[goldenkey]

That's a perverse analogy. You're still paying for the ride, not for the conversation. An enjoyable conversation as oppose to silence, is icing on the cake.

Consider this: We don't pay for the barber to talk to us but would we go back to a barber if he wasn't socially adept?

[MichaelGG]

I'm probably not the only one that'd say: Yes, I'd prefer if the barber doesn't talk. Unless I'm in a particularly outgoing mood I'm probably not really interested in talking to a stranger. I'd pick the barber based on how smooth the transaction and service was. Perhaps I'm in an odd minority.

[xivzgrev]

Tough to say whether you're in odd minority. As I suggested above, I think market is splitting between riders who want a quiet/professional ride, and a fun/engaging ride. Uber is clearly leader in first, and Lyft is clearly leader in second.

UberX has some soul searching to do. Are they going to be the Lyft competitor (fun/engaging), or the cheaper Uber black (quiet/professional)? So far I see them in the second bucket, but this ad makes me ponder.

[goldenkey]

I actually prefer a balance between silence and a bit of chatter. I can't stand it when the barber tries to talk about bullshit I don't care about like sports. It's definitely a delicate thing to get right. My original point was that silence can be somewhat disconcerting and it's always good if the service worker has a bit of personality and grace to make for an enjoyable rather than awkward experience.