thistlechaser: (tree)
thistlechaser ([personal profile] thistlechaser) wrote2015-11-18 09:25 pm
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Uber (personal taxi service) sure does offer interesting things

Last month I posted about Uber bringing offices a gaggle of kittens to enjoy, and this month they're delivering a "wellness pack". For $10, not only do you get the pack of goods, you get a registered nurse who will give up to 10 people a flu shot. $10 for one person alone would be a good deal, but $10 for 10 people to get a shot, PLUS stuff for taking care of yourself, PLUS it's delivered to you? What a deal!

[identity profile] liedra.livejournal.com 2015-11-19 04:44 pm (UTC)(link)
I hate to sound like a downer, but it's important to know that this is being subsidised by a private medical data mining company, so it might not necessarily be prudent to take part if you value your medical privacy!

[identity profile] thistle-chaser.livejournal.com 2015-11-19 05:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh wow, that's good to know! And it makes the pricing make more sense...

Thanks for letting me know. :)

[identity profile] bacchuslives.livejournal.com 2015-11-19 10:14 pm (UTC)(link)
What a strange promotion... Granted I work at a hospital, so flu shots are easy to come by, but it's cool.

[identity profile] thistle-chaser.livejournal.com 2015-11-19 11:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Isn't it strange? Though the comment above, about them gathering info through it, makes it make more sense.

[identity profile] ashmedai.livejournal.com 2015-11-20 12:06 am (UTC)(link)
I don't know what a flu shot costs since my insurance pays for that, but that does seem awfully cheap. I'd be wondering where the catch is, but then I'm naturally suspicious, especially about medical things that seem too good to be true.

Edit: Ah! Just saw the above comment. Huh. I wonder if you wouldn't have to explicitly agree to having data harvested like that. Their just doing it without informed consent doesn't sound legally kosher, tbh.
Edited 2015-11-20 00:09 (UTC)

[identity profile] thistle-chaser.livejournal.com 2015-11-20 12:11 am (UTC)(link)
Turns out you're right to be suspicious!

They probably give you a form to sign that's ten pages long in tiny type, knowing no one is going to read it before signing. Agreement to let your information to be used is probably buried in there somewhere.

[identity profile] ashmedai.livejournal.com 2015-11-20 12:16 am (UTC)(link)
Fuckers! Haha! Hopefully people are getting a real flu shot, at least, and not glucose water or something.

[identity profile] thistle-chaser.livejournal.com 2015-11-20 12:44 am (UTC)(link)
If they got fake shots, it would be such an uproar when people started getting the flu, Uber would lose more money than they're gaining with the personal information. So probably no worries on that!

[identity profile] ashmedai.livejournal.com 2015-11-20 12:50 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, good point. :)