Please tell me if you have ever heard anything so ridiculous from a taxi company as what is described below:

On Friday I booked a taxi to pick up two people for my company this morning and bring them to our head office. When I booked the taxi I gave them both names, but they obviosuly only noted one of them - which you would think wouldn't be a problem. However when the taxi arrived at the office this morning it came with only one of the two people. When I asked where the other guest was, the one who had arrived told me that the taxi driver had refused to bring both of them because he only had one name!!

I called RCA to check why this had happened and they said that it is up to the individual driver to decide how many people he can accept in the car and if he felt the additional person was simply hitching a ride at our company's expense then he could refuse to take them. I pointed out that I did tell them there were two people to pick up, but they denied all knowledge. We then had to pay for a second taxi to bring the (rightly) very angry second person to head office and the taxi company couldn't care less that it was their mistake and refused point blank to provide this second service free of charge.

I have never heard anything so ridiculous in my life - since when do you have to provide a full list of names of everyone who will get into the taxi!!

That is just crazy! I've never heard of that before and not surprised that you're angry. I can't believe they didn't give you the 2nd taxi for free. Outrageous. :rant:

This is quite surprising. RCA is the company we usually use, and the drivers have been quite lenient about taking our (un-booked) dog along too (although we do have a clean blanket to protect their upholstery.

How come nobody (driver, controller or visitor) rang you about this before the taxi began it's journey?

I've never heard of anything like this before :loopy: But it's a good way of the taxi firm getting two fares :suspect:

Call them and ask to speak to Chris Frayne. He should be able to sort it out! :thumbsup:

Originally posted by Strix
How come nobody (driver, controller or visitor) rang you about this before the taxi began it's journey?

A question I asked of the taxi company! But to which I received the response of "we wouldn't usually do that". Unfortunately the visitors had only just arrived from abroad and the guest left behind thought that for some reason she was not included in the invite to head office after all. The driver claimed he couldn't understand what they were saying - but they both speak excellent English, so I really think he was just being a jobsworth. I am NEVER using RCA again!!

Originally posted by Kristian
Call them and ask to speak to Chris Frayne. He should be able to sort it out! :thumbsup:

I did speak to the supervisor yesterday (don't know if this is the same guy) who said they couldn't authorise free jobs because the drivers were self-employed and simply wouldn't do it for free. When I suggested that RCA should pay the second driver because they had not passed on the correct message they just pleaded ignorance to having been told there were 2 people to pick up.

Originally posted by banesmabes
Please tell me if you have ever heard anything so ridiculous from a taxi company as what is described below:

On Friday I booked a taxi to pick up two people for my company this morning and bring them to our head office. When I booked the taxi I gave them both names, but they obviosuly only noted one of them - which you would think wouldn't be a problem. However when the taxi arrived at the office this morning it came with only one of the two people. When I asked where the other guest was, the one who had arrived told me that the taxi driver had refused to bring both of them because he only had one name!!

I called RCA to check why this had happened and they said that it is up to the individual driver to decide how many people he can accept in the car and if he felt the additional person was simply hitching a ride at our company's expense then he could refuse to take them. I pointed out that I did tell them there were two people to pick up, but they denied all knowledge. We then had to pay for a second taxi to bring the (rightly) very angry second person to head office and the taxi company couldn't care less that it was their mistake and refused point blank to provide this second service free of charge.

I have never heard anything so ridiculous in my life - since when do you have to provide a full list of names of everyone who will get into the taxi!!

My advice: ring and tell them that you want to pay any outstanding balance and close your account immediately because of the reasons stated above. This may spur them into some action.

People often forget that these companies are "service industries" - therefore demand good service!

How about the RCA driver trying to do a u turn down from the traffic lights on Handsworth hill about 4.15pm last week when there is a constant line of cars. What a joke!.

I have also recently had a problem with RCA. We were taking my mum out for a birthday meal a couple of Saturdays ago, so on the Thursday my husband rang and booked with them. He explained that there were 4 to be picked up at our house and mum from her house, so could he please have a 7 seater. The booking was taken, but he was told to ring on Saturday to request the 7 seater. Around 3pm during the Saturday he rang them and was told "well you can either ring the driver's of the 7 seaters direct to see if they are working, or one car can do you 2 journeys". We opted for one car, 2 journey's. We booked this for 7.45pm, and told mum to be ready for 8.10pm as this would be about the time that the car would be there for her. The meal was booked for 8.45pm.

By 8.10pm the car hadn't even arrived for us, so my husband rang to find out what was happening. After a bit of a wait and muffled voices on the other end of the phone we were told that the driver appointed had "passed it back to despatch" - and they would get another one out to us immediately".

By 8.20pm this taxi had also not arrived. When I rang them and tried explaining, the woman said to me "hand on, hang on love I'm having a look for you!! - oh, we're still tring to get someone to cover that job". I told her to forget it as it was too late. My husband ended up driving in order for us to get there on time for the meal.

You book a taxi for this kind of occasion so that you don't have to drive, and when a company is promoting itself as the biggest and the best you don't expect this kind of poor service complete with a bad attitude when you try complaining.

