Taxi Driver Online

Yes you may get more work, but extra money, not necessarily.

From personal experience a firm here dropped its prices. Speaking to the drivers they are doing more work but at the end of the week take home the same pay due to a combination of charging less for the journey and spending more on fuel due to the extra mileage - so the only ones to benefit are the customer. Meanwhile all the other firms have kept their prices the same and are making just as much as the discounting firm, more now as the firm that cut its prices has just put its rents up by £15p/w and they already charged the highest rent in town !

You assume more people wont use the trade if it's cheaper.

That logic also says we never lose any trade when fares go up.

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IDFIMH

Of course, when these guys buy their cars/fuel/tyres etc they all go to the dearest supplier and watch the cheaper ones go out of business.

Dusty ~ Cost is not the only factor used when a decision is made.

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Don't dream it ~ Be it.

But for the purposes of the argument I was obviously assuming the products and services are identical, so you're surely not saying that you go to the dearer supplier just to help them out or that the cheaper ones are going out of business all the time?

Nothing like that. People form some kind of relationship with, what they frequently regard as, their, Taxi Company.

Once that bond has been forged, because of pleasant telephone manners, good service, whatever, it is quite difficult to break. You will be the first call they make and, if you are able to fulfil the order, you will get the business. They will only move on if you cannot help them or of course, if you let them down a couple of times, someone else then becomes their Supplier of First Choice.

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Don't dream it ~ Be it.

Er, remind me what everyone's complaint about others discounting is then?

And my point was about what you do when buying things, not what others are doing in relation to phoning taxi firms, and in any case what you're saying above seems a bit over-romanticised.

If what you say above is correct I can't see what your gripe is - what others choose to do is none of your business (literally!) surely?

Dusty, I have no gripe. I'm just discussing the whys and wherefores of Discounting and why I think that it is, mostly, a waste of time and no gain for the individual Driver.

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Don't dream it ~ Be it.

Well I discount if it's a decent job at a reasonable price, because if not I know the driver behind will get it, so I'd lose out by not discounting.

SN1 cars base owner should have given all cars a book of £1 vouchers, 1 should have been handed out per fare, with the full fare being charged, the voucher could be redeemed by the customer at the office, or used by the passenger on the next trip, if handed to a driver as part of the fare the driver could have redeemed it against his base rent....

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

Anyone else see the scam here?

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Grandad,

That is a totally reasonable Marketing Tool and may prove successful in generating more business, without harming the Driver's Income.

Of course, careful wording on the T&Cs is important,

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Don't dream it ~ Be it.

You don't see the scam then?

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Grandad,

Sorry Grandad ~ I worded my reply badly, very badly, and I shan't alter it retrospectively to cover my fault.

It should have read. ~~~~ "That would've been a totally reasonable Marketing Tool" e.g. the idea of £1.00 Discount Slips

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Don't dream it ~ Be it.

half the vouchers would vanish (lost behind kitchen units and down sofas or just tossed away)

but the IMAGE (goodwill) wouldnt vanish, it looks good!


only scam would be unsigned+dated vouchers (cos that would be a requirement) being handed over to reclaim en-masse but it would be so obvious (and a 1 off) as to be pointless

"here boss, ive 200 £1 vouchers all signed by Mrs Smith and car 67"

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most