New Uber Customer Experience Bests The Competition

Have you been lost trying to find the Uber pickup point inside an airport? As the biggest ridesharing company in the world, the ridesharing company feels your pain. From the feedback collected, the technology company is adding a new feature inside its mobile application that will improve the Uber customer experience to/from an airport. This insight explores the new Uber airport customer experience feature and how it will benefit customers and the brand.

Introduction – Uber Customer Experience Improvements

As travel recovery continues around the world, more travelers are heading to new destinations. New adventures often come with new headaches. Some of the bigger challenges travelers speak about are the difficulty in locating the Uber pick-up location and communicating with the drivers on their estimated time of arrival.

Uber attempts to solve both items by expanding the mobile application functions including:

Uber Reserve Upgrades

New Uber Customer Experience Bests The Competition 3

Can I book Uber in advance for the airport? The quick answer is yes. Many travelers did not know that when they book a flight or hotel, they can also reserve an Uber ride at the same time.

Starting immediately, travelers can book rides up to 90 days in advance. This new feature provides them with the total price and driver information much earlier for planning purposes and is available in over 7,300 cities across the United States and Canada.

Directions to Pick Up

Uber customer experience improves directly with a new navigation feature. The ridesharing company will now provide travelers with step-by-step directions inside its mobile application to guide them from the gate through the terminal and to the Uber-designated pickup area. Our new wayfinding feature offers specific directions at more than 30 airports* across the globe and will expand further in the coming months.

Uber airport customer experience improvements through step-by-step navigation (video taken from Uber’s website)

*In-app directions to pickup are currently available in select terminals at the following airports: 

United States and Canada: Atlanta (ATL), Baltimore (BWI), Boston (BOS), Calgary (YYC), Dallas (DFW), Chicago (MDW, ORD), Fort-Lauderdale (FLL), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), Minneapolis (MSP), New Jersey (EWR), New York (JFK, LGA), Orlando (MCO), San Francisco (SFO), Seattle (SEA), Toronto (YYZ), Washington DC (DCA, IAD)

International: Bangalore (BLR), Delhi (DEL), Hyderabad (HYD), London (LHR), Madrid (MAD), Melbourne (MEL), Mexico City (MEX), Paris (CDG, ORY), Rome (FCO), São Paulo (CGH, GRU), Sydney (SYD)

Walking Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA)

Many travelers indicated that they do not know when it is the right time to order an Uber upon arriving at their destinations. As such, they typically order the ride after these checkpoints: 1. deplaning, 2. past customs checks, 3. past baggage claim, or 4. the designated pickup zone. The wait time increases after every checkpoint.

Uber created a better interface between customers and drivers so that the former can order without worries and the latter can better time their arrival at the pickup zone.

What’s In It For Customers?

Uber currently supports over 700 airports worldwide. We included the updated airport list from the ridesharing company as of March 7, 2023 (additional information can be found in the Uber mobile application or on their website through Uber customer service).

The new features being introduced improve the overall customer experience. Travelers are able to plan better with Uber Reserve. On arrival, they can also pre-book an Uber Reserve airport pickup to complete their journey to their final destination.

Additionally, step-by-step navigation and estimated arrival time reduce anxiety and frustration with using the service in less-known airports.

What’s In It For Uber?

Beyond providing travelers with an improved customer experience. The new Uber customer journey features powers the company to compete with other ridesharing companies around the world as well as taxi and dedicated car service companies.

Reducing friction in using the service at designated cities and airports will likely improve mobile application usage, revenue, and profits over time. It will also improve Uber customer satisfaction.

Final Words

Uber’s new airport customer experience features to change the way travelers plan their journey and interacts with their drivers. The improvements in Uber Reserve, in terminal navigation and estimated time of arrival, could motivate travelers to use this ridesharing company over its competition.

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