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DAC CUSTOMER SERVICES / SPECIAL PROJECTS |
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Looking from the other side… I recently bought a used Metrocab TTT from a reputable garage, but within 24 hours the engine blew up! The garage is dealing with the repairs and I should have it back soon. To tide me over, the proprietor loaned me a non-radio cab to use while the repairs were carried out. I must say that even though I already knew there was plenty of cash work on the streets, I was still surprised at how much better radio work is. The financial value between radio work and street trips bears no comparison at all. With cash work I was actually losing revenue. For example, taking a cash trip for say a £10 meter fare, I invariably get a ‘legal’ therefore losing the Dial-a-Cab standard 10% driver gratuity. Then there was also the matter of waiting time. Yes, it’s usually less than radio work but can still amount to a substantial number of minutes and you won’t, of course, receive the DaC premium waiting time. From a security point, I do not know whom I am picking up and should I have a problem I have no back up from the DaC Fleet Controllers. Plus, taking every street hiring can mean a trip to areas where I have little chance of getting another trip back to town. I receive no traffic information or information on whether there is work at stations, special events or even if there is work at the airports. |
Although I only work on my cab a
few days a week, I still want the best value for that time
and for it to be financially valuable for the subscription I
pay. Taking a trip to say NW6, with no chance of picking up
a trip until I get back to town, is also reducing my
earnings. |
screen from Fleet Controllers that we could lose an account if we don’t cover the work; make no mistake it is a fact. Although accounts may not always close, the jobs we do not cover will not necessarily go to other taxi radio circuits, but to car companies. Sales reps from car companies tell existing or potential customers that they will guarantee to have a car outside the pick up at the time required. Maybe they can or maybe they can’t, but the client’s perception is that they can because car companies only supply pre-booked trips and rarely offer an ASAP service. There must be 80-90,000 licensed minicabs out there and continuing to grow. As drivers, we should not be complacent to think that we will always have the tremendous and lucrative work we currently have. Our customers have the choice; if they cannot get a DaC taxi they can go onto the street and flag down a cab, which they do and find less expensive without service charges, gratuities and run-in costs etc. They can even open an account with a minicab company and just use our service as a back up. Clients have issues with excessive run-ins, cabs not available in certain areas, untidy and occasionally rude drivers. So be aware, the bubble could burst at any time… Mike Son |
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Would you be happy if the Government logged
every day how many times you travelled down a specific road,
what speeds you were travelling and how many people were in
your car? I guess not. Would you be happy if someone kept
records about what time you left your house, what paper you
bought and what you watched every night on TV? Probably not.
So why do we put up with the invasion of our privacy on the
Internet? Google have recently provided a new service called
Web History located at:
HERE They state: "In addition to enabling the Web History functionality, the information we collect when you use Web History may be shared among all of our services in order to provide you with a seamless experience and to improve the quality of our services." What? All of their services! Google are now a very large company, I’d be very careful about that statement. However, rest assured, Peter Fleischer, the Privacy Chief of Google recently said "Without global standards, the health of the internet is at risk!" There are also a number of popular social networking websites, which mainly attract the younger audience such as Facebook. Like Google, these websites gather information about its users, a lot of the data being |
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quite personal. Facebook will soon expose some of that data
to search engines and spiders, although they do say only
limited amounts will be exposed. Can you see a pattern here? I can and that’s why I only ever put the bare minimum of data required - or incorrect data - and if an email address is required I always use free email accounts such as Hotmail or GMail. However, I must add I am not a member of any socialising website as I’m an anti-social sod! Parkinson’s
Disease |
suffered from the condition (Ali, Michael J Fox), I knew
symptoms, available drugs, side effects of the drugs, future
research and how to live with the condition. Top marks for a
super website and if you’re feeling generous, please leave a
donation on the site. Microsoft
loses court battle Vince Chin |
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