MAILSHOT
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DRESS CODE
I've just finished reading the October Call Sign magazine and Allen Togwell has really got my back up. I hope you can publish my response to his article 'Clothes Maketh the Man'. I would like to reply to his article under the heading of 'Put up or shut up!'
  I've been on Dial-a-Cab for a little over eleven years and throughout that time, Mr Togwell has constantly criticised drivers for being a scruffy bunch of individuals who only bath when it is their birthday. Quite frankly Mr 'Gucci' Togwell, I don't know how well founded those remarks are, but I can honestly say that I think you are wrong. You might have seen one or two drivers on a hot day not meeting the standard that YOU would expect, but to continuously tar us all with the same brush I find to be insulting, but then you are good at insulting drivers aren't you?
   You insinuate that the downfall of the taxi trade will be because we are all a bunch of smelly, scruffy, beer bellied don't-give-a-toss so and so's! You're right in saying that when you go to a function and "one attires oneself" to look the part. it makes you feel good.    But let me say this (and if you are insulted like I have been by you then tough), I think that you are over dressed and if a stranger walking along a street saw you and wondered what line of work you were in, I think they would conclude that you might be a       Harley St. gynaecologist! To me you look like a *** doctors clerk! I don't suppose that you will print the last sentence, I will not hold it against you, but at least show Allen Togwell so he knows how I feel!
   Well Mr Togwell, I feel the time has come for you to put your money where your mouth is and not worry about being defeated in getting a proposition through. It obviously means a lot to you to continuously slag us off. Are you afraid of being a loser, is it that you can't get a seconder?
   PUT UP OR SHUT UP! I'm sick of hearing the same old record, play the other side.
   I remember several years ago reading a terminal message: 'Smart driver, clean cab for film job; go to voice'. I got the job and had to see you for the details.  When I got to the office, you looked me up and down like a Sergeant Major and said in that very distinct voice of yours: "I thought I asked for a smart driver!" I was wearing a new pair of Levis, Russell and Bromley shoes, a polo shirt and cardigan. Keith Cain had to persuade you that I was smart enough. It just goes to prove you don't have to wear a suit, hence the term smart/casual.
Paul Shaw (B19)

AND MORE
   Regarding your article on dress code: It was very interesting reading your views, but there is one thing that happens to be more important than your opinion. If people judge us on the way we look, then it gives a very poor view on the people that use us as a service. There are a few reasons why I write this letter to you, the first reason is that public just want us to be polite, have a clean cab and treat them with the same respect that I or yourself would hope to get. Maybe if we took some time to do this, we would all would get along much better in this world. The second reason is a policy that you as Editor should have investigated a long time ago, something that is against the law, the matter of deception. You seem to think that it is right that you can let the dispatcher put out messages that there are good jobs in zones and that they can they also call jobs wrongly in order to get them covered. It is embarrassing when we have to ask the customer if they are sure, as the details on our screen differ to their instructions. Nine times out of ten, the customers says: "Oh no, I told the girl it was just a short job." We all know that this goes on, but one day when someone has a heart attack or dies of stress because of your policies, you won't deny that this goes on. We have proof, but probably the tapes have been wiped out as to what happened last year. If you as Editor would like to meet me at the office, I can prove this goes on or will you say to me "get on with the job 21" like dispatchers have done...?
Paul Levene (V21)
Sorry Paul, I must be honest and say that I'm not sure what you are talking about. I wrote no article about dress code. There were two in the last issue, one from Steve Shaller (R75) and another from Allen Togwell. I gave no opinion on either - both of which were in favour of a dress code. As for incorrect messages being put out, I am having trouble finding anything that I have written on that subject either. I can only speak for the evening shift as a driver because that is when I work, however, when a message goes out on EC5 saying <<<Jobs going to Maidstone, Upminster and High Wycombe>>> please bid, then those jobs ARE there and dispatchers generally inform drivers as to who eventually got the jobs. I have also spoken to the Call Centre staff who assure me that false destinations are never deliberately given. You must remember that our calltakers probably don't know the difference between Richmond Road and Richmond. They rely on information from the client and it isn't always forthcoming. In the past, the expression 'true AD' may have been used when the destination was known, but it is not done now - certainly not deliberately. As for your offer to meet me at the office, I am there most weekdays between 5.50 and 6.30 and I am happy to talk to you or anyone else - as I often do. But I wouldn't dream of telling anyone to 'get on with the job.' ...Ed

