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- [00:01]
A
Welcome to we fixed it.
- [00:02]
B
You're welcome.
- [00:03]
A
The show where we take over companies.
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B
You come along for the ride, and.
- [00:08]
A
We try to put them back better than we found them. It's that time of year again. Yeah, it's the holidays. Who cares? It's also the end of our season. So break out the ugly sweaters. Because we have a tradition of our own as fearless fixers. That's us. Our work is never done. Things keep breaking and we keep fixing them. But this time, that's not our problem. We get to relax and put our feet up because this time, you all did the fixing for us. You picked the companies, shared what you'd want to fix about them and how you'd do it. All we have to do is listen and tell you what we think. I feel up to the challenge. All right, let's do it. Before we do, thank you to everyone who submitted a fix to throw at us. We love hearing from you all. Like, last time we did this on the show, our producer picks it out for us and whatever we don't get to, we may just use on a future episode. At the end, I'll share how you can send in your own fix if you missed it. So, yeah, let's get straight into it. Here is our first crowdsource fix.
- [01:10]
C
Hi, my name's Kristen calling from Austin, Texas, and I'm curious about the carnival rewards program changing. As a frequent cruiser and somebody who's been loyal to carnival, I have reached platinum status. And with the new changes, Carnival is saying that too many people have become platinum and diamond. And so they're going now on a reward system where you earn your points based on how much money you're spending, not on how loyal you are to the company prior you receive your platinum or diamonds. That is based on how many nights you stayed on the ship. I'm curious how this is going to affect carnival and reading on social media. People are very frustrated about this and are starting to look at other cruise lines, and I'm wondering if there could have been a better system for grandfathering in platinum and diamond members to keep their loyalty. I wish that we had been given an opportunity to be more creative instead of just giving us a deadline and the system being only to spend more money, perhaps they could have taken better care of their customers by all of the people who are platinum and diamond at this point to be able to pick a reward that they're able to use each cruise. My favorite is to be able to board first and also to disembark first at the end of the cruise, if they had been able to say, hey, you're not going to get everything, but we're going to let you pick every time you cruise and keep the platinum status, that would have felt a lot better.
- [03:00]
A
All right, so Kristen is willing to make some compromises, say, okay, loyalty programs are getting crowded. I know there might be some trade offs and it's a classic case of alienating your best customer base. So what do you think about what Kristin's proposing here?
- [03:16]
D
You know, one of the first things that I think about when companies are changing their loyalty programs or increasing fees or all of those things is communicating the why and communicating early so that customers have an opportunity to prepare for it, whether it's financially, emotionally or otherwise. And, and so, you know, I'm not super familiar with Carnival's loyalty program, so I can't speak to all of the ins and outs. You know, maybe they did, but, you know, from the company side, that's always the recommendation that I have and the approach that I would take. Again, just helping the customer just prepare, especially now. And I think at any point, customers are always thinking about their wallets and they're also thinking about the loyalty that they've shown to their preferred, again, in this case, cruise line, hotel, credit card, what have you. So just helping them understand the why. You know, maybe there was or is an opportunity. It sounds like this is already rolled out. But I think the other thing is taking some sort of phased approach, I think would be another good opportunity. Again, it kind of eases the customer into what might be happening and. Or the other thing that is a possibility that could be done and I've seen done, is saying, okay, customers that have been with us for a long time, we're going to keep it the same for you for this year or even into next year. Again, it gives more time, it gives you time to prepare. That also shows some loyalty. If you're a new customer coming on, here's the new program. But if you've been with us for a number of years, we're going to kind of roll this out or phased approach over the next year so that again, you've got time to plan. So I think few of the ways that when I think about helping customers kind of absorb the shock, if you will, of changes that could have gone a long way. I think on the customer side, customers expect changes to happen. Whether we like it or not, we expect the changes to happen. But again, I think it's also in the how it's done and the why. And that goes a long way in communication.
