why i'm done with PhillyCarShare

The truth is, I don't want to be done with PhillyCarShare. I don't have a car. I haven't had a car since high school when I drove a beat up rusted out 1984 Jeep Cherokee that my Uncle Bill passed down to me. The thing had vinyl seats, was in bad need of a paint job, and once almost killed me by doing a complete 180 on suburban black ice. I thanked my lucky stars aplenty that there were no other cars on the road. 

I really do wish I had a car, but I don't want to make the financial commitment and I also don't want to watch it get beat up by bad parallel parkers (of which I am one myself) or by the general wear and tear of city living. I've got a monthly transit pass that serves me very well, in addition to a large collection of comfortable shoes that I trek around the city on. 

My PhillyCarShare trips have been rare. They're usually tied to need as opposed to want. I need to go to Home Depot and buy X for my house, I need to buy a new X at IKEA, I need to haul something big that won't fit in my friend's trunk. It's unusual for me to sign out a car because I want to have a car for the day. Why? Because it's damn expensive!!!

When PhillyCarShare first started, they offered two plans. The Basic Freedom plan, which has no monthly fee, and the Advantage plan, which was $15 a month and recommended for those that regularly signed out cars (at least 2 trips a month).

I was content with my Basic Freedom plan, because I only signed out cars every few months, for those days when I would bundle a few necessary (i.e. need-based) trips in one day.  Without fail, each of these days was always stress-inducing because I'd try to reserve a certain amount of time and I'd typically cut it really close, to the point where I'd either have to extend my time in 15 minute increments or race back to the parking space as though I were running from the law.  It was not uncommon to return the car in the exact same minute it was due, leap out of the car and slap the fob onto the windshield with mere seconds to spare.

I might also mention that I was willing to pay a higher hourly rate on the Basic Freedom plan because my trips were infrequent, and being able to walk a few blocks in any direction and get a car was pretty darn convenient. 

Just a week ago, I took a car out for a want-based trip. I drove to the shore for the day and had a blast, it was nice to just get out of the city.  But it wouldn't be a typical PhillyCarShare trip without needing to extend the reservation, which I did at least once.  You might ask, why not just commit to more time up front? Well, if you decide to come back early, your money stays with PhillyCarShare as a credit towards your next reservation. That's not that big of a deal, but maybe you just want your money to be ... well, your money.

I am glad that my last PCS trip was a fun one, because unfortunately, I am now cancelling my membership. This past Friday at 5pm, all PhillyCarShare members received an email that the Basic Freedom plan was being discontinued and all members who normally pay 0$ a month, will be automatically bumped to a new plan (now the only plan), the Philadelphia Plan for $15 a month. Customers were given one week to cancel their membership.

Maybe $15 a month isn't all that much money, but if you're not making those two trips a month, it's not really worth it. Many months, I'd be paying $15 for nothing. The truth is, I need that $15 to go towards the cab fares I spend every month. 

Maybe I am just upset about PhillyCarShare's failure to make me feel like a valued customer. Clearly one can assume that they really need a stronger financial commitment from their customer base, but if you read anything on twitter, most of their customers feel pretty disappointed and let down right about now.

PhillyCarShare, we liked having you as an option. We liked the way you reached out to us for so long with your happy hours and movie nights.  We liked your little green men and your use of hybrid cars and the opportunity to test drive Mini Coopers and Audis.  I know $15 isn't a lot, but for some people it is, and you just took away our Basic Freedom.

This has been a post for @weeklyblogpost, topic: failure.

Comments

[Jen Miller]

Well, if it's any consolation: there's a train to Atlantic City that runs out of 30th street station (affectionally known as the "Gambler's Express") -- and it's cheaper than $15. Check out NJ Transit for the schedule.

[Becky]

I was shocked to hear about the e-mail that went out last week. I canceled my membership a few months ago after being informed of a $25 "activation" fee for not checking out a car recently (the other option was to make a reservation, something I didn't need to do at the time).

Glad I didn't cough up the $25 to keep the membership, since this last e-mail would've been the end, anyway.

Philly CarShare use to be very communicative about the reasons behind their policy changes, and I always appreciated their willingness to try new things to meet the challenges of a growing membership.

Giving people a few days notice before auto billing customers? That is not the organization I joined.

[roz duffy]

Becky, that is so weird about the $25 activation fee. I had my own strange experience, my membership was deactivated for no reason at all. I couldn't log into the site, retrieve my password or anything. I finally got them on the phone and it took them several days to resolve it. They said my membership had been turned off, maybe like you stated above, because I hadn't signed out a car recently. Luckily, they turned it back on for free.

I kind of feel bad for them, but I also wish they involved the community in their decision making process. In their early years, I'd like to say that we considered them "friends."

