Call Sign August 1999

"Building For the Future"

On Saturday June 12, a number of Dial-a-Cabs' staff enjoyed an entertaining and educational day out at a venue that must be every child's' dream location - Legoland near Windsor. Organised by our P.R. company Marketeer, together with DaC Board member Keith Cain, this was the second annual 'corporate bonding ' event where members of DaC staff get an insight into each others' jobs and hear from guest speakers as to how account clients view Dial a Cab -with no holds barred! This interchange is seen as beneficial for highlighting the strengths and weaknesses within the Society. Hence the 'building for the future' motto and this most appropriate venue.
Arriving at Legoland, delegates were treated to breakfast before the first of the morning sessions got under way. A short introductory gave a brief visual outline of the staff members' daily routine. That was followed by four Heads of Department describing their job responsibilities and tasks.

Guest Speakers

First guest speaker of the day was Len Ball, Communications Director for Visual Arts, a company that makes training videos. He spoke at length about customer service, telephone etiquette, client communication (naturally!) and

showed a video suggesting positive ways of dealing with clients' problems and of course, problem clients!
   He ended by praising the DaC staff for their obvious competence in dealing with the public, which became apparent during the Q &A session which followed the training video.
   Also featured during the day was a filmed interview with Dial a Cab driver Patrick O'Brien (P30), who spoke positively about DaC and its' members of staff.
   After the buffet lunch, a second guest speaker took the floor. Phil Pudney, Transportation Manager for N.M. Rothschild gave a detailed account of his work, interspersed with some light-hearted banter, while being interviewed by Marketeer's Stephen Forster.

Fun Time

Next, the delegates were put into groups and given a questionnaire, the answers being strategically placed around the Theme Park. With team points (and prizes!) at stake, a keen eye for detail and a lightness of foot akin to Linford Christie were desirable attributes - if the strict time limit imposed by the organisers was to be met. The winners of the competition was Roy Mastersons' Team with 49 points.
Other prizes were also awarded to various people who

had excelled in some way or other during the day - with special merit to David Adelman for being the outright winner of the 'Shiniest Head' competition. His prize of a curly wig obviously thrilled him - hence the battle to stop the flow of tears! There was also prizes for best photographs taken by staff who were all given disposable cameras to use - the winning photos are displayed on this page.
   DaC's Assistant Systems Supervisor and Evening Standard's Fat Controller, Gary Gates, held the audience spellbound with his magical prowess. When asked by Call Sign how he did the tricks, he told us: "These are no tricks - it's real magic!" Gary came back later for a deserved encore.
   Typical British weather prevailed later in the afternoon when, having spent the best part of the day indoors, the DaC delegates were finally let loose into the Park for some free time. The rain did not, however, dampen anyone's high spirits.
   Finally, a ride on the Dragon train gave everyone an appetite for the evening meal and time to socialise before the journey back to Brunswick House.
   Legoland Windsor is on the site of the old safari park which closed in 1992. It opened in 1996, being the first Legoland theme park to be sited outside Denmark. The displays are constructed from some 25,000,000 bricks.