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callsignmag@aol.com WestOne Cars
Alan,
I have to ask whether should Dial-a-Cab be associated with WestOne cars?
It would seem from what I’m told that the reason we are no longer used by a
major account in SW1 close to Piccadilly Circus is because WestOne have lost
this account where they supplied the cars and DaC supplied the taxis -
rumour having it due to very poor service on WestOne’s part. A member of
staff from the lost account told me there had been over 100 complaints from
the account against W1C in just one month alone and he even thought that DaC
were part of the WestOne group! He was surprised when I him told about our
proud history and our mutual society, he hadn’t realised our taxis
occasionally arrived late because WestOne are slow to offer the work to us.
The reason I feel compelled to write and bring this to everyone’s
attention is because of another incident with WestOne Cars on behalf of a
different account, this time a City Law Firm. On arrival, my passenger said
to me: " I knew you wouldn’t be 30minutes!" I was actually at the pickup
within 5mins of booking. Shocked at why he should say that, it appeared this
account was no longer ours but now with WestOne cars. They had offered a car
or taxi, only to add that a DaC taxi "could be 30minutes!" The passenger
still requested a DaC taxi - WestOne cars must be rough!
At the end of the journey, I contacted the person at DaC
responsible for the W1C account and after returning my call, he explained
that a DaC Board Member had contacted W1C only to be told that they had no
idea why this had happened and it certainly wasn’t their policy. Surely they
have the tapes at WestOne Cars? While on the phone, I asked why this account
isn’t dispatched with a T attribute and how many more of our accounts are
now WestOne’s? He wasn’t able to say.
Please don’t feel that I am anti-Concierge, I’m just asking if DaC
with its proud history of good service, should be associated with companies
like this? I think it is very disappointing how after we have given years of
excellent service during times of industrial action, extreme weather and
even during and after terrorist attacks, that these so called Blue Chip
companies drop us just because they think it will save them a few pennies.
Jon Robinson (E88)
Brian Rice responds: Couldn't agree with you more Jon,
you absolutely hit the nail on the head when you state: "I think
it is very disappointing how after we have given years of excellent service
during times of industrial action, extreme weather and even during and after
terrorist attacks, that these so called Blue Chip companies drop us just
because they think it will save them a few pennies."
We have a simple choice; the car company has the account and either
we cover the client’s taxi work or we don't! I know all the arguments for
and against and the fairest way of doing it is to let the driver decide, he
either does the trip or he doesn't. I do not believe the Board should make
that choice; it is up to the individual.
Do not be confused Jon, the accounts in question have absolutely
nothing to do with Concierge, that is a totally different scenario.
However, the law firm you mention now has a 'T'. The two accounts in
question are the only two we have operated by a car company and in theory do
not require a 'T' because the clients involved rings the car company and
state "car or taxi" and the car company handles the request. The client has
clear guidelines. A 'T' attribute should really only come into play when we
cover a trip for a car company on their own account because they cannot
cover it. Consequently, both the clients you mention should not really have
a 'T' but as one has, then probably so should the other.
Your information is correct, WestOne have lost the account near
Piccadilly and I believe it could be going to AL and ComCab. However, it was
not lost
due to DaC as our service in the main was good, but it
is also a little unfair to presume our taxis were sometimes late to arrive
as the trip was 'offered late' to us. When the client ordered via WestOne,
they would order "car or taxi" and the trip went to the appropriate source.
I am not happy with the situation, but unfortunately as I have
stated many times, some clients want to move their work into cars so they
can make economies and unfortunately the larger the account, the greater the
savings. Depressing, but still a fact!
Licensed?
Do you think the "Night Stalker" minicab driver was LTPH licensed and passed
fit by the CRB???
Stephen Field (F68)
John Worboys definitely was and while, like most Editors, I like to blame
authority when the opportunity arises, in this case the only ones we can
blame were the idiots from the Met who had him in 1999 and let him go
without a stain on his character after having "caught" the wrong Delroy
Grant …Ed
Account holders now and then?
Dear Alan
As you will remember, we used to have a lovely, friendly lady account
holder called Adele Rootstein. She once gave me a book to read and keep
while I was waiting for her at a hospital. Then there were the times when
she paid us to take her dog for a walk in Hyde Park giving the driver a pair
of wellies in case the weather was wet! What a contrast with today.
