Didi is actually running

"Big factories should lower their profile, so that they can do a good job in the’big ‘business of’a few taels of silver’ among all living beings."

Author/Xuan Qing

On the night of November 27, Didi Chuxing experienced "system paralysis". The Didi Chuxing APP in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and other places could not be used, and the map could not be loaded. Some netizens said that after using Didi to call the online car-hailing, the APP suddenly could not be used, and the driver could not find the passenger. On the morning of the 28th, Didi Chuxing issued an apology, saying that after the technical team repaired overnight, some Didi online car-hailing services had been restored.

This Didi system crash is a total paralysis. Not only the user side cannot be used normally, but also the driver side and Didi’s intranet have problems. It is reported that the functional paralysis lasted for nearly 12 hours, which is also the longest failure of Didi Chuxing in recent years. It is identified as P0 level (P0 level failure is the most serious, with the greatest impact, and important functions related to core business are not available).

It was not until the 29th that Didi officially released the investigation results, saying that the cause of the accident was "the failure of the underlying system software", and all services of the Didi App have been restored.

So far, the first large-scale technical obstacles for the largest online car-hailing company on the whole network have been temporarily ended.

Interestingly, after an Internet company suffered a major failure of network technology and calmed down the storm for two days and one night, it triggered an "avalanche" effect.

01

Credit plummets, runs begin

After the incident, perhaps Didi’s public relations response to the crisis was lagging behind. When users did not receive reliable feedback at the first time, there was a panic of cashing in. The topics of "a driver’s income exceeded 69 billion yuan" and "some Didi drivers began to withdraw cash" suddenly rushed to the hot search, triggering a chain reaction.

On the afternoon of the 28th, some Didi drivers began to withdraw cash and advertise it in the internal group.

"Everyone in the group is saying that Didi has collapsed. It’s not a problem of a few cities. The situation of collapse is still varied. Some people can’t open the map, some people can’t hear the voice instructions, and some people have been cancelled more than a dozen orders for no reason." The driver reported that due to system obstacles, he is very worried about illegal deduction points and misjudgment, so he will not take orders easily.

The most important thing is that some time ago, Didi changed the withdrawal rules. Drivers with level L1 cannot withdraw cash every day, which makes some drivers very angry: "Now there is a problem with the system again, and our attendance points are affected. If the account money is less, who can tell?"

There are also drivers who hope to take advantage of the "loophole" in the system to withdraw cash as soon as possible. "The maximum withdrawal is 3 times on the same day, and each time it does not exceed 5,000 yuan. If someone wants to take the opportunity, they can withdraw as much as they want." Even if they can’t bring it up, they also consider transferring to financial management to buy Didi’s own "Didi Kumquat Treasure". In short, they cannot keep all the funds in the account.

This is not the first time that Didi owners have questioned the withdrawal rules, but the system paralysis has once again touched the sensitive nerves of drivers who have run wild due to the "overlord clause".

It is unfair that so much money is being put into the Didi system for free. Previously, many drivers claimed that they were not given withdrawal rules when they registered with Didi, nor were they told whether the funds in their accounts were eligible for deposit, nor did they sign relevant agreements.

Over the ownership of funds and safety issues, Didi has been unable to establish a trust relationship with the majority of drivers. There was a post on the Internet of "clever withdrawal" and "looking for withdrawal loopholes", which also shows that the two sides are in a state of departure from defense.

02

The trick behind the withdrawal

While Didi drivers are frantically withdrawing cash, many netizens are also reflecting on how to ensure the safety of funds if the online car-hailing platform is paralyzed. At present, major online car-hailing payment and capital account platforms have restrictions on withdrawal time and quota.

Some platforms even play "trick". Some drivers find that when using a certain platform, if they choose to withdraw cash, the system will display "need to wait", and when the time is up, it will become "outdated"; some drivers want to withdraw and cancel the account, but the customer service says that the withdrawal is limited to 20 minutes, and if they want to cancel, they must have "zero balance".

