Uber- more than your regular taxis
Uber is a new car service recently launched in Malaysia. I tried out their service for the first time last night after going for The Hobbit's premiere (more on that later!), and according to our super-friendly driver, they have only started for around one month. Find out more about their company here and here.
What really sets Uber apart from other taxis, or car-hiring service, is the user experience and great customer service. Everything happens real-time and is so hassle-free, I can tell that a lot of thoughts go into their customer experience team, making sure that you would not need to worry about a single thing, they will pay attention to all the small details in advance for you.
So I received a promotion code to try out their service for free a while ago and did not have the chance to use it until last night. Like any other apps, you simple download it and sign up, the only significant difference is the need for a credit card. So make sure you have one (=^ェ^=)
Upon successful sign-up, I received an SMS and an email simultaneously. Which is kinda cool, and the message was crafted in a very friendly tone, making you feel welcomed and all. Below is the simple steps of summon your very own one-time chauffeur:
GPS map is used for setting a pickup location. Press a button and voila! You have summon your very own magical chariot. Actually, this is the part of Uber I like best, what happened was that, once you booked your ride, you immediately get all kinds of information, including: estimated cost, estimated time of arrival, driver's photo, driver's phone number.
I think they do not have many drivers currently, as we would have to wait for quite some time before our car arrived. We waited for around 15 minutes if I am not mistaken ¯\_ಠ_ಠ_/¯ It was the longest I have ever waited for a booked cab.
Anyways, our driver arrived in a Toyota Camry after 15 minutes and was quite friendly and polite, which made me less upset afterward. ( It helps that I was in a good mood after a good movie, haha.)
So anyway, we arrived home safe and sound ( It can be quite dangerous for two short girls to travel late night in Kuala Lumpur.) And I was pleasantly surprised to find in my inbox soon afterwards a receipt with complete details of my journey. Really like this as it can be used as a reference next time I wanna use their service again. Also included was a link in case you left anything on the car, quite thoughtful, eh?
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| Here's my receipt :) |
In summary, here are the pros and cons of
Uber:
Pros
- Easy and hassle-free. If you have internet on your smartphone then you are good to go.
- Reputable and safe. Hey you only got one life ok?
- Comfortable and swag. (This is also my criteria for a good pair of shoes (ˆڡˆ)v )
- Very good user experience. I mentioned this before, and personally, this is a very important criteria for me when choosing any service.
Cons
- Expensive. I mean, if you insist on comparing this to the subpar public transport system here in KL then fine, yes it is expensive. Base fare is RM7, with additional RM0.30 per minute and RM2 every km
- You might need to wait for quite a while depending on where their available driver is ┐( ˘_˘)┌
- Only available for people with a data plan, a smartphone, and a credit card. But I don't think this is an issue as they have a very specific target audience.
Lat but not least, here's a goodie for you!
Simply key in the promo code below when booking your ride and receive RM30 off your first ride ◉‿◉
kz47p