BRUNSWICK HOUSE ACCORDING TO FENG SHUI
   Is it true that the Dial-a-Cab building has been painted red or is someone having a laugh? A balanced use of colour enhances the Feng Shui of a building or room and creates a sense of harmony, whereas the excessive use of one colour can create an uneasy atmosphere. For example and I quote:
   "An all-red building introduces a powerful 'fire' element and may eventually make the occupants tense and argumentative."
   However if the building has already been painted red - all is not lost. The principles for Feng Shui in the workplace share many of the guidelines for a house or an apartment, but in this context there is an extra dimension to encourage a healthy flow of money.  The site and design/colours of your business is just as important as the commitment to, and efficiency of, the service it provides to customers or clients. If the business is badly sited or arranged, prosperity, health and profits may suffer. If you have positive Feng  Shui in your home, this may help support your business and vice versa, but weak Feng Shui in the work place and at home needs corrective action.
   Off the top of my head - one of the things that can be introduced to balance the 'fire' element is sand in some shape or form. Water, of course, being the obvious one.
   Many of you might 'poo poo' all this, but in some countries the idea of erecting or refurbishing an office block without consulting a Feng Shui expert is considered foolish.
   Think again kind sirs...
Jan Kay
Chigwell, Essex
At the risk of upsetting Feng Shui supporters, the more I see the newly decorated front, the more I like it. But like most forms of decoration, you can never please everybody ...Ed

THE RULES OR NOT THE RULES - THAT IS THE QUESTION
   I note that in the October Call Sign, you have inserted a page entitled procedure rules. Other than the front page there is no mention of this insertion. Why did you insert these 'rules'? Did the Board of Management request that you included the list of 'rules' in Call Sign? If the Board did request same, why was there no mention as to why they felt the need to inform the members of these 'rules'?
POWERPLUS
   I would be most interested to hear from anyone who has had PowerPlus fitted to his or her cab and to know whether it does what it says it does. It claims to decrease fuel consumption by up to 25%. I am sure that all   Dial-a-Cab drivers would be interested in saving themselves a considerable sum of money every year after the initial outlay of around £140.
John Able (M31)
If anyone has had the PowerPlus unit fitted and wants to give their view, please write to Call Sign. However, I don't remember anyone claiming a fuel decrease of 25% or mileage increases of anything like that much, but perhaps I'm wrong ...Ed
GARY GATES DIET
   First may I congratulate you on an excellent October Call Sign. I was particularly interested in the 'flabby cabbies' diet competition in which Gary Gates lost 4.5 stone by using the low fat diet system, S2.
   

  Is there any chance that we could have a printout or at least some information of where we could get hold of a copy of the diet so that the rest of us 'fat' cabbies could do the same.

Special K or Bran Flakes with skimmed milk in the morning. Lunch can be a salad kebab or sandwich with anything, but no butter or margarine. Dinner could be chicken with no skin, lots of vegetables and two potatoes. In between meals, if you feel peckish you can have some sweets such as jelly babies, opal fruits, fruit tellas, wine gums boiled sweets, Jaffa Cakes or toast with jam or marmalade - but no butter or spread.
A few tips: Don't regularly use scales in the home, weigh yourself once every three weeks or so because you are not on a diet. You are just eating more healthily. By the way, always drink lots of water. 

 If you are confused then I'm sorry, but it would appear that you are the only person that is.

NEW TERMINALS
   In the October Call Sign, Mr Collins (B61) gave his views on the new terminal, stating that he qualified for one due to the number of account trips that he does. Mr Collins also states however, that he has only been a member of Dial-a-Cab since mid-June. He has therefore been on the circuit for just over three months.
   I have spoken to many drivers on DaC who have been members for 20 - 25 years and also do the requisite amount of trips per month, but they have not heard from the BoM as to when they will be fitted for a new terminal. I had understood that our older members would come first in the fitting programme. Has that policy changed so that all newcomers, who qualify by doing the required number of trips per month, are able to jump the queue ahead of the old-established qualifying member?
   Do the BoM have any comments to make?
R.M.Sorene (A53)
Brian Rice replies: The criteria we use is quite simple; the members that complete the most amount of trips are fitted with a new terminal unless they are changing their vehicle, then provided they are completing over 100 trips per month they receive new equipment. So in Mr Collins case, it is quite possible that he could be a member for three months and receive a new terminal. He was obviously one of our top earners during that period. The new terminal needs as much use as it can get in order that we can observe its ruggedness, that is why the terminals are fitted to members that will give it the most use. Ray, I have never said that the new terminals would be fitted to 'older members' vehicles first and when you talk about the requisite number of trips do you mean the minimum 40, because if you do, then I suggest that they will be way down the list. Incidentally, any new member to DaC is fitted initially with old equipment.

