| Mailshot is your chance to
tell the subscribers of Dial-a-Cab exactly what you think. Complaints, compliments or just
to write about Call Sign. This is YOUR paper within your magazine....
You can also email your letters to: callsignmag@aol.com
THE DIAL-A-CAB AGM
Now that the AGM has passed and all the back-slapping and dust
has settled, I am hoping that some questions concerning the membership can
be asked and answered in Call Sign. Due to the poor turn-out at AGMs and
with no Driver's Forums in the pipeline, Call Sign seems to be the only
platform for driver's questions. So here are mine...
1. At the 2001 AGM, Mr Rice informed the members that he was
looking into suggestions re money-off subscriptions for every extra job
over a set number; any news?
2. Why no advertising in the Evening Standard like Addison
Lee or Com Cab to generate cash work?
3. If there are 2000 or so drivers on our circuit, just our
subs alone input some £2million into our circuit every year - a
substantial amount in itself. Why do we not receive any benefits for this?
I read and know about smaller companies than ours who offer staff
incentives and even private health care, without making staff pay extra
for the policy..?
4. Why divide the staff of the company? Drivers have already
written in previous issues of Call Sign about the lack of driver
participation in Dial-a-Cab events, but I feel that the Board's decision
to give the staff a £500 Christmas bonus was very disappointing. I am not
against the bonus amount (with £5million in the bank it should be more),
but I feel that all staff - drivers included - should have received it as
well. After the bad year many drivers experienced last year, a cheque for
£500 at Xmas would have been heartily received.
As I have stated, I feel that what is sauce for the goose
should also be sauce for the gander. Don't get me wrong, the umbrella and
diary were nice, but come in a poor second. If we are all singing from the
same hymn sheet, then this would help everyone to keep DaC at the top.
Grant Davis (L39)
Brian Rice replies: There are four points to your letter, Grant, and I
will endeavour to answer each in turn, but I believe you have put
everything into context with your last five words - which I quote -
"...keep DaC at the top." That says it all.
1. I think it fair to say that the Radio Taxi industry has
seen a downturn over the past twelve months; consequently it is not
necessary at the moment to operate a 'payback scheme'. I believe it far
more realistic to offer the members value for money subscriptions rather
than have them artificially high and then have a 'payback' for trips that
they complete over a certain number.
2. You ask why we do not advertise in the Evening Standard to
generate cash work like Addison Lee or Com Cab. How do you know that the
advertisements generate cash work? After all, the ComCab advert was to
promote their Credit Card booking facility, as we endeavour to promote
ours with the introduction of receipts offering this facility. We
have also designed a new advert for the jockey seats, again with Credit
Card bookings in mind.
3. You ask why you do not receive any benefits from your
subs. You do; you are a member of the best radio circuit in London and the
one that also charges the least amount of subscriptions of all four
circuits, with the highest return per £1 of subscription. No one in
London can currently better DaC.
4. You ask why the shareholders do not get a bonus at
Christmas because the staff does? Well Grant, for a start the staff are
employees and our members are self-employed. The company has done
extremely well in recent years and I am a firm believer that staff should
be aware that they are appreciated, hence the bonus. Regarding the
members, the story is a little different as everyone is self-employed, but
we do operate an incentive scheme at Christmas that costs the company more
than the staff bonus. Also, it is illegal for me to return 'unearned
money' to shareholders as it could be classed as issuing dividends which
does not comply with a Mutual Trading company such as ours, however, if
you wish to have a dividend returned to you every year, then you will have
to change the structure of the company.
AND AGAIN...
I have just returned home from the excellent AGM where, for
once, we had an orderly constructive meeting. I would however like to
mention one thing: It was stated that the full-time staff received £500
for their Xmas bonus. Some seem to think that a lot, but for a company
with our turnover, this is not over the top - look at other companies!
Also the amount given to the staff from us, the drivers, amounted to the
staggering amount of £4000!! Not a great amount considering that we
are 2200 drivers and I know what some gave to our hard working staff, so
an awful lot gave NOTHING...! So please ladies and gentlemen, remember
that we are in a service trade and we like to get tips on our fares, so
why not tip our staff?
