Lady luck smiles on cabbie, customer
dubai — Careem driver Irfan Safdar got the surprise of a lifetime one morning — a Dh5, 000 cheque from his employer.
Safdar – who has been a Careem “captain” for three years – was suddenly called to the company’s headquarters, where he was told he had to come to have his photograph taken. Little did he know that he would soon to be taking part in a week-long Careem party for its drivers, in which customers could either wish or give a small gift for its drivers during the company’s birthday week.
“We launched a social media competition asking customers to gift their captains crazy gifts and share it on their social media channels, with the #OCaptainMyCaptain to get a chance to win Dh5,000, for themselves,” a company spokesperson told Khaleej Times. “These gifts could be anything from a slice of cake to chocolates to humongous teddy bears… the crazier the gift, the higher the chances to win,” a spokesperson from the company told Khaleej Times. The winning customer, Careem said, would receive Dh5,000, as would his or her driver – a fact that was kept secret from both parties. The winning customer, Sheena Sapsford, got her driver a waterproof Bluetooth speaker on Tuesday afternoon.
“He had no idea (about the contest) and was pleasantly surprised when I offered him the watermelon-shaped Bluetooth speakers,” she recalled. “But he sweetly accepted the gift with a baffled look. I then clicked a picture of him showing off his gift and posted it on Careem’s social media platforms.” Safdar was then surprised to see Sapsford waiting for him at Careem’s office to tell him about the second gift.
“This is going to be the most memorable day of my life. I am too excited to say anything,” he said.
dubai — On Wednesday morning when cabbie Irfan Safdar — for the first time in his three years of service — got a call from his company Careem, asking him to visit the firm’s headquarters, he was a bit baffled. He was told that he had to come for some photoshoot.
Little did he know that a customer, whom Irfan had picked and dropped in his cab just last week would be waiting at the Dubaibased taxi app firm’s office to gift him the biggest surprise of his life — a Dh5,000 cheque!
Marking its fifth anniversary, Careem ran a week-long “party” for its captains (drivers), where customers could either wish or get a small gift for the cab drivers when they sit in the car. Careem asked customers to help them put a smile on their captains’ (drivers) face for their birthday week.
“We launched a social media competition asking customers to gift their captains crazy gifts and share it on their social media channels, with the #OCaptain MyCaptain to get a chance to win Dh5,000, for themselves. These gifts could be anything from a slice of cake to chocolates to humongous teddy bears… the crazier the gift, the higher the chances to win,” a spokesperson from the company told Khaleej Times.
The kicker? Not only was the winning customer rewarded with Dh5,000 but also his or her captain would win the same amount. However, the second part (about the cabbie getting Dh5,000) was kept a secret from both the customer as well as the cabbie.
Sheena Sapsford, a regular Careem customer, chanced upon the firm’s birthday contest on Careem’s Facebook account and found it appealing.
“In order to decide what to get for the cabbie, I went on the firm’s Instagram account to see what gifts people were giving the captains so that I could comparatively up the game a bit. I know of this one store that sells funky things and so I went there and bought a waterproof Bluetooth speaker that looked like a watermelon. It was just for Dh100 and had unique utility features. You can just stick it on the wall while taking a shower and listen to music or even answer calls on it,” said Sheena.
On Tuesday evening, Sheena booked her Careem cab to see her friend for dinner. “As I sat in the
I am too excited to say anything. All I want to say is that thanks Careem for giving me this money and thanks Sheena ma’am for being my lucky charm.”
Irfan Safdar, Careem driver
cab, I asked him if he knew about the contest. He had no idea and was pleasantly surprised when I offered him the watermelon-shaped Bluetooth speakers. But he sweetly accepted the gift with a baffled look. I then clicked a picture of him showing off his gift and posted it on Careem’s social media platforms.”
The campaign received tremendous participation, with people thinking out of the box in terms of gifts — from sharing a cup of coffee with the captain, to gifting a cool Bluetooth shower speaker. Overall, the Careem team received over 1 million impressions on its different platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram).
On asking why the Careem team zeroed in on Sheena’s gift, the team told Khaleej Times: “After speaking to the captains (cabbies) about the gifts they received, we learnt that music was something all our captains loved and the speaker given by Sheena was aptly-suited for the cabby as he could use it indoors and even outdoors at picnics.”
The team felt that Sheena’s gift was quite a thoughtful one and apart from the utility and appealing factor, it is the thought behind the gift that really counts, the team told Khaleej Times.
saman@khaleejtimes.com
Captains drive our mission forward and help us move the region toward better living. Without them Careem would simply cease to exist.” Bassel Al Nahlaoui, VP business development and govt relations, Careem 5,000 dirhams each was won by both the driver and the passenger