Make More Money (originally printed Feb. 2004)
Routing to find your customers.
By: Dan Van Hecke, Master Chauffeur
The primary idea in finding customers is to maximize your time (not being empty) and deliberately driving to areas or locations that give you the maximum exposure to customers. You are looking for your customer, not all the other empty cabs around. You start by picking an area about one square mile or so with major streets as boundaries. Book into your radio zone for that while you are working the streets even though the trip will probably take you out of the zone or area. Work this area in a criss-cross pattern at least three times before moving on to the next.
What you are after is not just customers for now, but a practical pattern for the future so you will be sensitized as to where the hot spots are at different times. Most trips during the day are either going downtown or airport, especially from the radio calls. You are also able to develop regular customers, if you want especially on the morning rides. Finally, if you do a radio call in an underserved area, this will not only count for your city requirement total but could also be developed as a regular. The best consistent boundaries of this are within one mile outside of the areas north of Devon east of Ashland down to Grand, the east line to Halsted, south to Roosevelt then east to the lake. Anything north, west, or south of this line is considered underserved, even though there are sections that are closer to the loop than the Lincoln Park area.
Once in the loop use this same pattern of one square mile or so, and will become familiar with buildings, door openings, and patterns.
Do not confuse mileage, and traffic with your golden standard time. For example, if you drop someone off at the Hancock Building (Chestnut side) in the morning rush hour, it only takes 5-6 minutes to get to Irving Park & Sheridan normal (light traffic). The square mile (or area) technique in real estate for sales is known as “Working the farm”.
Coming from either airport, write up a list of radio zones within 1 mile or so of the expressway in order of coming back to the loop and take orders if within 10-15 minutes.
You are going to usually be empty that long anyway. Coming back from O'Hare you can also stop at
1. Marriott at 8535 Higgins Road. It is Chicago, Cumberland north exit.
2. Jefferson Park CTA terminal exit at Lawrence, west to Milwaukee then right 2 blocks
3. Kimball exit for Belmont subway
All of the above locations can be checked out and then back on expressway within 5-8 minutes or so. Can't find anything in loop at evening rush hour? It happens. Go north on LaSalle and you will usually get a costumer by Chicago Avenue. Noon rush hour 11:30 - 1 use business cab stands. IBM, LaSalle Street Sears Tower (It's long and fickle but does move.) Most hotels have various checkout times, (and smaller meetings that are not on the convention sheets 50-100 people) so check with at least 1 or more knowledgeable doorman to find out today's, as well as the next few days times and plans. Above all keep asking other drivers, customers, or anyone who con tell you of happenings. You can become a seasoned, productive (as-in cash) driver when you don't have to rely on any one technique, but know what to use no matter what.
