Firstly, I would like to
take this opportunity to thank the many
drivers who wished me well after my
recent operation, particularly those who
during my time on the Board have been my
fiercest adversaries. It is comforting
to know that for all our differences, it
has been restricted to Society business
and not personal - which is how it
should be. Especially so at our AGMs,
which this year once again showed the
unpleasant side of our Society.
That grieves me because the instigators of that unpleasantness are
amongst those who complain about the low
attendance, but appear blind to the fact
that they are the primary cause of it.
Hopefully, with the new rule that all
propositions being put forward by a
member must be supported by the
signatures of 25 subscribers, more
drivers might be encouraged to attend
future AGMs knowing that only those
propositions with at least a modicum of
credibility will be discussed.
Having myself suffered at the hands of some sad and truly nasty
members in the past, many would assume
that I prefer a low attendance, but I
don’t. I don’t disagree with every
member’s democratic right to vote by
post, but I would still prefer a greater
number attending the meeting. What I
don’t like - and neither should it be
allowed - is when the vitriol gets
personal. After all, it’s only a job for
heavens sake! There are far more
important issues in life than, for
example, arguing at length over Board
members wages. As a matter of interest,
if anybody wants to make public details
of my P60 then they are welcome to it -
providing I can reciprocate the gesture.
One particular issue that springs to mind concerns the number of
drivers I’ve spoken to prior to and
after my operation (which I had done at
a private hospital), who inform me they
have not only no provisions for private
medicine, but also no insurance
whatsoever against any unforeseen
circumstances that could prevent them
from earning a living. With regards to
my operation, neither did I but that was
due to my age, where to obtain private
medical insurance is extremely difficult
and extortionately expensive.
Having no wish to wait over six months just to see a consultant, I
chose to pay hard cash for my stay at
The London Clinic and if any of you have
had the pleasure of being a patient at
the TLC, if pleasure is the right word,
you will know how costly that place is.
Fortunately for me I no longer have a young family and a mortgage,
so finding the funds wasn’t quite so
terribly difficult, however during my
early years of driving a cab I
considered it an absolute necessity to
have cover for every eventuality.
This blasé attitude towards self-preservation amongst many within
the cab industry is nothing new of
course. In fact, when I first came onto
the Board I proposed the introduction of
a welfare officer and on accepting that
role for a trial period, one of my first
tasks was to launch the Dial-a-Cab
Personal Health & Sickness Scheme. The
take-up was reasonable, increasing at
one point to almost 600 members.
Unfortunately over the years and a
progressive high rate of claims - in
some cases due to abuse - insurance
companies were forced to reconsider the
viability of the scheme, exclusions were
introduced, fees increased, resulting in
numbers dropping to point where, as I
write, the DaC health scheme after 18
years has finally been terminated.
Whilst our scheme no longer exists, a
few minutes browsing the Internet will
show there are a number of very |
good Accident and
Sickness policies on the market
including policies for Private Health
care.
Running a new cab these days, together with the overheads of
supporting a home and family, is a huge
commitment and affordable whilst work is
plentiful and the body in good health.
But neither is guaranteed and provisions
have to be made should unforeseen
problems arise. Sadly during my time on
the Board, I have witnessed far too many
instances of drivers falling behind with
their subs. That has then invariably
proven to be just the thin edge of the
wedge to the many other problems they
have found themselves in because of the
inadequate manner in which they managed
their finances, i.e. no allowances being
made for taxi maintenance, income tax or
overhaul costs etc and the inability to
work through ill-health and having no
insurance cover. It’s so easy to spend
cash earnings when they should have been
put aside, so easy to put off making
provisions for the unexpected until
tomorrow when it should have been done
today.
I’ve never quite understood why so many cab drivers refuse to adopt
the same method of running a taxi to
that of running a small business with
business overheads and because of it,
have suffered the consequences. So to
those reading this who do not at this
moment have any protection in the event
you unable to drive your cab, please do
something about it immediately. We want
happy and content drivers on our circuit
and that can only be achieved by working
with the minimum of stress, and nothing
relieves stress more than knowing you
are adequately covered for every
eventuality.
