Uber CEO: We'll Run Your Errands

mpicpp writes with Uber's latest plans for expansion. The future of Uber is about pharmacies and rickshaws. So says CEO Travis Kalanick. One of several avenues for expansion is in a category of delivery that's about running errands. "In Los Angeles, we're doing something called Uber Fresh, which is you push a button and you get a lunch in five minutes," Kalanick told CNN's Fareed Zakaria. "In DC, we're doing Uber Corner Store. So imagine all the things you get at a corner store...FedEx isn't going to your nearest pharmacy and delivering something to you in five minutes," he continued. Another is in emerging markets, where the company may focus on rickshaws, rather than high-end black cars, Kalanick said.

Comments

Uber Fresh?

[ArcadeMan]

So, they'll go to Subway, wait in line to be served, tell them what I want in my sub, pick up a bag of chips, fill the oversized cup with my choice of drink and then deliver it to me, all of that inside five minutes?

I'd rather wait for the McCopter to deliver my Big Mac and fries.

Re:Uber Fresh?

[CastrTroy]

I don't see why not. The local cab company used to do beer/liquor deliveries where I lived. $5 flat rate for all deliveries. As students without a car it was the best/only way to get a case of beer to the house. As long as you bill appropriately for the time it takes to complete the errand, I don't see why they couldn't make good money doing this.

Re:Uber Fresh?

[CanHasDIY]

And you trust the cashier making $3 an hour after taxes not to be stealing your controlled substances?

So long as the bags are sealed in the pharmacy and the contents are not noted on the outside, it should be fine.

Where the hell are you shopping, where your scripts are divvied out by the teenager running the check-out lane???

I get my scripts from, you know, a pharmacist, who makes a hell of a lot more than $3/hr.

Re:Urban Fetch

[Ralph Wiggam]

I immediately though of Kozmo.com.

Re:Urban Fetch

[captainClassLoader]

The documentary about Kosmo.com, e-Dreams, is both fascinating and painful to watch. These guys went through a breathtakingly huge pile of money in a very short time, trying to do exactly this sort of personalized delivery. It gives you a real feel for how truly insane VC funding was in the late '90s. Maybe Kalanick should check this film out before putting too much effort into this idea.

Consumer feedback removes need for certification

[mi]

Historically, governments justified the "certification" requirements imposed on people wishing to pursue various professions by the consumers' inability to share the information required to make an informed choice of a service provider.

For example, arriving to a new city, you don't know, what taxi company is decent and which hires serial rapists — the city hall should issue "medallions" to the good drivers and fight attempts by the non-vetted to provide the same services without paying the authorities their due.

Uber is showing, how the consumer feedback, that's easy to provide and is immediately available to anyone with a smart phone, obviates the need for such certifications — along with the associated costs and the abuse-potential. Taxi-services is not the only market, where things can (and should!) be changed by the pervasive smart-phones. Plumbers and electricians would be next on my list of professions, which should not require certifications (though some may seek approvals from non-governmental authorities like "Angie's List", if they choose to). Then restaurateurs — patrons could report roach-sightings just as well (or better) than a city's health-inspector. Then lawyers and eventually, even veterinarians and human doctors...

Re:Urban Fetch

[digsbo]

You joke, but one of the effects of increasing income inequality can be that the high income group starts to rely on the low income group more and more for these kinds of services.