RCA were booked well in advance and told on many occasions that a meal was booked, and at what time.

I will never use them again either.

So, if I book a taxi, I have to say how many people want to use it, even if it's not more than 3, & there are 3 passenger seats available?
Would the taxi driver refuse to take more than one?

Re. RCA - on 2 occasions a driver hasn't been able to find the pick-up point & after another phonecall another taxi has been sent, who DID find it!

Granma.

Most taxi firms think they can get away with anything and dont really give a toss about their customers.

Also stay away from mercury their shockingly sh*te!!!

Originally posted by JonJParr
My advice: ring and tell them that you want to pay any outstanding balance and close your account immediately because of the reasons stated above. This may spur them into some action.

People often forget that these companies are "service industries" - therefore demand good service!

We don't have an account unfortunately - we just pay cash because we don't need them that often. Needless to say I used a different company for the return journey!

I have to say that this all seems pretty par for the course as far as private hire firms are concerned. Despite the fact that they're providing a service and depend upon the fares to keep afloat, they seem to have the attitude that the customer is of no more concern to them than something they'd scrape off the bottom of their shoe.

Taxis that don't turn up, taxis that are stupidly early/late, taxis that don't visit certain areas of the city for no apparent reason and taxis that can't make it from one area of Sheffield to another in anything less than an hour and a half.

I'd rather take public transport.

Originally posted by Carmine
I have to say that this all seems pretty par for the course as far as private hire firms are concerned. Despite the fact that they're providing a service and depend upon the fares to keep afloat, they seem to have the attitude that the customer is of no more concern to them than something they'd scrape off the bottom of their shoe.

Taxis that don't turn up, taxis that are stupidly early/late, taxis that don't visit certain areas of the city for no apparent reason and taxis that can't make it from one area of Sheffield to another in anything less than an hour and a half.

I'd rather take public transport.

But public transport is just as unreliable as Taxis are! :rant:

Perhaps moreso! :rant:

Never had a problem with RCA so far....


When we had the rock bar tho Mercury blocked our calls, possibly because a customer walked off after waiting nearly 90 minutes

The sh*t award of the century goes to Fleet. About four years ago we called them for a customer who had difficulty walking, he used the aid of two walking sticks. He wasn't drunk by any means but when the taxi driver saw him struggling down the steps with me at his side he simply drove off without giving me a chance to explain that the guy was not drunk or in danger of needing a hospital. This was a taxi driver that I'd chatted to quite frequently, if he'd refused after I'd explained I wouldn't have minded but to just drive off like that was truly ignorant considering how often we used them. When I rang them the attitude was 'well its up to the driver, innit'
Instant boycott

:mad:

Originally posted by Rich
But public transport is just as unreliable as Taxis are! :rant:

Perhaps moreso! :rant:
I've never boarded a tram and been told by the conductor that it wasn't going to town as there was "no demand"...:mad:

Originally posted by Carmine
I've never boarded a tram and been told by the conductor that it wasn't going to town as there was "no demand"...:mad:

I got chucked off the number 14 bus yesterday through no fault of my own cos some clown decided to attack the ****ing bus driver.. So we all got asked to leave the bus, close to the Hyde Park Tram stop.. I asked when the next bus was likely to arrive, the driver didn't know :loopy: :rant:

So in the end I ended up walking from Hyde Park to the bottom of Snig Hill for an 82 bus, luckily there was one in when I got to the bus stop or I would've been waiting at LEAST another 20 minutes for a bus!

Now try and tell me public transport is more reliable! :rant:

Originally posted by Rich
Now try and tell me public transport is more reliable! :rant:
I'm not trying to tell anyone that, I just stated that after the experiences I've had with private hire firms compared to public transport, I'd rather put my faith in the latter option.

The rest of the human race can keep swearing down the phone at the ignorant swines if that's what they want...it's no skin off my nose!;)

I catch RCA every Saturday from corp to Chesterfield. Never had any problems apart from the taxi has been 5 minutes late, but i can cope with that.

Though last saturday, travelling down dronfield bypass the taxi caught fire!!!!!!!!

It seemed a good idea to walk the next four miles and arraive home at something like 4.30am!!

I have never heard anything so ridiculous in my life - since when do you have to provide a full list of names of everyone who will get into the taxi!!

I work at a taxi company, and I've never of this either. (unless its account)

But most of the posts are similar to a recent discussion, so I'll not repeat all what i said last time.

The simple point is though, is like all of the service industry, things do go wrong, seemingly meaningless mistakes happen, and someone has to take the outcome. (yes, i know that should be the company, but that doesnt help you on the night of your party). But you do only ever hear the complaints, we dont receive 20000 phone calls a week praising us for the taxi on time, thats whats expected.