Such as disordered withdrawal time, delayed arrival of money, and indiscriminate deduction of performance are common problems in the current online car-hailing market. No matter what kind of business model, old drivers have also begun to be vigilant, because the "harsh" of online car-hailing platforms in terms of money is often a precursor to the collapse of the company. Such as Zebra, Yidao, Wanshun, Jiqi and other online car-hailing platforms, there have been situations where "it is difficult to withdraw cash, there are many tricks, and playing tricks".

Previously, there was a "partner model" that was popular in the car circle, that is, the driver signed a water withholding agreement with the leasing company and paid the service fee. The online car-hailing aggregation platform deducted the running income from the driver’s account to the leasing company’s account every week, and the leasing company earned this running money. This low-threshold rent has attracted a large number of small white drivers to join the small platform, but many people report that only the account balance can be seen at the settlement, and there is no withdrawal permission. The leasing company will return the remaining after the fee is deducted the next month.

Autonavi Maps and Baidu Maps are typical "aggregation platforms". On Autonavi alone, more than a dozen online car-hailing platforms have been aggregated, but the safety factor of these small online car-hailing platforms is too low. From consumers placing orders to drivers receiving orders, and then to the platform settling funds for drivers, there is no problem with this closed-loop transaction itself. But since leasing companies involve capital precipitation, it is likely to form a so-called "capital pool".

According to industry sources, the online car-hailing platform has touched the "second settlement" red line of supervision by transferring customer funds without obtaining the "Payment Business License" and then settling the settlement with the platform’s secondary merchants by the online platform. There are potential operational or financial risks.

According to relevant data, there are currently 330 online car-hailing platform companies across the country that have obtained business licenses, but September data shows that 59 platforms have not transmitted data for more than 180 days. Most small and medium-sized online car-hailing platforms do not have "payment business" licenses. Many are on the verge of elimination, and the safety of funds is even more difficult to avoid.

As insiders say, many small ride-hailing platforms use the "guise of the Internet" to lure drivers into joining, but in fact they are doing illegal fund-raising.

03

Platform versus driver

From a deeper perspective, the "twisting" relationship between online car-hailing platforms and drivers has become more and more intense. "No matter which platform, the draw is more than 30%. And there are a lot of tricks in the delivery of orders." A driver who went to Beijing’s online car-hailing revealed that now the commission of Didi, Baidu and Autonavi has been continuously increased, and there have been problems such as opaque delivery orders, long-distance delivery orders, mandatory delivery orders, and no delivery orders during peak periods.

"This year’s business is too difficult, the number of orders is reduced, the commission is too high, and there are all kinds of algorithmic traps." Mr. Liu, an online ride-hailing driver, said that many platforms will "kill the goose and get the egg", and continue to take up the ante when they know that the driver is not making money or losing money.

"The platform knows very well that many Xiaobai drivers have signed a one-year lease contract, and even if they can’t do it, they will insist on expiring for one year, so the company has no fear." Mr. Liu said that no matter which city in the country, the online ride-hailing algorithm is suppressing the enthusiasm of drivers, and drivers are more willing to choose to take orders.

Users are not immune to the platform’s confrontation with drivers. Many users find that the cost of hailing a taxi during peak periods is one to three times that of usual, and even if the fare continues to increase, few drivers take orders. "During peak periods, we only take large orders over 20 kilometers, and we do not take short-distance orders." Some drivers said that when the platform’s commission is too high, they will start to take selective orders, so as not to "run more, lose more."

From the point of view of Didi withdrawal, there are many thunder in the growth of the online car-hailing platform, which is "picking up wool" from each other. When it is a win-win situation, each company is happy, and when it is in trouble, they are rushing away. How to cultivate a well-regulated, honest and compliant online car-hailing market requires the patience and sincerity of the platform.

Didi said in its latest announcement that the relevant losses will be calculated normally, and the payment will be made up one after another, and the driver’s word-of-mouth value and travel points will also be calculated normally, and the display will be resumed one after another. To show its sincerity, Didi’s "10 yuan apology subsidy" has been distributed across the network, hoping to restore its word-of-mouth. This is also a reassurance for everyone.

We hope that the big factories will lower their stance. Because only in this way can they do a "big" business of "a few taels of silver" among all living beings.