Life isn’t all pink…
Those of you
whose reading matter includes TfL news
items, would have seen Mayor
Livingstone’s comments concerning the
recently introduced minicab company
called Pink Ladies and I quote:
"The Pink Ladies are a welcome addition to London’s licensed
minicab trade and will increase the
safer travel options for women,
especially at night. I hope the Pink
Ladies success will also inspire more
women to become minicab drivers."
Unquote…
Now when one considers this Pink Ladies minicab outfit consists of
just 14 pink Renault Kangoos with pink
interiors, driven by trained (whatever
that means) females dressed in pink, the
Mayor’s statement that they will
increase the safer travel options for
women travellers in London is a bit
ambitious - even for a politician! With
a fleet size of 14 vehicles, I have no
idea what their lead-time is - probably
a week! So not exactly ideal for the
nervous high flyer wanting a quick Pink
Ladies minicab home from a City wine bar
or what the run-in charges are as the
nearest available vehicle could be up to
20 miles away! So to the union activists
in our trade who are aware of this
latest venture, I shouldn’t think it
necessary for organised drive-ins just
yet.
However, females travelling alone is a serious issue particularly
in light of the continuing high numbers
regularly being assaulted by male
minicab drivers, and whilst I unfairly
mock the Mayor’s comments, any service
that can reduce those assaults can only
be a good thing.
So with the high publicity that the Pink Ladies hopes to generate
with the support of ex-Atomic Kitten
Kerry Katona, Lambrini (the wine
for girls who wanna have fun) and
the Mayor, we should consider
riding on the back of that publicity
with the female |
TaxiCard service that
Dial-a-Cab has been supplying for years.
As I mentioned in the February edition of Call Sign,
various advertising material is being
produced for our members to distribute
including the above service for females.
With a fleet of over 2,000 vehicles
carrying this material, that is a
considerable amount of free advertising.
The more members we can get to
participate in distributing this
material, the more cash work it will
generate for you as well as taking the
initiative away from private hire in
promoting this service for females
travelling alone. We continually hear
complaints from the vociferous few about
the rise of PH and the credibility they
are gaining at our expense, including
those who complain about the association
we have with PH via several of our
senior clients. And there are those who
believe (mistakenly) that PH would
crumble if we severed this association.
I would be interested to know exactly
how much, if anything, these
complainants do directly or indirectly
to discredit PH and by that I mean
undertaking maximum credit work to
improve our coverage and promoting our
Society by distributing our advertising
material.
Financial capital of the
world?
Finally as I draft this piece I have
just finished reading a full-page
article in the Sunday Times
entitled ‘Squeezing The Big Apple’. It
makes interesting reading particularly
to those who are concerned about the
future of the cab trade as a whole and
especially Dial-a-Cab. The article in
question concerns the prediction of one
of Wall Street’s most respected bankers
that London could soon overtake New York
as the financial capital of the world.
This statement is interesting because it
was only seven years ago when the Euro
was launched, that the experts were
warning that London’s financial centre
would switch to Frankfurt or Paris. But
in actual fact the opposite has
happened, London has seen off its
European rivals and is now regarded as
the most international city in the
world! London, apparently, is also the
most attractive place to work, with
those in the financial sector earning
more than their counterparts in New
York, which bodes well for Dial-a-Cab
when considering the business success we
have enjoyed to date from the financial
institutions in the ‘square mile’ and
Docklands.
Our objective now is to maintain our position as leaders in our
field and to keep ahead of the
competition both within our own trade
and PH. Success attracts success. New
companies coming to London and those
already here and expanding will want to
be associated with companies of equal
and proven success such as Dial-a-Cab,
so it is for us to meet the challenge
and for you - our front line ambassadors
- to raise your game by covering more
work, promptly and efficiently together
with improving your image, if possible,
both in manner and appearance. Remember
the old adage - you reap what you
sow. Leave your passengers with a
good impression and they will use us
again….
Allen
Togwell
DaC Marketing
allent@dialacab.co.uk |