- [05:10]
E
I agree a hundred percent. Communication is non negotiable. I think you have to be transparent. They obviously have not done a great job of explaining besides the fact that it's going from X to Y, it's not necessarily. Also makes the person who's been a loyal customer, like Kristen feel very good. Right. Because it's, it's kind of a surprise. And so I love what you've said, Kadira, about a phased in approach because I think part of loyalty programs is creating a sense of community. Right. You're creating that like, oh, we're like high, we, we're high volume travelers. We always do this but you know, around our big milestones in our lives, graduations and birthdays and things like that. And so it's more, it's more than just miles, it's more than just dollars. So it's really important to kind of understand that that's what drives loyalty. And so I love the idea of sunsetting an old program gracefully. But there has to be that clear communication and transparency about what's in it in the future. And I think that it needs to be more than 10% off. It needs to be more thinking about like what were the key fundamental pillars of those loyalty programs and what drove people to get into the highest standard status. You know, I always lap because also when we've had companies merge and then they've broken up and things like that. And so it really kind of convolutes the loyalty programs when you think about it. Like when you think about an airlines for example, which is very similar I think to the cruises, you know, I remember when somebody got bought and the other people bought them, USA or whatever it was. And remember going to like board and there were like nine categories of like diamond, platinum, sapphire. And then it was like this whole other tier, like tiger, you know, cub, whatever. Yeah, it didn't even match, you know. And so by the time like I was like what the. I am so confused about when I am supposed to be boarding. But like it has to be intentional, it has to be thought through. And I do think it needs to be focused on the end all client. I love what you said about the why, but I also think for companies the ultimate test is always that so what? And we've used that question a lot when we've talked about, you know, within our podcast episodes is like, so what? Who cares? Right? And so does this make my life better, my relationship better with this brand stronger? Like what is the purpose of changing things up. And if you can answer that clearly and communicate that with empathy and transparency, guess what? You're going to take care of your customers through the change.
- [07:58]
A
Yeah, for sure.
- [07:59]
D
Yeah.
- [07:59]
A
What consumers and especially loyal customers don't like is that feeling that the rules have changed. You know, I did everything you asked and then it's still not good enough. You know, you changed it on me. So I was, I hit the mileage tier and then I was platinum, but now there's a sapphire level and you tell me I can't have it. You get that petulant little kid feeling of like, wait a minute, it's not fair. So if it's an idea. So I do. I like everything you're both saying about a phased approach or clear communication, especially to your most loyal customers. And I, I like what Kristen's saying about the adaptive or adaptable loyalty program. So don't just tell me I can't have that or I can't have any of it or I can't have some of it. Let me know what I can have or let me be a partner in choosing. But so especially like with customer experience and also the logistics of it, is it practical to let everyone have these like hyper personalized customized experiences at scale in something like a cruise or an airline? Like, it gets the management of that side of things. It's really tricky too. You can mess up there and, and disappoint on that level too.
- [09:01]
E
I totally agree with you, but I do think we're in an age where you can leverage data to personalize those experiences. And I think that what you can also do is offer tiered, segmented experiences that are a little different and the personalization goes more from like just my miles equals X amount of dollars. Right. But like having almost like a menu of benefits that you can choose from, I think is the best way to move forward with that because you've provided the structure and the framework in that menu. Right. Like those are things that you're willing to actually do as a company, but then you're allowing the person to say, yeah, you know, what for me is more important is getting that experience. So like I want to be invited to a members only experience of a dinner with the chef on, on the cruise. Right. Like, I would rather have that than get maybe upgraded to a different cabin because I'm already going to pick the cabin I want. Right. You know, and so again, I think like having that availability do the choices that are really personalized, but also like, to your point, Erin, keeping those within the scope of what that business is. So if the business is cruises, think about that. Like what about what are the different kinds of things that you can offer from a loyalty perspective? It's the offshore experiences, right? That this is kind of like the secret menu, you know, people, only if you're in this platinum tier for the cruises are you going to be offered this horseback riding on the beach with a dinner and whatever, whatever, you know, every else is going to be going into the marketplace or whatever. So I think that's possible. I think that in today's world, with just the mass amount of data we have to be able to utilize it that way is something that will really help to drive loyalty and retention.
- [10:57]
A
Yeah, totally agree. And my biggest caution is if you come up with a consolation prize or a new evolution of what the rewards look like or what your experience looks like when you can't have something and you feel like it's being taken away from you and then there's a compromise or some kind of agreement that has to stand up, like, well, you know, I chose the other experience. Well, we don't offer that anymore. We just continued that. You know, that's where you lose people and they do a mass exit is. And they say, we gave you a chance and now we don't trust you. So whenever you come to a new level of understanding with your customers, especially your loyal customer base, and they say, okay, now deliver on this new thing you told us about. If that doesn't hold their attention, if that's not what you agreed to and you don't come through on that, they're out. And they have every right to be. Right?