[Tom Boutell]

Good post. FYI I'm pretty sure they started out with a monthly or annual-fee plan. Basic Freedom came later.

I'm not offended that they got rid of Basic Freedom (although, as a result, their offerings no longer make sense for me). If they can't break even that way, then they can't.

But I'm definitely not happy with (deep breath) the patronizing tone of the email, the fact that you can't even find the monthly fee on their web site now, the unprofessional and insecure design of the form for quitting your membership, the lack of any instructions for returning your fob (do I need to or not? Where to?), and the crappy notice.

The whole thing smacks of last-minute panic. I expect to hear they are fresh outta Susan Bs any minute now.

[albert]

I understand, somewhat, the reasons why they're doing this, but how they've been doing what they've been doing over the year has been pitiful. How to not do business 101 really.

I think I'm gonna have to write my own post... as an insider!

[sara girlscantell]

oh wow, i'm glad i read this. i pretty much stopped opening their emails after the comic sans incident (how can anyone take email from comic sans users seriously?) and it's pretty big news. and very disappointing.

[Mattack]

While I think that the *way* Philly Car Share announced the new policy, my family did the math and we'll actually save money with the new plan. But yeah, a shady email at 5pm on a Friday, giving you a week to cancel, unclear directions, non-encrypted web forms... epic FAIL.

[roz duffy]

Matt - I am glad you posted, because I'd love to hear that this indeed, a better plan. Although you use one keyword that is not a part of my story - FAMILY!!! I'm just a single person signing out cars, I do agree that if I was splitting the membership as a household cost that would make more sense.

I can't help but think that now that my membership is cancelled it's going to be a pain in the arse to ever re-instate it, as it was to create it in the first place. I'm bummed across the board.

I hope PhillyCarShare is listening, because most of us just wanted more transparency.

[josh-n]

I use CityCarShare in SF - so I was wondering: is it the lack of communication that's bad or the $15/month charge? Cause I think I pay $10/month for the service and I'm pretty happy with it. I don't think the service can exist for less...

[danger]

ditto. returning a car is a mad race to the finish.

the reason I can't commit to more time up front is if I return early (within 3 hours of your reservation time) I don't get a credit, I just lose that money. another change over the years that turned pcs into a not so friendly nonprofit.

[John]

"the reason I can't commit to more time up front is if I return early (within 3 hours of your reservation time) I don't get a credit, I just lose that money."

You didn't lose the money. You spent it on the peace of mind you would get from not having to race back to the parking space.

[Tim Fielding]

With today's economy, I guess a lot of small businesses make stupid marketing mistakes, except non get as public as PhillyCarShare. I did the math and though I was not happy with the way they handled the message, the 30% decrease in the hourly rate made the $15 monthly fee a little easier to take. I use a PhillyCarShare around the corner from me only about twice a month. I must admit the email gave me a jolt, but when I calculated in those lower hourly rates that brings down my $15 monthly fee to about an additional $5 over what I used to pay. I can give up 1 pack of cigaretts a month to keep my neighborhood car.

[ACG]

(disclosure - I am a former employee)

I honestly think if they had just given members 30 days to think about the change, a lot of people would choose to stay with PCS. Because people felt pressured to make a quick decision (myself included and I have a better understanding of PCS, rates, etc than some of the current employees) and being given only a link to close our accts, thats what most of use did.

Had there been a min of 15 - 30 days to think about the change and a link to "More information about the new Philadelphia Plan and the benefits to carshare users" link, I think PCS would have retained a large number of occasional users who would have been willing to pay $15/mo.

[roz duffy]

ACG - I actually have been having some pangs of regret for cancelling my account, especially as I hear so much feedback. It would have been nice to see some visual representation of why the Philadelphia Plan is better and to be able to process whether or not I am truly reliant on the convenience of signing out a local car at anytime. I really appreciate your feedback. I hope that PCS is reading, because what they would see is a lot of people who aren't angry, just confused.

[ACG]

one of the promises made to me when there was the big management change (or coup d'etat, depending on how you saw it) was that they would always allow 30 days notice of billing changes. It was an issue I felt very strongly about... that was really all they needed to keep their word on. I was planning on using a vehicle on Mother's Day (as I am sure a lot of occasional users were too... it's one of the "special" days).

I cancelled mine. Honestly, I feel the occasional user (5-7 times a yr) is better served by renting.

[Steven F]

I was on the fence for about a week after their decision, but having talked with a bunch of people (mostly against, not surprisingly) and catching up on PCS news, I decided to re-ante and stay on as a member. I wrote more fully about my reasoning here:
http://sutiibu.tumblr.com/post/103198155/why-im-keeping-my-phillycarshare-membership