Call Sign April 2010 - Page 21 - Compliance Officers Update

Hello Ladies & Gents, Every month I receive varying types of complaints, some more serious than others but they must all be dealt with correctly. As the Compliance Officer, I am trusted to access the severity of each complaint and make a judgement on whether I can deal with it myself or if it should proceed to a hearing. I am guided not only by the rulebook, but also a list of twenty procedure rules. I pride myself on treating every member exactly the same and all complaints are judged on their merit. Which way? We are all in a service industry and should be aware that in order to keep our Society ahead of the competition, we must all go that extra mile. So many times I have mentioned how difficult it is to drive in London without running into a diversion, road works or temporary signals - these are the bain of our lives. Many clients use our services on a regular basis and are used to taking a particular route for a set journey and may suggest you drive a particular way at the start of the trip. But if not, it is always a good idea to ask the passenger what route they prefer if	Compliance Officers Update
	there are several alternatives. Everyone has his or her preferences and although it may not be of your choosing, it will prevent any confusion and after all, as professionals most of the time, the passenger is quite happy to trust your judgement. M25 please driver! Occasionally clients will ask you to take a preferred route that although quicker in time, is substantially longer in distance and can significantly increase the actual meter fare at the end of the journey. Can I please remind you that it is very important to get correct authorisation on these requests. Using the M25 for a journey to Heathrow or Gatwick may well seem to be the quickest route even though it is longer in distance, but the metered fare can	almost double and sometimes without the accounts approval can result in the amount being reduced further down the line. Outer zones I have mentioned on numerous occasions that all outer zones (SE50, WW99 etc) are physical and that if you are not actually in the zone when the trip is dispatched and unmatched, you must wait firstly until it is offered to the back-up zones before being able to bid for the trip and offer a possible delay in the normal way. Prior to booking-in to inner and outer London zones that have postal codes, you must be able to reach the furthest part of that zone within fifteen minutes. The same rules apply to zones that you ‘soon to clear’ in, whereby you are fifteen minutes from the furthest part of that zone when you clear the trip. The call centre are continuously monitoring the system and anybody who violates the rules to gain an unfair advantage over their fellow members, will be dealt with in the correct manner. Allan Evans DaC Compliance Officer
Now the TX4 reaches Ukraine!
The excitement has been building in Ukraine with the imminent arrival of the newest vehicle on their roads – the London Taxi aka the TX4 - as the streets of that nation’s capital prepare to see the legendary London Taxi, as Kiev becomes the latest city from around the world to introduce the iconic vehicle. This version of the TX4 is built in China by LTI and their joint venture company Geely to British standards and will be operated by both individual drivers and limousine companies to introduce a new London style service. Drivers will be trained in customer care techniques and given lessons on sightseeing tours, so they can point out places of interest to their passengers. Kiev hotels already want to take advantage of the unique service as they extend the facility to their guests to make their stay in Ukraine even more enjoyable. The London Taxi Company’s Matthew Cheyne, told Call Sign regarding the Chinese version: "We have been working for a long time to produce a cost effective vehicle that doesn’t lose any of the values that the taxi has in the UK. It is the same design and is as robust as the one we build in Britain, but at a lower cost." Matthew added: "We know it is going to prove popular here in Kiev as we’ve had numerous advance enquiries about how to buy the vehicle. Now we are looking for a partner who will import the vehicle into Ukraine and provide sales and aftersales back up. This is a unique opportunity to gain an advantage over your competitors and we are sure that very soon we can have a full launch of the vehicle and start seeing the taxi being used on the streets of Kiev."

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