- [11:41]
B
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- [12:42]
E
It's accountability. We've always talked about that. It's about corporate responsibility, and it's about integrity and character that the company carries through. I think that that's really important. And, you know, I think that you often talk about this Kadira, but, like, having that understanding of every action you take, every word you say, every inaction you says something right? So, like, it's really the responsibility, corporate responsibility of the cruise lines to really do right by these loyal customers, because that's what's gotten them to the profitability that they're at now. That's what's gotten them to the fact that, like, they have. I mean, they have a good thing. They have, like, too many people wanting to join their loyalty program.
- [13:26]
D
Right.
- [13:26]
E
You know, that's a great thing. You know, because they're. I mean, cruises, there have been issues. So, like, it's a great thing for them. But this is like a turning point because we've seen this with big companies with big brands where they choose maybe an easy route. They choose a route that is not necessarily really aligned to what their moral mission is, and you just. It ends up making things a lot worse. So jump on the opportunity.
- [13:59]
A
All right, thank you, Kristen. Let's go on to our next.
- [14:03]
F
Hi, my name is Jack Oliphant, and I am the founder and CEO of Oliphant Strategies, a revenue operations consultancy out of Santa Monica, California. And my big fix is for Amazon's baby registries. You should be able to delay shipping. Not everyone lives in a big house. And for those of us in apartments with limited space for all the generous gifts that our friends and family are able to give us, need a place to store. So instead of having to go out and get a storage unit, I think you should be able to delay shipping by two to three months on Amazon's baby registries. So that's my big fix. What do you think?
- [14:43]
E
I think Jax brought up a very good point. I think it's also not just baby registry. I think it's wedding registries, too. Right? Any list that's a large gift list, like, you think about that. That brings up a really good point of. And also with all of the porch pirates these days, like, do you want those things delivered somewhere safe? Right. That is a very interesting thing. And with the baby registry, right, And a wedding registry, you get to choose where it gets delivered. So it would be Interesting. If they said, yeah, for, you know, we would love to just have a list of everything that was purchased so that we can thank everybody. But we would like it delayed because we' moving after we get married or, you know, da, da, da. And we'd love to have that delayed for up to X amount of months. I think that's a great idea. I love that.
- [15:36]
D
I love that. Not even if I'm having a baby or getting married. I mean, there's just times where, you know, I need to order something. But maybe I'm traveling or I am going to be out of town and maybe it's not a month's delay. You know, if someone's living in an apartment or like you said, even in a neighborhood. Even the safest neighborhood, right? Those porch pirates are, you know, taking things and so. Wow, that would be so cool. I don't know if this exists. I feel like they probably are thinking about this, but, like, is there an opportunity? This kind of takes us off the path, but is there an opportunity for, like, even lockers? Right? And maybe they already do this, but, you know, maybe for a couple of extra bucks, your packages can go to this locker. Now, probably not for two or three months, right? In the. In the case of like, a baby or wedding registry, but like, even that in between time of like, hey, I can't get this at home right now, but I need it to go somewhere and it can't come to my house at this time. So I love that fix. That would be so cool. And I can't imagine they're not working on this.
- [16:34]
A
I've seen the lockers. I haven't seen them as much recently. Does seem like a Covid era phenomenon, but I'm sure it's situational dependent of where you live. And if it makes sense for you to receive deliveries or pricey deliveries at home versus, you know, somewhere where you can go retrieve it. But yeah, can we take it a step further? And why registries only? Why couldn't we. Amazon has subscribe and Save, so I can order something now and get it again in three months. What if I want something? I'll be. I'll pay for it now. Maybe I'll even pay a premium for it now. But I want it while it's in stock, and I want it in advance of something that I need it for later. And I don't want to think about it later. So I want, you know, I want to make sure that I get it and it's. It's in my head right now. Why Don't I order something and maybe I want it up to a year from now. Could I be a viable customer for that?
