Managing Drivers in the On-Demand moving and Delivery economies
Zero Tolerance or Active Policing of Drivers by On-Demand Moving Apps
There are always bad actors in the On-Demand economy. We have seen Uber, Lyft, Phlatbed, and other companies dealing with this issue. Few of these platforms addressed this publicly. We will consider the aforementioned three that have handled this transparently. How well is this managed? Though all the platforms have a star rating system, some of them go a bit further. Moving human beings, versus moving items are two very different challenges.
Uber for example will suspend drivers who are rated 4 stars or lower. Phlatbed on the other hand maintains a very public zero tolerance policy for drivers. One simple offence no matter how minimal and the driver is permanently banned from the platform. Does this go far enough? Trust is the cornerstone of the gig economy. An Uber driver who flirts with a passenger is unacceptable behavior. This makes the news constantly. A Phlatbed driver that pulls a no-show, or is unresponsive clearly violates Phlatbed policies. Customers pay for a ride by a stranger, or in the case of Phlatbed having you pick up and deliver a valuable item of theirs. While Uber moves human beings, you can’t place a dollar value of human lives. Phlatbed moves items….so a $200 chair is just that. From the company’s Facebook page, an excerpt reads;
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“Update: Phlatbed maintains a zero tolerance policy towards abusive or inappropriate language internally, and externally. This is grounds for automatic suspension from the Phlatbed platform.
This includes Drivers, Customers, our Staff, and partners.
Phlatbed supports our Drivers, Customers, Staff, and Partners while ensuring transparency and accountability.”
Trust is a fundamental part of the ondemand model. “The marketplaces are generally peer-to-peer markets, where you can determine other people’s experiences with you,” says Benecke. “If you’re renting a particular service, a community can rate a particular service. Users rate providers, and users are rated by buyers.” This mutual feedback mechanism ensures quality, while the market stabilizes pricing and value.
On Moving, everyone has been there….new job, new city, new apartment and the dreaded occasional furniture or item purchase and getting it home. A simple walk through IKEA and you know this feeling all too well. You have some options to move your things. Here are 4 usual options to choose from when moving and item(s):
- Renting a truck (U-Haul nightmares)
- Professional movers (and the quote based games they play)
- The PODs container move (good luck with that)
- The Friend Move (don’t ruin your friendship)
Ok so, the “Friend Move” is the one that so many of us are familiar with. The “buddy with a truck move”…the “Hi, we haven’t connected in a while, but can we use your truck, or your dads truck?”move…the “I’ll buy you pizza and beer” move.
While this move capitalizes on friendship, it’s free (or a pizza and beer might suffice). It’s often inconsistent, and in almost every case it’s based on the other person’s schedule. They can reschedule and/or cancel at any time. Some issues to consider are;
- The tricky friendship zone issue calling in favors
- The endless list of things to do during the move
- Takes longer than always estimated
- The tricky friendship IOU as a result
- Your move happens on their schedule!
Using an on-demand moving & delivery app capitalizes on availability and flexibility. You can track your item in real time, chat with your driver in the app, and get your items where you want it, when you want it.
Technology has helped the on-demand marketplace grow. According to a survey conducted by Burson-Marsteller, 45 million Americans today are offering goods and services in the sharing economy used by 86.5 million Americans. This has been to the benefit of the direct consumer and the provider ecosystem.
People are more inclined to trust someone with an established service and good reviews. This feedback mechanism is the currency within these ecosystems…good data!
These firms bring significant economic, environmental, and entrepreneurial benefits including an increase in employment and a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions (in the case of car sharing services for example).
Cheers!
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