Our thanks to Sid Nathan for the usual cabaret!
Martin Freeborn (C67)
EXPLANATION PLEASE...
May I please have an explanation to the following query, which normally
happens with TaxiCard jobs. A few weeks ago I accepted a TaxiCard job,
which had been on bid for some time. It was a busy and wet Sunday
afternoon. The pick up was from a British Legion club and my time was
accepted. When I arrived I was told by the barmaid that my passenger was
unable to wait any longer and had already left. I went on to voice and
told the dispatcher who informed me that they were speaking to the
customer and to go back to data and wait for a message. A few minutes
later I received the usual message: Please Wait Passenger Coming
Down Soon. I then went back to voice and queried this message and was told
to wait the statuary fifteen minutes and then request a no-show. I told
the dispatcher again that the passenger had definitely left, but he was
adamant that I should follow procedure which I reluctantly did as I did
not like arguing with him over the air. As expected, I was scrubbed after
fifteen minutes.
I would like to know why I should have to wait, when I have
it on good authority that the passenger has gone and why I receive false
messages on the screen only to be left hanging
around on a busy and wet Sunday afternoon unable to cover the build-up of
work when it is extremely busy.
Somebody please change this unnecessary procedure.
Harold Harris (T48)
Keith Cain replies:
Within the Call Centre, place to ensure that we give
the best possible service to both client and driver. While we are fully
aware of theprocedures have to be put into
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frustration these type of incidences cause a driver, we can
relate without exaggeration to hundreds of occasions when a porter,
secretary, security guard or others have confirmed the passenger has gone
only to receive a call from the passenger asking where their cab was! In
all honesty, the Society is in a no win situation with these type of
occurrences. Once the driver is pulled off there is no way the client will
pay for the drivers time, even though someone has "informed us"
that the passenger has gone. From experience, we feel that the passenger
will turn up in about 15 minutes of the cab arriving. Our procedure is for
the ring back telephonist to do everything they can to track down the
client so as to ensure that what the driver is being told is
correct. On this occasion I feel sure the telephonist phoned the contact
number on the trip details only to find the telephone number is that of
the passengers home. In this case, the person at the house instructs us to
wait not aware of what the passenger
is doing. For Taxicard trips, we could reduce the 15 minute wait to 10 and
I will speak with the controllers about this. As I've already said, we
know it can be frustrating, but please remember we are only trying to
ensure that when we pull a cab off there will be no further problems in
doing so...
THANKS FROM A WESTMINSTER CARDHOLDER
As a Westminster Taxicard holder for the past three years, I would like to
offer both my thanks and congratulations to everyone at Dial-a-Cab for
providing such a wonderful service. Drivers and staff alike are always
helpful and the fact that I have only been let down once in those three
years is surely testament to that excellence.
Again, my thanks to you all...
Gladys Coombes
London NW8
AND FROM US...
Both my husband and myself have been using Westminster
TaxiCards for some time now and although we only use them for shopping and
hospital trips, both come far too regularly. However, I do not know
how we would manage either were it not for the wonderful service you at
Dial-a-Cab give to us cardholders. My husband is now 83 and is a former
London taxi driver. Although I do not know the type of taxi he drove, it
was one that had very little protection from the elements. He always tells
me that when it rained, the windscreen wipers would shower him with water!
He was also one of the first British soldiers to enter the concentration
camps after the war, that experience has left him mentally scarred. So
with the physical problems we both now have, the TaxiCard is a Godsend and
we thank you all at Dial-a-Cab for the service and at Westminster
for making that service available.
Hector and Betty McPherson
London NW8
HULLO STANLEY, EARTH CALLING!
Re the letter from Stanley Frankel (K46) in the March Call Sign: Oh
Stanley, I think you have been driving with your head in the clouds!
Wherever you have been Stanley, I hope you've enjoyed yourself but welcome
to 2002. Please come and join us in the real world. If a customer
wants fixed price jobs, then that's what the customer should get. We want
their business and how they get theirs or what they charge has got nothing
to do with Dial-a-Cab drivers. Our Stan is the type of driver who thinks
the world owes us a living because we have done The Knowledge. I think
not. We are no longer competing with Ford Cortinas! Has our
Stanley driven by Credit Suisse lately? How many ComCabs does he see?