A bit of taxi advice though : dont move to Stocksbridge if you want taxis regularly.
Business advice: if you wanna start a business , open a taxi company in Stocksbridge.
(not that i took a lengthy complaint from Stocksbridge last night or anything)

Originally posted by Rich
I got chucked off the number 14 bus yesterday through no fault of my own cos some clown decided to attack the ****ing bus driver.. So we all got asked to leave the bus, close to the Hyde Park Tram stop.. I asked when the next bus was likely to arrive, the driver didn't know :loopy: :rant:

So in the end I ended up walking from Hyde Park to the bottom of Snig Hill for an 82 bus, luckily there was one in when I got to the bus stop or I would've been waiting at LEAST another 20 minutes for a bus!

Now try and tell me public transport is more reliable! :rant:

And would you have preferred for the driver to keep driving after being attacked by said clown? Its hardly his/her fault...

Taxis - don't use very often, but Express are good - RD have had a few problems, don't use mercury, their useless.

Public Transport - use daily and have about one missing bus a month, meaning I have to wait... 10 minutes for the next one :p

The taxi so-called 'service' in Sheffield is terrible, it really is. I've never had the trouble anywhere else, ever, that I've had getting a taxi ordered in Sheffield over the last few years. Absolutely appalling.

You book a taxi the night before - no taxi arrives - they've lost your booking. You try and order a taxi nearer the time you need one - no taxi arrives, or arrives so late you'd have been better getting public transport. Or you've now missed your train entirely - it's no good getting you to the station if your train left 2 minutes ago.

Or they arrive so late you get to a hospital appointment (that you've waited weeks for) 20 minutes late - that's 20 minutes of precious consultation time probably gone.

It's not good enough - there's no excuse. Don't take a booking if you can't fulfil it.

Say what you like about Leeds - and I say plenty that's not complimentary! - it's got a bloody good taxi service.

StarSparkle - ok, rant over :D

My complaint is that not only had the company had the booking two days prior, but we had also spoken to them THAT day as advised, regarding our arrangements, and still ended up without a taxi!!! Plus the attitude of the woman answering the phone was one of total "I couldn't care less - your problem not mine".

She was right, it was our problem to sort out, as they had made a complete mess of the evening!! The only thing I am glad about is that we do own a vehicle and could drive ourselves and my mum there - what would happen if someone hadn't got a car etc, and missed their evening out due to them?

As regards public transport - it would have been inconvenient as my mother is eldery, and doesn't live near busses and trams - plus we thought that we were providing her with a nice treat by using a taxi service.........

:rant:

we had ordered a taxi for a wheelchair-using lady customer where I worked, a few months ago.

the taxi was asked for at about 1/4 to 3.

at 10 to 6 we were still waiting for the taxi to arrive. (having had 3 ringbacks, and no taxi arrived)

This was Mercury, the same thing happened a few days later for another disabled customer, with the same firm.
I'm still waiting, despite numerous requests for him to do so, for the manager to contact me with an apology and an explanation.

I liked one of the firms that merged to form RCA, which was CCC, Confederate Cab Company. they were prompt, polite, knowledgeable, and reliable. They got to know me, and I them, as a regular traveller with them. They were great, but now they have been subsumed into this huge amalgamation, it's not the same.

The dev cat staff booked me a taxi home, with RCA, on sunday night, asking for a 10.45 pm booking.

The taxi finally arrived at 11.10 pm, half an hour after "chucking out time", and half an hour after the time it was booked for.

I was a bit annoyed as I was inconveniencing the staff at the dev, because they wanted to chuck out, and lock up/ clean up. And more to the point, as a lone female, and being disabled, to boot, I was in a vulnerable position, I could hardly stand outside and wait at that time of night on my own could I?

PT

Originally posted by djash1000
But you do only ever hear the complaints, we dont receive 20000 phone calls a week praising us for the taxi on time, thats whats expected.
I can't speak for anyone else, but the reason I never ring to praise a taxi for being on time is because they never are! :) I'd like to think I'm joking or exaggerating, but certainly every one of the dozen or so I've used in the last couple of years has been late - or just never turned up at all...

Originally posted by rich951
I can't speak for anyone else, but the reason I never ring to praise a taxi for being on time is because they never are! :) I'd like to think I'm joking or exaggerating, but certainly every one of the dozen or so I've used in the last couple of years has been late - or just never turned up at all...

I'd love to know which lucky people ARE managing to order taxis successfully! Someone, somewhere, must be getting a taxi service, or the taxi firms/drivers wouldn't be making any money! All I know is - it's no-one I know! :P

StarSparkle

Originally posted by StarSparkle
I'd love to know which lucky people ARE managing to order taxis successfully! Someone, somewhere, must be getting a taxi service, or the taxi firms/drivers wouldn't be making any money! All I know is - it's no-one I know! :P

StarSparkle

Like i said earlier, RCA have never been more then 5 minutes late. Suppose the fact i catch it at 3am Sunday morning might have something to do with it!

The taxi companies don't care because they make their money from renting the radio service out to the drivers and hiring the cars out to drivers.
The drivers don't care because they keep themselves busy by accepting whatever calls suit them at the time. If your order doesn't suit them, they don't accept it when the call goes out.

RCA or Mercury or whoever choose not to enforce systems which allocate calls on rotation so the punter suffers because they are all playing the same game.

