Uber's Recruitment Tactics For Lyft Drivers Revealed

In competition, the goal is to win — that much is clear. How you accomplish that feat is another matter entirely. We've told you about the squabble between Uber and Lyft, where the two competing entities accused one another of gaming each others' systems. Canceled rides, clandestine recruiting, and plain underhanded tactics were accused. Now, there is solid evidence of it.

Called SLOG, Uber's very controlled and organized program for disrupting Lyft's business model has been outed in some detail by The Verge. SLOG has forms, meetings, and a hierarchy. If you thought the driver-gaming back and forth was a "wink and nudge" system of rogue bandits, you're wrong.

Not only did Uber give recruiters talking points on how to recruit Lyft drivers, but they also kept detailed profiles of those drivers on the messaging app GroupMe to avoid duplicating their efforts. Uber even created a hashtag for this Lyft recruitment program, #shavethestache. SLOG also has a hierarchy in place, making it sound a lot like Project Mayhem from Fight Club.

Though Uber has denied they engage in underhanded tactics with regard to Lyft, and have "legitimized" SLOG already, there is now strong evidence that the recruitment practices the company implements are less than ideal. The official Uber page for SLOG reads more like a front than a legitimate recruitment starting point, with links heading to existing forms for those interested in driving for Uber.

Perhaps most telling is that SLOG seems to be funded, not a group of willing leaders who do this on their spare time. Uber is giving independent contractors — called "Brand Ambassadors" — burner phones and a company credit card to carry out their missions.

It's not clear what Lyft may or may not be doing on their end, but we now know the lengths Uber is willing to go to win the ride-hailing race.

Source: The Verge