Hello Ladies and
Gents, by now the Christmas season is well
and truly upon us and I would hope that
already this year trip levels are
substantially higher than the equivalent
period last year. Many Marshalled events
were already planned and arranged during
November and it would appear that the City
this Christmas certainly has more cause for
optimism.
As in
previous years, I will give you as much
notice as possible regarding all Marshalled
events throughout the festive season and
though our resources will be stretched, I’m
sure that you will all support every event
in your usual excellent way. There is a
mixture of account and cash work and most of
the companies are either important clients
who use Dial-a-Cab all year round, or very
regular cash users. Many accounts are opened
from leads that come from these types of
events and it is very important that service
levels are as high as possible. Watch out
for terminal messages throughout the festive
season.
Work at
Battersea Park is ongoing throughout the
whole of December and I have arranged for
press releases in the trade press to notify
all Licensed drivers that we require the
support of the trade – please spread the
word! It will be very busy, predominately
cash work but there will also be regular
account work as DaC have just acquired the
‘Christmas Events’ staff account, which
was previously serviced by a competitor.
Hard work and excellent service does pay
off!
Virgin Update
The current extension to this years Virgin
contract is scheduled to end around 5
December and all members will, I am sure,
already have recognised how lucrative and
high profile this account is. We have all
worked hard, sometimes under extreme
pressure to continually improve the whole
operation throughout the present contract.
Because of its success, we can look
forward |
to working with West Coast
trains throughout 2004 on each of their
planned blockades. This was a job very well
done…
Terminal
Upgrade
The terminal upgrade is also well underway and
the improvements should very soon become very
noticeable both to you, the members, and to
our valued clients. Information sheets will be
available at Roman Way which will explain in
full the changes and improvements that you
will notice.
Most
upgrades are going to plan and without any
unexpected hitches. If in some instances the
meter seal needs to be removed to allow the
fitters access to the meter, we have
authorisation from the Public Carriage Office
to replace it with a new seal once all the
work has been successfully carried out. This
again is a first for the Taxi trade and every
precaution and check will be carried out at
Roman Way to maintain the trust given to us by
the PCO.
Contact
Roman Way to book an appointment as soon as
you receive your letter in the post, it will
be to everyone’s advantage to complete the
‘Fleet Upgrade’ as quickly and efficiently
as possible. There will be some meters - new
or existing - that are not compatible with the
new software and in these cases the meters
will not function when we finally ‘go live’
early in the new year, so they may need to be
changed. If you have any doubts or concerns
prior to the fitting of a new meter in your
taxi, please contact either Keith Cain or
myself and we will be only too pleased to help
and advise on this matter. |
New Cygnus
Meter Deal
We have now negotiated a very competitive
introductory deal with Cygnus Taximeters who
are now able to exclusively offer Dial-a-Cab
members an initial two-year contract for the
sum of £150 + VAT. This is open to all
members who at present are using a different
meter manufacturer and it can be fitted with
immediate effect. The full two year fee is
payable in advance and is only available to
new customers to Cygnus. The rental cost for
year three will then revert to the standard
annual fee. Cygnus aim to make the transaction
as convenient as possible and any member
wishing to take up this offer will be able to
book an installation with any one of the
Cygnus dealers located across the capital.
See
Cygnus advert on Page 26 for dealer’s
contact telephone numbers.
Special
Dial-a-Cab / Eurostar Deal
If you feel the need to chill out and unwind
after the hectic Christmas period, why not
treat yourselves to a trip to Paris, Brussels
or Lille? Eurostar have offered Dial-a-Cab
members and their families a unique
concessionary price on either first or
second-class travel. For further information,
see the article in this issue of Call Sign.
And Finally…
I would like to remind you that W101 is a
physical working rank and it will be monitored
by the Call Centre over the coming weeks to
make sure that the rules applicable to this
and any other rank that our Society operate
are fair and equal to all members at all
times. A list of physical ranks can be found
in this issue’s Nash’s Numbers.
Can
I also take this opportunity to wish you and
your families a very Merry Christmas and a
prosperous New Year.
Allan Evans
Allane@Dialacab.co.uk |