It would be good if the council who licence these companies could start to take an interest and refuse to relicence those who fail to provide a prompt service.

i use rca every weekend to get to work, they are normally on time but on a few occasions been over 20 mins late, the journey is only 5 mins in a car, so when there so late im late for work been on a night shift, if we didnt turn up on time they might lock up without us and then id be a nights pay down, luckily thiis hasnt happened, but if it did id be ******, at the end of the day i dont want my reputation been ruined by a late taxi. nice1 to all the taxis on time. had one dodgy driver though, he didnt have a clue wheere he was going so i gave directions, and he didnt even bother to listen wheen i sed turn left, so i just sat there for about 5 mins b4 he asked where to go, so i gave him a mouthful for been ignorant and then even more directions seen as we were the other side of town. thats the worst driver ive had in 8months though, rca call centre is at manor top..... :P

I've had bad experiences with both RCA and Mercury.

I had ordered a taxi a couple of days before a work Christmas party knowing full well that if I didn't do so I wouldn't get one for love nor money. Rang up, taxi booked, fantastic.

I was getting the taxi on my own to get home.

Left said Christmas party to get taxi, nothing turned up for about half an hour (bearing in mind I am all on my own on a winter's night). Called RCA - "sorry love we are tying to get you a taxi". Great, so I book and it's not even guaranteed that I will get a taxi - what's the point.

Taxi never turned up!! EVER! I ended up flagging a taxi off the street about an hour later than I had booked the original taxi.

I've also had experiences where I have nearly missed a train because the taxi was so late, and they have "lost" my booking.

The taxi service in Sheffield is the worst I have ever known.

Phew, rant over!

Originally posted by cgksheff
The taxi companies don't care because they make their money from renting the radio service out to the drivers and hiring the cars out to drivers.

OK, firstly, your right, companies earn money from renting radios. But if a company provides such a bad service, no one will use them, and drivers look else where for a radio, so they have to care. And big companies dont hire cars out, the drivers hire off private companies, so no profit there.

The drivers don't care because they keep themselves busy by accepting whatever calls suit them at the time. If your order doesn't suit them, they don't accept it when the call goes out.

The only time a driver refuses a job is if its going out of their way, and they are finishing a shift, the customer has a dog (not guide/support dog, which cannot be refused), its going to a 'dodgy' area, or if they chance bidding for a job a long way away, and its not worth pulling for. (drivers have to take at least £10 an hour for 50 hours to even have a chance of a decent profit)
And Account work cannot be taken from a driver for any reason.

RCA or Mercury or whoever choose not to enforce systems which allocate calls on rotation so the punter suffers because they are all playing the same game.

i dont get this ^^^

RCA and Mercury between them take 40k+ fares a week and have a total of 620 taxis. So they must be doing something right.
But out of 40k fares, youve gotta see, theres got to be quite a few mistakes and lates.

I know how annoying it is waiting for taxis, ive used enough in my time, but trust me, they're not being late deliberately to annoy you.

Don't know if this is right or not, but someone once told me that if you book a taxi to take you to the train station to catch a train and you book it in plenty of time and the taxi turns up late and you end up missing your train, then the taxi is liable to take you to your destination?

Originally posted by Hels
Don't know if this is right or not, but someone once told me that if you book a taxi to take you to the train station to catch a train and you book it in plenty of time and the taxi turns up late and you end up missing your train, then the taxi is liable to take you to your destination?

Nope, this is wrong im afraid, all taxis companies should advise you that they dont accept liability if you miss your train or bus.

Just the same as other public transport, bus companies dont accept responsibility if you miss your train, because the bus was late or didnt turn up.

The taxi company should advise you to give as much time as possible, in case its late. (the company i work for does in every case)

And they should ask you the train time, because the operator/despatcher can then swop jobs around if your running late.
hope that helps

Cheers for the info, I thought it sounded a bit too good to be true!

This happend to us one time,we use phoenix (never again).And we was out shopping and affter we done at the supermarket we bump into a mate of mine that lived on same road as me.As i orderd the taxi in my name and had my child with me and they did not know i had my child with me,i ask the driver if it ok to take my mate that lives like 7 doors away.The driver then said he could not as she was not on the list to take her and was for insurance that did not cover her.So i said i use ur service all the time in my name and i got my kid with me that u dont know about so how my kid on the insurance if u do not know she hear in the first place with me..He said that it ok to take children as can not leave them.so that got me a bit confused on why he take me and my kid that not on the list but not take my mate at same time.And it was not a small taxi ither it was a black 6-7 seater mini bus type that pulled up.. Yet we use rd one time and all the driver did was tell the people in the office that if it ok to take the person as they got to tell them were he droping off at a diffrent address first, has if he does not then it be classed as a pick up from road as it not allowd..puzzle me some times these firms.

that all sounds bizarre, must be a bit of confusion there, cause i am

My experiences with taxis are not too bad apart from a few late ones and odd one or two not turn up.

