A Wee Tale
The availability of public comfort stations whilst driving a taxi is
not a subject that I find particularly inspiring, in fact a rare perusal
through the thesaurus to find an alternative name for a lavatory offered little
assistance in making the subject easier, so why mention it at all you may well
ask! Well, being as there have been articles in the taxi press of late
criticising Westminster Council's intentions to nick cab drivers caught
urinating in the street and the fact that it borders on a subject of which I am
often associated ie "appearance and image," I feel it worth a
comment.
What surprises me most is that in all the articles I have read
from within the cab trade, not one writer has publicly condemned the practice
but chose instead to put the blame on the authorities.
Contrary to what some of our members think, I have pushed a taxi
for a living and on a personal note, suffered for many years with a urology
problem resulting in a persistent necessity to use a latrine. However, there
has never been even one occasion when I have found it necessary to use anywhere
other than the correct place, even during the period when I was undergoing
radiotherapy for prostate cancer where a common side effect is the need to go
to the loo practically every ten minutes.
London is full of hotels, petrol stations, 24-hour shopping stores, train
stations, pubs etc many of which have public washrooms. And it was these
establishments that I used and still use when I am out driving, be it for the
toilet facilities or simply to freshen up.
Like many who drive a licensed taxi, I had my own preferred areas
to work and in my case it was east of Edgware road, and whenever I was in
between jobs in the west-end, I regularly used the Durants Hotel toilet
facilities. In fact I used it so frequently, particularly the automatic shoe
cleaner and free deodorants etc, that the staff - especially the washroom
attendant who stood waiting to offer me a clean towel - thought I was a long
term resident until to their surprise when they spotted me in the taxi!
And it was at Durants where I once saw an example of how the
actions of just one selfish driver can create the very issue being highlighted
by Westminster. The linkman on seeing me parked outside, asked me to come in
and look at the toilet that had just been used by a cab driver. The washbasin
and mirror was covered in black grease. The driver had obviously just changed a
wheel or done something to his engine, but the state in which he left the
washroom was a disgrace. I insisted on cleaning it up - which I did by using
toilet paper. Unfortunately, the damage had been done and because of that one
isolated incident, the hotel immediately banned drivers from using the toilet -
myself included...
How often do we hear the phrase "being tarred with the same
brush" due to the misdemeanours of others? How often have we read in
newspapers such as the Evening Standard, grossly exaggerated articles about the
cab trade because of one incident involving a journalist? It is unfair ... but
also a fact of life. And until everybody in the cab trade accepts that image is
going to be a primary factor in our fight against private hire and are prepared
to remonstrate with those that are damaging that image, we will always be
measured by the lowest common denominator. In this case, with the idiots who
consider it acceptable to urinate in the street.
Female Complaints
Another example of image occurs whenever we receive a complaint from
a female client about an abusive or discourteous driver; included in the
complaint invariably is criticism about the driver's scruffy or unshaven
appearance. Exactly why this is I don't really know, perhaps an unkempt
appearance to a woman sends out the wrong vibes and is seen as aggression when
none was intended and the end result is an altercation?
I don't wish to give the impression that I was the perfect cab driver, because
I wasn't, but I can honestly say that in all my years of driving a licensed
taxi, I cannot recall ever having had a serious problem with a woman
passenger.
|
Maybe it was because of the way I dressed, my
aftershave, the compliments I gave or simply opening the door and offering
to carry the smallest of parcels.
To me it was a humorous but sincere gesture, but psychologically I also
know that women appreciate compliments and rarely do they respond in a
negative manner when one is given. So to those drivers who wonder why they
seem to have so many run-ins with their female passengers, perhaps the
answer lies in the way they present themselves...?
Westminster TaxiCards
To those of you who are not aware, Dial-a-Cab have been
servicing the Westminster TaxiCard contract for the past eleven years. We
are extremely proud of this fact, particularly in the knowledge that we
have repeatedly won this contract against very stiff competition.
During our period of servicing this account, which
incidentally is due for re-tendering in September this year, we have
worked extremely hard at continually improving the manner in which it is
managed, including the implementation of bespoke technology, human
resources and of course the huge support of those drivers who regularly
cover this work.
In fact such has been the appreciation of many of the card
holders at the way they are treated by our drivers, that during the period
when the account is up for re-negotiation, they send letters to
Westminster praising Dial-a-Cab in the hope that the contract remains with
us. It is therefore with concern that all the hard work that has gone into
building a reputation for a caring quality service, it is being
jeopardised yet again by the selfish minority.