CALL SIGN ADVERTISING
   May I say how dismayed I was to read on page 25 of the October Call Sign, an advertisement from a Channel 4 TV researcher asking licensed taxi drivers to reveal stories about their celebrity clients. Whilst I can believe that a small handful of taxi drivers would betray what I consider to be a professional confidence for the breathtaking reward of being on the telly', I find it staggering that Call Sign, having played such a prominent part in upgrading the image of the trade, should even consider running such an ad!
   Furthermore, to a Channel 4 producer, the word 'celebrity' is far-reaching. I am in no doubt that the Chairman of a major company would come in that category as well as the Julian Clary's of this world. Can you imagine the damage to Dial-a-Cab's image if one of our members should divulge information about any of our 'celebrity' clients - be they from show-biz or commerce and all for thirty pieces of silver or the chance to appear with some shrieking bimbo 'on the telly'!
   Perhaps you, Alan, could explain the thinking behind accepting this ad, as I am sure Brian Rice had no knowledge of it publication. Finally, if you were a prospective client of DaC and were to find out that any minor indiscretions were going to be noted by the drivers of your chosen taxi service to be featured in a future TV 'comedy' show, just how would YOU react?
Terry Hamston (B24)
You make an interesting point, Terry and I must hold my hands up and say that I never even thought about it! I was telephoned by one of the show's researchers who, like many in that field, perceive DaC as being the representatives of the cab trade and who automatically phone us for any taxi-related matters or quotes. She said that they were running a comedy show featuring celebrities in unusual settings and could Call Sign ask DaC drivers to phone her if they had any stories to pass on. Quite honestly I didn't give it a second thought and neither did I make any charge for the ad.
Early last year, Call Sign ran some paid ads from a company that make loans to drivers who found it difficult to get loans in the normal way. One of our subscribers worked out that the interest rate was nothing less than extortionate and made a similar point to Terry - the ad shouldn't have gone in. I thought about it and with the info re the interest rate, I decided to pull it from future issues. However, I then got a letter from a driver asking if he could have the ad details as he had thrown away the previous issue of Call Sign. I mentioned the obnoxious interest rate but he went on to say that these types of loan companies were the only people prepared to lend him money and he had no choice. Should I have then re-run the ad? It is a difficult situation because as the saying goes in the cab trade, ten drivers having a discussion will come up with eleven different points of view! But all in all, I think that Terry's view was the right one. One of the reasons people use cabs besides wanting to get somewhere quickly, is the privacy element and as I said earlier, I hold my hands up and admit that I got it wrong ...Ed

CALL SIGN AND THE PARKING SCAMS
   I expect you have by now seen the Evening Standard headlines and heard radio reports about Westminster parking attendants being sacked! I have to say that when we first got into this long ago, I notified the Evening  Standard, Daily Mail, Daily Express, BBC Watchdog and Call Sign Magazine. Call Sign were the first to publish (and be damned) anything about the subject long before anyone else. It seems that Call Sign leads and they all follow! Many thanks to all those who sent me their details of bogus tickets, perhaps it has not all been in vain and the other boroughs will now take some action too. The battle has been won, but the war goes on
Many thanks for your interest and help because without your publicity it might not have been possible.
Roy Martin (R42)
Thanks for the compliments Roy, but my part was nothing compared to the time and trouble you have taken and it's nice to know that all was not in vain. If Call Sign helped, then I am delighted, but let no one take away from the work you put in and also the drivers who put themselves out by sending relevant information to Call Sign (all passed on to Roy) that all helped so much. So well done Roy and I'm sure that goes for everybody ...Ed

