Ok, here are major step by step tips most people can never seem to get. This will help ensure you get a vehicle when you need it, and not tie up phone lines with a call taker. We are not trying to be nosey, we are just collecting the neccessary info so you dont call us back.
1. Know your address. Its always best to collect this info before calling. If you call without knowing this at first and we are busy, we will hang up on you and you will have to call again and wait in the order calls came in. If worst comes to worst, tell us the buisness name you are at. Dont refuse address either telling us its not our buisness. If we really wanted to break into your house, or egg your windows, we could just ask the driver for the address of the house you came out of. We have better things to do than worry about you after work like blog on the internet, family, movies, or whatever.
2. When calling wait for the dispatcher to greet you and ask for instructions. If I ask for your phone number and you start to give me your address, I will wait till you are done talking without putting any of the info into the system, collect your phone number afterwards, and then make you repeat the info.
3. Dont rely on estimated times of arrival, or time calls (orders made in advance for a specific time) We can never truely know when a driver is going to accept the order or how traffic is going to be. Even if a driver takes a call, and get a flat tire a block or two away from your house or gets stuck in traffic, the 15 minutes you were quoted, can turn into 30 minutes or more. I cant tell you how many people have missed their flights because the taxi was 10 minutes late.
4. If you have any pets, or a bicycle, let us know. Muslim drivers, or drivers with allergies, do not pick up dogs, and will leave you stranded. If you have a bicycle, we need to know if the wheel will come off, so a trunk can close, or if we need to send a van.
5. If you are in a wheel chair, let us know. If we send a regular sedan and the wheel chair is not collapsable, the driver will not pick you up. If you need a wheel chair accessable van, than plan on ordering that hours in advance. Most companys are limited on the amount they have on the road, and this will almost guarentee you get service, and allows us to assign the call in advance to a driver. Think about it. If you are on one side of town and the driver is completely on the other side of town, they are not going to drive a long distance for a small fare.
6. If you have more than 4 passengers we also need to know that. Most drivers will not overfill their vehicles with people. An extra dollar for that one extra passenger is not worth it compared to the $200 ticket they can get for you not wearing a seat belt. The wait might be longer, but we will send you either a van or two taxis. Cab drivers get into major accidents also whether its their fault or not, and you would have a good chance flying through the windsheild. (Believe me, Ive had it happen at a previous company with a driver.)
7. If there is any other important info specific to a company, we will ask you. If you know the driver cant get into your gated community without a key code, let us know.
8. Again, give yourself some time for the taxi to arrive. Thats the number one complaint I always hear and every other dispatcher hears. We dont care if you tell us you are going to tip the driver alot of money. That doesnt affect how much my check comes out to at the end of the pay period. All I know is if you want to make it to your destination on time, plan to arrive early.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
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