Let me give you two recent instances. There is an account in
Tavistock Square that demands you wait outside the door in a bus lane (I
almost lost a wing when a bus cut back in) instead of opposite where you
could then u-turn to pick up. Our Sales department might need to look at the
roads when an account is opened! If it ever gets that far, then this driver
won't stop for anyone on zigzags! The driver should be able to decide where
to wait, bearing in mind safety and road markings. Then in the last snowy
period I was offered a delivery to the Home Counties. I accepted without
thinking - well when did you last get a roader? A vague address didn't help
and I don't use SatNav - fortunately as it transpired. I agree with the
Editor about SatNavs, I'm amazed drivers using them aren't embarrassed.
Anyway, I stopped at a garage for directions and by a lucky chance in a
million, the driver I asked lived in what was the same dirt track as was my
destination. But it was totally impassable! He had to ring his wife to be
collected from the town and offered me a lift. A SatNav wouldn't have told
me the track was impassable, so this Good Samaritan saved me the risk of an
accident or a long hike |
in the snow with the resulting higher fare
(had I walked from where he parked it would have taken at least an hour).
When I made the delivery, the expression in her voice betrayed her surprise
at my appearance - especially as she had smashed her car a few days earlier
on the track! Why was there no warning or consideration for the driver from
the account holder?
Changing tack, many collect car/aeroplane numbers or follow
cricket/football statistics. I collected fishing boat names and numbers as a
child. But I've often wondered about the composition of the Dial-a-Cab taxi
fleet (though obviously changing) and a more stable list of the longest
serving subscribers - something you touched on recently. Is this something
Call Sign could do?
Alasdair Kay (C47)
Nice story about service, Alasdair, so it isn’t just the post that always
(supposedly) gets through. DaC seems to also manage it! As for a list of old
drivers, we have interviewed a few already and perhaps one day I’ll publish
a list. But as a starter, according to my files – which are as official as a
Spurs Champions League Final souvenir shirt – I have Alan Lewis (A44) as the
longest serving subscriber having joined in August 1962, followed closely by
Bill Tyzack (C06) who came just 4 weeks later in September 62. There is then
a 7-year gap with Ray Sorene (A53) who joined DaC as a subscriber in July
1969. The longest serving driver we know of is Mike Walsh (H63J) who joined
in April 1961 but who is now a DaC journeyman, having sold his cab several
years ago …EdCall Sign gaming reviews
My grandfather is a DaC driver and I occasionally
used to see Call Sign, but now I ask him to pass it over to me
every month! Why? Well can I thank Call Sign and Jon
Winterburn for the series of iPhone gaming reviews (Gaming: What’s
worth playing). At 17 and in the sixth form, money doesn’t flow in and
getting a review of available games before buying them saves me wasting
money. It’s also nice to know that there are so many free games as well.
With so many rubbish ones out there, this to me is a great service. My
favourite game so far is Associate 2. I’m now getting a waiting list
of friends waiting to borrow the magazine! Thank you Jon…
Taylor Harvey
Romford, Essex
Thank you for Jon Winterburn’s gaming articles, but I wonder if he could
put some in for the Android as not everyone wants to have the iPhone. My
uncle is on DaC, but is there any chance of me being sent a copy of
Call Sign rather than having to wait for him to finish it?
Marc Greenberg
Basildon, Essex
I’m sure Jon appreciates you both taking the time to write. He will have to
decide about the Android reviews and whether there is the time and space,
but sadly I can’t start sending the mag out otherwise we’d have to send it
to everyone that asks – and there are hundreds! …Ed
Good service…
Dear Call Sign,
I wonder if you can print this letter to emphasise the excellent
customer services at Just Taxis of Benfleet. I had a
major diesel leak on the way to work last Friday night and they had me back
on the road with all the pipes replaced by lunchtime Saturday. I have been
using them since 2005 and they haven't let me down.
Stewart Matthew (J53)
Call Sign is always happy to publicise good service …Ed
Cab windows?
Dear Al,
My brother was on Terminal 1 at Heathrow in his M-reg Fairway behind
three Mercedes Vito taxis. A passenger came out, walked straight past the 3
Vitos and got into the Fairway.
