Westminster
In the Mailshot section of last month's Call Sign was a letter from one of our
subscribers who was aggrieved that Westminster City Council should undertake an
audit of their taxi usage and use the cardholders to assist in this audit, to
which Keith Cain gave a reply. Whilst this subscriber may have been the only
member to express his opinions in print, I personally have had several
speak to me with a similar view. What surprised me from those I spoke to
was the opinion that what Westminster was doing was not just wrong, but
unusual. This is not the case...
In fact, as Keith explained, many companies carry out audits of
their suppliers. What was unusual was Westminster giving us prior knowledge of
what they were intending to do and allowing us to put out fleet messages
informing you of that fact which, apart from Westminster being somewhat
courteous, one could say that by giving a prior warning, it defeated the
object.
Using taxis on account in London is unusual in that no record is
given at the end of the journey confirming the cost, unlike when using taxis on
account elsewhere in Europe or the USA where an itemised receipt signed by the
driver must be given at the end of the trip, a copy of which is sent with the
invoice for payment. The system in London between all three major circuits has
been to operate solely on trust. Unfortunately in all walks of life there
are those who for whatever reason or circumstance, will resort to taking
advantage when temptation beckons, particularly when there is a limited chance
of being caught. The cab trade is no exception...
However, having said that, I honestly believe that the character
of the average licensed taxi driver, the strictness of the PCO and the penalty
if found guilty, is such as to make the number who are unscrupulous to be very
few.
Nevertheless, this doesn't alter a customers right to question what was on the
meter at the end of a journey to that which appears on their invoice. Also, I
might add, the right to question what appears on the meter at the start of the
journey.
Keith mentioned the soon-to-be introduced 'meter interface' that
will automatically record the fare at the end of the journey. What this is also
able to do is record the run-in charge against arrival time. For many years the
most common complaint we have from practically every one of our clients is the
amount on the meter at the start of the journey. Now I'm sure every one of you
can give examples of arguments you've had over the amount on the meter where
the cause has been the fault of the client, unfortunately there are also far
far too many drivers who either don't bother to take notice of what's on their
meter or deliberately flaunt the rules. The service agreement that we have with
our clients is that a cab will arrive with no more on the meter than £3.80 at
the booked time - not arrival time but booked time.
What also prompt clients to later question the cost of their
journeys are the drivers who stupidly voice opinions that put the wrong ideas
into people's minds. For example, I have encountered many a driver who has
admitted to telling passengers who have complained about the fare: "What's
the problem, you are not paying for it", or "your company has no
right to complain considering the high profits they make and the exorbitant
fees the charge their customers," etc, etc...
The cost of taxi usage is always high on the agenda when we meet
clients and since the emergence of licensed private hire, the increased night
charge and more recently the additional cost of journeys due to road works all
over London, taxi expenditure is being scrutinised more than ever. So I
would ask all of you to please be receptive to the problems we are facing and
play your part by adhering to the rules, assisting where possible to reduce the
cost of journeys and not acting as though we still have a monopoly on the taxi
industry.
The Tender Trap...
During the past few years, Tender specifications have become more
and more complex and demanding in their requirements. In addition, where it was
usually only the very large corporates that issued tenders, we are now seeing
many of the smaller customers resorting to issuing them too. The consequences
of this is that we are under greater pressure to meet what has been agreed in
those tenders or being subject to the ever growing 'penalty clauses'. During
all the years that I have been responsible for replying to tenders, I have
resisted committing our company to any form of Service Level Agreement (SLA's)
in the sense that we are financially penalised in the event we fail
to meet the agreed service level - be it cabs not arriving on time, phones not
being answered within so many rings, or queries and complaints not
being responded to within a specified time etc etc.
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Unfortunately, in a market
place where everything possible is
being used to gain a march on the competition, it is becoming the norm to
offer almost
unachievable SLA's and failing to equal or better what the competition are
offering can jeopardise the chances of getting any particular account.
As your representative, I am obliged to make commitments
otherwise we will not get the business. But having committed myself, I
have absolutely nothing tangible to support that commitment because you
the drivers are not employed. I cannot force you to cover work, I cannot
even force you to come out to work...!
Under the rules of your Society, you are under no obligations
whatsoever, although morally - or perhaps I should I say commercially - I
would have thought as a self employed body of people in a business that is
being threatened more than at any time in its history, no encouragement
should be necessary to go out when work is at its busiest.
Yet where was that commercial obligation on the morning of Thursday 18th
July, which was the day of the tube strike. At 07:00 we had a total of 145
cabs signed on out of 1800 available. Our Call Centre was chaotic,
whilst answering calls from irate clients was purgatory and please, please
before any of you start going on with the old chestnut about me getting
out in the cab and seeing the state of the traffic, had more of you made
the effort to go out and service the clients who are giving you work all
year round, you would have seen it was no worse than normal. But even if
it was bad and you were stuck in traffic, your meter would have been
ticking over and our clients would have appreciated the effort.
Private Hire and Dial-a-Cab
On the question of generating new business, I recently by
chance come across a copy of a competitor's in-house journal - the first
occasion I've had since they withdrew DaC from their mailing list. I read
with interest two articles criticising DaC (I really should try to get
hold of the opposition's news sheets more often, if only to reaffirm my
appreciation of what a wonderful job Alan Fisher does with Call-Sign). The
two articles in question accused DaC of procuring one of their senior
accounts by unscrupulous means. Unscrupulous in the sense of being aided
and abetted by a private hire company and allegedly undercutting them (the
competitor) by as much as 50%.
