|
Then... Those older folks such as myself will remember when the first minicabs hit the streets of London in the spring of 1961, although the first operator was not Welbeck Motors as is often claimed. Although Welbeck was formed in the 1940s, it did not begin its’ minicab operation until June 1961. A company called Carline began operating minicabs in Wimbledon on 6 March that year and in the same month, Pimlico-based Sylvester Car Hire, run by Tom Sylvester, took its first bookings. Nevertheless, it was Welbeck that became the most high profile of the early minicab pioneers. The company was well funded, enabling an initial fleet of 400 Renault Dauphines, making it the biggest of the early minicab companies. The fleet was highly visible with vehicles carrying third party advertising and the Welbeck minicab became something of a format for mobile advertising. For a few months, Welbeck’s boss Michael Gotla was the media’s face of minicabs. There were many conflicts between taxi drivers and minicabs, which the media labeled ‘minicab wars’. The new mode of transport generated a lot of publicity in these early days. There were debates on television and in the House of Commons about what it could mean for the black taxi trade - and whose fears were soon realised. A journalist from The Times went across Wimbledon with Carline and reported the smartly dressed driver to be efficient and polite, with the fare about two-thirds of the black taxi. Other incidents in these minicab wars followed and included cases of willful damage to minicabs and violence against drivers. Some of the offending taxi drivers and their associates eventually received jail sentences, but in most cases there was a lack of evidence. Meanwhile, taxi drivers complained that some minicab drivers had been illegally plying for hire and in 1961 the Metropolitan Police secured 24 convictions for this offence. No change there then! Minicabs could only legally be booked by telephone but this led to things quickly turning sour. Within a short time, there were hundreds of bogus requests for cars. On one occasion, taxi drivers hemmed in a minicab for around an hour in Belgrave Square. After the driver radioed for help, police eventually arrived to sort things out. By and large, the new mode of transport was welcomed by the public. The Times leader column of 20 June said: "The reaction of the hard-done-by traveling public to the coming of minicabs is – the more the merrier!" In another editorial two months later under the headline What the Public Wants, the paper said: "It is fairly obvious that for many people in London, finding a taxi has become too chancy and paying for it too stiff." Meanwhile, the minicab pioneers said it was difficult to find good drivers, taking on only three from 181 interviewees in one recruitment drive. At the same time, Michael Gotla felt his profile could be harmful to the business, so he stepped down in November 1961. As he stepped down, one of the defiant comments he made was: "The London cabdrivers may have won the battle, but they haven’t won the war!" Well he was right there!
And now… |
A DaC Board member gives a personal view and asks... HOW CAN WE WIN BACK OUR WORK? |
|
 that; it makes commercial and financial sense and not withstanding that, within the rules of ODRTS it says that a Dial-a-Cab Board’s job is to provide work for its drivers. As we know, much account and cash work that we took for granted has moved away from cabs and into car companies. The question we must ask ourselves is what car companies offer that we don’t. Is it cost effectiveness? Well we know that in the main that could be true. Prior to the recession, clients within reason would pay for a good taxi service, because the taxi driver knew where he or she was going. However, since the arrival of SatNavs, the Knowledge doesn’t seem to be so much of an issue with the customer. In addition, customers felt safe in that the London taxi is purpose built with both the passenger and driver’s security and safety in mind. The majority of vehicles used by car companies are MPVs and again the passenger seems quite happy to travel in them. In fact the taxi industry are now using them! The customer is now demanding lower charges, comparable to car companies, plus the taxi should be outside the pickup address at a time of their choosing, rather than the passenger having to wait for the cab. As I have been told on numerous occasions by passengers: "If I have to wait for the cab and pay the extra charge for the privilege, I might as well go out in the street and flag a cab down or phone for a minicab/car company. I know what I am going to pay for the journey and the car will be outside waiting." Although I believe the London cab driver is now more courteous and helpful, plus I have noticed drivers are dressing a little smarter than in the past, perhaps the realisation is that we have to compete with the opposition. It is also important to consider that when account clients look for cheaper alternative transport requirements and find it, that doesn’t mean they close their accounts with us. In the main, they just reduce the usage. So how do we win back our valued clients?
And the answer…? |
subscriptions are still extremely good value.
Customers are still demanding more interactive technologies and
these can change week on week! I can categorically say that
Dial-a-Cab is extremely lucky to have a forward thinking and
dedicated IT team. They must be the best in the taxi industry
and for that matter, the private hire industry too. Our Administration and Account Management Team offer everything the client requires, the Control Centre and all our departments and staff are the envy of other organisations. Nevertheless, with all these support services that we provide, what the passenger really wants to know is how long will the cab be and how much will it cost? So what can we do? I think that reducing administration charges is a bit radical and wouldn’t do anyone any good - certainly not Dial-a-Cab. The customer will always demand lower charges no matter how much the supplier reduces them. Also, it then becomes very difficult to increase charges back up when times get back to some acceptable level, assuming they ever do. What I’d like DaC members to consider about the service we provide is how to offer more added value to it, especially when allocating the taxis. One understandable grievance customers have is knowing that drivers can refuse jobs for whatever reason. Perhaps if we consider increasing the A/D format from, say, 6am to midnight, that may improve the perception customers have of our service. As Directed jobs are already in system from 6am until 10am, which does not seem to be a problem at this time. I would also like you to consider non-rejectable trip offers or at least having a time element attached, similar to A/D, when trips are dispatched. Again, non-rejectable trips are already in the dispatch system, but only used if a client has a VIP status account or the controllers are having a serious problem dispatching a particular trip. As a driver, do I like this idea? Well, no, not particularly. I realise that this sounds contradictory as I am promoting the idea, however, both as a member driver and Board member even though Sales are doing their best to placate customer issues and keep the account clients happy let alone attracting new business, I do know that we have to do something radical to win back work. I must emphasise that due to prudent financial management by the BoM, Dial-a-Cab is still in a financially stable position. I must also make it quite clear that the above is my personal opinion and most certainly not Board policy. Our in-house publication Call Sign is the forum, so I can offer personal opinions and thoughts should I wish to do so. Nevertheless, I would be interested in your comments and ideas on what would be acceptable and what choices you would give up - if any - or any other suggestions you may have to increase our market share. After all, Dial-a-Cab is your Society. Mike Son |
|
 |
Powered by NetXPosure |
| Copyright 1997-2010 Dial-A-Cab Ltd, All rights reserved. |