# Business that SURGE prices with demand



## duggles (Aug 25, 2014)

When people complain about the surge, either online or Twitter, or in my backseat, I like to offer other business that raise prices for peak demand. Add others to the list please. I love having a huge list to spout off when people ***** about it.

Hotels
Airlines
Car dealers
Movers
Bar Covers
Sporting events
Parking lots

Keep 'em coming.


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## Chicago-uber (Jun 18, 2014)

Restaurants 
Construction guys


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## UL Driver SF (Aug 29, 2014)

Supermarkets.


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

By how much though?
Other dynamic price models will increase prices by anywhere from a few % points to 2X to 3X. Uber is the ONLY business that can charge 12X!
Even Lyft, whose business model was copied by TravisK for UberX, limits its pricing to 3X.


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## duggles (Aug 25, 2014)

UL Driver SF said:


> Supermarkets.


Do they? I mean they may keep their items at higher price points. But they don't upcharge in a way that is clear to the customer.


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## UL Driver SF (Aug 29, 2014)

Look at seasonal pricing and nut pricing. My brother in law is in that business. It's funny how many brands he supplies and how the pricing goes.

Also...if you live near a fishing port it is amazing what you can buy catches for vs at the store.

Tell ya what...this isn't a surge but an example of how pricing is masked....

Ever see the paint advertising at a big box store? $3.00 off a gallon of paint. Good deal right? The night before that promo hits the price per gallon is raised $2.00...sometimes $3.00. The stickers on the beams are changed to reflect the new price and show the discount. So you might save a buck and in some cases are paying the exact same price. They can do this because the average customer...read virtually all of them...don't track what the price of paint is.

Now this isn't a surge in pricing but it is a huge surge in sales created by the perceived savings per gallon.


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## duggles (Aug 25, 2014)

chi1cabby said:


> By how much though?
> Other dynamic price models will increase prices by anywhere from a few % points to 2X to 3X. Uber is the ONLY business that can charge 12X!
> Even Lyft, whose business model was copied by TravisK for UberX, limits its pricing to 3X.


Well, highest I ever saw was 7x. And I got a great fare during that time. So much love to Travis for that one.


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

Fishing villages...
$3 variation on $25 gallon of paint...
Another inane post designed to confuse pricing flexibility and variation with price gouging.
Nut business...
Just shilling for nuts now...

Sorry! Typo, should read shelling...


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## UL Driver SF (Aug 29, 2014)

duggles said:


> Well, highest I ever saw was 7x. And I got a great fare during that time. So much love to Travis for that one.


5X in SF during outside lands. Cross city rides. Worked out pretty good.


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## Walkersm (Apr 15, 2014)

Every Business connected to the wedding industry:
Limousines
Photographers
Cake Makers
Catering
hair and make up

Because once again if everyone wants to get married on a weekend in June demand goes off the charts. Higher prices bring more vendors into he market, not immediately like with Uber but over time it happens.


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## UL Driver SF (Aug 29, 2014)

Walkersm said:


> Every Business connected to the wedding industry:
> Limousines
> Photographers
> Cake Makers
> ...


You forgot florists. They really get ya.


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## London UberExec Driver (Jul 8, 2014)

and DJs. 

Plus hall hire. 

Mention it's for a wedding and the price shoots up.


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## duggles (Aug 25, 2014)

I currently DO NOT go out UNLESS there is a surge. I'm not trading depreciation on my car for cash by driving with the base rates. Sorry, ain't worth my time. 

And I make a decent amount of money only driver surge when the weekend's are busy enough to support demand for surge. AND, plenty of people pay it, which is why it's not going away. other than riders learning how to better avoid it and reduce the frequency and multiple of surges.


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## Sydney Uber (Apr 15, 2014)

Conjugal Rites - that NEVER gets cheaper!


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## duggles (Aug 25, 2014)

John W said:


> I agree but a simple search on the net you find endless stories like 5-mile rides costing $75. People are really pissed about it. For example, you have a surge area for a special event... But those people not a part of that event.. Just in the area are screwed...


Yet it's very clear to them that the cost in significantly increased. In fact, they have to confirm an increase in the fare 3 times before being able to request the Uber. So they are accepting to pay that fare. Otherwise, they can pretend to live in world where Uber doesn't exist and do whatever they did before, if they don't want to pay the increased rate.


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## UberBlackDriverLA (Aug 21, 2014)

Ironic you mention hotels. Have you ever noticed the sign on the back of the door listing the maximum rate that can be charged? Thats because some business owner like Travis was taking advantage of people and rates needed to be regulated. Sounds familar.


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## sfdriver1896 (Aug 28, 2014)

UL Driver SF said:


> 5X in SF during outside lands. Cross city rides. Worked out pretty good.


yeah me too. had two rides from event to panhandle , $50 each ride. traffic was bad, but worked the geary area near 25th


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## UL Driver SF (Aug 29, 2014)

sfdriver1896 said:


> yeah me too. had two rides from event to panhandle , $50 each ride. traffic was bad, but worked the geary area near 25th


After the first passenger, I called all the rest and told them go north to the end of the block. Changed a 20 min pick up into a 5 min pick up.

I stayed away the first night.


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## UL Driver SF (Aug 29, 2014)

UberBlackDriverLA said:


> Ironic you mention hotels. Have you ever noticed the sign on the back of the door listing the maximum rate that can be charged? Thats because some business owner like Travis was taking advantage of people and rates needed to be regulated. Sounds familar.


That must be a so cal thing. Come to Monterey during the Moto GP. The 3 day ticket staying at the track is cheaper than many one night hotel stays.


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## SupaJ (Aug 12, 2014)

John W said:


> What did they do before? They used cabs, where all prices were the same from car to car, company to company prices that were set by the city and the same price to get you to a location wasn't 3-4X higher to get you home..


Says the guy who is part of taxi drivers organizations (by self admission).

And no, those people didnt take cabs before. They just drove themselves.


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## UberBlackDriverLA (Aug 21, 2014)

UL Driver SF said:


> That must be a so cal thing. Come to Monterey during the Moto GP. The 3 day ticket staying at the track is cheaper than many one night hotel stays.


All states have some sort of law on this.
Here is Californian's:
http://law.onecle.com/california/civil/1863.


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## UL Driver SF (Aug 29, 2014)

UberBlackDriverLA said:


> All states have some sort of law on this.
> Here is Californian's:
> http://law.onecle.com/california/civil/1863.


That we do...but your link doesn't come up. Like I said...come on up...enjoy the races...just don't rent a room.

That law just says what has to be posted...it doesn't set the rate.


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

A decent base + per mile + per minute rate, accompanied with a less frequently used surge that's limited to a factor of say 3 is prolly best for everyone. Riders, drivers and Uber. This is the only way that ensures a steady earnings for full-time and part-time drivers, and thus Uber.

Customers don't enjoy being gouged on a regular basis, even if they agree to the surge by typing in the surge factor. Surge will be regulated out of existence if it isn't modified.


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