During the past month, we have received complaints about
drivers being unnecessarily rude, discourteous, unhelpful and refusing to
accept taxicard trips off the street. The culprits are no doubt those who
rarely take swipe cards of any sort and because of this their unused swipe
reader is having difficulty in reading the card. The solution obviously is
to enter the details manually, but rather than do this or as an excuse not
to do the trip in the first place, the drivers in question are claiming
their terminal is broken and are telling the passenger to look for another
cab. This is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
The Westminster TaxiCard is a valuable account for Dial-a-Cab
and a large number of our members and anybody found guilty of jeopardising
it in this way can expect the severest of punishment.
Those of you who are still fitted with the old terminal and
encounter genuine problems with your swipe reader and have forgotten the
procedure for entering the card manually, please make a note of the
following or collect an explanation leaflet from the drivers reception:
Select FORM 0 ... Code 98.
In optional data type W4070400 followed by the number on the card eg
WE123456. In the 'expiry' space type 0304 and then push SEND. It really is
quite simple.
Don't Mention the War...
During the last war there were posters apparently with phrases
such 'Walls have Ears' or 'Loose Lips Costs Ships' etc, warning people to
be careful of whom they spoke to and what they said.
A worrying trend has been highlighted of late that
prompts me to invent a similar phrase aimed at some of our drivers when
speaking to passengers: 'Careless Bunny Costs Money'. The taxi trade
has always been notorious for rumours, most of which even though
unfounded, have been harmless whilst remaining within the confines of the
watering holes.
The problem arises when misinformation is assumed to be fact
and is relayed to our clients in the back of your taxi. I'm sure that all
of you realise that every one of our clients sign a 'Terms and Conditions'
agreement when opening an account with us. Terms and Conditions that
vary according to negotiated agreements, usage, tender specifications,
size, length of service, type, potential usage etc etc and each of which
is highly confidential.
|
Recently, there have been instances where certain - and I might
add wrong - information is being told to clients by drivers that is
causing us extreme embarrassment and which could possibly put several
accounts into jeopardy. Whilst many of you might think you know how our
company is run, it is not your brief to discuss these issues with a
client, least of all to volunteer information that you do not know to be
true. So please please refrain from doing so. If a passenger asks you how
we operate or questions you about the administrative side of our
business, politely suggest they contact our office.
Cash Credit Cards
In the January issue of Call Sign, I wrote asking for your
support to generate more cash credit card work by handing out our coloured
leaflets to your passengers. Not surprisingly, the other radio circuits
are also undertaking similar promotions and the method they have chosen is
to advertise in the London press. As you can imagine, a one-off ad in the
Evening Standard is extremely expensive and unless it is repeated
regularly, seldom has much impact.
The object of any ad is to reach the intended target and what
easier way to do that than literally to put it in the hand of those that
actually do use cabs? Surprisingly in an age of technology, direct
marketing with the use of flyers - whether by post or hand - is still the
most successful way of generating business. An example of this can be seen
by the amount of junk mail that comes through your letterbox and the
flyers in the weekend newspapers.
We are in a unique position because we don't have to market
indiscriminately to masses of non-taxi users, instead we have a sales
force of around two thousand of our own members capable of promoting our
service to the casual user and it can be done without cost and with very
little effort. May I remind you that it is your society - it is for the
benefit of you, the members. So please play your part in encouraging the
casual cash user to always use Dial-a-Cab in preference to private hire by
collecting a quantity of leaflets from the drivers reception or at Roman
Way and distribute them at every opportunity.
And Finally...
At the last AGM, I was criticised by a driver for comments I
had made in one of my articles. He considered them negative and damaging
if read by our clients. I am well aware of what is damaging and what isn't
and would never intentionally write anything that I would consider
detrimental to our circuit or the members. However, having a membership of
around two thousand independent drivers, many of whom are keen to know
what is going on within our Society, our only regular means of
communicating to all is via Call Sign. Fortunately and unlike our
competitors, the hierarchy does not control the DaC in-house magazine and
the Editor allows drivers the opportunity to have their say and to get
answers to any questions they might have. And, contrary to what many
might think about the damage done if read by our clients, they are in fact
impressed. Quite often when we are called in to a client to hear about
various problems concerning our service and we are asked how we intend
bringing these issues to the attention of our members, we explain how it
will be published in Call Sign. They compliment our openness and honesty
and ask if we would send them a copy of the magazine.
As a company in the service industry, we must accept that
there will always be problems and a failure rate. What we must not do is
use that as an excuse to ignore the problems or pretend that they don't
exist...
Allen Togwell
DaC Marketing |
