|
CALL CENTRE CHAT |
||
| A new signal
problem! With work being a little sparse compared to this time last year, it is making us more aware of a signal problem that has been causing frustration for some drivers and ourselves. For those that have not experienced the latest problem, it involves a trip being offered which the driver then cannot accept and the system books the driver off. What we are seeing is the system not receiving the accept signal back from the cab, thus interpreting the driver as not being with the taxi. After one minute it then books that cab off, while offering the trip to the next cab. Every time this happens, we are asking questions of the driver as to where he or she is parked, is the cab engine running or switched off? The majority of incidences are happening on the island and in the city. What we are trying to ascertain is whether there are there are any black spots we can advise drivers of. Even in the days of voice dispatch, we always had a few black spots and it could be that with the constant upgrades we have made, we just might be experiencing them again. Our IT department has been monitoring the new aerial sites and have been double-checking the functionality of the equipment. They have also been out in our cab with its two sets of radio equipment to monitor signals and are evaluating the data to clear this problem up. Every driver I have spoken with who has suffered the experience of being booked off, has remarked that we should have a facility to put a driver back into the system with his original queue position. The Board has spoken about this at length and while it seems to be a logical thing to do, there is a |
 reason it has not been done. To confirm a driver has received the trip and pressed the accept button, the controller would have to view the logger for confirmation. Currently the logger does not show what buttons the driver has pressed. For this information, the terminal logger would need to be downloaded and this would require a visit to Roman Way within 48 hours of the incident. The logger displays the same information as a driver who is not with the cab to accept or reject and the system books the driver off after one minute. This, unfortunately, leaves the system open to possible abuse. For example, the scenario could be that a driver is not with his cab and the trip is taken away and they are then booked off. Contacting the controller, they inform him or her that they tried to accept the trip but the host computer did not receive the signal. The controller then takes the driver’s word and places the driver back into the system. They then just happen to be offered a lucrative trip, which they accept and do. At their next meeting with friends, they mention the trip and how they got it, because as we all know drivers like to tell all about the good ones. It would not take long before word got around that the system allows for this to happen and members would lose faith in the fairness of the system, let alone |
the
integrity of the controller. I can hear the comments now that controllers are hooky and are putting their friends in favourable positions! It could set the Society back 25 years. To do this, as I have said, the controller would need to prove a driver was genuine and a full log of everything would need to be at their fingertips and the system in its present format just cannot do this. I am fully aware of the frustration this causes and our IT engineers are on the case. It seems that we often move one step forward and then have to take two steps back! And EC5 I would like to take this opportunity to wish all members, everyone associated with the Society and their families, a very happy Christmas and a brighter New Year. Keith Cain |