Probably none. How many Mercs will he see with drivers in jackets, shirts
and ties? That is just one large ex-taxi account that is now mainly
serviced by Licensed Private Hire (sounds so much better than Minicab,
don't you think).
Our Stan is a fine example of why the Taxi trade is losing so
much work to private hire and unless we are willing to try to supply the
kind of service the customer demands, then someone else will.
I feel safe with the type of Board we have running Dial-a-Cab
at the moment, but can you imagine if we had our Stan in charge! With his
type of attitude we would be losing accounts by the truckload. Mind you,
at the following AGM we could all say together: "That's another fine
mess you've got us into Stanley!"
Peter Moll (K35)
Thanks for the letter Peter, I believe Stanley is currently on holiday in
the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, on the trail of the Lonesome Pine!
...Ed
DRIVERS FORUM
I had a telephone conversation with Brian Rice before Christmas
regarding the Drivers Form and I understood that he was too busy to
organise one due to commitments regarding the AGM.
Now that the AGM is finished, would there be a chance of
organising a Drivers Forum and if so, can drivers be given the date and
venue via their terminals as well as in Call Sign.
Tony Lawyer (C51)
Brian Rice responds: You may probably be aware that at the AGM this year
we had over an hour of AOB, which in my view was excellent and very
constructive, the AGM is a very good platform for members to air their
views. Consequently, as we have just had a forum (the AOB), I do not
envisage having another in the immediate future. Incidentally, Tony, I
never saw you there...
DAC FAMILY ABROAD
Dial-a-Cab has such an informative website, thank you. As the
daughter and sister of a cabbie living abroad, I would be interested in
reading Call Sign, but alas, can't find it. Any chance that this will soon
be on line as well as the occasional hard copy we get sent from London?
Your telephone staff are always so pleasant if I have to get
a message to one of my family, even though I'm sure they're rushed off
their feet. I always advise friends going to the UK to call Dial-a-Cab
when they visit London.
To all mushers, keep fighting the good fight. Thanks again...
Donna Willett-Morgan (Sister of T27 and T16)
Allen Togwell replies:
Hello Donna and thank you for your nice words. You say you are living
abroad but don't say where. Yes Call Sign is available on-line, in fact
there is a whole library of them, all you need do is to go to Industry
Services or our Site Map on the DaC website at www.dialacab.co.uk and you
would have seen a mug shot of the editor, Alan Fisher! If looking at his
picture is too painful, just click below and go straight to the
library. If you have time, I'm sure the editor would love to
hear from you. He is like an old woman when it comes to gossip...!
BERNIE PRESSMAN
Just to thank you and everyone at Call Sign for your kind words
about my father, Bernie Pressman, in your March issue. I know how
proud he would have been to be featured so
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prominently in his favourite publication. My mother, sisters
and family were touched by your generous editorial, the letters of
condolence and the wonderful obituary by John Able.
My dad loved driving a cab and I donıt think he would ever
have retired. Living as I do in Central London and working at home during
the day, I will miss that knock on the door, his taxi standing at the kerb
and my dad rushing in and up the stairs to use the loo!
There are still donations coming in to his favourite
charities and many thanks to everyone who has contributed.
Very best wishes...
Lee Pressman (and family)
THEY'RE ALL GOOD...
I'd like to say something to all my fellow Dial-a-Cab drivers:
Every account job is a good job, so please don't reject unless you are
going home. It takes months to open an account, but one driver can lose it
in minutes. Yes it's schmaltzy ... but it's also very true.
Sid Nathan (K88)
WRONG PIC!
In the March issue of Call Sign on page 20 (DaC Drivers and the
Euro), there was a lovely photo of me for which I had posed earlier.
Unfortunately, you got my surname, call sign and quote wrong. I don't need
Euros to get to Brighton!
