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I am writing this Chairman's Report some two weeks before Christmas as the
printers close for a two-week period over the holiday season - at least that is
what the Editor tells me. So, it appears to me that even though I have just
finished the December report, I'm already writing one for January! So here
goes...
AGM
I would like to be able to inform you how our drivers have performed
in the 'run up' to Christmas as regards our coverage, but that will have to
wait until next month. Perhaps even more important to some of you is how you
personally fared in the Christmas holiday period incentive scheme. Again, that
will have to wait.
Anyway, I hope you all had a pleasant Christmas and that the
coming few months will not be too much of an anti-climax. At least we have the
AGM to look forward to on the 10th February at The Brewery in Chiswell Street!
To my personal knowledge, this is the first AGM in the history of
the company where there will not be even one rule change or proposition to
discuss, as we have not received any from our members and the Board of
Management are not putting any forward. Neither will there be any BoM elections
this year.
However, when you receive your literature concerning the AGM via
the post, you will still have to vote and return the ballot form by post,
unless of course you intend to come to the AGM in person, in which case you can
vote on the day. The reason that we will still have to vote is because certain
items on the agenda will need to be accepted and ratified by the membership,
such as acceptance of the Chairman's Report and appointing the Society's
Auditors for the forthcoming year. I hope to see you there.
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Mountview
I was extremely interested to read in Mountview News and the
London Taxi Times, a newspaper that incidentally is owned by Mountview, a
letter from their solicitor endeavoring to explain how they lost the recent
court case against us concerning a domain name. I find it rather - shall we
say - unusual, that a solicitor should write to any publication within the
trade trying to explain their position.
The thrust of this letter and also in an article by the Chairman of
Mountview, both have tried to explain how they put up a very good fight but
came second to us - out of a race of two. It never really occurred to me
before reading their letters, that they were right and everyone else was
wrong - including, of course, the Judge!
Both writers then went on to explain how Dial-a-Cab had sailed
"close to the wind" and that I had "mischievous
intentions," but in the end the Judge did not agree with them because
apparently we won the case. I say apparently, because it appears to depend
on which paper you read!
I do not really want to write any more on the subject in the future, or they
will no doubt accuse us of gloating... oh sorry, I think they already have,
or at least they should have done because they've accused us of everything
else.
Before this subject is finally put to bed, there are one or two
questions that should be asked which may help put things into perspective:
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* Did Dial-a-Cab have to transfer the domain name to
Mountview? The answer was no.
* Did Dial-a-Cab have to pay any of Mountview's costs? Again, the
answer is no.
* Did Mountview have to pay any of DaC's costs? The answer is yes.
Consequently, you must draw your own conclusions, as I have
nothing more to say on the subject except that they have already paid up
and we have put their money in our bank. I must leave it to your good
judgment to decide who won...
A Well-Oiled Machine
In the last issue of Call Sign, Keith Cain gave an answer to a
subscriber who criticised this magazine for wasting space reporting on
staff outings and also questioning the cost. I don't need to go into the
matter any further as Keith answered all the points, however, it is worth
pointing out that all Dial-a-Cab staff are fully trained and not just
plonked into a seat and given a telephone. We are proud of our training
system here at DaC and I think it fair to say that in an organisation such
as this, all the cogs have to fit and work together in order to get an end
result that works as well as ours does.
It is that combination of everyone from staff members to
drivers and yes, to the Board of Management, working so well together that
makes this Society the well-oiled, successful machine that it is. And as
there are no elections at this year's AGM, you can safely assume that I'm
saying that because I mean it!
And Finally
I would like to take this opportunity of wishing everyone at
Dial-a-Cab together with the families, a very, very Happy and Healthy New
Year...
Brian Rice |