One of my biggest disappointments was being in a taxi (Express i think) that suffered a puncture on the Parkway in the rain. After inspecting the driver got back in and announced he had a puncture but couldn't do anything as he didn't know how to (or something in broken English!) So us lads wanting our night out, quickly got out and changed the tyre for him in the rain!! And the disappointment was that he still charged us full fare!! (i expected a freebie or at least a big discount!)

Originally posted by youwhatref
One of my biggest disappointments was being in a taxi (Express i think) that suffered a puncture on the Parkway in the rain. After inspecting the driver got back in and announced he had a puncture but couldn't do anything as he didn't know how to (or something in broken English!) So us lads wanting our night out, quickly got out and changed the tyre for him in the rain!! And the disappointment was that he still charged us full fare!! (i expected a freebie or at least a big discount!)

How tight was that!!! You should have billed him for your services in return!

Very tight!! We had a laugh about it though. Funny thing is that we felt the driver blamed us for the puncture as we were his fare!!

Complaints about any private hire or hackney carriage (drivers or companies) can be made by e-mail to taxi.licensing@sheffield.gov.uk.

Originally posted by Plain Talker
we had ordered a taxi for a wheelchair-using lady customer where I worked, a few months ago.

the taxi was asked for at about 1/4 to 3.

at 10 to 6 we were still waiting for the taxi to arrive. (having had 3 ringbacks, and no taxi arrived)

This was Mercury, the same thing happened a few days later for another disabled customer, with the same firm.
I'm still waiting, despite numerous requests for him to do so, for the manager to contact me with an apology and an explanation.

I liked one of the firms that merged to form RCA, which was CCC, Confederate Cab Company. they were prompt, polite, knowledgeable, and reliable. They got to know me, and I them, as a regular traveller with them. They were great, but now they have been subsumed into this huge amalgamation, it's not the same.

The dev cat staff booked me a taxi home, with RCA, on sunday night, asking for a 10.45 pm booking.

The taxi finally arrived at 11.10 pm, half an hour after "chucking out time", and half an hour after the time it was booked for.

I was a bit annoyed as I was inconveniencing the staff at the dev, because they wanted to chuck out, and lock up/ clean up. And more to the point, as a lone female, and being disabled, to boot, I was in a vulnerable position, I could hardly stand outside and wait at that time of night on my own could I?

PT

You could've codged a lift home off me and Dad if you'd said you were stuck..

On topic, anyone seen the latest in tonight's Star about the black cabs being on strike again and causing traffic chaos?! :loopy:

And they wonder why people have no confidence in them? :rolleyes:

I got a taxi from RCA at 2.30 this morning in Attercliffe.
I dropped someone off in the city centre and then went home to Woodhouse - bloody driver said £18.50 :wow:


Couldnt be bothered to argue but got a receipt, rang the control room straight away and the night managers exact words were "thats totally outrageous"

He got onto the driver who promptly denied ever picking me up, yet he made a pick up 2 streets from my house whilst I was on the phone !

I said to the manager "bet he's is going to kiveton, I saw it on the LCD display panel"

This confirmed the driver had indeed dropped me off.

He called the driver a few times who refused to answer - manager promised he would call me tonight to resolve this.

Thats the last time I use this firm - I even had to give the guy directions and at that he had sat-nav !

I always use SB Travel (http://www.sbtravelonline.org.uk) and have never had a problem with them...

:clap:

my familt have always RCA,but since they have become a bigger concern we have noticed a decline in service,from the people who take the bookings (very abrupt and sometimes rude) to the drivers themselves with the exception of a few they can be very rude (especially one who works in the mornings called kieth),the state of some of there cars leave alot to be desired as well.i think that they need a course in customer care

i havn't used RCA for about 4 months now maybe longer,i used to get a taxi from manor park to richmond every friday and saturday night there and back.......one night slightly worse for ware the driver tried to charge me a tenner....shoukld have been £4

i always use express now

UPDATE

I have just had a call from the night manager, he finally got hold of the driver who still said he didnt pick me up.

When he was told that it had been on CCTV (which it was) and they were going to review the tape, he admitted it was him.

The manager offered to bring the refund to my house, or I could have it knocked off of my next booking - turns out it should have been £13.

The managers name was Craig, nice bloke all round :D

Last year we booked R.C.A. to take my wife and myself to catch a holiday coach in Pond Hill, the taxi was booked the day before we went and on the apointed day we again rang to confirm and we were told that a taxi would be at our house in good time to catch our coach. It never turned up! and we had to ask a neighbour to take us down and we got there with just minutes to spare. This month my wife had to go to Hospital for a series of important tests again we booked a day in advance and on the given day we again checked "no problem the taxi will be there at 8.15 a.m." after six phone calls it arrived at ten past nine and my wifes appointment at the Hallamshire was for nine o`clock.
On both occasions we didnt receive any apology and blamed it all on being busy, but why accept bookings if they cannot fullfill them? We will never use R.C.A. Taxis again but I must add its the people who work in the office who are at fault it isnt always the drivers.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by lazarus
[B]Last year we booked R.C.A. to take my wife and myself to catch a holiday coach in Pond Hill, the taxi was booked the day before we went and on the apointed day we again rang to confirm and we were told that a taxi would be at our house in good time to catch our coach. It never turned up! and we had to ask a neighbour to take us down and we got there with just minutes to spare.