- [17:20]
D
I mean, again, I think it's a cool idea. The, the thing that I'm thinking about on the business side is like how they manage that inventory and you know, is it just sitting there? I mean, you paid for it, right? I've paid for it. And so if I wanted a six months from now, I want it from a year, I want it, right? Like, I don't want to hear that it's now out of stock because 10 other people or a hundred or a thousand other people have ordered it. And so how companies are going to or would manage, like in this case Amazon, you know, would manage. If you order something a year from now, we're going to make sure that working with Plyer or, or whatever that they're going to have it and it's going to be available. I think that's going to be an interesting thing that they would have to manage. But again, I, I love the idea and I, again, I don't feel that they are that far off from developing something like this.
- [18:09]
E
I do think that they have some personalization of those lists. But to Aaron's point, it's, it's an interesting concept about the delayed like, or even having that as set as a preference, right? So like when we set preferences for communication, we say we want an email or we want snail mail, whatever, whatever. Similarly, like when we think about porch pirates, for example, like, we could set it up and say we only want deliveries on like the days that you may know that you're actually going to be at your place of residence. Right? So you could say, I only want deliveries on Sunday and Monday because that's when I'm actually at my house. Right. I think that would be a very cool thing. And I know that like, you know, on Amazon prime right now, they have it set up, structured that like, they give you the choices like the fastest is, you know, tomorrow morning at 5am which people are like, okay, I guess some people want that. Or you can do it anytime tomorrow. Or you can put all your Amazon packages together and deliver them on Amazon Tuesday or whatever the day is, right? So they do give you a little bit of that. But I think that it's not to the point of, you know, personalized to what your actual needs might be. And I really love that because I think that there are a lot of different situations where that could be very helpful. For example, my husband's in a wine club and so you have to have somebody over 21 to sign when. When they come. And then also, you know, it was the same kind of thing that, like when we lived in San Antonio and they would, they would be like, we're not going to send them to you. They'll wine to you during the summer months because it's 110 outside and there's no way we can ensure that it's not going to boil. So those are the kinds of things that I think it's an interesting concept and I think it can be, you know, really set across many. It's just logistically, can they do that? I think they can. I think they're probably already kind of doing that, but not to the nth degree.
- [20:07]
A
Yeah. And it's also investing in price features too. You ever go to your Amazon cart and then it says, oh, you have something in your cart and it went up by $7 or it went down by $0.30 or, you know, so if you buy something now, you're kind of locking it in at today's price. And it could be, you know, if you want it seven months from now or in the future, you're playing the long game, I guess, and trying to game the odds by saying, is this, this commodity going to go up or down from today's price?
- [20:34]
E
It's funny because I just saw something online like literally today. So this is an interesting thing. And somebody posted on social media, they were like, wasn't there a time where a subscription to Amazon prime got it tomorrow? Because now that that's not guaranteed. And so it's like, why are we paying for Amazon prime again if we're not getting everything tomorrow? Like, kind of a good point. We kind of gotten. Gotten habituated into a way of things kind of was. I think it had to, you know, they kind of slipped when Covid happened because everybody was ordering everything online, you know, so it was kind of like, okay, you know, and then it never went back.
- [21:10]
A
Yeah, and Amazon Prime's another one of those, those loyalty subscriber programs where you get everything, but then you get Amazon Video, but then you get it with ads or you get Amazon Music, but it's very restrictive. So we got you in, you know, and you're part of the. But the rules are going to change a little bit. And they've been, you know, they've explained along the way. So I'm not faulting them for it. What, what comes at the base level of prime membership, when they introduce prime plus or Prime Premium, and then you start paying more for what you used to have, it's a delicate balance. But Jack, we're with you. We think Registry, at least delaying the shipment for Registry, that's kind of a no brainer. So we're with you on that. Thank you. All right, we've got another. Here we go.
- [21:52]
G
Hey, Erin, it's Kathy Seabuck, the founder of marketecture, located in San Diego. So I was reading this week that Amazon is planning to cut ties with the US Postal Service in 2026 because they're now going to be delivering their own packages. We all know that the post office has been struggling for decades. The lines are long, they rarely have enough staff. And when you go there, it's usually not the best experience. Now add on to that the federal cuts this year and if this partnership is going to go south, that's only going to be another blow. So here's an idea. Maybe the post office needs to expand its partnerships with local grocery stores. They're already in Staples, so now maybe just add Aldi or Trader Joe's or Albertsons or if you're on the East Coast, Wegmans, Harris Teeter, pick one and set up a mail counter in the grocery store. So just like you would have staff to do a cashier checkout, then you could rotate that staff to actually manage the mail counter. I know as a small business owner, I have to mail out at least one or two packages a month. Definitely get stamps and anything else from the post office. So why not do all of that while I'm grocery shopping? Saves me time, gas and a trip.
