by AngelaWhite

Created on: July 12, 2010

A Cab Drivers Guide to being successful

The most common reason you are not making as much money as you think you should be:

 There are people who drive cabs and then there are cab drivers. If you are a city 'cabbie', then you have probably heard that line but do you know the difference? Do you understand it? Your dispatcher does and that is probably the shortfall in your wallet. While dispatcher favoritism is mostly gone due to technology, annoying the person sending you trips is a little like making your boss mad and then expecting a raise. Not a good idea.

 Dispatchers still have control over the order in which trips are given out and if you have bugged them for things like your place on the log and call outs when you are not even in front of the address, they remember and sometimes send smaller trips your way. 

Why? 

 A Dispatcher is busy. The average taxi radio now has 50- 75 cars, half of them on any given shift. Imagine answering just the calls of those 35 drivers if they happen to free up at the same time. Now add in office staff, phone answerers asking questions, 4-8 phone lines ringing in, and a boss in and out of the office, checking up on things. Sound like fun? Now add in the half a dozen drivers who are so impatient they will not wait 3 minutes for a customer to come out, constant call backs from those people saying they do not see their cab, and requests for log placements. 

Starting to see why the voice on the radio is a little sharp? Let me complete the picture. 

 There are usually also people on hold for complaints and missing items, charge account paperwork that must be done right then, credit cards waiting to be run through, and call backs from people who are still waiting. A Dispatcher is busy! Do not waste their time and they will not send you on four grocery trips in a row or forget to add you to the log. It also does not hurt to offer them a coffee or other drink, even lunch occasionally, as they are making a set wage while you are making 15-25 $ an hour, thanks to their skills.

 My advice: Be patient, do not call them unless you really have to, and always be polite. A rude driver hardly ever makes good money, even if he is a good at his job.

 Want a list of detailed things you should and should not do as a city taxi driver? Check out my other articles.

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