Taxi Driver Online

Cab driver swears at wrong passenger

September 15, 2010

A cab driver picked on the wrong person when he swore at a passenger who quizzed his choice of route.

He launched a foul-mouthed outburst at a ‘mystery shopper’ working for the council – to test the customer service skills of drivers.

The driver became annoyed when the customer questioned the route he was taking from Manchester Airport to Peel Hall Primary School in Wythenshawe.

He snatched up his sat-nav to show the customer and said: “Listen don’t give me a headache. I’m following the road, yeah? I can do without that s***.”

The driver then took the mystery shopper, who said they felt threatened, to the wrong address and became annoyed again when asked for a receipt.

The shocking evidence features in a Manchester council report detailing the mystery shopping scheme.

The authority’s licensing unit launched the pilot scheme in a bid to improve the standard of service black cab drivers provide.

The driver involved now faces an interview with the unit which will decide on appropriate action.

Black cab journeys trigger more complaints than those in private hire vehicles – 69 per cent of all complaints in 2009 in Manchester. Problem issues include the standard of service for disabled people, night-time journeys from the city centre, inaccurate fare charges and drivers’ knowledge of the area.

One hundred journeys were taken for the pilot scheme during May and June this year. Each mystery shopper assessed areas such as the external appearance of the vehicle and interaction with the customer.

They also gave a mark for overall satisfaction. A satisfaction mark of 70 per cent was deemed acceptable. Twenty-one scored less than this, mainly due to the poor interpersonal skills of the driver.

The licensing unit will now interview these drivers and some may be offered formal training. Forty-seven drivers gave excellent service, scoring over 95pc.

A council spokesman said: “We learned a great deal from the exercise. As well as showing up areas where the service could be improved, it also highlighted good practice.

“We are going to carry out further exercises and already have one planned to look at the experiences of passengers with disabilities.”

One problem thrown up by the pilot scheme was the ability of many drivers, who had been warned in advance about the exercise, to spot the mystery shoppers.

One driver, who scored 96.7pc for a journey from the airport to Abbey Pines Clinic, asked whether his passenger was a mystery shopper after recognising him from a previous trip that morning. He said he never forgot a face as he had been driving taxis for 18 years.

The pilot test comes two years after an NVQ course was introduced at Northenden College for drivers to improve their etiquette.

Source; http://menmedia.co.uk/manchesterevening ... _passenger

_________________
Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

Type a message, post your news,
Disagree with other members' views;
But please, do have some decorum,
When debating on the TDO Forum.

_________________
IDFIMH

etiquette standards have also slumped in Bournemouth nvq was forced on to us

I thought Manchester was franchised out to a PH operator ? So would it have been a black cab or a PH ?

the HC have always been at the airport, weren't the PH an alternative supplier?????????????

Oh and I doubt the "mystery shoppers" approached the PH vehicles.

_________________
"Here's a simple solution. If you don't want to pay more for a premium service then wait in the queue, problem solved".
Skull on TDO

TF pi$$ed on his chips.

Drivers don't take the Nvq seriously but then neither do all the providers Imo some drivers actually need training and not assessing

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

that would be entrapment

Mystery shopping is a way around entrapment laws.

_________________
IDFIMH

There are no entrapment laws in this country. In the early nineties a team of Manchester Taxi drivers used an entrapment operation every weekend. It was an enormous success. It made BBC prime time news. A prostitute was hired to flag down a PH car, a plainclothes traffic cop was employed to flag down the PH car when it got mobile. The traffic cop then made the driver identify himself (a crucial requirement). The cab drivers then issued a notice to prosecute. The drivers often failed to turn up for court, they were fined in their absence and given 8 points (at that time) on their license.

There are rules;

R v Looseley, AGRef No. 3 of 2000

Held: That if an enforcement officer did no more than offer an opportunity to offend in the same way as a member of public could have then it could be lawful. Specifically approved the decision in Nottingham City Council v Amin [2000 WLR 1071]

[R] v Sang

HELD- Entrapment does not exist as a defence in English law but a judge can exclude evidence if an officer incites the offence rather than offering a chance to offend

Taunton BC v Bryce

HELD: Justices were wrong to exclude test purchase booking evidence as no defence entrapment if Council officer did no more than offer the opportunity any person seeking to hire a car would have done.

CC

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

If approached i give out a business card and say "ring asap, theres a car local"

and i drive round the block once.....

touting?

CC

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Door signs are all the advertising you need, it's then up to the customer to take your number and ring you. Saves you touting

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

and a published admission

_________________
"Here's a simple solution. If you don't want to pay more for a premium service then wait in the queue, problem solved".
Skull on TDO

TF pi$$ed on his chips.