Robert Meehan (W24)
Ah...erm...congratulations Robert, you have just won the deliberate
mistake competition. You and a partner can go to any restaurant of your
choice anywhere in the world. If you can get someone to pay for it, then
it'll be even better! Seriously Robert, I'm sorry for the mix-up and happy
to correct it...Ed
PURCHASING A STAKE IN DIAL-A-CAB
"I will not bring up the subject of Dial-a-Cab becoming a
PLC again unless requested to by the members." Even by politician's
standards, Brian Rice's recent letter must rank as one of the biggest U
Turns of all time. To then try to excuse such a letter by saying it would
be remiss not to bring the offer to the members and to try to play on the
supposed greed of taxi drivers by quoting cash amounts that could be given
out, is inexcusable.
After successfully neutering any meaningful discussion at the
AGM through the postal vote and denying any kind of feedback from Driver
Forums, the Board of Management are now intent on following their own
master plan of creating the all-singing all-dancing transportation
company. The plan would be to use cars, limos, bikes, vans and of course
the odd taxi to service the corporate customers. It is important that the
profits can be hived off, so what better than a cut- price sell off? I am
sure many forward looking companies would be prepared to invest in a
company with proven technology, an impressive customer base and a willing
management.
So what's in it for the Board of Management? Firstly, massive
salary increases, no need to keep their taxis, no need to be re-elected,
much more freedom and probably a good bonus for making it all happen.
What's in it for the taxi driver? No control of the company.
If you believe a 15% share gives you anything, you are living in cloud
cuckoo land. Work disappearing to bikes, cars and limos with only the
short, central journeys left (basically the rubbish). Is a one-off payment
worth this? Are taxi drivers really that short-sighted? If the members
truly want to sell off the assets, then at least all the options should be
looked at, floatation, private companies or an open sale, not just a quick
sale to the first company that comes knocking.
As for offering longer standing members more for their
shares, I wonder what legal basis there is for this? All members have an
equal share and their rights to the company are equal. Unlike Windfalls
and Floatation's of Insurance Companies and Building Societies where
allocations are based on balances held, or amount of With Profits invested
in the company, there is no such element in Dial-a-Cab shares. Of course
members who have been on the circuit the longest (and therefore more
likely to be the oldest and nearest retirement), would be keenest to sell
out. I would certainly challenge the legitimacy of unequal payments in the
hopefully unlikely event of this happening. When the members reject
this current offer, as I believe they will, I hope the Board of Management
will consider their own positions and see it as a vote of no confidence.
George Wilson (F17)
Brian Rice replies: To say that I was disgusted with your letter would be
an understatement. What right have you to suggest that I withhold
information from my members just because it doesn't suit you? Yes, I did
say that I would not bring up the subject of PLC again and I haven't. An
offer has been made to DaC and it is my duty to pass that offer on to
members and for them to make a decision. But, according to you I should
keep them in the dark and sweep everything under the carpet. Not me
George, you and I obviously have different principles.
However, there was a part of your letter that made me smile. You object to
longer-serving members receiving more than members who have been on the
circuit for a shorter period of time - well, you would, wouldn't you?
After all, you have only been here for a little over
three and a half years! By your own admission Building Societies and
Insurance companies paid out on 'balances held'. In the case of
Dial-a-Cab, I believe that members 'balances held' are the years of
service that he/she has put into helping build up this company. Finally, I
personally feel insulted by your remark regarding "...what's in it
for the Board?" One of your "assessments" includes
"...a good bonus for making it all happen." Hopefully the
membership will see what type of person you are and how you think -
certainly not the same as me, thank God...
RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS
Would it be possible at the beginning of each year to publish the Jewish
holiday dates so that those of us working will be aware that on those
particular dates, there are likely to be reduced numbers of cabs working
and that it would be a good day or night to work. This rest of this year's
dates would be useful if possible...
John Able (M31)
Problem is John, in an age of PC I'd also be expected to publish the
religious holiday dates for every religion. I had it last year when I
wished Jewish and Christian readers a Happy New Year or Christmas. It
provoked a rather large post on why I did not treat all religions equally.
So as a one-off and because you are a nice guy (as is everyone else too!):
The Jewish New Year will involve Friday (evening)/Saturday/Sunday 6, 7, 8
September, while the Yom Kippur Day of Atonement will be on Sunday
(evening) /Monday 15, 16 September. I hope that's right...Ed
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