(6)

Letter cont.

This outlook I have always tried to put into practise ever since I first drove a cab 25 years ago and derive much satisfaction that I did so. Besides the moral aspect of it, what about the common sense approach to your own livelihood? Every time you disappoint a customer, whether they miss a train, a plane, or an appointment in Harley Street, you have created an unpaid and voluntary spreader of bad advertising of your business. If each one of you resolved that each working day, you would put yourself out to do a radio job that does not appeal to you, even though you are mooching at about 75p per gallon, the scrubs list would take a nose dive, the goodwill of the society would increase and with it the flow of work some of which would quite possibly become credit work. How can you allow even a few credit jobs to be scrubbed is beyond and comprehension. Without the credit work, your subs would immediately and rapidly increase, if I were wrong then Aubrey will no doubt put the record straight in this or next issue.

I have a feeling that the board think we are doing a good number of jobs per day. My reply to that is when Levy’s radio packed up, and it’s so long ago that some of were still at school, they were doing just over 2000 jobs a day with far fewer cabs than you have on the circuit today. By now we ought to be doing double that number. Many moons ago, when we used to have an occasional cyclostyled bulletin for the members, I wrote urging that we could, if we tried hard enough, build up such a connection with credit work and at that time I do not think we had any competitors, that we could be in the position of being too busy to deal with cash customers. Maybe the changing economic climate over the years has made this impracticable, but if it hasn’t don’t you think it is a worthwhile ambition? It’s up to each one of you to do his best for the society, or to put it another way but equally true, to do his best for himself.

I wish you all individually and collectively success in the future, but above all, good health, Sincerely, Alf Levy (Ex-Dan 80)

ED’S COMMENT: Thanks for your marvellous letter. You see I didn’t cut anything out.  Keep in touch Alf; love to hear from you during your carefree days.

 
BUTTER BOY TALES          PHIL EMDEN

Our story this month takes me back to a young man so new to the game that I think he was still wearing his bicycle clips. Plying for hire in his public carriage vehicle in the City, out of the blue a hearse cut in front of him and stopped dead (that wasn’t meant)! Our boy felt slightly amused as he thought to himself what he was going to say to the driver of the funeral car. Thinks… what’s up mate, frightened the flowers are going to die. Chuckle, Chuckle… unthinks.

By this time, the hearse took off with such a jerk, the rear door flew open and like a rocket, the coffin shot out. The highly polished box with ornate brass handles stood on end… just make a mental picture of those events…. Remember it all happened in seconds…

The upright box seemed to make it’s own way towards the stationary cab. With a cry of horror, the butter veered round the pursuing coffin just as the lid was about to reveal its contents. Racing away from the nightmare still in a state of shock, he pulled into pick up a toff and a lady. The gent spoke in a valentine Dyall voice saying: “I want you to drop my friend off at Tower Pier, then go on to BURY St Edmunds!” With that our poor friend crashing the gears, literally leapt away leaving an astonished gent with the door handle still in his hand. The petrified butter stammered if you want some shady undertakers, I’ve just left them up the street, but I ain’t burying no one!