- [23:10]
E
So food for thought.
- [23:11]
G
I'm curious to hear what you think.
- [23:14]
D
I was going to say. I mean that there are, I think it's Walmart, for example. I mean we, if you go in any of the like big box stores or like a Walmart, they do have kind of that front of the store concept where you've got other retailers set up. And so, yeah, what's stopping the post office from also, you know, using some of that space? And I love the idea of like, hey, if I'm already in here shopping and I don't want to drive across town to go and wait at the post office line, I can just do it while I'm already here picking up a sewing kit or getting my tires changed. So I love that. You know, I sometimes wonder if, you know, with all the bureaucracy and all the things with, you know, the U.S. postal Service, like, could those types of partnership happen as easily as like, you know, say some of the other, like a retailer for Example and, or like, what is stopping them from making that happen again? I imagine, again, when I think about folks sitting around some of these brainstorming tables and thinking about, you know, how do we show up more efficiently, provide better customer service? Like one, are there teams asking those questions? I would imagine they are. But then, you know, are these types of like partnerships where it's like, how can we help with foot traffic? How can we join forces? How can we create partnerships to show up for the cut for the customer and the public? Are those questions that the U.S. postal Service is asking? I don't know. I don't know. But I definitely think it's, this would be a really cool opportunity. So I'm definitely with you on that. The others are doing it. Why shouldn't they?
- [24:40]
E
I would agree a hundred percent. It's very much. If you think about it, it's also, it makes so much sense. You know, for a long time I, this is dating me. But like, you know, you could. When you used to get your groceries, they'd ask you, you know, this is not self checkout. This is when there's a cashier, they'd say, hey, do you need stamps? Do you need cigarettes? Do you need, you know, like anything behind the counter kind of thing? And they always had stamps in their tray, right? And you could get, you know, a book of stamps or you could even get a roll of stamps. To me it makes sense that it's the idea of convenience, right? And you know, when you think about if you've ever had to return something from Amazon, so gosh, we keep talking about them, but if you ever had to return anything from Amazon, like now you can go to Whole Foods, right? Because Whole Foods actually is Amazon. So they have a kiosk where you can return something. And I've had it happen where there's a line at the kiosk and the guy at the counter where he's selling, literally selling flowers is like, hey, bring over your Amazon return. I can do it for you. And scans it and then puts it. And he's probably going to put it in the big bin later on, right? But like super easy, super convenient, you know, And I agree that I think that like not just grocery stores, but stores where you actually even like those kinds of big box stores where you're actually maybe having to send something to like buying something and then sending something would be a great opportunity, right? Like at a Barnes and Noble or you know, just those kinds of things where you're able to like build that muscle and get that training of people to think, oh, like this is where I can get all my things done. And it's the busy holiday season, I don't need to go drive to the post office and wait in line there. I'm already in line here for other things. So I love that idea. I think it's a great idea and I definitely think they should start with a big partnership with, you know, Kroger's or somebody, you know, Publix or whoever it might need to be and vet it out. I just, I think that's a great idea.
- [26:55]
D
When you mentioned like, for example, like kiosk, it had me thinking like the last time I was at the post office and you all have probably seen this as well, they have a kiosk and it's self serve. So maybe that's what you test. Right, exactly.
- [27:06]
C
Maybe you should see how many people.
- [27:08]
E
Actually would use it.
- [27:09]
D
Right, exactly. And right.
- [27:11]
E
Vending machine, you know, the venting stamps and tape and all the things. I think that's, that is how you kind of lean into it and then see like, oh, you know, this is, you know, we're getting a lot of traction here. And then maybe you do need a person there, maybe you don't.
- [27:27]
A
Maybe you exactly figured out how to, how to shoehorn Starbucks in the grocery stores. And there's no more red box kiosks. So there's room for, there's some space for the post office.
- [27:37]
E
I really, actually I think that's a great idea. I love the idea of starting with the kiosks and seeing like again what the demand is. Right. I think that it is interesting going, you know, because some of those post offices are, are pretty big spaces. Right? Well, and I get it because they're distributing mail, you know, that they might be the hub for distributing mail for a city or whatever. But like when you think about it and you think about like the mailing mail, mailboxes, et cetera, or the UPS stores, you know, those are in little spaces. And so I do feel like, you know, you could definitely get your little space in big box store.
