Keith Cain reports from the DaC call centre on the fourth floor...
Lack of Patience...?
Drivers contact me from time to time regarding service problems
they have experienced with call centre staff. More often than not, when they
talk to me it is only because the problem has occurred before on a number of
occasions. I do investigate each one to the fullest and when
necessary, speak firmly with those individuals concerned. Our staff are also
aware that I'm not averse to taking disciplinary action against an
individual if the need arises. However, when criticism is made about
other people's performance, sometimes it does encourage them to reverse the
criticism and in their defence talk about other issues that could be said to
contribute to the reason why they responded poorly in the first place. If I
can improve the performance of our staff and look at the performance of many
drivers, then I will be close to ensuring the working day is a better one
for all of us.
A major issue we have in the call centre is that of some
driver's lack of patience. Because they cannot wait for their response to be
acknowledged, frustration sets in and in many cases opinions are expressed.
The delay in responding is sometimes attributed to drivers doing various
things to jump the queue...
With Voice Requests for example, some drivers seem to feel it
necessary to use the driver's line to gain a quicker response. While
the controller realises that every voice request is as urgent as the next,
when you carry out both functions, it ties up two individuals. The
frustration and annoyance it causes is unnecessary time wasting. Having two
controllers deal with the same issue only delays another issue being dealt
with. While waiting to fill up with diesel, you can see the vehicles in
front and we are prepared to wait until our turn. If you were able to see
the other drivers waiting to have their voice requests dealt with, you would
probably react in the same way. If you do not hear anyone talking when you
switch to voice, do not assume the voice controller is sitting twiddling
his/her thumbs, there are probably a number of reasons why they are silent,
but they will get to you as quickly as they can.
General Reminders
Not being able to park directly outside a client's address...
This is a real problem for the call centre. If you find yourself
in this situation, please ensure that you notify us as to exactly where you
are before you press the 'advise
arrival' button. Either go to voice, or better still send the controller a
text message stating exactly where you are parked. This
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then we're sorry but you can only
accept Westminster cards as a
I've been ask to point out that
because of the complexity of the new equipment in your taxi, that it is not
possible to have spare terminals in the reception for breakdowns that occur
during the night. The new screen is not a stand-alone piece of equipment and
should there be a fault, we really do need to diagnose what the problem is.
Unlike the old terminal, the problems are more often within the processors
or modems, which are not inside the terminal.
Run Ins.
More and more of you are asking the controllers for additional run-ins,
which on many occasions are not justified. This places the controller in a
difficult position because a refusal often offends. Additional run-ins
only increase the cost of a journey and clients know this only too well.
With the GPS system working, controllers will be monitoring driver positions
in the future more closely. By all means ask, but only if you're running a
long way...
All of the above issues happen every day and
escalate in numbers during busy periods. By communicating the problems,
hopefully drivers will get a better understanding of the workings of the
call centre. I am always referring to the call centre as having "two
clients" to deal with - the customer and the driver, both of whom are
equally as important as each other to operate a successful business. With
clients, we often show them around the call centre and explain in details
its workings. In our training room we can demonstrate to staff how the
drivers terminal operates and how their messages and instructions are
received. For drivers it's not so easy to do this as I know time off the cab
is money, but I plan during the early part of the New Year to offer drivers
the opportunity to visit the call centre and see for themselves what
actually happens. If you are interested, then I hope you'll come along at
that time. Further details will be made available in Call Sign and via
your terminals.
John Saunders
I was deeply saddened to receive the news about the death of John
Saunders. John was one of the best voice dispatchers there ever was and his
style was not easy emulated. Drivers would run everywhere to assist him in
covering the work. He was a very respected Board Member and the number of
votes he received at every election showed this. When I first meet
John, he offered me words of wisdom that I will never forget. I am glad to
have known and worked along side him. Many will miss John, he was a true
gentleman...
Keith Cain
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information will then be added
to the trip details, which will then
be passed on to the client by the ringback telephonist. That will
assist enormously if the client rings us to ask where you are.
Scrubs...
When you are advised of being 'scrubbed', occasionally the 'No
Trip' button does not appear. If this happens, press 'GEN CODE' and a 'No
Trip' button will be amongst the options in the bottom left hand corner. By
making a mental note of this, it will save you time and unnecessary delays
in contacting the controller.
Credit Cards / Westminster Cards / DaC Charge Cards
picked up from the street...
Drivers are occasionally experiencing problems when the POB button appears
to have a mind of its own and goes off to hide! We see it more often after
the card has been validated and the driver does a 'STC' before pressing 'POB'.
If this happens to you, press the 'RESYNCH' button and this will bring the
'ON BOARD' button back up. Always remember that no matter what type of trip
you undertake, the trip cycle once the passenger is in the vehicle is the
same. POB...STC...METER OFF...CLJ.
WS1 and ES1 Trips...
There is still confusion with these two types of trips as to what
information needs to be confirmed with the controller. Some of you assume
that because the jobs are not going outside the M25 that you are not
required to give your destination, and that those trips that do go outside
the M25 can be cleared for either what they had on the meter or that they
can work out the mileage for themselves and clear the trip once they receive
a signal. All these trips have a fixed priced and the only way we can
invoice the trip correctly is by the controller filling in the details
before a driver clears the trip. It is essential that you follow the correct
procedures with these trips and contact the controller before
clearing. Hail and Ride TaxiCards...
Only Westminster TaxiCards can be accepted for hirings off the street
as we still have a security issue with the ALG - the governing body of the
London Wide TaxiCard Scheme.
Until they agree with our reporting structure on these types of trips,
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