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| Mailshot continued colours. Therefore, I am trying to save time at the AGM. Money to be refunded per
day, pro rata. Brian Rice replies: I notice you mention members being on holiday for over 14 days, I would suggest to
you that most members annual holiday is 14 days or less, although some members do like to
holiday in Israel for a month or more (know who I mean Sid?). But seriously Sid, there is
no such thing as a free lunch. The Society needs income from both the member and client,
and in recent times we have been very successful in obtaining income from sources other
than the member. Every year in April there is a staff pay increase and the Board usually
increase subs from members in order to finance this. However, for the last two years subs
have not increased to finance this deserved raise. LIMOUSINES: YES…. David Adelman’s report on the usage of limousines rather intrigues me because when this first topic came up some years ago - and it has been commented on many times since - my reaction was "No Way!" However, whether we like it or not, things and times have changed. In business, one cannot simply stand still - if you do, then others will take over and you are left completely behind. In running any business, one has to find on a continuous basis, new ideas, new approaches, fresh products and update the whole time. With advancing technology, this is even more important than before. I realise that the majority of our subscribers will positively be against running a limousine operation as an off-shoot of DAC. Up to a point this aspect will be well understood and appreciated by me completely, however, in order to be accepted in the market place, we have to be needed, wanted and accepted by the one person that matters above all else - That is the c-u-s-t-o-m-e-r............... Any Marketing Manager will confirm the fact that in marketing, one has to look for and aim at the market place. If, there is a need, then that is the first stage, followed by the planning and implementation of a plan of action. Having been associated with some major companies in the past, both directly and indirectly and appreciating today’s environment and the manner in which business executives think and act, |
I do believe
that to offer and run a DAC limousine service would work and show a profit for the
company, so long as it is engineered and operated ethically, professionally and handled in
every way in a truly responsible way. Obviously our salesmen and women would be able to
add the service to their sales presentations which would also impress potential and
existing clients as to the true professionalism of the company. If it was approved for the
project to go forward, I would certainly be prepared to offer my services to drive a
limousine. Obviously, there would be lots and lots of various aspects to go through such
as type of vehicle, who would own them, wages or commission, hours of work, administrative
matters, insurance etc. etc. However, the main thing is to get the project officially
introduced first and then approved, before anything else. AND NO… Any constructive comments on the above two letters?…Ed AND I DON’T THINK SO…….. |
to comment. It has been suggested several times that Dial a Cab incorporate a limousine service. The last time this was discussed in detail was at the EGM held in February 1996. At that meeting Roger Ascough made a presentation outlining a plan in which the Society would lease a number of Mercedes to offer certain account customers a limousine service. After the presentation, many members expressed their fears over the service. In particular; it would not increase the demand for taxi usage and that it would endanger the financial well being of the Society. Unfortunately, there is nothing new in David's article to allay those fears. If Dial a Cab were to introduce a limousine service, it would not be long before the other radio circuits followed suit. Any early advantage gained in the market place would soon be nullified. The account customers would then have an even greater choice of suppliers of car services than they enjoy at present. Inevitably this would lead to price competition. If the limousine part of Dial a Cab lost money, it would have to be subsidised from the taxi side of the business. Not a situation that many members would relish. I think it is worth reminding ourselves of what Mike Tovey (our auditor and financial
adviser) said at the EGM when I asked him if he thought it a high risk venture. He said:
"I think it’s a high risk, it’s a particularly high risk because you need
to make a very significant up front commitment to acquire the vehicles and that makes it
higher risk because if the revenue and the increased profits don’t flow from the
limousine service you’re still in the position where you own the vehicles. So the
scale of it is, if you decide as a matter of principle to get involved with providing a
limousine service I think at the beginning you have to be cautious about the commitment
you take to acquire vehicles." As yet, no sound financial forecasts have been put
forward that would justify the potential risk to the core taxi business. It is also worth
remembering that our members have collectively invested many millions of pounds in their
purpose built taxicabs. Since our radio circuit is wholly owned by licensed taxi drivers,
there is a prime duty on behalf of management to promote the licensed taxi industry and
ensure our members’ livelihood. No one has yet shown convincingly how a limousine
service would benefit the Society or its members. Paul’s letter leads us to another point; what happens if one of the other two jump first? Do we then automatically follow them?…Ed THE END OF PLC…AGAIN |
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