Thursday, 7 April 2016

Black & Yellow taxis versus Private players- who will you choose?

Recently in Mumbai we have had a couple of strikes by Autorickshaw and Taxi Unions protesting against the competition brought on by private players like Uber, Ola and others. Seriously? Can you really protest against competition in today's world?

Yes you can protest against monopoly and price cartels - if these big private taxi services joined hands to charge prices below costs, simply to eliminate other competition. But there is no cartel here. Everybody has their own pricing. Some are offering discounts on first rides or on occasions, but for these new players in the market - this is a completely logical thing to do.

But consider this - at present, even if they do not offer significant discounts or offers, these services are slowly getting very popular with the consumers. Me for one. Why? Service. The customer first philosophy, which ought to be the norm in this age, is not really common in the older players. How? Let me explain.

I try to catch an auto or a taxi near my home to a place which is not too far, but I need to get there urgently. Do I get one? 6 out of 10 drivers will say they are not interested, 1 may claim he is going home and not taking any fares now. 3 may drive you to your destination. And in all this, you lose precious time haggling. Of those who drive you to your destination 1 in 3 will not have any change, so either you pay the exact fare, or he keeps the balance with himself - an added bonus for him.

All in all, in most cases, there is no respect shown for either the customer, his time or his money. Then why protest when someone else does what you don't want to do anyway. Another issue is the state of the vehicle - either autorickshaws or taxis, I doubt most of them meet any Bharat standards of emission, many are pretty old and rickety - and the overall comfort level in travelling in such vehicles is almost nil.

For all those protesting, my simple answer is this:
1. Do not refuse customers that come to you - whatever the distance
2. Be polite and honest
3. Do not cheat or overcharge or refuse to provide change
4. Maintain your vehicles - nobody likes a shaky ride
5. Drive safely

And if you do all of the above, your customers will keep coming to you. Whatever the pricing of the private players, they do charge some premium for their AC services and convenience, that not everybody wants to pay for. Be available for your customers and they will be loyal to you, and there will never be any need to worry about competition.

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