- [28:14]
A
I don't know, I don't know if you heard of this before that, that Amazon is talking about creating their own delivery service or competitive delivery service with the postal service. Do you think they'll actually do it? Do you think it's just, it's for some type of price consideration or is it, it's just for attention? Do you think that they're actually sitting down and working out the logistics, investing in a service that maybe will Compete with, if not replace the Postal Service with something, with something privatized. Is that even a, you know, is that. Is that a point of consideration?
- [28:49]
D
I don't know if they'll ever replace the Postal Service again, regardless of, you know, all the things, right, the long lines, the experience you have, whatever, replacing. Maybe not, but I don't think it's a bad idea at all given what they do and how they do it and what they promise. And if they want to get back to, you know, being able to deliver your packages overnight, why not? Again, the rumors are true. And I've also heard that buzzing around. I am so surpr if they don't actually move forward with it and figure out how to make it happen. Now, I do think they think there's strength in numbers and all the partnerships we see with, you know, again, the Postal Service. And I've had Amazon packages delivered from, you know, I believe other carriers even. And so I'm like, oh, this is cool. Someone just pulls up in their car, right? It's not even marked. And I'm like, oh, great. You know, as long as you can get it here fast. And so, yeah, they absolutely should be thinking about, you know, a broader, bigger, like, way to transport everything that they do. And again, now that, you know, they own Whole Foods and. Yeah, absolutely. Why not?
- [29:55]
E
I agree with Khadira. I don't know that that's necessarily their end goal, Aaron. I think their end goal is controlling their delivery logistics and. And mapped right. Currently. So I think, to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if the reason they're cutting ties with the post office is because they're a really crappy partner. There's too much red tape. It's bureaucratic. We can't trust them. You know, there's usually notes on delivery. Like, I have notes. I live up in the mountains. I have notes on my delivery, like, delivered to the front door. And our mail person will constantly just leave it on the side of the road. Right? And it's snow, you know, whatever. And, you know, I'm lucky the elk are the ones that are going to eat my packages, not anybody else. But that's annoying, you know, And I feel like that's the kind of service. Then I bitched to Amazon about that. And it's not them. It's because they. They had the US Postal Service deliver, and they're like, it's printed on there. Delivered to front door. And they still don't. Right. So I have a feeling that it's a control issue. And it's a partnership issue, and it's that they don't like how that partnership is going, and they feel like they can do a better job. Kadira, like, having their own fleet, which they do. They have their own fleet of vans. You see them everywhere. Getting partners who will 99% of the time get it there on time and will accept responsibility if they do not. I just have a feeling that because it's so bureaucratic with the U.S. postal Service and they're having their own issues, like, you know, who knows what's going on there, that they're trying to figure out what is the best way for us to move forward. And so I do think it's corporate control issue. I think it's also, it would be great if there was some privatization of the U.S. postal Service to make it more efficient, but I'm not sure that that's like, something Amazon wants to take on now. I mean, who knows? Because I think that Amazon has looked at other different things. They've looked at, you know, insurance. They've looked at different things and realized, oh, wait a minute, like, you know, let's get back to our bread and butter. Right? And so, again, I think it's a great idea, but I don't know that that's something that they, I, I would, I would think that they have bigger things to go after than that. Let the Postal Service flail on their own. Right, okay.
- [32:25]
A
But we're not against Amazon entering into that.
- [32:28]
E
No, no, no, no. But I, I, I mean, I'd like them to fix some other things first, so I think they could.
- [32:34]
A
All right, well, Kathy, thank you. And of course, you know, retailers want to maximize every square footage that they can of their, their retail footprint. So, yeah, let's go for it. Put it in a post office. Why not? We have time for one more.
- [32:48]
F
Hi, Aaron. My name is Chris. I work in marketing. I live in New York City. I've got a fix for Uber. I wish they would introduce real loyalty tiers, like airlines do, say, like a bronze, silver, gold, platinum. And then each one of them could have perks. Like, for instance, like a priority pickup, automatic surge protection, maybe, and then maybe like a free upgrade to Uber comfort. I feel like people who use Uber a lot would stick with it even more. So what do you think of my fix for Uber?
