What yellow cabs need to do to stay competitive
Aug 3, 2013, 1:33 PM | Updated: Aug 4, 2013, 2:51 pm
Don O'Neill says rather than focusing on ride-share operators, maybe the yellow cabs should clean up a bit and work on improving customer service. (AP Photo)
(AP Photo)
Upon learning of a taxi cab protest aimed at calling attention to the lack of regulations for ride-share operators in downtown Seattle on Friday, KIRO Radio’s Don O’Neill offered a few tips to the yellow cab drivers.
Taken from Friday’s edition of the Ron and Don Show.
1. Take a shower. The Uber drivers, they all bathe. So if you drive for yellow, then you should go take a shower.
2. When we call yellow, don’t tell us you’re coming in 15 minutes, hang up, and then you don’t send a cab. And then when you call back, you hang up, etc. A lot of times, you don’t even answer the phone.
So when yellow tells you ‘yeah, we’re going to be there in 10-15 minutes,’ they don’t know. It’s just one big lie.
And why do we have to call dispatch anyway? Why can’t we just get on our mobile phone or an iPad, find you, and do what Uber does, and have my driver there in five minutes?
3. Open my door for me the way that Uber opens my door for me, which I think is fantastic.
4. Know where you’re going. Right? The Uber drivers, they all know where they’re going. You guys never know where you’re going.
5. Get off your phone and stop talking to your mom in Indiana or whoever it is you’re talking to. Alright? Because the Uber drivers will put on some nice music. If you like to hear a sports team, whatever it is, and they’re not on their phones talking to anyone, having a separate conversation, and not paying attention to where they’re driving.
What I think has happened to yellow is they’ve been able to provide a horrible service that we’ve been stuck with. Now there’s competition out there and they don’t like it.
What you should do, instead of honking your horns, is go take a shower and make your service better, right? Clean out your car every once in a while. It seems like some of the guys sleep in there.
Am I being too harsh?
There are some yellow cab guys that are real good and they’re real good drivers. And if I find one, they’re so hard to find, I’ll get their cell phone number because I’m like ‘Wow.’
Taken from Friday’s edition of the Ron and Don Show.
