We experience the gig economy all around us today. Many of us work within the gig economy. McKinsey data has found that around 36% of employed Americans are gig employees . That’s about 58 million people just in the U.S. alone.
All these brands from Airbnb, Uber, DoorDash and many more, are built on on-demand services and very flexible short-term work. These companies are fairly unique in that they need to serve the end customer, but the workers can be considered customers, too.
Gig platforms sit in the middle of the worker and the customer, and as such need to balance fluctuating workforce availability, service quality, and the expectations of the customer. We all know the disappointment of seeing a “surge price” alert when calling an Uber, but this is a good example of the platform managing customer demand in real time.
Let’s explore some of the key challenges that set the gig economy apart from more traditional service companies.
Balancing customer and worker expectations The customer expects great service that reflects high quality, but the freelancers working on a gig platform are not full-time employees. They will have many different reasons and motivations for working on the platform, so the gig service must offer tools that help to demonstrate quality.
The answer in most cases is a rating system . A service like DoorDash features ratings, rewards, and various tiered incentives so its gig workers are motivated to provide great service and improve the customer’s experience. Identity verification can also help with trust and safety concerns — such as guaranteeing the safety of a driver or accommodation host.
Ensuring a reliable service with fluctuating availability Gig workers set their own working hours. They log in when they want to work; however, this may not always match with the times when workers are needed. This can lead to poor service and idle gig workers who are not paid for the time they sit waiting for a job to arrive. But gig workers can’t be forced to log in.
However, they can be incentivized to be online at the right time through dynamic pricing and demand forecasting. This is where the platform predicts when workers will be needed and then incentivizes them with higher rates to be available at those times — just like the Friday evening surge pricing on Uber. If this is demand for a ride is high, then the rates the drivers can earn will increase.
Handling customer service when workers are also customers Most types of service company have one type of customer — the one buying services. Gig companies exist to serve these customers, but the gig workers are also a type of customer — they use the platform to find work and have an expectation of how the platform needs to work for them.
Disputes and payment issues need to be managed by the customer service team for the end customers and the gig workers. They can use very similar channels, but the processes need to be distinct and the problems faced will be different .
Offering personal service to workers and customers It’s easy for gig workers to use multiple platforms at the same time (think an Uber driver also driving for Lyft), so engagement on your platform is important. Why should your gig workers keep returning to be available on your platform and not with a rival?
The same issue applies to the customers. In a market like food delivery, there are many apps available — so why should a customer remain loyal to your service?
In both cases, it can be useful to offer personalized benefits. For workers, discounts on services can be useful, such as fuel discounts for Uber drivers. For customers, engagement with their favorite restaurants (for food delivery) and discount earnings through loyalty.
Improving the customer experience Gig economy companies face many additional complexities above and beyond more traditional business models. They need to manage the expectations of both gig employees and customers. They need to manage the fluctuating demand for service in an environment where they cannot force workers to commit to specific shifts. They also need to build loyalty in both the workers and customers in an environment where both can easily migrate to alternative services.
This all requires a smart AI-driven approach to balancing the autonomy of the gig workers with the expectations of the customer. Smart incentives can ensure that people are available at the right time, but this also needs smart forecasting and the ability to predict when the service will be busy or quiet.
This is an extremely fast-moving industry, and it requires a robust approach to the customer service strategy for both the end customers and the gig workers. If both these groups are satisfied and loyalty is encouraged, then the potential for business growth is enormous — these companies often require the ability for hyper-scaling.
There are many issues when managing a company that enters a period of hyper-growth, but as this Forbes magazine articles suggests , one of the most common problems is focusing only on sales and growth and losing customers because the CX strategy cannot keep up with demand. In gig economy companies, this problem is exacerbated by having two sets of very footloose customers who have multiple options where to spend their time and money.
A smarter path forward with VXI At VXI, we understand the intricacies of managing customer and worker experiences in the fast-paced gig economy. Our solutions are designed to help platforms navigate the challenges of fluctuating demand, dynamic pricing, and dual-customer management. By leveraging AI-driven insights and predictive analytics, we help companies ensure the right resources are in place at the right time — keeping both customers and gig workers satisfied.
Our commitment to delivering exceptional CX doesn’t stop at technology. With decades of experience in customer care and a deep understanding of operational challenges, VXI partners with gig economy leaders to drive customer loyalty, improve worker satisfaction, and accelerate business growth.
Ready to see how VXI can transform your customer experience strategy? Let’s connect and build a solution tailored to your unique needs.
For more information and case studies that explain our approach to the fast-moving gig economy in more detail, please click here .