TRUE STORY?
   The following is a true story that happened to one of our taxi drivers in Melbourne recently following a dispatched radio job.
   The taxi had been dispatched to pick up a World War 2 Veteran and take him to his regular health day centre.  There he always receives a hot meal and the loving care and attention the elderly often miss out on receiving. This job is dispatched several times per week and the taxi driver is always told to knock hard on the cottage door and then go in and give all reasonable assistance to the elderly man. A 16-year-old arthritic dog that barely has the energy to wag his tail usually greets the driver, generally gets in the way! Unfortunately, the passenger is never ready on time and potters and fusses about the cottage that contains relics of a younger, fitter man and not this frail and elderly gentleman.
   "Help yourself to some peanuts," the man croaked at the driver, "I won't keep you much longer." So the cab driver munched away on a bowl of nuts that took pride of place on the table.
"Wow," calls out the driver, 
"these nuts are yummy!"
   "Yes," said the old man, "I know.  The nuts are coated in chocolate and keep getting stuck in my dentures, so after I have licked off all the chocolate I put them in the bowl and they dry out nicely. Have some more."
David Gawthorn
Melbourne, Australia
David is the author of the excellent ebook "Are You Free? - Confessions of a Taxi Driver" which Call Sign reviewed several months ago.

It is still available on email from: HERE  and will cost you an approximately converted figure of £3.15 ...Ed

TAXICARD
   With the new TaxiCards obviously causing some drivers problems, perhaps it would be a good idea to give the top five  TaxiCard drivers every month a new terminal instead of just the top overall drivers. This would encourage some drivers to keep on covering this work which is politically important to the trade.
Eddie Lambert (V27)
Brian Rice replies: Seems like a good idea to me, Eddie and I am very pleased to see that some members are aware of the political importance of some of our accounts. The only problem that I can envisage is that the same five or six drivers will come top month after month. Consequently, after the first month or two there would be no contest.

AA TOWAWAY!
   I was recently foolish enough to fill up my fuel tank with petrol instead of diesel. I decided to get the AA to tow me to my garage where I believed that I could get the job done for around £30. My treatment from the AA was not what I had come to expect from them, so I asked The Sunday Times investigative reporter Roger Anderson to look at my case. I enclose the article he wrote.
Stephen Berndes (R14)
Cabbies Shock Bill For Fill-up Blunder... (Courtesy The Sunday Times)
London cabbie SB admits he did a rather "hopeless" thing when he filled his car with petrol rather than diesel. Having realised his mistake, he did not even turn the engine on, because that way the contaminated fuel stayed only in the tank. He called out the AA, expecting to be towed to his local garage where he knew the tank could be drained for about £30. But he had an unpleasant surprise. The AA insisted on towing him to a garage nearby, where he had to cough up £152. He says the AA told him he could not be taken to a garage of his choice because his break-down was "self-inflicted".
I was curious about this alleged diktat: after all, surely a broken fan belt could be "self-inflicted" if the belt was obviously worn. However, an AA spokesman assured me that its Relay cover had no such exclusion - although the scheme did not allow relay back to a member's home if a car could easily be fixed locally. What's more, the AA spokesman insisted that £152 was reasonable. He said disposal of contaminated fuel was a costly business and was incredulous that any firm could deal with such a problem for just £30. However, I have spoken to SB's garage which insists that it legally disposes of a large quantity of waste each week. Fuel from one tank would have added little to its overall costs and it confirmed that £30 was about right for this relatively simple job.
Thanks for that Stephen. Anyone who has filled up from the wrong pump will know the embarrassment you feel in addition to the irritation! ...Ed

