The adverse effects of public transport
Diamond cabs of Telford suck!!!
Sorry about the outburst I feel the need to get that in the sub heading of this post after my experience with them on Friday morning. I get a message from my friend telling me they can’t give me a lift into work on Friday morning so I duly call a taxi and was told that it would take 20 minutes at 7.45am (it takes about 20 mins to get there. I am due to start work at 8.45am so I believe that I have given plenty of notice.
At 8.15am I gave them a call to ask where my cab was and was told he was seconds away from me. At 8.30 I called again and asked where my taxi was as I was told it was only seconds away 15 minutes ago. At 8.45am I call again and ask the controller where exactly my taxi was and was told he was in an area about 700 yards from my house. 9.00am rolls around and I call again, this time I’m told he is literally pulling up outside, so I asked the controller if I was getting a discounted fare due to the fact I had lost 1 hours pay due to his crap planning and logistical skills. He responded with “I can’t do anything about the fare because the drivers are self employed”.
Just out of interest I called another company who told me they could get a car outside in 10 mins as the Diamond Taxi Telford car pulled up. The driver was uninterested in the fact I was late and made no effort to apologise for his poor punctuality. The manners of the driver are not the issue but it is the failure of a public servant to do his job correctly.
It is a good job that I hold the position in my place of work where turning up late is not a sackable offence rather just a point of concern if it happens regularly. However what would have happened if I had a job interview to attend or worked for a company that didn’t tolerate lateness? Surely these taxi firms have a duty of care and if not they certainly should!
Do they not understand by lying to customers by promising to deliver you to a said destination is not only a pain in the arse but could affect peoples lives. Had the controller said to me when I called “no taxis until after 9am) I would have thanked him and gone elsewhere however I would return to them. But it seems that they would rather offer the customer a one off shite service based on a false promise! Again when I called the first time it would have been much better for them to tell me the truth and say that due to unforeseen circumstances my taxi was going to be late? It’s just a sad state of affairs when a taxi company would rather earn a fiver than ensure I get to work on time and continue to get repeat custom from me!
Maybe it is about time that all bus/taxi companies are required to show due diligence towards their customers as part of their operators licence just like the rail company. The government is quick enough to fine FGW or Arriva if their trains are late and I strongly believe that it’s about time the same rules are forced upon the other “public transport” services.
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