Roy August 30th, 2010
I received the following E-mail recently, the sender asked would I post it here….happy to oblige:
The Simon and Garfunkel song, “Keep your customer satisfied“, sums up the present plight of the Irish professional Taxi driver.
Every where I go, I get slandered, Libeled, I get called names you never heard in the Bible…….Just trying to keep my customer satisfied…… satisfied
The endless conversations we have with customers who tell us they got a driver who;
- didn’t know where he was going
- overcharged them
- or that they had to wait for hours once to get a taxi.
Then you get the customer who remarks on the fact that there are too many taxis whilst others are downright bigots .
The reality for the taxi industry is that the government deregulated the industry in the same way as they did with the Banks and passed off the running and monitoring of the industry to a regulator.
Like the banks the regulating of the taxi industry has been an abject failure, only the availability of taxi vehicles has improved, the quality of service and pretty much every other aspect of the business has not.
A change in government policy with reference to the spouses of persons with work visas has led to an influx of overseas drivers into the industry., unfortunately proper training schemes were not put in place to guarantee that a reasonable standard of communication and geographical knowledge were achieved to help these drivers do their job to an acceptable customer standard. It is also unfair on the overseas drivers as their lack of proper training often brings them into conflict with their passengers.
The present policy of actively encouraging migrant workers into the taxi industry by means of the Back to work enterprise allowance and other welfare allowances is having a detrimental effect on the indigenous driver, displacing longterm owner drivers with less qualified people. In the present economic situation where will the displaced drivers find alternative employment?
The commission for taxi regulation at present run a reactive monitoring and enforcement policy resulting in them trying to shut the stable door after the horse has bolted, there is no successfull industry anywhere in the world that has adopted a reactive business plan, it is essential in any line of business is to be proactive, to see the problems before they happen and put in place policies to prevent damage to your business.
So the next time you take a taxi remember the driver is doing his best under the rules, regulations and standards imposed on him by the commission for taxi regulation. If you are not satisfied by the service you receive, why not contact the regulator @ 1890 60 60 90?
Remember it is your taxi service the drivers are only here to provide it .
Padhraig Hurley
