UBER sabotage: Codename SLOG.

Sabotage, attempts at conversion, secret plans and phones to be used only once. The challenge of the new generation of taxi is taking a worthy series "Homeland" or any movie about spies. Two leading actors. One is Uber, the well known chauffeur service, available in 45 countries and – in Italy, including in Rome and Milan. The other is the startup rival Lyft, which offers a similar service, but for now only in the United States. 

Codenamed SLOG 

Lyft drivers are recognizable by the garish pink plush put whiskers on the muzzle of the car. For this detail, or for anything else, especially in New York, the service has begun to gain ground. That's where Uber would put up an incredible campaign of sabotage, to try to change the drivers side Lyft. This was revealed by is an American site investigation The Verge, which includes the testimony of one of the persons hired by Uber to hinder competition. The operation is called SLOG and it is really worthy of a 007 film. 

The evangelizers from taxis and the Uber low blows 
The doubt that Uber was trying to hinder Lyft in all ways had already emerged in early August. But now it turns out as. At the heart of all there are the so-called "Brand ambassador", ambassadors and evangelizers of the verb uberiano. Boys and girls recruited to present the service especially to potential users and which – according to the findings of the investigation – since this summer have begun taking aim at drivers of Lyft. By booking themselves service racing rival. And, once on board, trying to convince the driver to change banks. 

The effort of recruiting and sabotage was very well organized. For its ambassadors, Uber has raffled rich bonus for every driver converted to the cause. Not only. Not to uncover any task, the company supplied its mobile phones, SIM cards and credit cards can be used only once, to book a ride on Lyft without leaving a trace. But there were also reports and charts online to avoid contacting the same driver twice. 

A double advantage 
Once on board, the ambassadors were required to follow a detailed conversation manual, useful to convince the driver to remove moustache Lyft rose from snout to Uber. If the operation was successful, here they are ready to remove and deliver the "driver's kit" means a package given to each driver to work with Uber. But even if unsuccessful, there was an advantage: he had prevented the Lyft driver to pick up another customer and, therefore, the rival to spread further. 

Reply: "we're aggressive, but not disloyal" 

After angry taxi drivers (and not only in Milan), the prohibition of work in Berlin and Hamburg, in general the whole debate on the legality of the service, to Uber there seem to be more hard times than expected. The company admitted the existence of SLOG, but only as a marketing campaign and recruitment of new drivers. «Our practices are aggressive, but not unfair, "said – at a glance – the heads of Uber, Ryan Graves and Travis Kalanick, responding to criticism on Twitter. But there's more: own Kalanick reported that Uber was in turn a victim of sabotage: «we counted over 12 thousand ran reserve and then delete from employees and drivers Lyft». And if the war was just beginning? 

Translated from :

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