THE LIGHT OF MY LIFE!
   It is a cold, wet Monday morning and it has been raining for a few hours. I'm feeling miserable (any driver who knows me will say what's new!) and it's getting like 11pm NOT 11am, it is so dark! I'm driving along Old street and suddenly I SEE THE LIGHT (cue dramatic music, thunder and lightning etc...)! The light is getting brighter, but what is it? Like a moth to a flame, my cab is drawn towards that light. I go around the Old Street roundabout and now I can really see it - I can see the light! But what is this awesome sight you ask? Of course! It's DaC's new illuminated logo on the outside of  Brunswick House. It is so huge and bright that it illuminates the whole area - ok, so I exaggerate slightly! However, I have 3 comments to make on this 8th wonder of the world...
   1. If any of the light bulb's blow, don't ask Ernie in reception to replace them. After the Call Sign reported coffee machine incident, he'll probably black out most of N1 and EC1!
   2. Where is the large revolving yellow flashing light with a picture of a man and a clipboard to compliment this amazing neon marvel? If you fitted this attachment, we would be able to park on the red and yellow lines AND on the pavement outside the office with no fear of a ticket from any wardens!
   3. Why not make smaller models of this wondrous sight so that we drivers can stick it on our roofs and plug it into the cigarette lighter for Chanukah and/or Christmas!
PS. I really like it - provided they don't ask me to change the fuse!
Sheldon Collins (B61)

LETTER TO THE MAYOR
   Please find the reply below to a letter of complaint that I sent to our mayor regarding the lack of action concerning touts.
David Kupler (Y74)

Dear Mr Kupler,
The Mayor has asked the Public Carriage Office (PCO) to reply to your e-mail regarding control of illegal plying for hire.
Taxi touting is a criminal offence and a matter for the police. The Mayor is very keen to see this activity stamped out. The PCO - part of Transport for London (TfL) - is working closely with local police chiefs and the Metropolitan Police's Cab Enforcement Section to increase the number of and provide support for operations targeting touts in those areas, where they are a problem. The Metropolitan Police's Cab Enforcement section is also under it's agreement with the PCO, working to raise police awareness of the problem with touting.
Yours Sincerely
Michael Pearl
For Officer in Charge

GOING HOME TIME - ALL IN RHYME?
   The board tinkered with a zone that did work; now if you work it you feel like a jerk,
   Night men were called the Finsbury mob, they covered most in search of a lucrative job,
   Working this zone contains nothing sweet, why run for a job you can get off the street?
   Day men pick the cherries, night men get the stones - whenever it is they decide to go home.
   Angry and frustrated, no one listens to their moans, since the creation of the 'going home' zones,
   No one minds if going home is the key, but since when has Becton been Southend on Sea?
R Stroulger (Y50)
Sorry if you feel that you've been caught, better go read the Chairman's Report!
But if you want something else instead, what about this rhyme from the man signed ...Ed

DRESS CODE - STEVE SHALLER RESPONDS TO ALLEN TOGWELL
Dear Allen,
   I can imagine how difficult it must be for a BM to find a subject about which to write on a regular basis for Call Sign. I certainly made it easy for you in last month's issue by suggesting that we have a Dress Code. Whilst this is something the BoM would find very desirable, I must confess I was both surprised and disappointed by your astonishing reluctance to put forward a proposition to enforce this. You have explained this reluctance by writing: "I have learnt from experience never to put a proposition forward that you are not confident of passing." I find this explanation rather strange when one considers it was not so long ago that the BoM proposed the ill-fated Rule Change (to which you were obviously a signatory) that the Society's trading status be changed from a 'friendly' to a Private Limited Company. I do not believe even the most charitable member seriously expected this Rule Change to be passed. And, having read the final report of our now departed Financial Manager, I am still not sure who was more disenchanted with the result: the BoM or the Financial Manager.
   If the BoM could propose such a radical and unpopular Rule Change that in no way undermined, or even impaired, their reputations, then logic suggests one of you who feels sufficiently strongly about the way the members dressed, would have the moral courage to propose a 'Dress Code' at the next AGM. I even explained why I thought you to be the ideal BM. Of course, it would be more convenient for someone like myself to present this proposition. I am not too concerned about my popularity (my mother still loves me) nor am I chasing votes.
   Our radio circuit is unquestionably the premier circuit. If we were to adopt a  Dress Code, the other circuits would follow suite, as indeed they did with Data  Despatch. Or should we wait and take our cue from them? 1 welcome comments and views from my fellow members. If you find commenting in Call Sign a touch too close to home, then please e-mail me.
Steve Shaller (R75)
evenstephens@talk21.com
I know that many are in favour of a dress code and your comments are welcome, but I'd also be interested to hear from anyone who believes that drivers should be able to go out as they wish - in the event we ever get another hot summer - even if that means a vest, torn shorts and no shave ...Ed

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