Here's what I told the taxi driver!

 

IT was a bright sunny afternoon and I was in a hurry in the city of Lagos. Something you had better not be in, unless you are willing to take a commercial motorcycle as transport and have him  weave you through traffic  dodging cars at a hairs’ breathe! I was on my way to speak to a friend who was starting his own publication, a magazine and a start up. He was entering a saturated market but I knew through differentiation he could make it.  He was located somewhere in Ogba, a part of Ikeja, the Lagos capital that has bad roads, terrible traffic and  impatient drivers: the frequent characteristics of busy areas in mega cities like Lagos. I had seen the same things in Dakar, Senegal; Accra, Ghana and Nairobi, Kenya. That time, I had not moved to my house and was still a tenant in Alagbado, a Lagos suburb.  I ventured onto the main road  and after waiting  for a few minutes I spotted a red cab.  A specialized taxi that  was corporate and a little  bit  expensive. The driver told me that he charged N5,000 per hour I told him that I would want  him to take me to Ogba and bring me back to Alagbado.  He complained briefly about  the possibility of facing traffic  on the way back but offered to take me anyway. 

Not one to sit at the back when there was space beside the driver, I got in beside him, strapped in and as soon as he left the curb, we began an interesting discussion.  I asked him how long he had been driving a taxi and from his response I realized that he was educated and took on the job because there was nothing else for him to do and he was frankly tired of writing applications and looking for a befitting graduate's job ! "Boss its tough", he said, telling me about taxiing in Lagos. “Not many people want to take taxis and those who are willing, are not ready to pay the fares.” “I know,” I replied, “nothing good comes easy my brother”. I asked him a few more questions about his financial commitments and his work hours and then launched into a marketing strategy that I felt he could adopt to raise the level of patronage and get regular clientele. 

 "Make sure your build a rapport with your clients," I told him, "speak to them, and those that allow you to, get to know them, their outing habits and see how you can fit in".

"Frequent areas where people who can afford your services live". There are high brow places in Lagos where a lot people can afford to take taxis on a good day and would rather leave their cars at home instead of braving the traffic which can be found in many parts of Lagos. These are parts of the city where the rich and classy people live. Not the hustlers or struggling people who would only take a taxi out of utter necessity.
Another point I made to him which I really stressed was: "Give your clients the best services your can provide!" Size them up whenever you pick them up. "Would they like air conditioning, magazines, music while your drive? Perhaps they would like to listen to their favorite radio or simply cruise in silence. There are variables you can control inside of the taxi, make sure you do that! The whole idea is they ought to remember you for something, make sure its for good!"
Your cab ought to be spick and span. Both the inside and the outside should be clean, especially the inside. The roads may be dirt, riddled with potholes and canyons, but your job is to make the client forget all of that, sit back and enjoy the ride!
"Your dress sense is an issue!" I told him. "You don't have to wear a tie or suit, but at least appear presentable. You never know who you will meet in the course of your job!" People have been known to go to the most exclusive and secluded places to drop a fare.I told him that his passengers could link him to greater and well to do people in society. "I didn't say hustle them for contacts, the contacts would link themselves to you if you are likable enough!" I warned.
"Stepping out of the cab is also an important task you might have to undertake. Clients might carry luggage, need to be assisted to get into and out of the cab. Don't be afraid to open the door for passengers before they get in, or when they want to alight. Especially if they are ladies. Ladies appreciate that, even in the African countries" I also told him that its important that his clients are able to distinguish his cab from others even though his belongs to a pool of cars that are mostly identical. "It could be a bumper sticker in the right place that would make yours look different" Distinctive features help to build an identity that would help some people know your cab at a glance.
Once you begin to build clientele encourage them to call you ahead of time, so that you can plan your schedules and have a reduction in the likeliness of a clash.
By the time I ended my consultancy we were close to our destination and I asked him if he was willing to wait for me since I would not spend more than one hour at the location where I was headed.
No sooner had I finished speaking with my friend than I boarded the taxi back to Alagbado and began another phase of my discussion with my "client." This time I told my friend that I had a cousin who had driven a taxi in the UK part time to help him argument his fees for his tuition. He was studying accountancy and he did a good job at it. I asked the driver a very deep and probing question: " Are your willing to improve yourself or are you satisfied as a taxi driver?" His reply was encouraging: "I want to improve myself, its just that I do not know how". I told him to enroll for either professional studies in the evenings or go for an MBA. " That would improve your chances of getting a different kind of job". I smiled and he asked me why I was smiling and I told him what happens when independent businessmen do an MBA: " Most of the time they set up their own business. "You understand transport now, you are bound to understand some other forms of business, its going to be difficult for you take a job and sit under someone in an office," I told him. After that, it was mostly quiet between us. I sensed that he was thinking about the things we had discussed. And before I alighted form the cab in Alagbado, I saw a gleam in his eyes. This was the most exciting taxi ride I had taken in a long time.