[ramki.grandhi]

Ola trying ‘no cancellation’ feature called Prime Plus for select Bengaluru customers.

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/bu...-10678401.html

And they can also start putting cap on no.of cancellations drivers can do per day.

[PreludeSH]

Yeah. Every shortcoming taken care is a new feature.

What about some drivers who just park and dont move while you are waiting for them ?

[GTO]

Whoa! Isn't this supposed to be a "feature" by default? Now, we have to pay extra to ensure no cancellations?

Inspired by Ola:

- Car manufacturers are rolling out a "no breakdown" feature for 75k more than the ex-showroom price of the regular variants.

- Restaurants are thinking of a "no cold food guaranteed" feature for 5% of the bill (over & above the 10% service charge we already see).

- Hotels are coming out with a "no electricity cut" premium feature. If that works, they have already decided on "no water cut".

- Bike workshops are rolling out a new "we won't scam you" add-on for 200 rupees extra, per visit.

- Bisleri is putting the final touches on a new mineral water bottle called "Bisleri Plus" which guarantees no germs & no upset tummies. Will cost 25% more.

Instead of fixing the actual problem, these geniuses have come out with a way to charge extra money.

Related Thread 1 (New trend of Uber drivers | "Where do you want to go?")

Related Thread 2 (Has your Uber & Ola usage pattern changed in the last 2 - 3 years?)

[montsa007]

I had used Ola in the past, everytime (not almost, but everytime) the fare prior to starting the ride & fare after completing the ride would be different & on the higher side, checked with a few contacts of mine, they had the same concern. Switched to Uber, never faced this (price difference) issue.

As for ride cancellations, this should be an inbuilt feature without the need to pay anything extra, the driver should be able to see the destination (not sure if currently they can) if they accept it I don't see the need to be cancelled once they're on the way, they've accepted it right.

I had 1 instance where I had to wait for nearly 1 hour, since 3 drivers played foul (1 cancelled, 2nd assured he's coming but cancelled after nearly 10-15 minutes, 3rd one kept still about a kilometer away from my pickup spot I had to cancel the ride).

[ramki.grandhi]

Originally Posted by GTO

Whoa! Isn't this supposed to be a "feature" by default? Now, we have to pay extra to ensure no cancellations?

I totally understand and agree with sentiment echoed here. But we should also understand the fact that OLA is an aggregator, not a manufacturer or a restaurant owner. Aggregation is a much difficult process, as it involves dealing with individuals(drivers). Imagine a new cab aggregator starting a business and anounces, "Drivers shouldn't cancel" Or "Drivers should start immediately after accepting" Or "Drivers shouldn't sit idle for more than 10 minutes". They will have real tough time cracking this problem at scale, ie attracting new drivers. Most of us might've dealt with auto drivers, how many of us have positive experiences out of 100? Mostly drivers are the culprits here. Multiple times i hear this from drivers "Saarrr, please cancel the booking, and pay me directly".

All this boils down to how tough are local laws in India. Clearly drivers break the contract on daily basis, but is it practical to hold them accountable? or file a case on each driver?

I'm not saying that OLA is a saint here, we need to understand that its a very big/tough problem to crack unless all drivers are adehering to rules.

[Raghu M]

Originally Posted by ramki.grandhi

I totally understand and agree with sentiment echoed here. But we should also understand the fact that OLA is an aggregator, not a manufacturer or a restaurant owner. Aggregation is a much difficult process, as it involves dealing with individuals(drivers). Imagine a new cab aggregator starting a business and anounces, "Drivers shouldn't cancel" Or "Drivers should start immediately after accepting" Or "Drivers shouldn't sit idle for more than 10 minutes". They will have real tough time cracking this problem at scale, ie attracting new drivers. Most of us might've dealt with auto drivers, how many of us have positive experiences out of 100? Mostly drivers are the culprits here. Multiple times i hear this from drivers "Saarrr, please cancel the booking, and pay me directly".

All this boils down to how tough are local laws in India. Clearly drivers break the contract on daily basis, but is it practical to hold them accountable? or file a case on each driver?

I'm not saying that OLA is a saint here, we need to understand that its a very big/tough problem to crack unless all drivers are adehering to rules.

All valid points but I guess at the end of the day a customer has one response - not my problem! I think Ola and Uber have had their run and now it's going to be difficult. They can do whatever they want, bring in any feature or clause, at the end of the day they have to keep their drivers happy. The day it stops happening, the aggregators will start sinking. It may be a tough business, but they made millions out of it. The cancellations are a pain for any customer and if they have to pay a premium for it, I guess the premium will be pretty high. And they will not do any magic here, it will just pass the trip details to the next driver and have him at your doorstep. The customer will maximum bypass the process of speaking to the driver. It's a no brainer but I guess Ola wants to milk this situation as well.

[BleueNinja]

Originally Posted by ramki.grandhi

Ola trying ‘no cancellation’ feature called Prime Plus for select Bengaluru customers.

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/bu...-10678401.html

And they can also start putting cap on no.of cancellations drivers can do per day.