"Cabot Square, please driver," said the passenger just as the 3
Vito drivers came rushing over and heard the nice destination.
"S’cuse me guv," said one, "there are taxis in front of this one!"
The passenger said that if they insisted, he would wait until they
had all gotten jobs and then get into the Fairway because he refused to use
a Vito. The drivers asked why, after all the three cabs looked very
presentable and modern?
"I have just come off a flight after nine hours and there is no way
I want to get into a cab with windows that don’t open, thank you." The three
drivers walked away…
Jon Robinson (E88)
Two letters in one issue? I couldn’t possibly comment, Jon! …Ed
A cheaper Vito please...
Hello Alan,
I've just read the letter by Gary Cox (O46) in the April
Call Sign (A Cheaper Vito Prayer). He does have a
point - even if you do need an enigma machine to decode what he means! I've
been driving a cab for nearly 19 years and in all that time of driving FX4s,
TX1s, TX2s and TX4s, I have never had a cab that I could get a comfortable
driving position in. My present cab - a TX4 - for example; the driver’s seat
is offset to the right by at least 2 inches, it slopes down to the right by
4 or 5 degrees, my left knee is pinned to the dash board and my arms are
almost at full stretch! Oh, I nearly forgot the best bit - the driver’s seat
must be some sort of northern joke played on us soft southern cockneys. And
there’s more… the air con has never
worked properly, the driver’s compartment is like a Swedish sauna
even during the coldest winter we've had for years! The heater in the
passenger compartment doesn't work, the passengers love that while they’re
freezing to death.
I'm looking forward to the summer, I'm sitting up front in a tee
shirt with the windows open trying to stay cool - and there’s more! When it
rains the windscreen fogs up and the only way to demist it is? You've
guessed it, to put the bloody heater on! There are just too many faults to
list in this letter, the only thing the TX4 has going for it is it’s iconic
shape, something that I do like. But I decided my next cab would be the new
Vito, until someone told me how much their new Vito was costing them -
£42,000 and with finance over 4 years that could really cost you £51,240 at
5.5 APR. That's £1,067.50p per month plus insurance and running costs. This
could cost you as much as £290 per week, and with the cost of diesel that
could easily push your weekly out goings past £450 per week before your earn
a penny for yourself. I'm afraid that's just too expensive for me.
John Walker (B74)
Thanks for the letter John. Being just a 5foot 9-er, I don’t have problems
with the TX4 seat or it’s position. My air con works as does the passenger
heating, but we do have the windscreen misting-up in common! The new Vito is
being sold as an upmarket taxi and with its leather seating etc, it sounds
very nice - although I’m not sure why any London-based vehicle would need
cruise control.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that the 5.5% rate you say is being
offered (I assume by KPM) would be the flat rate and not the APR. It could
be that going direct to a |
finance company that specialise
in taxis, such as Singers, could save money over a dealer’s offer. When
talking about a huge figure like £42,000, it can’t hurt to make an enquiry …
Ed And speaking of Gary Cox!
Hey Al
I got it very wrong! This new Mercedes Vito is no van and certainly very
different from the last model. Yes, it’s overpriced by £3000 but maybe
that's the vat. This vehicle is something very special. If you thought the
Nissan engine was special, wait till you arrive in the 21st
century. If you can't afford it, one bang on the door of KPM and demand a
lease plan!
Gary Cox (O46)
Thanks Gary, your name is appearing in these pages
more often than mine! And yes, the new Vito sounds like a cracker if you can
afford it. If only minicabs didn’t also use a similar vehicle, I’d have been
tempted …Ed
Ten percent of nothing is…?
Alan
I would like some help from Alan Lipscombe (T50) to see if he can
explain to me how you are able to buy food with 10 percent of nothing? I
feel that he is being a little short sighted (March Call Sign)
when saying that keeping gratuities will assist drivers struggling with
rising costs and buying a new cab at £30+. If accounts stop using us, then
what good would a gratuity be? So I have to wonder how he suggests we
increase our workload because the competition is undoubtedly cheaper when it
comes to accounts. You can phone a minicab company up and ask for a cash
cab, which could possibly have a similar price to a taxi for an in-town
trip, but it’s their account prices that are cheaper and the problem.