That's exactly what happened to us.....Our holiday was very nearly lost thanks to MERCURY taxis pulling the same stunt. Had to get a neighbour out of bed at 5.45 to get us there for 6.00 and just made it. I've said it before......... If your journey is important,ie, airport, train station, get a friend, neighbour, relative etc to take you...DO NOT RELY on taxi firms. They are ok to flag down for a lift home from the pub, but are just not proffesional enough to take on this type of business. They are mainly cowboy outfits who don't give a toss about the customer.

Being an ex-mercury driver I noticed over the past few years how bad the service was getting. The call centre staff were underpaid and some couldn't even spell making our lives a misery. at quiet times they were tellling people 20 minutes and we were there in 2mins. Just very disorganised.

Best to use smaller firms such as myself (top right corner) who actually give a monkeys whether you get to the airport on time. The amount of times I got someone's job which a driver failed to do even though it was paid upfront. If a driver didn't fancy going to Manc airport on a fri afternoon the job simply got bounced back and forth like a yoyo till someone took it on :loopy:

I even got let down so that says it all lol.

My mum has mobility issues and used to use Ace and now RCA. For her they are fab - possibly because they get so much repeat business out of her, I really can't grumble, she once left her mobile in a cab and the driver brought it back to her. Occasionally she gets a numpty in the control room who tell her theres noone available etc but most of the time they know her rountine better than we do and the service is outstanding.
I, on the other hand, am fed up with them. Twice I have called for cab from Eccy Road Waitrose at 5/6pm quite prepared to wait a while becuase the traffic can be bad at that time. Both times they told me that there was noone in that area of town. Is it just me or is not Eccy Road bottom virtually the town centre? Or the day they left me stood outside Boots at the bottom of fargate for 40 minutes AFTER I'd had ring back. I called control who accused me of wandering off before the driver got there! I am heavily pregnant - I can't wander anywhere even if I wanted to!

Back when I was at School up Norton, they used DB Cars to bring me to and from.. And they were chuffing hopeless, granted some of their lateness wasn't their fault, it was the fault this idiot kid from All Saints who used to wag it but not cancel his Taxi.. So the driver had to go all the way up to Firth Park for him and his Brother, and then turn round and come all the way back through Hillsborough and up to Walkley to pick me up...

It was only cos the disabled "Unit" staff had words with the teachers that I ever escaped detentions for being late for the start of School... And I wasn't allowed to be kept back after School for detentions because of the Taxi having to drop other people off home as well as me....

So in that respect I suppose it was good having Taxis to School, apart from an idiot driver who farted all the time and encouraged the younger kids in the back to pick on me :rant: in the end I reported him...

Thing was though, not only did they often turn up late, sometimes they'd come TOO early and I'd be still in bed, honestly the fuffing Taxi used to turn up at half 7 sometimes.. :loopy: and wouldn't wait for me till I'd got up, had breakfast and been in the bath etc, I mean WTF was I meant to do?! Go without breakfast till the 12 while 1 dinner hour at School?! :loopy:

Dunno if DB's School runs have gotten any better over the years, after all it is 13 and half years just over since I left School.

I dont understand why taxis are ever late. They constantly drive way above the speed limit, run red lights believe they can do what they like on the roads because they drive for a job. Had one the other day (RCA) run a red light at a crossroads and VERY narrowly missed hitting me. All on my video but it didnt catch the plates.

*same old story, taxi complaints... the thing that ive said before in this and other taxi debates, is that nearly 100% of taxi bookings from our firm are on time...(apart from rush hour and 1900-2000 on fri/sat night) but very very few people ring us up, or contact sheffield forum to say, "wow i had 6 taxis in a week and they all turned up within 10 mins of booking time, nice work" which is reality!

*taxis cant go any faster than other cars at rush hour, (bus lanes/gates etc are a joke for abuse)

*although....last monday i had 100 jobs queueing due to unknown city stand still madness, and complaining customers shouting " I WANT MY TAXI NOW!" "I BOOKED THIS CAR 6 YEARS AGO, GET IT HERE NOW!" , i hope the ones that i spoke to read The Star the next day, and realised, no one anywhere in the city moved for 4 hours.

