70 PRIVATEHIRE AND TAXI MONTHLY
MAY 2009 WHAT’S IN A NAME? GREYHOUND CARS FITS THE BILL
This month we swing down to the Smoke, to pay a visit to one of south London’s longest established private hire firms - and indeed, one of the National Associa- tion’s longest standing members - Greyhound Cars of Streatham. Just for fun, we thought we’d check out some of the characteristics of the lithe and race-win- ning animal from which Greyhound Cars takes its name. Let’s see: calm and gentle... abili- ty
to run long
distances... patient and kind... polite with peo- ple (and indeed with other dogs). Quite a few paralle ls there... Maybe that’s why Grey- hound Cars
has succeeded for a long
through the door in one day. It resulted in Grey- hound Cars increasing their workforce by 20 per cent over the next two years. Also, in July 2008 when London licensed private hire vehicles were allowed to display licensed operator infor- mation
on of their
vehicle(s), Greyhound Cars was one of the first and most ardent propo- nents
this
momentous boost to passenger safety - and one of the first south London cab companies to have the new sig- nage displayed. (See photo of company pro- prietor Tom Leuchter and one of their vehi- cles displaying the plate.)
the years - none more dramatically than the innovations brought about by Cordic. Greyhound utilises the full Cordic cPAQ sys- tem, but a couple of specific features worth highlighting
are
Cordic’s IVR with Voice Recognition, and their Mobile Booker. The IVR platform and voice recognition capability enables regular cus- tomers to book jobs and check the progress of their bookings with- out having to speak to an operator, or tying up valuable staff. When a regular caller’s number is recognised, they are offered an immediate repeat pickup, when they can then accept or choose from a range of other options. The Cordic IVR solution is highly configurable to meet
the specific
time where others have fallen by the wayside. Realistically, this com- pany
owes its
longetivity to several factors: strong empha- sis on customer service is one of them, which is why Greyhound Cars boasts a Quality Con- trol Manager, whose remit is to ensure that high standards the company have set are maintained. Another plus point about Greyhound is that they have always been in the forefront of trade developments in the capital, for example advising and lobbying during the lead-in time when the capital’s pri- vate hire industry was first coming under the licensing regime of the Public Carriage Office - and indeed, they were one of the first compa- nies to apply for and receive their operator licence. During the buildup of London PHV licensing it was difficult recruiting drivers, so Greyhound Cars found a new and successful answer: they went into the exhibition business. They took a stand at four of the Pol- ish Exhibition Job Fairs; at the first exhibition in Hammersmith
over 5,000 people came
Responding to requests from the industry (including Greyhound Cars), licensed opera- tors can now display their name and contact details next to the vehi- cle registration plate. Apart from the advertis- ing aspect, this of course acts as a safety feature, as passengers can check that the car that arrives is from the cab office they booked. As Alec Smith com- mented: “We want everyone in London to have a safe way to trav- el, whatever the time of day or night.”
THE SYSTEM
Of course, investment in the latest and most suitable technology for the business tops the list of priorities for any progressive private hire company. In the case of Greyhound Cars, the cPAQ Taxi Despatch System from Cordic does just about every- thing but boil the kettle. Having first opened their doors in 1972, Greyhound Cars’ man- agement have seen tremendous changes in the industry generally, and specifically in the computerised booking and despatch systems available, and how they have developed over
speech, prompt and response needs of the taxi or private hire com- pany and offers 24/7 coverage; it can enable the automated handling of between 25 and 40 per cent of a taxi com- pany’s workload. Greyhound Cars are benefiting from the IVR with Voice Recognition with bookings from supermarkets and hos- pitals where there are phones with no key- pads. Something very much worth noting is that Cordic’s IVR with VoiceRecognition is the first to enable automat- ed bookings
that
comply with regulatory requirements set out by the Public Carriage Office because
it
ensures that the pas- senger name and destination are cap- tured/recorded during the booking process.
MOBILE OFFICE
As for Cordic’s unique Mobile Booker, quite simply it puts the book- ing office in the palm of your hand and lets you book jobs while out of the office, on location or from anywhere the passengers are locat- ed.
The portable
Mobile Booker is ideal for using at busy pas- senger areas such as stations,
sporting events, exhibi- tion
centres
airports, and
nightclubs. Jobs can be booked as quickly and easily as if in the office. Readers will find even more hi-tech informa- tion in Cordic’s Point of Sale article in this issue
Telephone: Email address: Year firm started:
of PHTM, and of course in person at this year’s Taxi and Private Hire Exhibition at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena. Certainly Greyhound Cars has more than benefited from their cPAQ sys- tem,
which has
enhanced their service not only for individual passengers
but
account work for small priva te companies, large corporates and NHS Trusts. Another of their popular features with both cus- tomers and drivers alike is the ‘callback’. By pressing a button on his XDA an automated telephone message is sent to the customer advising them that their car is outside. This fea- ture is also available via texting. Customers can also util ise
Greyhound’s
Web Booker service, whereby they can book jobs directly from any- where in the world; they can get an instant quo- tation, make a booking, and track the progress of their vehicle on a map, live in real time. All
these technical
innovations , coupled with a dedicated 25- strong
staff of
despatchers and tele- phonists, and drivers of over 170 vehicles, result in the company taking some 11,000 bookings per week on
average, all over south- west and southeast London. They cover the majority of the main supermarkets including Asda, J Sainsburys and Tesco, as well as both patients and staff on behalf of the NHS in the South Lodnon area. And of course their high standards are attracting accolades all over; Greyhound Cars has recently been nominat- ed in the Best Customer
A
Service category of Lambeth
Business
Awards. Greyhound Cars’ con- tinuous investment in the latest state of the art systems has firmly imprinted Greyhound Cars as a leader in the London private hire scene - which is what continues to impress their loyal and satisfied clientele. So here’s to the next 37 years!
GREYHOUND CARS Address:
231 Streatham High Road London SW16 6EN
0208 677 1212
greyhoundcars@btconnect.com 1972
Number of vehicles: 170 Types of vehicle:
All private hire: saloons, estates, MPVs
Licensing authority: Public Carriage Office
Cost of - Operator licence:
Driver’s licence: Vehicle licence:
Radio rent fee: Standard fares:
Booking system: Phone system:
Application £703; 5 year £1,707
Application £105; 3 year £157
Application and inspection £82; Licence £27
£153
Cash £5.80 minimum; £2.50 per mile. Account £5.50 minimum; £2.10 per mile
Computerised - Cordic cPAQ O2 Mobile Technology
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