The resignation of Uber CEO Travis Kalanick could prompt a return for a number of users who stopped using the app following months of bad publicity slamming the company’s workplace culture.
Nearly 30% of customers who quit the ride-hailing service in recent months said that the removal of Kalanick as CEO would make them most likely to use Uber once again, according to a Morning Consult poll. Only a decrease in price would make more customers (35%) feel inclined to use the service once again.
Claims about bullying, sexism and sexual harassment at the company’s headquarters were the most known scandals during Uber’s tumultuous year, as 57% said they had heard news of such events. Only 40% said they had heard some or a lot about the #DeleteUber movement that spread on social media after some accused the company of attempting to profit from a January protest against President Donald Trump’s executive order banning refugees and immigrants from Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S.
The poll found that out of those who said they were less likely to use Uber because of the negative headlines, 23% have stopped using Uber as frequently. Almost 20% deleted the app as a result, and 13% have stopped using the app altogether even though it remains installed on their phone.
But overall, many customers remain satisfied with the company. In every category ranging from quality of drivers to wait times to the app itself, at least 73% of respondents said they were happy with Uber. “Reliability” had the highest ranking, with 82% saying they were satisfied with that aspect.
The Morning Consult poll was conducted via an online survey with 1,652 Uber users. The data is weighted to approximate a target sample of U.S. Adults based on a number of factors including age, ethnicity, gender, education, and region. The interviews were conducted between June 15 to June 21 and the results have a margin of error of plus or minus 2%.
