Image taken from Uber‘s Website

On Halloween night, a woman from San Diego was unknowingly charged $92 for a mere 2.7 mile taxi ride, thanks to Uber. Their excuse? Surge pricing was in effect, a rate increase that only occurs during busy times. Her excuse? She wasn’t notified, contrary to the company’s promise. After this day, this once loyal customer, had ended her 2 year relationship with Uber.

In articles like these, there are often two sides of the story, and it is difficult to determine who’s at fault in this case. 
To argue against the woman, she could have simply missed the notification, or was not paying attention. On the other hand, it could have been a technical error on Uber’s part. Their app could have had a bug, thus, resulting in zero alerts to the user.

Either way, I believe it is of great importance for Uber to make this surge pricing information vividly clear, especially if they want to retain customer loyalty.  In order to maintain a good customer relationship, it is necessary to establish a close understanding with the user. Otherwise, misunderstandings occur and the company’s promises appears like a fraud (for example, Uber’s reputation has been tainted by the “F” rating “The Better Business Bureau”).

News of bad customer relationships spread much quicker than good customer relationships. Uber’s next steps? They must compromise with the woman through a refund, as well as further adjustments to their app, making sure bugs are fixed. Another unsatisfied review could potentially disrupt more customer relationships, making consumers switch to another taxi service app.