customer and drivers relationships with Uber. Research that was done supports the various findings and discussions that are included in the report. The research was done in two parts. First part involved a survey while the second part involved study of relevant materials. The findings and discussion show that although Uber has been greatly successful, there are areas that it should improve in its services. The final part of the report offers recommendations on how Uber can improve these services.

Organization

Uber is an international transport company which has its Headquarters in San Francisco, California. It was founded in March 2009 by Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp.
(Picture: Travis Kalanick, Uber founder.) (Picture: Garrett Camp, Uber co-founder.)
Uber is a ridesharing service located in San Francisco which also operates in multiple cities around the world (Velotta). Currently, it operates in about 55 countries in the world and in over 200 cities globally. The company launched its mobile app that shares the same name, Uber, in June 2009. Customers use the internet mobile app to do the following; request for a ride, view and track the ride as it approaches them, and pay for their taxi services using online credit cards. Uber currently employs 550 corporate employees across different countries and has an estimated value of $18 billion.

Objectives

Finding out the platforms used to deliver the services.
Evaluating how the drivers are involved in delivering these services since they form the widest employee base for Uber.
Highlight the areas for improvement on services which have contributed to Uber’s great success over time.
Limitations
Interviews during the survey were only limited to drivers as the only employees of the company. No official documents developed by Uber were obtained during the survey and research of the company’s services. Customer’s negative experiences were only restricted to online records of consumer complaints.

Key Words

Platforms, rider, app, survey,
Research
Methodology
The information was collected in two main phases. The first was a data collection exercise in a survey that featured drivers from Uber in the San Francisco area. Interviews were conducted and the responses were documented in individual questionnaires. A qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data was later done from the responses that were provided. The second phase featured a research on information that was extracted from secondary sources. These included; newspapers, magazines, journals, critics’ columns, consumer company reports and online websites all which provided relevant information about Uber as a transport company.
On 1st of April 2015, questionnaires were administered to 35 Uber drivers during the survey. The purpose was to collect information about the experience of working for Uber as well as overall experience in serving Uber customers. The drivers were asked to provide the number of days and hours worked per week respectively. Ratings were also collected on various issues in five of the questions featuring in the questionnaire. First the drivers were asked to rate the care they receive as employees of Uber. The drivers were then asked to rate the activeness of relationships with the company during working hours and with the other company drivers. The survey also measured the level of satisfaction with the compensation that the drivers received for their services. Lastly, the survey sought to establish if the drivers felt their partnership with Uber was standard for an employee and the company.

Findings

The findings can also be divided into two sections. The first section reports the findings from the survey. The second section reports the findings from the research from secondary sources. However, both findings address the same issues though in their own unique ways.
Quantitative reporting of the findings from the survey analysis is reported in percentages of the total sample. The scores ranged from 1 being the least score and 10 being the most score. 81% of Uber drivers from the survey worked for 3 or more days in a week. The survey also found that 90% of drivers worked for more than 10 hours in week for the company. 92% of the drivers gave a score of 7 and above when asked if they believed that the company cared about them as drivers. 96% gave a score of 7 when responding to how well they felt compensated for the number of hours they put in at work. Of the drivers interviewed, 95% of them gave a satisfactory score of 8 and above for a positive relationship with Uber. However, the same percentage of the drivers interviewed gave a score of 3 and below for an active relationship with the company during working hours. An outstanding 98% recorded a score of 2 to 0 for active relationships with other Uber drivers. Qualitatively, the drivers reported general satisfaction with their working arrangements but they also proposed some changes. A majority expressed concern about lack of benefits as drivers for Uber.
Secondary sources of data were used to evaluate the customer experiences, Uber product development and criticism of Uber services across both local and international markets. Customers have a different experience that is provided by Uber. The company has enjoyed great success due to its online presence across various social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. This is because Uber largely communicates and operates its services through the internet. The taxi service is not restricted to users of smartphones, tablets or internet only.
(Picture: A smartphone using Uber app)
Those without a smartphone can text their address to USR-CAB (827-222) and an available vehicle arrives in a short time. There are also a variety of transport services available for Uber customers in other different Uber platforms. Apart from the traditional service, UberBLACK, UberSUV and UberX are also popular among customers. UberBLACK is a service that provides high end and classy black sedan rides for its customers on request.
(An image of a black high end sedan car)
On the other hand, UberSUV drivers provide SUV transport for clients who request such cars. UberX is a platform for drivers that may not have licenses to operate taxi or limo services. Due to this, the services provided on UberX are cheaper when compared to Uber transport services across other platforms. Uber is also different from traditional taxi services providers when it comes to tips for drivers. Riders are discouraged from tipping drivers.

