Call Sign September 2010 - Page 22 - THE WORLD ACCORDING TO TOM WHITBREAD

Not a Penny Black, just High Speed Broadband... I remember when I was in Australia and New Zealand some 45-50 years ago and I had to send a letter home, you wouldn’t know if it had arrived there for about 5 to 7 days - if you were lucky. This was assuming you didn’t forget to put the little blue airmail sticker in the top left hand corner of the envelope, otherwise you were looking at a 3 – 4 week delay! This was at a time when airliners did not have the range or the speed they do in these modern times. In those long, forgotten days that many a reader would like to forget, planes had to land frequently for fuel, which gave passengers stopovers in different countries. Whilst you were on the plane, food might only be salads or sandwiches as there was no such thing as a microwave cooker! The only keyboard that you had access to was on a typewriter, with a bottle of Tipp-ex fluid to paint out any mistakes you may have made. You also had the added task of putting one sheet of paper at a time very awkwardly in between the solid rubber roller and the metal guide. Also, there was only one typeface on the early typewriters, so there were no fancy changes to highlight a phrase or sentence. But nowadays, with the advent of Broadband, Facebook, Bebo, Twitter, MSN and many more, you do not have to leave your home or office to have a face-to-face talk or visual contact with someone in another country. Broadband allows you the speed to send mail, photographs or documents to a person in America or Australia within seconds. If you really want to be flash, you can add a microphone and webcam and see the person as you talk to them. So why book a taxi to the airport to book in 2 hours or more before the flight is due to leave, then be confined to an uncomfortable seat for a 6 hours	Another batch of views from Tom that do not necessarily reflect the views of DaC THE WORLD ACCORDING TO TOM WHITBREAD DaC’s answer to Victor Meldrew!
	or more journey only to end up with jet lag? The time and money that can be saved is unbelievable, so unless you are combining this with a holiday or having a junket, why put yourself through all of that hassle. Now you can see why a lot of your trips to the flyers are disappearing; businessmen can save time and earn money quicker. They can transfer money by internet banking so there is no delay in waiting for a cheque to arrive. If the money is to purchase goods, it can be done in minutes instead of days so that the goods arrive quicker and the purchaser starts earning money faster. So now it isn’t just the flyers that are disappearing, but also the shorter journeys as people do not have to go and view the purchases, this can be done with a virtual screen. This allows you to view your item from any angle and once again is done within seconds. Dial-a-Cab clients, whilst on their computer, can also work on the same document on a white board, or they can have the equivalent to a telephone conference call with a group of people all involved in whatever is being shown on the screen. These options can be done without a run-in and 10% gratuity, so money conscious clients can cut back on their transport needs. This means that the licensed taxi trade and private hire will have less work to fight over. Because of the lower amount of work, it is more essential to give our clients a service that is first class, a service that makes them feel like they are the most important client in the world. By doing this will make them see that although they may be paying a little more for the Dial-a-Cab service, you have to pay for excellence. Yet sadly we still have a minority of scruffy, couldn’t care less drivers who believe that passengers should think themselves lucky they have got him. So what if the route was a little longer than usual? Tough... If you know of a driver who falls into one of the above categories, let a Board Member know. It can be done in private or	on an anonymous basis. But if we find you are doing it to be vicious or vindictive to another subscriber, you will be treated the same as any other person on complaint. The compliance officer’s email is AllanE@dialacab.co.uk or you can email me at TomW@dialacab.co.uk. Your information will be treated in the strictest confidence. You have to remember that these drivers do as much damage in making your work disappear as does private hire going in and undercutting our prices. Do not think you are a grass or squealer; you are safeguarding the earnings that pay your mortgage, food bills, your children’s upbringing and even your wife’s anniversary present. Getting together on the internet... On a lighter note, Facebook allows you to gain friends around the world so that you can gain information about places you have not visited yet. The donor can supply you with information that could save you money or a wasted holiday. I have built up a group of some nice people that I converse with, whether it be idle chit chat or helpful information. There’s also Friends Reunited where you can find lost friends and relations; they also have firms, companies, schools, clubs, the military and various other groups that a lost friend could belong to. Never be frightened to try something new and have a look at what these websites contain that may be of interest to you. It could widen your outlook, but remember that if you have children, keep a check on what websites they go onto, not all users of the internet are genuine. There are ways and programmes set into your computer and connected to web browsers that will give you a rundown of which websites your children are frequenting. Be lucky in the coming months and remember that every job you reject is another nail in the radio taxi coffin. Tom Whitbread DaC Board member

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