What I knew before visiting Uber
Intro and Expectations
As we headed to Uber, I was wondering about how the company would respond to the inevitable questions regarding the last calendar year for their company. It’s been a rough go of it lately at Uber, with longtime founder and CEO Travis Kalanick forced out by shareholders only a few months prior. This was largely due to a viral campaign to boycott Uber that all arose out of a letter from a female employee that showcased in detail the intense sexual harassment she endured during her nightmarish time as an employee. While I was interested in seeing what they had to say, I was also intrigued to hear more about Uber’s foray into the autonomous driving market.
Visit
The class was led into a typical looking classroom as the two Maryland alumnus fielded our questions. I guess I was not alone in my interest in hearing about Uber’s future, for the class immediately began peppering the presenter’s with questions regarding Uber’s culture. The presenter’s, who referred to former CEO Travis Kalanick as “TK”, said that while some changes certainly needed to be made within the company, the media had unfairly treated Uber in their coverage. Some things were out of Kalanick’s control, they said, and TK had tried to snuff the problem out, but the media firestorm grew too big too fast.
To improve things within the company, Uber had hired former Attorney General Eric Holder to conduct a thorough investigation in an attempt to seek out potential workplace problems and report them to company officials. This was a sound hire, for Holder concluded that Uber has deeply-rooted problems with sexual harrassment that need changing. Uber was also, during this period, on the hunt for a new CEO. Amongst potential candidates were women and outsiders to the industry. This was in an attempt to curb their recent negative trends. In today's social media age, it can be easy to get on the public's bad side, and even harder to get on their good side. If Uber wants to convey a true culture change, I feel that is starts by staying out of the news. Make subtle app changes that improve the product, and no more. Don't seek publicity.
Uber has been losing business to Lyft lately, but Uber has set forth a number of projects to reverse that trend. First, Uber set out to improve relations with their drivers. Using driver input, Uber has added in-app tipping and is actively seeking customer feedback to improve the service. The most important area that Uber is investing in however is autonomous driving. While many experts still see self-driving cars as being many years away, Uber is prepping for that future by exhausting as many outlets as they can to double down and take in data for self-driving cars. Autonomous driving is a field that many companies in the Valley are pursuing, so we'll see if Uber can emerge victorious in this race.
Post-Visit Actions
My classmates and I discussed whether or not we truly felt Uber was on the right track. I am weary, for I feel that self-driving cars are a bit of a shot-in-the-dark at the moment, considering the present issues they are trying to rebuild from. Many of my classmates were optimistic for the company though, for they feel that simple in-app changes are all that’s needed for them to return to being the unabashed ride-sharing giant that it was just a couple of years ago. Consider me doubtful, but I am curious to see.
Key Takeaways
- Uber was in a tumultuous period, having recently fired CEO Travis Kalanick over, amongst other things, failure to respond to sexual harassment claims amongst women in his company.
- Currently investing heavily in self-driving automobiles
- Recently busted for illegally hacking into Google’s information
Intro and Expectations
As we headed to Uber, I was wondering about how the company would respond to the inevitable questions regarding the last calendar year for their company. It’s been a rough go of it lately at Uber, with longtime founder and CEO Travis Kalanick forced out by shareholders only a few months prior. This was largely due to a viral campaign to boycott Uber that all arose out of a letter from a female employee that showcased in detail the intense sexual harassment she endured during her nightmarish time as an employee. While I was interested in seeing what they had to say, I was also intrigued to hear more about Uber’s foray into the autonomous driving market.
Visit
The class was led into a typical looking classroom as the two Maryland alumnus fielded our questions. I guess I was not alone in my interest in hearing about Uber’s future, for the class immediately began peppering the presenter’s with questions regarding Uber’s culture. The presenter’s, who referred to former CEO Travis Kalanick as “TK”, said that while some changes certainly needed to be made within the company, the media had unfairly treated Uber in their coverage. Some things were out of Kalanick’s control, they said, and TK had tried to snuff the problem out, but the media firestorm grew too big too fast.
To improve things within the company, Uber had hired former Attorney General Eric Holder to conduct a thorough investigation in an attempt to seek out potential workplace problems and report them to company officials. This was a sound hire, for Holder concluded that Uber has deeply-rooted problems with sexual harrassment that need changing. Uber was also, during this period, on the hunt for a new CEO. Amongst potential candidates were women and outsiders to the industry. This was in an attempt to curb their recent negative trends. In today's social media age, it can be easy to get on the public's bad side, and even harder to get on their good side. If Uber wants to convey a true culture change, I feel that is starts by staying out of the news. Make subtle app changes that improve the product, and no more. Don't seek publicity.
Uber has been losing business to Lyft lately, but Uber has set forth a number of projects to reverse that trend. First, Uber set out to improve relations with their drivers. Using driver input, Uber has added in-app tipping and is actively seeking customer feedback to improve the service. The most important area that Uber is investing in however is autonomous driving. While many experts still see self-driving cars as being many years away, Uber is prepping for that future by exhausting as many outlets as they can to double down and take in data for self-driving cars. Autonomous driving is a field that many companies in the Valley are pursuing, so we'll see if Uber can emerge victorious in this race.
Post-Visit Actions
My classmates and I discussed whether or not we truly felt Uber was on the right track. I am weary, for I feel that self-driving cars are a bit of a shot-in-the-dark at the moment, considering the present issues they are trying to rebuild from. Many of my classmates were optimistic for the company though, for they feel that simple in-app changes are all that’s needed for them to return to being the unabashed ride-sharing giant that it was just a couple of years ago. Consider me doubtful, but I am curious to see.
Key Takeaways
- Uber believes self-driving cars are the future and are going all-in.
- Uber has undergone some intense changes in their leadership recently in an effort to curb their sexual harassment problem.
- Uber is always looking to improve their app (ex: tipping)