Making it on the Street (originally printed Jan. 2004)
Giving hustle a good name.
By: Dan Van Hecke, Master Chauffeur
Good, consistent money can be made on the streets and I'll tell you how. First put away standard excuses: “Business is slow”, “People are not spending money”, “No convention in town” etc., although they may be partially true.
It misses the point that you have to be more focused as to what really gets you your customer, not for all of the other taxi's. These are the basics:
What to Look for Before the Hand Goes Up!
1. Eyes A prospective customers eyes will have a searching look and will follow you if they think you are available. Always make eye contact, and if you think it might be you, give a positive feed back - lights, waving back etc.
2. Body Language There tends to be a poised stance of anticipation as they are looking for a cab
3. Position This is the hardest one to define, but for instance, customers stand differently in bus stops - when looking for cabs, they'll be further out or off to the side, between cars but not crossing the street, walking out of a building with a definite straight line faster walk to the street.
Learning to recognize the above signs is easily mastered because you can study them just before they get into your cab and other cabs. ***Then you can move on to the “Science” of getting the customers.
The Big Six of Getting Customers
1. Routing Where you drive to find customers is fundamental and will be covered in a complete article next month. But, for now, always look along bus routes, especially if the bus stopped running or is slow. Look at office buildings, Navy Pier, McCormick Place, Neighborhoods etc.
2. Tracking (The lane you are in) customers will (out of habit) get in on the curb lane so watch your safe exposure (not blocking traffic) while you are trolling. The exception to this is when they are crossing the street, make eye contact with you, unless you're an unclean taxi and it causes them to go to someone else.
3. Timing Where your customers come from depends on when they are doing it (the four rush hours) Morning 7 - 9:30, Lunch 11:30 - 1:30, Evening 4 - 6 p.m. and restaurant and show break 9 - 11 p.m. Watch for patterns to play and adjust accordingly. Also, high exposure locations downtown, rush/street will give you a 30 - 90 second temporary cabstand when you stop on a yellow light.
4. Attentiveness Aside from the first three basics, do a constant visual sweep on both sides of the street every 10 - 15 seconds to see changes in patterns. Also, watch what other drivers miss or don't want.
5. Stake-out Cabstands These are useful if you know their movement patterns. Usually anything past 3rd or 4th position diminishes your return on time unless they are moving. Convention/hotel stands have peaks but it is best to assume a shorter trip than an airport. Cabstands however present a good opportunity to take a break and still have your time dually productive. Best done every 5 - 6 trips to stretch etc. check with hostesses inside restaurants to see the activity and with doormen at concert halls to find out ending times. Watch your parking on these.
6. Ask Them If you see a customer(s) in a crowded bus stop and you are at a stop light or otherwise not blocking traffic, ask something like “Taxi, anyone?” The city code prohibits soliciting for another business, but can be used for you services, provided the words taxi or cab are used. Be clear, friendly, and non-threatening with a clean cab, as it does work.
In conclusion, you are really not always competing against other drivers, or even slow business. Driving a cab profitably is like playing golf; it is what you do, not what the other players do that makes the difference. Keep learning these and any other techniques to improve your score.
