same ʻrogueʼ taxi pull up every morning, Again our protest was kept low key to This story has a positive outcome, an
fill up with luggage, then roar off in the avoid annoying the hotel customers. outcome that, with careful, positive
direction of Heathrow can be a little actions can be replicated at other
annoying to say the least, especially when When I got home I sent another e-mail to venues. We must and indeed will, remain
you know heʼs got a job worth £50 and the hotel management and was contacted vigilant to ensure that there is no return
your fare comes out to go to Victoria for by telephone later that day by the duty to the old ways.
less than £5. manager. He explained that one member
of staff had been away for 3 weeks and it Let me conclude by saying – and this is
One particular individual was so arrogant appeared likely that he was responsible for from the heart – to those who continue
that when confronted he even boasted to the ʻrogueʼ being called in. I was also told to ʻstitch upʼ their fellow drivers; you
me that heʼd worked that hotel for over that a disciplinary meeting was arranged are no better that an unlicensed tout;
20 years and “thereʼs nothing you can for later that week. Once again the hotel you donʼt deserve to be called a
do about it”. With the August downturn management had acted positively and professional taxi driver; you are no
his attitude and actions became so much decisively and deserve the thanks of the better than thieves in taking work from
that even the usually placid, docile drivers regular, honest drivers. On our part we other drivers; you are not welcome any
sitting on the rank were talking of taking have promised that there will always be more; the honest drivers are ready to
drastic action. Spurred on by the positive a taxi on the rank from 4 a.m. onwards take back the work and they will treat
action taken by some of the night drivers and that there will also be taxis capable you with the same contempt you treat
to regain the work (see above story), they of taking credit cards easily contacted if them. Work straight or be prepared for
decided that some action was needed. they are not there already, so keeping no work at all.
our part of the bargain to provide a truly
Action is all well and good but, as the other professional service. Mike Hughes ©
drivers have pointed out, this should
not inconvenience the travelling
public (our customers) in any way.
Accordingly we decided to move
two taxis from the rank to be directly
outside the hotel so that we could be
in plain sight. I was there with my hi-
vis jacket and two of us pointed out to
the hotel night duty manager why we
were there; that our demonstration
was being taken against ʻrogueʼ taxi
drivers and not against hotel staff or
customers. We kept everything fairly
low key, and after about 20 minutes
returned to the rank.
As Iʼd had e-mail correspondence
with the hotel management regarding
drivers being banned from the hotel,
which had been resolved successfully
as reported in taxi talk, I sent an e-
mail to them explaining our actions.
To their great credit they responded
immediately. New systems were put
into place to ensure that taxis were
being taken from the rank and that
only genuine pre-booked fares were
taken. After the first few days when
the main culprit, and some of his well
known cronies, ʻtried it onʼ little was
seen of them.
All seemed to be going well until
three weeks later I got a call from
one of the regulars to say that a
well known ʻrogueʼ had been seen
picking up at the hotel rank, not once
but twice in the same morning. By
the strangest of co-incidences Iʼd
actually seen him travelling along
Cromwell Road with the customers
on board and noted that he had the
£2.00 booking fee on his meter. I
knew he wasnʼt on a radio circuit
and wondered just who he was
stitching up. The phone call provided
the answer. On receiving the call I
went to the hotel, two of us again
moved our taxis to be directly
outside the hotel and expressed our
disappointment to the staff on duty.
47
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52