ALLEN TOGWELL’S MARKETING PLACE

Elsewhere in this copy of Call Sign you will see the results of a recently held complaints meeting - one which I chaired. All of the complainants in this instance were appearing for the same offence, namely booking into a physical zone from an outlying area to gain an unfair advantage.
   It depresses me enormously when sitting in front of me on complaint are subscribers who I have known for a long time. Smart, presentable, courteous, clean cab, helpful and who over the years have put themselves out to cover work that nobody else wanted. They are a credit to this Society; and then they commit just one offence, intentionally or otherwise, and officially I can do little to prevent the Committee from doing their job and punishing them accordingly.
   In instances such as this, it is understandable that the complainants will feel they have been harshly treated. Unfortunately, what they and many of our members fail to understand is that should, for example, the offence involves a big client who because of their high usage means there is a greater chance of the offence reoccurring, that client doesn’t hold individual drivers to blame - they blame Dial-a-Cab as a company. They will have it on record that Dial-a-Cab are guilty of X amount of complaints, to the point where it becomes totally unacceptable and the account is closed. Which emphasises just how important it is for every driver to be so careful in the manner in which they work. There it literally no room for error, particularly regarding procedures because our technology, whilst it benefits our Society as a whole, will also catch you out immediately if you do something wrong.
   As was the case with those subscribers who foolishly booked themselves into E14 from an outlying area, which you must not do. The stupidity is that none of those that committed the offence actually gained anything from it financially. So please, each and every one of you, please follow procedures and if for whatever reason you have genuinely made an error, correct it immediately, which every one of the complainants could have done the moment they arrived at the security barriers to E14 or when they did a QP.
   I mention the above mainly because of my concern that the impending recession is going to tempt some drivers who, seeing their earnings being eroded by for example, high fuel costs, will start cutting corners in an attempt to make up the shortfall.
   With huge job losses and cutbacks in the City and a reduction in consumer spending, the knock-on effect is likely as always to hit our industry. Many analysts predict the UK won’t be as badly hit as the USA, however with many of our clients being US owned, job losses worldwide will include the UK and already we have seen news in the press that in addition to 40,000 job losses, high on the list of cutbacks will be a reduction in the use of taxis.
   Having been on the Board during the late 80s, which included the infamous black Monday and sat through a Board meeting where a decision had to be made as to whether we should cease

Back problems…
The April edition of Call Sign saw yet more letters in Mailshot from drivers with back problems and their concerns about covering trips involving wheelchairs. No doubt the letters printed were just a selection chosen by the editor, which beggars the question; exactly how many of our members suffer with back problem? One I know for a fact is my neighbour.
   I hadn’t noticed his cab for a while and on the day it crossed my mind that perhaps he had moved it to make way for the London Marathon, part of which starts at the end of our road. When I did next see him, the way the poor man was struggling to walk along the street I began to wonder whether he had actually taken part in the race and was suffering the after effects! But that wasn’t the case, it was far worse. He had a severe pain of his lower back, to the extent that for a while he was unable to work.
   Over the years, I have come across considerable numbers of cab drivers that have suffered either severe or mild back pain, many of whom - at least of the latter - could have avoided the problem had they taken regular exercise. And I am not talking about being a gym fanatic, pumping weights or running like a lunatic on treadmills. I’m talking about just 10/15 minutes of simple stretching exercises. Nothing strenuous, just bending, twisting and stretching muscles that would otherwise lay dormant. How many of you guys can touch your toes, better still how many of you can bend from the waist and touch the floor with the palm of your hands with your shoes on? Very few I bet. OK, so that’s a bit OTT. But any back specialist will tell you that a simple routine of stretching exercises in a controlled, gradual and progressive manner, distributes nutrients into the disc space and soft tissues in the back to keep the discs, muscles, ligaments and joints healthy. Fortunately, I don’t suffer with back problems, however having said that I stupidly suffered excruiating back pain for almost a week recently, caused through lifting a heavy PC off the floor without bending my knees. It was a ridiculous thing to do, particularly as it could have been avoided. So take a tip and think before lifting anything heavy. Get out of your cab as often as possible, both to ease the stiffness and when needed to open the door for your passenger. But more importantly, make a habit of doing 10/15 minutes each day of simple stretching exercises. Preferably when you just get out of bed, which is the ideal time because you will be wearing the least amount of clothing, and your muscles will be relaxed.

Allen Togwell
DaC Marketing