The criticism is of little concern, after 15 years it ceases
to have any effect. I only mention the issue now because the reference to
private hire gives me the opportunity to clarify a few points on the
subject and perhaps allay a few fears amongst many of our members who have
become concerned about the threat of PH.
As most of you are aware, the subject of offering the
corporate sector a 'one-stop shop' has been discussed for some
considerable time. Numerous proposals, ideas and suggestions have been put
forward by a cross section of our Society, including political objections
and of course financial implications, resulting in the much sought-after
service gathering dust on the drawing board.
Now whilst there is a desire and a determination by many in
the cab trade - including trade representatives - to keep the taxi
industry from entering the 20th century let alone the 21st., like it or
not progress will not stand still. It can of course be ignored, but at
your peril because in an industry as vulnerable as ours, playing catch-up
will be an horrendous task.
Dial-a-Cab has, without doubt, done wonders during the past
few years. Without question we lead the field in every aspect of our
business. Apart from the last four years figures, the fitting of new
terminals, technology and unique customer service facilities that we
offer, a good barometer of how high we are viewed can be gauged by the
standing we have within the media. Whenever a comment is required by the
press, they contact Dial-a-Cab. Whenever a radio or TV station
needs a view on the taxi industry, it is our Chairman who they seek.
Whenever a cartoon appears in the Evening Standard involving a taxi, whose
branding is it carrying? Dial-a-Cab - and there have been 13 of them thus
far.
Such recognition does not come easy or overnight, it has to
be earned and with you and our staff's hard work and support we have done
exactly that, but we have to keep the momentum going. We cannot afford too
many instances where when asked for something, we are forced to say we
cannot do it. We must always endeavour to be in a position that no
matter how much big money comes into the taxi industry via PH, Dial-a-Cab
will be the company to which they will aspire.
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Make no mistake, big money is coming in to PH and they are
making in-roads offering the services that many in our trade continue to
find unacceptable. We now have a choice; they (PH) wants to work
with a licensed radio circuit, preferably the one which leads the field in
reputation and technology, which of course is Dial-a-Cab. The question is:
Do we ignore them and allow them to link up with a competitor and possibly
lose existing clients, or do we enter into dialogue that allows us to set
out a game plan that involves Dial-a-Cab being the principle player?
Just mention working with PH and the immediate reaction
within the trade, quite understandably, is that we will pick-up the
scraps. Firstly, what exactly is meant by "scraps"?
Nothing irritates me more than when having been given an ear bashing by
one of our drivers, he ends by saying that he does all the rubbish work.
We are the only circuit where every one of our clients pays an £8 minimum
plus 10% gratuity, yet to some that is considered "rubbish".
At this moment in time, none of our existing clients have been
approached officially by us or PH offering a one-stop-shop service.
The PH company with whom we have entered this business venture have
approached only those companies who they are presently servicing and it is
one of these clients who has accepted the offer. Obviously this has caused
the taxi circuit that previously serviced the account to be extremely
aggrieved, but as I said earlier, progress will not stand still. Our
competitor had the opportunity to supply the service, but for reasons
known only to them, they failed to do so even though they had a joint
venture going with a PH company at the time - a fact they conveniently
failed to mention when criticising DaC.
The method by which the one-stop shop will operate is that
the PH Company will allocate 4 vehicles solely to service the account.
They will be used as and when required, subject to availability and
Dial-a-Cab will be allocated the licensed taxi work, plus the work that
cannot be undertaken by the PH vehicles when they are occupied.
As to the ridiculous allegation of undercutting the cost of
trips by 50%, all journeys undertaken by DaC will be as per the meter at
the current meter tariff, plus our usual 10% gratuity.
Receipts Pads
To the number of drivers who have contacted me concerning
receipt pads, including those who left offensive remarks on my voicemail,
I will reiterate what I have twice said before in Call Sign; the large
pads in the Driver's Reception were not designed for receipts. They were
designed, at the request of many of our members, to promote cash work
payable by credit card. The object was for our members to distribute the
leaflets to cash users, which I'm pleased to say many of you are doing.
The receipt section was put on the back of the flyer as encouragement for
the client to retain it.
Unbeknown to me, the stocks of the official receipt pads came
to an end and there was a delay in re-ordering. By the time you read this
they will be available in the Drivers Reception. As a point of interest,
the Dial-a-Cab receipt pads are not put on display because by making them
freely available it encourage drivers to give them to friends who are not
on our circuit. If they are used dishonestly, it could reflect badly on
Dial-a-Cab.
Bonnie Martyn
Finally, I end this article on an extremely sad note. On Friday
2nd August, I along with the rest of the DaC Board, attended the funeral
of this Society's Founder Chairman, Bonnie Martyn. Regrettably I didn't
know Bonnie as well as I would have liked with most of what I did know
about him coming from the history gained from being on the Board.
The only times we actually met was at official Dial-a-Cab functions and
even though the meetings and the conversations were relatively brief, the
perception I had of Bonnie was one of undeniable kindness, intelligence,
knowledge and above all what appealed to me most was the genuine interest
he showed in whomever he was speaking to. A truly remarkable man who lived
to a wonderful age. To his family and those that knew him well, he will
without doubt be sorely missed.
Allen Togwell
DaC Marketing
allent@dialacab.co.uk
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