- [33:21]
D
I like this one, too. I definitely have thought about, you know, I, I use Uber quite a bit, and I absolutely have thought, like, hey, you know, how are they going to reward me? Shouldn't they be rewarding me for the upgrade that I'm, you know, already engaging in here. And so the fact that, like, this thought that, like, reward me for this or even like, again, the surge pricing that you just called out, I love that. Right? Because let me tell you, I've been in different cities, let's say, for an event, and again, I'm a very loyal Uber rider, but the surge pricing gets me, or there's been times where I've been coming back home at the airport waiting for an Uber surge pricing. So again, based on the amount of times that I use an Uber, I would love if there was some sort of loyalty program that I could tap into. I love that. Why are they not thinking about this? Let's make it happen.
- [34:12]
E
Well, they have kind of this interesting. They have like, Uber one or something like a subscription program. But I don't think that's the same as what Chris is talking about, which I love what he's talking about. And I agree. Especially when you have a lot of people that use Uber now. It's like a lot of business travel. It's any, any type of travel, Right. You know, it's, it's just a. To me, it makes a lot of sense. I love that. Like, maybe you could pick, just like we were talking about with the cruise, you could pick what you wanted your perks to be. So if for him, because of he's using it for commuting, he might say, I want to protect against search pricing because I'm always traveling during commute hours. That's what I do. Right. Another person might be like, I want priority pickup because I'm using it to go to bars and to restaurants. And I, you know, a single woman in New York City, late night, I don't want to have to wait on the sidewalk for very long. Right? So I love this idea. And then kind of customizing it, you know, based on what tier you're at or what you're. And you might be even willing to pay into that tier, right. To be able to say, okay, I want, you know, I want free Uber eats. That's what I want.
- [35:30]
D
Right.
- [35:30]
E
You know, that's what I, you know, so I, I just love that idea. I do think that they could expand it because currently their program is very. It's. To me, it seems very limited.
- [35:40]
D
I'm just using this, an example, you know, wrote an Uber 10 times this month. Give me 25 off, 50 off, upgrade me to Uber Black. Right? Because once you get a taste of that Uber Black, you don't want to go back yeah, right. And so, you know, you think about it like, that's also a way for them to potentially be upgrading. So I wrote an Uber Black because I got it as a freebie based on my loyalty program. I want Uber Black the next time I go out. So I'm going to order that right when I'm having, you know, date night or a special night out with my friends or what have you. I love the idea of being able to pick and choose. They absolutely should be cross promoting it with Uber Eats, right. So there is a lot of opportunity here. Again, I am just, just imagining when folks are sitting around those tables brainstorming why this hasn't come up. And maybe it has, right? I mean, I, I imagine that it has, but like, I would say rush to get that to market, right.
- [36:28]
E
And I think that there's a lot that you can do around personalization and customer segmentation, right? So understanding who your segment and customers are. If you're like a college student, right, Then, you know, you're using Ubers. Like I was mentioning going to bars, maybe going, you know, you know, maybe go in the airport once in a while, like once a semester, whatever. But like, Uber Eats is a perk they would want, right? Because college kids always are using Uber Eats. So, like, you would know to build that package for that customer segment and that customer profile. And I think the same goes for, like, what Chris is saying. As a business professional, I need a commuter package, right, that I'm using or for business traveler that I am going to, from city to city to city to city, all over the globe. I need to have some sort of thing that I, you know, that I don't have to think about, like, oh my gosh, now I'm in London. What do I do here? Right? You know what I mean? And, you know, having like those kind of programs that are really built for that customer profile, I think will would be amazing. Those kind of loyalty programs.
- [37:36]
A
Yeah, for sure. And synergy is a wonderful thing. So between getting you somewhere in Uber Eats and maybe other rewards programs that exist through credit card companies, you know, if they're already taking you somewhere, they can give you an experience too. So you didn't have a reason to leave the house, but now you do because Uber's taking you to this experience. Well, of course you're going to take an Uber to get there, but I do, I like the idea of that, that baseline level of rewards of like, yeah, I can choose what I want. I'm, I want Flex surge price protection, you know, and But I like that idea of like. And we got you, like. Yes, we, you know, you order the, the compact economy. We're sending you the nice one this time just because, you know those types of things. I think that would go a long way in, in making, creating preference for Uber. And then also, like I said, not just those functional rewards or functional benefits, but those surprise and delight ones. Yeah. Where. Okay, you know, I booked something standard and you're also giving me something really memorable.