Discussion

However, there is minimal or no interaction for Uber with its drivers as well as driver to driver interaction. This is primarily because all transactions are done online using the Uber app. The drivers have individual accounts which are assigned to them when they meet all company’s requirements. Thus, communication between drivers and with the company is minimal since there is no physical interaction. Uber’s policy prohibits tipping drivers using cash since all payments are done online for all its services. It argues that the tip is also included when the customer is paying for the taxi service, thus, there is no need for customers to tip again after the ride. While the pay is satisfying for the drivers, they do not get to enjoy other benefits for the job. This is because Uber does not provide medical or health insurance, retirement benefits or bonuses for services of the drivers.
Uber has also faced operational difficulties in a San Francisco Bay Area as well as in other cities it operates. It has been accused of lack of paying tips owed to its drivers. The lack of job benefits has also been a problem to some of its drivers. These drivers have organized protests in the past in a bid to address these issues. The UberX service from Uber has also brought about safety and legal concerns due to engaging unlicensed taxi drivers. This has made the service to be declared illegal initially by San Francisco authorities and in some other international cities such as Paris. Uber has given customers the ability to share rides to various destinations in the aim of lowering costs (Velotta). Through its recently launched UberPool, Uber enables customers who might use the same route to share a ride. If a customer opts to share a ride, they are informed of the first name of the other rider as well as who will be picked first. Since a customer is able to track the movement of the car before they are picked, they can also track the location of their ride partner. This development has been seen to infringe on privacy and cause concerns among conservatives. Externally, the company faces stiff competition from similar companies. Uber’s rivals like Lyft and Sidecar have successfully copied the business model of Uber and offer competition in some cities of operation. Protests have also come from drivers and workers of other taxi companies in various cities in the world. The protestors have argued that Uber’s different competitive services are unfair to traditional drivers because they deprive them of customers (Kingsmill). In that case, the drivers are unable to make a living and are sometimes rendered jobless.

Recommendations

Uber has built a successful business model, which it continues to operate. However, there are two key areas that the company can improve its services. One area of improvement is the tracking services in all its service platforms. Uber needs to develop strict ethical standards that will not upset their drivers and customers. These standards should conform to privacy regulations and not interfere with the law in the areas that it operates.
Secondly, Uber should allow for customers to directly tip the drivers. Tipping is a sign of equity, that the drivers are doing their job well. Allowing tipping would certainly increase job satisfaction and motivation for the drivers. It would also make customers that want to tip happy because they are able to appreciate the service given by drivers. If Uber does not wish for physical cash tips, it can make provisions in its Uber app for customers to directly pay a tip to a driver after a ride.

Conclusion

Uber continues to grow rapidly as transport service provider. The company relies on its network of satisfied drivers to continue its extensive expansion. Uber’s online app as well as its social media corporate communications has made it easily accessible and convenient for riders and drivers. More and more people are expected to use Uber services on a regular basis in the coming years. However, the tracking customers and employees as well as tipping should be addressed. Uber is also trying its hand in developing new services for customers in other delivery services. It hopes the success will be realised in its new ventures.

Works Cited

Kingsmill, Denise. "Uber Is Starting To Look As Hungry For Growth As Amazon Is - And
There's Not Much London's Black-Cab Drivers Can Do About It." Management Today (2014): 20. ProQuest. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
Velotta, Richard N. "Uber Eyeing Vegas, and Cab Companies Not Happy." Las Vegas
Business Press 31.20 (2014) ProQuest. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.