Taxi Driver Online

Just finished an 11hour shift and am a little disilusioned by what i experienced today and in a state of disbelief and would like the views of someother taxi drivers regarding the use of an automated answer service to replace telephonists in the private hire sector.

First of all, i would just like to say that until now i have been very lucky and priveleged to having been working for one of the biggest and most propesperous private hire taxi companies in my city and have been very happy with the £500 per week i have been clearing, which is far better than what i imagined i would earn before i first begaan working as a private hire driver.

The company has built a fleet of near 200 cars, and all from scratch. The company started out in 2005 with only a handful of owner drivers and was probably the worst company in the city. But since then they have become the most professional outfit in the city, and with good customer service skills have made customers very happy and also customers always state how good it is that at anytime their taxis are always on the doorstep within five minutes.

However i now fear that the owner of this company that has against all odds shown everyone how to build a huge private hire taxi company, is about to embark on a new mission in showing everyone how to destroy it in one week.

This is due to this ''stupid' new automated answer service they just got installed, whereby the customer instead of being greeted by a telephonist now gets met by an automated answer service asking them to press 1 if they want a saloon, press 2 if they want a 6seater, press 1 if they want this, press2 if they want that.

Unsurprisingly the last two days have been very quiet and some regular customers have complained to me that phoning their taxi is now a lot of hastle, and i also find it annoying as most customers speaking to an answer machine dont state their destination, and i always like to know where i am going before i get the customer in my car, but the last 2days all my jobs have been 'as directed'.

There is a number of reasons i think an automated answering service is not suitable for a private hire company.

(1) No customer booking a big job to an airport or someother important destination is going to leave their job with an answer machine without any feedback or confirmation from a human-being and they will just hang up and book a taxi with a company that has a human on the other end of the phone.

(2) It actually gives the opposite impression to what the company is trying to project. The company may be trying to save money by replacing a telephonist with more modern technology and the company may be trying something which means that customers can book their taxis even when all lines are busy and therefor the company 'thinks' they will take more jobs. But, it actually gives the opposite impression and customers get the impression that the company is struggling, the office is unmanned and they are reluctant to leave their booking with an answer machine and will be very worried about whether or not their taxi is actually coming. It does not give the impression of a professional company.

(3) It is just too much hassle for the customer and drivers will be unhappy only getting [edited by admin] little fares with all their jobs down 'as directed' with absolutely no essential feedback whatsoever should the job be a little more complicated than the simple pick up.



In a nutshell, please let me know what you guys think of the use of the automated answer service for private hire companies, as i think it is very bad for a customer to phone for a taxi and be met with an automated voice.

Yes, they will eventualy phone a proven and reliable "TAXI" company, that is why your company fails as Taxis are reliable and PH are not.


Sorry, I am getting confused, you said customers call a PH company for a "taxi" or are you a taxi within a PH company! Please help.


The job as a taxi driver is alway complicated, the job as a PH is determined by your office.


Personaly, I think it is very, very bad for a customer to call for a TAXI from a PH office as PH drivers are not trained, or licenced, as TAXI
DRIVERS.
As a taxi driver I await the untrained PH demise.

Oh yes, before I forget.
Why do you ask Taxi Drivers for advice on a PH office?

I fail to see how you come to that conclusion and you really shouldn't tar everybody with the same brush, however, having experienced IVOR and worked with it I fully understand the concerns of this driver. The automated system should only kick in if the operators are busy but from experience it will kick in whenever people call from a home phone landline number. The company I was with that used it, which has a mixed fleet, have stopped using it now as far as I am aware but not before the damage was done. Older customers don't like new technology as much as the younger ones, but, the younger ones prefer apps: It is I'm afraid down to cutting costs imo but with 200 drivers there shouldn't be an issue regarding employing enough telephonists/operators in the office. There is the option to press to speak to the operator if the customer wants to but that information is always last to be heard and only if the customer hangs on the line long enough to hear it. Did the owner of the company not discuss it with the drivers prior to having it installed?



Really? You pick them up, take them where they want to go, get paid, drop them off. What is so complicated? However the ph driver will pick them up, take them where they want to go, get paid, drop them off. I can see the difference can you?



There you go again tarring everybody with the same brush, you shouldn't do that it makes you look silly. I have the same training and hoops to jump through as the taxi drivers here, the only difference is the vehicle I drive. I hold both licences but drive a saloon so I work as a ph driver. Most of the circuits here are mixed fleet so it's quite normal for the customer to ring for a taxi, although they may not mean a taxi as you and I understand them to be, they ask for a hack if they want a taxi, but, they ask for a taxi if they aren't bothered what vehicle comes for them and if they don't want a hack they say so. Clearly our customers are quite well trained

With regard to your last comment I fear you're going to have a very long wait, in fact I fear the untrained ph out there is going to get bigger and uglier as time progresses but you know my opinion of that, you applauded it

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

If the system is doing harm the owners should quickly spot that if not then the drivers should write to the owner expressing their concerns and hopefully that will get the message through

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Sorry, too much lemonade last night and not enough thinkin...

2 of the biggest PH firms in Glasgow not only use these automated services now but don't put any destination on the jobs when giving the details to the driver.

unless its account work with a specific destination that must be adhered to everything is marked up as "As Directed" cant say many of our guys like it that much but the companies seem hell bent on retaining it with the argument being that drivers will go for work regardless rather than no job work they don't fancy

It's fine as a back up to when it's really busy, or to people who don't want to speak to an operator, but that's it.

The boss will change things, as with no punters or drivers his firm is worth, and he is making, sweet f*** all.

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IDFIMH

What the f*** are you on about?

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IDFIMH

Because if people didn't ask questions on a forum it would be rather boring.

Are you for real?

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IDFIMH

Is that allowed in their licensing conditions?

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IDFIMH

cos they are all mixed now

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

Please ignore my post, if you aint done so already.
Too many lemonades last night, coupled with too many fingers with not enough brian function

Brian who?

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

Brian the bait, Waiting for someone like you to bite.
Did you not get it, it's in bold italic