Originally posted by lazarus
Last year we booked R.C.A. to take my wife and myself to catch a holiday coach in Pond Hill, the taxi was booked the day before we went and on the apointed day we again rang to confirm and we were told that a taxi would be at our house in good time to catch our coach. It never turned up! and we had to ask a neighbour to take us down and we got there with just minutes to spare. This month my wife had to go to Hospital for a series of important tests again we booked a day in advance and on the given day we again checked "no problem the taxi will be there at 8.15 a.m." after six phone calls it arrived at ten past nine and my wifes appointment at the Hallamshire was for nine o`clock.
On both occasions we didnt receive any apology and blamed it all on being busy, but why accept bookings if they cannot fullfill them? We will never use R.C.A. Taxis again but I must add its the people who work in the office who are at fault it isnt always the drivers.

how come you uses them again after the first incident:confused: :confused: :confused:

Originally posted by Rich




So in that respect I suppose it was good having Taxis to School, apart from an idiot driver who farted all the time and encouraged the younger kids in the back to pick on me :rant: in the end I reported him...





so thats were the chav hating started,i knew it would be something from an early age......counciling may help you know.:)

Heres a little tip for you that don't know. When they ask who wants then cab, give them as asian sounding name - and you wont have any problems. I speak from experience (of being asian that is!)

Originally posted by 1Man&hisBMW
Heres a little tip for you that don't know. When they ask who wants then cab, give them as asian sounding name - and you wont have any problems. I speak from experience (of being asian that is!)


wrong!!!!! most taxi drivers are asian, and when jobs say something like "customer name-...ali" most asian drivers knock them back, saying "i know him , that'll be a freeby"

trust me, i'm right!

Originally posted by djash1000
wrong!!!!! most taxi drivers are asian, and when jobs say something like "customer name-...ali" most asian drivers knock them back, saying "i know him , that'll be a freeby"

trust me, i'm right!

Nah, that will be the fact they just don't like you 'Ali' me old choppa! :D

I know this is the same old story about rca, but it seems they dont even look after there accounts! my work collegues and i were to get a taxi on account from a bar in town at 3 oclock, after ringing several times and even seeing rca taxis picking up random people of west street a very rude lady hung up on me and it took a very harsh word from my boss for them to pick us up an hour later at 4. Even though ive never seen an rca taxi pick up on time EVER its hard to use any other company as they own the most cars in sheffield! Its got to the point that a lot of people i know would rather stop a black cab in the street and pay a little more than ring a taxi.

What I dont like about the private hire taxis in Sheffield (apart from being overpriced and the drivers taking you the long way, despite having sat nav) is that you cant see how much you're being charged like you can in a hackney cab - they probably make it up at the end of the trip.

so thats were the chav hating started,i knew it would be something from an early age......counciling may help you know.:)

How much am I loving someone standing up for Chavs suggesting councilling. Classic, is that a special kind of Chav therapy?

we call up to book rca or mercury between 10 to 20 times on a nightly basis for staff and customers.

very rarely do we get issues, and i have found most drivers to be generally cordial.

i personally use rca/mercury to get to/from train station/bus interchange on a regular basis too, and also no real issues to date.

i use Express Taxis they have always been better than RCA, RCa say they coming and dont turn up your forever ringing them back to see where it is.

Please tell me if you have ever heard anything so ridiculous from a taxi company as what is described below:

On Friday I booked a taxi to pick up two people for my company this morning and bring them to our head office. When I booked the taxi I gave them both names, but they obviosuly only noted one of them - which you would think wouldn't be a problem. However when the taxi arrived at the office this morning it came with only one of the two people. When I asked where the other guest was, the one who had arrived told me that the taxi driver had refused to bring both of them because he only had one name!!

I called RCA to check why this had happened and they said that it is up to the individual driver to decide how many people he can accept in the car and if he felt the additional person was simply hitching a ride at our company's expense then he could refuse to take them. I pointed out that I did tell them there were two people to pick up, but they denied all knowledge. We then had to pay for a second taxi to bring the (rightly) very angry second person to head office and the taxi company couldn't care less that it was their mistake and refused point blank to provide this second service free of charge.

I have never heard anything so ridiculous in my life - since when do you have to provide a full list of names of everyone who will get into the taxi!!

I once used these. The driver pulled up right down the road at the wrong address and did the 'ring back' thing then drove off. I phoned to explain and they wouldn't send another car out.

RCA = Really Crap A##eholes

Do what I do and book 2 different taxi's from 2 different firms. Whoever turns up first wins. Just make sure they pick you up from the street corner as opposed to your address so you can do it over and over again.

Do what I do and book 2 different taxi's from 2 different firms. Whoever turns up first wins. Just make sure they pick you up from the street corner as opposed to your address so you can do it over and over again.

And there I was wondering why my taxis take ages to turn up. It is because they are being wasted on non-pick up journeys. Thanks for that! :P

And there I was wondering why my taxis take ages to turn up. It is because they are being wasted on non-pick up journeys. Thanks for that! :P
I'm sure you'll get over it. :D

I use RCA taxis every day of the week. I have never had a problem with them. although my dad has left a message on this thread due to problems he has had. I don't book for a certain time just when I am ready and depending on the time of day (cos of traffic) I dont' wait too long. I catch a train once a week to leeds but when I book taxi I don't say I'm going to train station just to town. I call in plenty of time and always get a taxi within 10 minutes, traffic providing. I even get a taxi for my boy in the mornings for school and again traffic permitting we don't wait too long. if I am in town and want a taxi I flag a black cab, cos its easy and usually quicker to do. I would only use RCA. for the extremely rare problems my family has had there is too many good points for them to not use them.:nod:

the best taxi i have found by fay are cars telephone2767778 ,we used them to manchester airpoirt and they charged £40 each way,they also do exsecutive travel,chuaffer driven very cheap and very reliable if any one is interested:thumbsup:

Please tell me if you have ever heard anything so ridiculous from a taxi company as what is described below:

On Friday I booked a taxi to pick up two people for my company this morning and bring them to our head office. When I booked the taxi I gave them both names, but they obviosuly only noted one of them - which you would think wouldn't be a problem. However when the taxi arrived at the office this morning it came with only one of the two people. When I asked where the other guest was, the one who had arrived told me that the taxi driver had refused to bring both of them because he only had one name!!

