Business | General
London cabbies to learn art of silence
Mandatory customer service classes could be added to black taxi licensing
- By Adam Jones, Financial Times
- Published: 00:00 March 7, 2010
- Image Credit: AP
- Drivers of London's black cabs are famous for their skills as talkers, a trait that delights some passengers but annoys others.
London: Drivers of London's black cabs are famous for their skills as talkers, a trait that delights some passengers but annoys others.
Now new recruits to the job could be given training in another skill knowing when to shut up.
The licensing requirements for London taxis are dominated by "the Knowledge," the comprehensive mental map of city routes.
But according to John Mason, head of taxi regulation at Transport for London, the memorising of great chunks of the city does not fully prepare drivers for life in a modern service industry.
Mason is thinking of adding mandatory classes on customer service as part of a revamp of black taxi licensing.
The customer service training would cover welcoming passengers, dealing with stressful situations and determining when a passenger would prefer silence to conversation.
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