With Gary Gates taking a deserved holiday, DAC Drivers Trainer Paul Tully has jumped in to take over Gary’s page…
DIAL-A-CAB QUIZ
Gary has asked me to make this issue’s questions much easier as
many of you had trouble with question 2 in the August issue! The answers were:
Putney, Walworth, Wood Green
The winner was Eugene Smith (E90). He wins one months free subscription to DAC.
And now to this month. Again, the first correct answer drawn on Wednesday 16th September will win that driver a month’s free subscription to DAC. Just decipher the clues into three London place names and send them to Call Sign…
1. The first is where you teeter, just before you jump, the second
could be pottery, where you’d put a sugar lump?
2. It begins with a bird, a singing one you see, and ends with the sheltered side, a good
clue you’ll agree…
3. The first could be a ‘Royal’ - albeit meek and mild, but upgrading to the
second, would turn him rather wild!
YOU MEAN YOU DIDN’T KNOW!!!
It is a well-established fact that DAC has the best Management Team in the
trade, employ the best staff and have the most caring, dedicated and professional drivers
around. There are also two lovely souls that are the envy of the whole taxi trade both
nationally and internationally - yes you have probably guessed it - the two guys who train
the new drivers - the best trainers in the trade - B.T.I.T.T. - for short. These men go
where men fear to tread - into Tom Whitbread’s office! Need I say more about the
calibre of these two men amongst men.
CREDIT CARDS - THE PROCEDURE
There are many drivers who are still having problems with the correct procedure involving
credit cards. Why is this? Because unlike normal everyday account work, it is only on the
odd occasion that they will be offered a card trip or perhaps take a street pick-up that
will want to pay
Opened by Paul Tully
by credit card and they have probably forgotten through lack of regular
practice.
With a street pick up, it is always prudent to point out to the customer that
there is a handling charge of 10% with a minimum of £1. Once the passenger is on board,
you swipe the card ( this can be done at any time during the journey) and the card number
will appear on your screen with the cursor flashing in the pick-up zone. You then enter
the zone that you were in when you picked up the passenger. Then press ‘send’
to send the information to the control room, an acknowledgement will come back saying ‘trip
authorised for ,50.00’.
You now treat the trip as you would a genuine As Dir trip given
to you through the terminal: -
* Press P O B
* Do a code 7 ( coded message using the form button)
On reaching your destination, stop the meter and clear the trip at the
metered fare, as you would a normal account trip.
If you accept a credit card trip offered through the system, it is not
necessary to swipe the card and you can treat the trip as you would a normal account ride.
AUTHORISATION
Credit cards are authorised for ,50. If you think a journey will exceed that amount, you
need to get authorisation before you can accept the card as a method of payment. I would
recommend that you wait for authorisation before commencing the journey.
To get authorisation you need to do a FORM - 0 - 98. When the form
appears on your screen, bring the cursor down into the AUTH ( ) field and enter the
amount you want authorised, then ‘send’ it.
If you are unsure of the amount a trip might cost, go to voice and ask for an
estimate, whatever the estimate is, seek
authorisation for, 20 above. You then have peace of mind that you will be paid the full fare without any hassle should the fares exceed the estimated amount.
CREDIT CARD VOUCHERS
A credit card voucher must be completed on all credit card trips - without
the voucher we are unable to process the job for payment. Credit card jobs are only paid
when we receive the voucher, so the quicker you bring them in the quicker you get paid.
Vouchers should be brought in within 7 days of the trip, or we may not be able process
them. The voucher should be made out in triplicate, one for the customer, one for the
office and one for yourself.
Please ensure that you have competed the relevant information on the
voucher:-
* Customers signature
* Call sign & badge number
* Card number
* Expiry date
* Date of journey
* From/To
If we do not have these details, we not be able to pay you.
You must add 10% to the meter fare (minimum ,1) and ask the passenger to sign for the total amount. If
you do not add the 10% the computer will automatically deduct 10% from the fare.
If a card has a delta logo, it does not carry a handling charge. If you are
unsure if a card carries a handling charge, you can always charge it and we will amend it
at the office.
Any alterations to the fare by the customer must be initialled. We look
forward to receiving your vouchers (the clear copy) completed correctly and signed by the
customer.
CALL CENTRE EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
Dave Parris was the Call Centre employee of the Month for July. David was
presented with a diploma and a monetary prize for his overall performance and attitude. On
behalf of the Board of Management and staff, well done David.
Paul Tully