- [38:38]
E
Well, I mean, like, I love the idea of like a business traveler having like an Uber concierge. So to your point, like you, you book it from the airport to the hotel. Right. And you're in a, you're, you're in Minneapolis. I've, I've never been there. I don't know where I'm going. Right. I'm, I'm going to a conference. And while you're going there, you get a notification from Uber that says these restaurants near your hotel. And we've curated that list based on the restaurants you've gone to because we know what your open table reservation list looks like. So we know that you love Indian food. We know that you love, you know, a great steakhouse. You know, and these are. Would you like to set up a reservation through OpenTable? Right. That would be like really kind of a cool experience where it's, it's, it's more and it's, it's leaning into partnerships and it's leaning into like really taking that rewards and up leveling it for sure.
- [39:37]
A
Would you like a reservation? We know you're not driving the night. First drinks on us.
- [39:41]
E
Yeah, yeah.
- [39:43]
A
Why not just feel taken care of. Yeah, I love that your rewards easier to the highest level.
- [39:48]
D
I mean, one, Uber hire Chris. But two, free game. This is, this is some good free game right here. I mean, and look, again, we're, we, I think all three of us were talking about, you know, again, whether we use Uber or we've used Uber Eats or whatever. And Chris has chimed in here. I mean, the customer would be all over this type of opportunity. And again, it's just going to drive their, you know, engagement and revenue and all the things up. So again, it's hard to imagine that they're not thinking about this, but it definitely should come into play.
- [40:23]
E
Yeah, I love that it kind of takes them to the next level because I think that they're personalization that's going on. Like, I know I, you know, one of the things I love, like when I get a lift in San Francisco, it knows that I would like, I would prefer a female driver and I love that. It's, it'll tell you, it'll say, you know, there's only X amount available at this time. So are you willing to wait 10 minutes? And I'm like, yeah, of course I'm willing to wait 10 minutes. Some people are right. Depending on your situation. Again, it's that personalization of understanding what your needs are and what you're willing to compromise and not. And I think that, like building that kind of relationship with your overall customers. Because Uber has a lot of competition now. You've got competition. You've got Wayo, you've got Lyft, you've got other, you know, driving, the original driving services, you have taxis, you still have all of those things. So how do you differentiate and how do you keep your customers coming back? I think you're going to have to be creative.
- [41:21]
A
Yeah, totally. And I like that. Leaning on the experiences too, so as they can get more predictive with your data and find out what your other interests are. You know, would you like tickets to this show and to be picked up and dropped off for this? Here's the, here's the consumer price. Here's what your price is because you're one of us. You want in? Yeah, like I said, I wasn't necessarily going to go out that Thursday, but yeah, I want to do that. Right? Yeah. Here's my money.
- [41:47]
E
I like that. Yeah.
- [41:48]
D
To me it's like it's moving from transactional, which is what it feels like right now. I want a car. Come and pick me up, drop me off. We're done. Versus, you know, Melissa and Aaron, to your point, you know, now you're getting to know me as the customer and you're providing me with a well rounded, full experience and my ride is a part of that experience. So yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [42:12]
A
Well, Melissa Khadira, I'm not going to ask you whether we fixed it this time because we didn't do the fixes well. We polished them up a bit. Little, little bit. So it was a team effort. Thank you to everyone who sent in your fixes and for everyone listening, I hope you played along and said your own fixes out loud to what we were talking about, to no one in particular and got really steamed about them. If you want your own moment of glory on our show and there's a company that's been on your mind, send us your own fix to my fixefixeditpod.com. that's my fix@we fixeditpod.com you can also pitch yourself as a potential guest@wefixeditpod.com we're going to go hibernate, but don't go anywhere. We'll be hand picking and replaying our favorite episodes of the season starting next week. You won't want to miss it. Kadira and Melissa, I wish you the happiest of Happy Holidays. For all you fixaholics out there, thank you for listening and telling others and saying such nice things about our show. Happy Holidays to you. Keep an eye on those companies and we will see you next time.
- [43:12]
C
Time.
- [43:13]
A
We hope you enjoyed this episode of We Fixed It. You're welcome. We go into every episode somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice, or anything that would get us in trouble. All trademarks, IP and brand elements remain property of their respective owners.