Uber, under, sideways, down.

New Year’s Eve brings reflection on the past and celebration for the future.

New Year’s Day brings new resolutions for the coming year. And a hangover. And sometimes remorse.

I’ve been amused to read the stories in the media this week about some of these moments of regret, but those that especially caught my eye related to some of the newer, so-called ‘disruptive’ businesses.

Uber has shaken up the taxi business in many places round the world. Cheaper, easier, more available. What’s not to like?

But it appears that many people took an Uber home on New Year’s Eve and woke up to an enormous bill to go with their enormous hangover. Hundreds, even thousands of dollars had been charged to their accounts.

“Car and girls are easy come by, in this day and age. Laughing, joking, drinking, smoking, till I’ve spent my wage.”

 Uber’s system of ‘surge pricing’ is the incentive for drivers to make themselves available at times like New Year’s Eve, by offering them multiples of the normal fare.  And fair enough, you might think. It’s probably still easier to get an Uber than a taxi at that time. But there’s no ceiling on the pricing and, according to the aggrieved parties, the huge amounts they were agreeing to weren’t made very clear.

Of course, there’s always the possibility that the customers weren’t in a very clear state of mind themselves at the time. A tad over-refreshed, perhaps? Mental faculties a bit disrupted?  (Let’s face it, it’s hard to be the rational consumer so beloved of economists when you’re having trouble remembering where you live. Or even your own name.)

In practice, Uber’s surge pricing seems to work like an additional tax on your alcohol consumption. The century-old taximeter model may not be much loved but at least the price is the same, drunk or sober.

Meanwhile, over at Airbnb, the curtains were drawn but the furniture was real. And a lot of it was broken.

Multiple landlords went to inspect their ‘sharing’ properties after New Year, only to find they’d been comprehensively trashed by New Year’s Eve parties they’d been completely unaware of. We’re talking rockstar party trashed; thousands of dollars worth of damage in some cases. Which Airbnb is now having to make good, as it turns out that some of the bookings were made under false identities. (Oops!)  And some people just flat out lied on their bookings.  (Gasp!)  It shouldn't have come as a surprise.  Everyone knows the best place for a party is somebody else's place.

“Think I’ll go and have some fun, ‘cos it’s all for free”

Airbnb’s enthusiastic - if perhaps slightly na?ve - landlords may now be remembering just why those ridiculous, stuffy, old-fashioned hotels keep night staff on hand. It's to deal with situations like this.  That's one reason hotels cost more.

Sir Isaac Newton (who was himself a pretty major disruptor of old models in his day) famously developed three laws of motion. The third, which states that ‘for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction’ also seems to be at work here.

This corollary - let's call it the 'Third Law of Disruption’ - states that for every new business model, there will be someone seeking to take unfair advantage of it. Someone looking for a loophole. Someone looking for a way to beat the system.

“When I was young, people spoke of immorality. All the things they said were wrong are what I want to be.

The irresistible force of new ideas meets the immovable rock of human nature.  Granted, most people will behave pretty well, most of the time, but you can't trust everyone all the time.  Some people can't help themselves, they just have to try to rort the system, to work a fiddle, to find an angle, to pull a swiftie.

Sometimes it’s the provider who can't resist being greedy, as in Uber’s case. Sometimes it’s the customer who abuses your hospitality, as Airbnb landlords have just discovered. Either way, nobody should really be surprised.  People are always going to be people, however novel the technology or however disruptive the business model.  Every new set of rules is just a fresh challenge for the determined cheat.  

So, to avoid buyer's (or seller's) remorse, always consider where the potential weak spots are.  On both sides.

Caveat emptor.  Caveat vendor.

Over, under, sideways, down
Backwards, forwards, square and round. When will it end …”

Lyrics: The Yardbirds, 1964.