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Bernardo R d C, COO & Partner, was tapped by Forbes Portugal to share his expertise on reshaping the path to excellence for ride-hailing services. In his insightful commentary, he delves into the evolution of these platforms in Portugal, highlighting key challenges and proposing innovative solutions. Read the article below.
When ride-hailing services emerged in Portugal and sought to build a trusting relationship with users, the main distinguishing element between these platforms and traditional transportation methods lay in the quality of service. At that time, there was a kind of code of conduct and ethics among drivers who committed to providing a unique service, winning the loyalty of users. This service included gestures that made the experience of a ride-hailing service more enjoyable, such as offering water or sweets, maintaining a formal approach, inquiring about passengers' preferences regarding temperature and music, and even allowing them to choose the desired route.
Ride-hailing platforms brought a differentiated service to the Portuguese market, grounded in innovation, which contrasted with the traditional transportation services offered up to that date. They quickly won over the Portuguese, becoming the norm for travel and surpassing the competition. However, these platforms quickly succumbed to demand pressure, sacrificing service quality and customer attention to respond to demand. From a high-quality service with attention to detail, we have too often found a service with indifference to the consumer.
The degradation of the quality of ride-hailing services intensified in the post-pandemic period, with the decrease in supply due to the closure of several transportation service companies during the lockdown. Three years later, with the return to "normality," the scarcity of supply resulted in a significant price increase, encouraging the uncontrolled entry of new operators into the market. At the same time, the absence of rigorous certification and admission processes contributed to the adoption of a strategy focused on profit maximisation, neglecting service quality. The question that arises is whether it is still possible to reverse the situation, offer a differentiated service again, and regain the trust of users.
Players must adopt measures to revitalise the sector and reconquer consumer confidence. Ride-hailing operators need to invest in driver and fleet training and empowerment, ensuring good standards of quality and safety, with rigorous selection criteria that maintain quality standards at the highest level. In turn, users can also contribute to helping improve the service with accurate and fair evaluations that highlight quality services. In this way, they also give platforms visibility on the performance of a particular driver, allowing for a more fair and reliable review of exclusion criteria for workers and vehicles, based on these evaluations, and helping to promote service excellence.
It is true that ride-hailing platforms have brought greater convenience and accessibility to urban mobility, redefining communities and how they move around. But it is necessary to take a step back and understand why this activity is increasingly getting a bad reputation among users. It is necessary to restore lost trust, and this requires a rebuilding that includes all players in the sector, from customers to human resources. This collaboration is essential to chart a path of positive change, ending the era of indifference and restoring to the mobility sector the quality that once made it indispensable for our cities.
COO & Partner Avenidas
Please see the Forbes' article here