I called RCA to check why this had happened and they said that it is up to the individual driver to decide how many people he can accept in the car and if he felt the additional person was simply hitching a ride at our company's expense then he could refuse to take them. I pointed out that I did tell them there were two people to pick up, but they denied all knowledge. We then had to pay for a second taxi to bring the (rightly) very angry second person to head office and the taxi company couldn't care less that it was their mistake and refused point blank to provide this second service free of charge.

I have never heard anything so ridiculous in my life - since when do you have to provide a full list of names of everyone who will get into the taxi!!
i think its the law that when booking a taxi over the phone you have to give a name for insurance purposes,but this should cover a party of up to four passengers so the taxi company would be at fault, letter to the star may get them upset enough to apologise at least

Just to add something not so constructive but I wouldn't use RCA Taxi's if they were the last taxi company on Earth. Rude, abusive and downright ignorant telephone staff are my main beef, drivers seem to be ok but that's assuming they turn up!

I have used RCA many times over the past year and the only time there was a problem was when the car hadn't arrived by 10 minutes after the appointed time and when I rang to enquire what was happening I was informed that the booking had been entered on their computer system for 10.45am when it should have been booked for 9.45am. :(

Once the error had come to light they sorted it out and had a car outside my house within 5 minutes and the driver even waited outside my doctors surgery until I came out, and it didn't cost me anything for him waiting. :thumbsup: I don't think you can really fault that for service.

next time try phoenix taxis i always use them if i need one they are on the parson cross area but very good at turning up the number is 2343333

The main problems with private hire firms are..

Excessively late cars (usually down to poor operators in their office)
Drivers not knowing the shortest routes (if they don't know then why not ask the customer?)
Drivers having poor communication skills (see last point)
Drivers overcharging

These points are not from just an ordinary pi**ed off customer, but a recent ex-taxi driver AND manager that just got fed up with the unprofessionalism shown not only by the firms but by a lot of the drivers too.

So here are a few points that may / may not be of use.

Don't complain if your taxi is late when you phoned one based at the other end of Sheffield. It's horses for courses so phone your nearest one and you should get a better and faster service.

Even if it is late there is precious little you can do so just grin and bear it and next time phone for one to arrive earlier.

The price you are charged for your journey is based on the mileage covered, i.e. (just an example) £3 for the first mile and 50p for every subsequent half mile after that, so 5 miles would be a fare of £3 plus 8 X 50p = £7. So always make sure the driver zeros his mileage on the speedo and ask what the fare rate is. This usually calms down any chance of overcharging. On longer journeys such as airports and coast destinations, there is usually a fixed fare.

Don't let any taxi driver (private hire or black cab) tell you that the fare is increased for journeys after midnight or over any city boundries. This is NOT applicable to ANY journey and has been this way for many years.

If you feel you are being overcharged, or if any doubts about the drivers professionalism come to light, ask to see the drivers badge (which should by law be clearly displayed on the drivers person anyway) and take note of the plate number on the back of the car along with the registration number. These can then be reported to the taxi company and/or local council depending on the severity of the complaint.

I only ever use Express now!

After finishing my shoppin a meadowhell i rang mercury to get a taxi to come pick me up and the call centre woman said it would be 5 mins. So im then thinkin it will be more likely 15 mins (I know what there like). After 10 mins I got call back but no taxi..... Another 5 mins later another call back but still no taxi, So i rang back and was told by the woman who sounded like it was 'that time of the month' that he was there an d was waitin!!!

Turns out he was at meadowhell retail park!

He finally turned up.... We got in the taxi without complaing 5 mins down the road he got a flat tyre n pulled over.
He asked us to get out so we did, then said thats £3.50 please so my partner paid thinkin the driver would arrange for another taxi to pick us up, but no we ended up walkin the rest of the way!!!!

I did ring and complain and for 3-4 days was told there were no managers/supervisors in and was then offered a voucher for £3.50 off my next journey!

WOOO HOOO :banana: :banana:

i never bother booking or phoning for a taxi its to much fuss and effort its easier just to walk down to the main road and flag one down. always get to places on time with this method. have never had any complaints about flagged down taxis.

i put it down to it not being the drivers its the office staff who are crap and this is where taxi driver get misinformed and thats how they arrive late or not at all because they haven't been told to.the drivers are the ones who get shouted at because they are the person the angry people see which i think is not really fair because its not always their fault.