I believe we should offer our accounts something to encourage them
to use us more, because you cannot help but notice we are taking more
passengers to account addresses for cash and a receipt. Does that not tell
you what is happening? A £1million a year account could save almost £100,000
per annum if there was no gratuity added. Is that not worth thinking about
because a £20 ride is £20 in your pocket whereas 10% of that is nothing if
that trip went in a minicab…
Ivor Belkin (C97)]
Anyone have a view on whether to tip or not to tip, because that is the
question! …Ed
An email for Mike Son
I am a composer and cab driver living and working in the San Francisco Bay
area. I recently saw your piece - Would you like to be in an orchestra
in the May 2011 Call Sign. Incidentally that's me on page
31 of the issue being quoted about the Uber Cab business model.
I have several pieces for an orchestra that you might want to consider for
your projected one. Most of these would require a lot of rehearsal, but one
might not. The Lantern in the Crypt is for a Double String orchestra
and is what you might call ear candy. I can have parts ready for you
if you give me some lead-time.
Please let me hear from you so I know your spam killer didn't get this
email!
Christopher Fulkerson, PhD
San Francisco taxicab driver
Mike Son has now responded to Christopher. Mike is looking
for taxi drivers or any individuals associated with the London taxi industry
who are proficient musicians and either are, or have been professional
musicians in the past. Applicants with a Grade 8 might have an advantage,
but that may not essential. The orchestra conductor will review all CVs. If
you are up for the challenge, send your contact details together with
details of which instruments you play, how long have you been a musician and
which orchestra, band or group if any, you have played with to Mike at
m.son@btclick.com or call his mobile
on 07710 388 588 …Ed
Heathrow enquiry
I drive a taxi in Dusseldorf and I enjoy reading your excellent magazine
online. I now intend taking my first trip to London with my wife and two
children (aged 14 and 17) and while I would like to use taxis, money is
tight in Germany at present. So I wonder if you would be so kind as to tell
me whether it would be much more expensive than taking the Heathrow Express
that my agency tell me is so cheap?
Johann Klenze
Dusseldorf, Germany
No problem, Johann. It will be good value for you to use a taxi into London.
The Heathrow Express fares will be £18 single or £32 return each. So four
singles will cost you £72 – more than a taxi into town costs! Enjoy your
stay …Ed
Where is Rapil Frist?
I enjoyed reading Call Sign’s obvious April Fool gag, which
sure enough was delivered on 1 April. I like to think I sussed it out fairly
quickly and gathered that we weren’t really going to have eight Ferraris for
clients, all supplied by Dial-a-Cab with the selected drivers able to take
the cars home when not required - and on top of that being paid £45 an hour!
A few days later I was doing an account ride from 33 Jermyn Street
along with another DaC driver.
"What do you reckon about these Ferraris at DaC, then," the other
driver asked? I asked what he meant? "Didn’t you read Call Sign,"
he asked without the merest hint of a smile? DaC are getting Ferraris for
its’ posher customers!"
I asked when he had the mag delivered? "Last Friday, I think," came
the reply. "And what date was that," I said? The reply came a bit slower
than his previous comments… "Er, April 1st!" With that he let out a grin and
the subject was dropped!
Mark Tiller (K90)
Quite a number of drivers phoned Call Sign to ask about becoming a Ferrari
driver or complain that we were wrong to offer the service. Others phoned
DaC to ask for the non-existent Rapil Frist! Thankfully April 1 only comes
once a year! …Ed
No lights at E14?
For the attention of Allan Evans.
What is the point of having rules if 90% of drivers
ignore them? I was the only DaC driver with his light on at the rank in Bank
Street E14 tonight (April 15 at 00.25). So I was the mug who took the walk
up job to All Saints DLR station thanks to all the other drivers who ignored
the message put out by despatch. I returned later and still no lights were
on with eight cabs on the rank. Is there anything that can be done?
Unfortunately, I don't think there is. None of us want our lights on as we
want a radio job. But unless we all play the game, the only ones losing out
are the mugs that play by the rules.
Just one further thought on this. If you enforce the ‘lights on’
rule it will immediately lead to all cabs trying to get on the back of a
rank to avoid being on point. How you get around that one is even more of a
challenge!!
James Whiting (E83)
See Allan Evans article in this issue …Ed |
