How Rapido uses Exotel to improve operational efficiency and streamline communication

Case Study

How India’s largest bike taxi aggregator Rapido uses Exotel to improve operational efficiency and streamline communication

About Rapido

Rapido is India’s largest bike taxi aggregator. They aim to solve India’s commute problem by putting technology at the forefront of the problem. Rapido focuses on making its customer’s daily intracity commute affordable, faster, and safer. Founded in 2015, they currently operate in close to 100 cities in India.

Implemented Use Cases

- Click to call
- Number masking

Challenge #1
Bringing in operational efficiency – Decreasing the number of cancellations and support calls

For any business that wants to operate at scale and be sustainable, it is important to concentrate on improving their operational efficiency. Rapido wanted to decrease the number of cancellations.

On evaluation, they figured that Captain (driver partner) and customer not being able to contact each other was the primary reason for canceling a ride. To tackle this they needed –

1. To find a simpler method of customer communication
2. A system to confirm whether the Captain tried to reach out to the customer

Solution – Click to call integration on the Captain’s application

When the Captain entered the cancellation reason as “not being able to reach the customer”, they could select an alternate communication method.

Once the Captain selected this option, a call was triggered to the customer using a virtual number. If the customer picked up the call, the Captain would be connected. In case the customer was still not reachable, Rapido triggered an app notification to the customer saying the Captain had reached the location. The Captain was free to cancel the ride thereafter.

Since more Captains were able to connect with the customer, the number of cancellations significantly reduced. This also prevented Captains from calling the support numbers to request cancellation without contacting the customer.

Making every commute faster and safer

Bike taxis are the perfect solution to beat the commuter rush. But, there is also some perceived lack of safety associated with bike taxis. Rapido took some concrete steps to address this concern.

1. Helmets for the rider and the Captain is mandatory
2. Insure rides for both the rider and the Captain
3. Safeguarding customer information when the rider is a woman

Challenge #2
Protecting the privacy of female customers

To ensure a good ride experience, Rapido wanted to prevent the misuse of the customer’s personal data like mobile numbers, especially for their female customers.

Solution – Number masking to safeguard customer privacy

Once a customer is assigned a Captain, their contact details are mapped to a virtual number. When the Captain calls, it first connects to the virtual number. The call is then forwarded to the customer. This ensures that the phone number is not shared for communication.

Number Masking enabled Rapido to protect sensitive customer data. It also allowed them to take complete control over the conversations.

Apart from privacy, call insights from these conversations (number of calls, conversation recordings, etc.) have helped them to improve the overall app experience.