Unexpected Marketing Lessons from my Uber Driver and Barber

Our daily life experiences often provide a vivid reminder and reinforcement about what we think are excellent or lousy business practices.

A January business trip challenged me with two canceled flights the same day of my outbound journey. That was followed the next day by rising way too early to catch an early morning flight. It was an exhausting 24 hours.

Upon arrival, I booked an Uber to my destination. Entering the vehicle, I was greeted with the calming sound of smooth jazz music. Ahhh. Making friendly conversation with the driver, I complimented him on his choice of music. What came next blew me away – and not in a good way.

Mr. Uber Driver went on a rant. While he was pleased with my conversation, he rattled off how annoyed he had been with passengers telling him what to do in his car such as asking him to turn down the volume or turn off the radio. There were more complaints, maybe about requests pertaining to cabin temperature or his personal phone use. I don’t recall his complete list. I let him vent, took it all in stride, and tried to take a nap.

As I closed my eyes, I laughed to myself and thought: INCREDIBLE! This guy should not be an Uber driver or be in the service business! He doesn’t understand the first thing about interacting with customers. Dude, you are providing a service to paying customers, not doing a favor to strangers out of the goodness of your heart. If the customer politely asks you to adjust the radio volume, you say, sure, and do it. If it’s too cold, you turn down the AC or crank up the heat. If you’re yapping on a personal phone call, stop. If you want to do whatever you want to do in your car, fine. Just make sure it’s not on Uber time. (Of course, if the customer is a jerk, that’s a different situation.)

Now, about my barber.

I’m sharing this positive barbershop example because sometimes what may seem to be simple or basic ideas can be the most practical and effective way forward.

I’ve been using the same barber for four and a half years. Nice guy, excellent service. He recently finished a remodel of his shop. New chairs, fixtures, lights and paint. The place looks great. Pandemic aftereffects have been tough on his business, with downtown traffic notably reduced. He has two other barbers on the team that the business needs to support. In chatting, he explained that he’s wanted to do the upgrades for some time. Now finished, he’s exhausted his business investment budget. There’s no money for paid marketing. Instead, he told me that he’s asking each of his clients to recommend the barbershop to one person.

Marketers and businesspeople know about net promoter score (would you recommend) and the value of word-of-mouth recommendations. In my barber’s case, he’s taking a simple, direct, action approach with his customers by asking: “Please recommend me/my shop to one person you know.” So, if you live in my area and want a good barber, let me know.

Following my barber’s lead, please subscribe to my blog, share it on social media, buy my book, or recommend me as a provider of outstanding marketing services including brand-building, brand management and marketing communications.