- Jennifer M Emett Agreed 100% - Lyft has flooded the market with too many drivers so we sit way too long waiting for PAX. I have been driving for a year and still no "Mini Dash Stash" to be seen - what was our Marketing Gimmics (Stash and Themes) which set us apart from Uber is lost. When I joined, I knew the power of economic demand and supply and kept my full time job. Many Lyft drivers are driving for Uber because they perceive they get more from Uber but it is because they work MORE even if they are paid less per ride. Lyft - STOP RECRUITING DRIVERS - we don't need more. It's time to get back to basics - I believe you have forgotten WHY you founded this company.
Veronica J Marin You will be miss!!! Someday, I will meet you because I love your w train of thought besides of being unique and a great human being too. KUDOS! !! You are destined to greatness! !
Julie Marsh Hey, Erik/a! Valiant, fabulous effort with DragLyft! With much sadness, I quit driving after Halloween, too, even though I love the job and the hours and the people. And this lounge! I have a couple things to add to your awesome list.
1) Lyft needs to acknowledge that drivers, not Lyft, Inc., own almost all of the equipment that makes Lyft possible by making sure we can earn enough $$ to take great care of that equipment. The minute fares dropped, my weekly car wash went out the window with it. Who can afford new brakes/tires/oil/lights at these rates? Very short-sighted, Lyft.
2) The inherent RISKS involved with driving have to be effectively mitigated by insurance. When I heard about all the snafu's with insurance for drivers who get into accidents? I knew I had to stop driving. Maybe next spring when the commercial insurance is worked out based on the recent CA legislation, it will be less risky to drive, but for now, it's a risk I'm completely unwilling to take. How many drivers have $2500 laying around for a deductible to get back on the road when your livelihood is in the shop!? Who can afford to have their personal insurance cancelled?
3) If you want people, particularly women, to keep driving, Lyft has to get more serious about insisting that pax use pictures, and that abusive, sexist, black-out drunken, and/or potentially dangerous individuals get booted off the platform. As prices have declined, so has the drivers' sense of security and safety on the road.
I wish you great luck in all your future endeavors, Erik/a!- My parting words for Lyft...My name is Erik Koral and for the last 4 months I have been driving for Lyft with my concept, Driving is a DRAG. Unsuspecting passengers requested a Lyft and see a normal looking guy in the app driving a normal looking 2010 Toyota Prius. 95% of the time when I say I've arrived they walked right by my car, because they saw a girl sitting in the driver seat, thinking that pickup was for someone else. When I hopped out and said "Hey Babe, did you need a Lyft," they bent over laughing when they saw that my drag queen alter ego, Erika Simone, was their actual driver.I came up with this concept because I have a newfound passion for dressing up in Drag. I thought to myself, after reading about other themed Lyft rides like HipHopLyft and DiscoLyft on CNN, wouldn't it be funny if I combined Drag with the completely awesome pink mustache you have - one of the most brilliant marketing ideas I have ever seen. I come from a 15 year digital marketing background myself so I said, if Lyft is pink...I am going to do everything pink in my car. My logo on 3 points on the car, my pink boa, pink teddy bears, pink headbands for passengers and selfies, pink website URL on the bumper, pink necklaces, etc. Essentially I took your completely ridiculous (but awesome) thing that makes Lyft stand out and put it on STEROIDS. You can not miss my car, anywhere, in Los Angeles. I became I gigantic rolling billboard for not only Lyft and also my own concept.Then everything went downhill. The rates were cut 30% and I was lucky if I made $5-$10 an hour. Average was $100 for an 8 hour day (then subtract gas from that amount). My passengers never tipped because your app was not intuitive and most passengers thought Lyft was just like Uber with "no tipping." There was no way for passengers to request specific drivers on the app or any way for passengers to tell who the themed Lyft drivers were on the road. Most passengers had no idea themed Lyft cars even existed as I was their first 100% of the time, and I seemed to be the only Lyft driver in LA still using the pink mustache. I became more and more discouraged every day when gas, oil changes, wear and tear on my car, car washes, mileage, and other expenses piled up that killed any limited profits I had. And finally, yesterday, I quit...for good. Here are a few suggestions on how to fix your company, which is dangerously close to becoming completely irrelevant.1) Pay drivers a fair wage. Nobody is happy, except for maybe your drivers in SF. The rest of the country is completely over it. If you can't hear the disapproval, you are completely deaf.2) Embrace your themed drivers, give them bonuses, and turn them into news stories. They are your BIGGEST MARKETING TOOL and your brand ambassadors. They are rolling billboards. Keep the stache, ditch the emblem (which is just copying Uber)3) Out innovate your competition. Uber is killing you because they are playing dirty. Why don't you play smarter?4) You have no celebrity brand ambassadors. None. Beats By Dre won because they sent thousands of celebrities free headphones and TMZ snapped pictures of Lebron and Jay Z wearing them and it became a $300 fashion accessory that sold billions in the worst recession in history. You need to become a Lifestyle brand.5) Start caring about your passengers and drivers again. We are PEOPLE, not numbers. Zappos and Apple should be your models.Over and out,Erik
aka Erika Simone
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