Well, the driver will simply refuse and ask the customer to cancel the ride. If customer is unwilling to do so he/she can wait but it won't work out for the customer because they are getting late or loosing on time. There have been N number of instances where the cab driver refused to cancel the ride and customer had to cancel and also pay an extra fees for cancelling the ride.

I remember taking a cab from Airport in Hyderabad and the driver had one phone to book rides from ola and one for uber. So while the ola ride is on hold they can go for a ride from uber.

I am not aware of the legalities behind it and how valid it is but that certainly was the case.

Edit: found a link where article covers cab drivers driving for ola and uber both. https://yourstory.com/2016/04/karnat...20aggregators.

[Malyaj]

Ola 'Prime Plus'?
Didn't know there was a 'Prime' in the first place.
What next? 'Ola Prime Plus Ultra'? (Driver will switch on the AC)
Ola Prime Plus Ultra Max? (Car is clean)
Ola Prime Plus Ultra Max Pro? (Customer support exists)
Ola Prime Plus Ulta Max Pro ++ (Driver will not talk on the phone all the time)

Jokes apart, I am willing to give the long rope to Ola. Let's see how well this works. Bringing the taxi / auto drivers to adhere to rules is not the easiest job. We can heap all the responsibility on the aggregator, but in the end it is a human problem too and there is a limit to what technology can achieve.

[lsjey]

I’m not sure if this will be any different from the normal bookings. The news article doesn’t provide any details on what they will do different to have no cancellations.

To reduce cancellation IMHO some of the following need to be implemented:

1. Allow the drivers to view the destination and the fare before accepting the ride.
2. Allow the drivers and customers to have a few price related discussions through the platform.
3. Increase the overall fare, and ensure that drivers get better revenues.

Regards,
Lsjey

[Chetan_Rao]

Reality is dawning, finally, that 'aggregating' is a 'pick any two' business: happy drivers, happy customers, sustainable.

The third aspect was propped up by VC funding so far, which in turn supported the other two. Now being squeezed to show a return, the aggregators in turn are trying to squeeze their 'driver partners' (~35% cut of fares) and customers (elevated per km rates), and realising no amount of 'market capture' can tie down a customer base. Ruin the customer experience, and watch your 'captured' market vanish into thin air.

Maybe 'aggregating' just isn't a viable business model, once stripped of the fancy MBA mumbo-jumbo?

[montsa007]

Originally Posted by lsjey

2. Allow the drivers and customers to have a few price related discussions through the platform.

Hasn't Indrive app already implemented this feature wherein consumer gets to negotiate the fare with driver before the journey? (Haven't used it, a few of my contacts suggested I try it once)

[thanixravindran]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

Maybe 'aggregating' just isn't a viable business model, once stripped of the fancy MBA mumbo-jumbo?

It is profitable only at scale and more importantly once monopolized. Every one else will be squeezed to the maximum once it is achieved. This is the dream of many modern aggregator start up founders.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by thanixravindran

It is profitable only at scale and more importantly once monopolized...

I'm yet to see evidence the 'monopolized' aspect is ever actually going to materialize, it's just a carrot hung on the VC horse's blinders.

Aggregators lured in both customers and drivers with 'deals', which everyone knew was market capture tactics rather than a permanently viable way of doing business.

Now that endless incentivisation with VC money is no longer an option, how are these aggregators making the transition from customer acquisition to retention?

From what I see so far, they aren't. If anything, there's increased customer spread as large aggregators struggle to offer the barest minimum (a cab when you need one), forget a consistent acceptable quality experience, and customers are beginning to patronize alternatives. This whole 'no cancellation if you pay me extra' is just insult to injury. 'Pay me more to do my expensive primary job I already suck at'.

Anecdotal sample that one admittedly can't read much into, but I've given up on using Uber as an airport cab option for a few years now, due to their rampant unreliability. I'm far from the only one I know in this boat.

Urban transportation is difficult to monopolise as a natural outcome, esp. with a terribly inconsistent product by any customer satisfaction measure.

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by GTO

- Bisleri is putting the final touches on a new mineral water bottle called "Bisleri Plus" which guarantees no germs & no upset tummies. Will cost 25% more.

Originally Posted by ramki.grandhi

I totally understand and agree with sentiment echoed here. But we should also understand the fact that OLA is an aggregator, not a manufacturer or a restaurant owner. Aggregation is a much difficult process, as it involves dealing with individuals(drivers).

Ola need not reinvent the wheel here, they can take inspiration from Swiggy or Zomato. Imagine ordering food and the delivery partner saying "I cannot come there, too much traffic. Please cancel your order !"

Originally Posted by lsjey

1. Allow the drivers to view the destination and the fare before accepting the ride.

Every time I get a call from the driver asking about the drop point, I wonder why this has not been implemented.

So simple, right? show the fare and the drop location, the guy who is will takes it. Saves the customers all the calls and repeated questions - Where are you going? How much is the fare? Cash or app payment? Whom are you meeting there? Does your wife know you wont be home for dinner?

[Everlearner]

I will rather wait for Ola prime plus pro which also ensures that the driver will swich on AC
or the Ola prime plus premium where the seats will be clean.