ASHER MOSES: Customer service may have once been a nice to have for the taxi industry, but now it’s mission critical
- Asher Moses
- Mar 31
- 5 min read
Our origins as the ‘black cab’ started back in the 17c and we’ve survived and prospered in every phase of London’s development. However, the taxi transport market has significantly changed over the last 10 years and we are no longer the only taxi option to Londoners.
They have so much choice. Many companies are claiming fast efficient transport, and many are offering budget prices. We need to think from the passenger’s perspective. They are not sat there on a Friday night thinking, ‘am I in the mood for a PHV or a TfL Licensed Black Taxi’. They are thinking ‘I want to get from A to B with no hassle, quickly and with good value’.
Everyone wants great customer service. If they get it, they are happier to pay fair fares, but if they don’t get it, they will be less prepared to overlook higher than the competition prices and opt for budget travel. Remember, ‘value’ doesn’t mean cheap, value means feeling good about the overall service for the price paid. The customer service we offer provides intangible value to our passengers and therefore makes us ‘good
value’.
We can’t expect people to choose us unless we outshine the competition. When surveyed, the majority of my drivers say they believe passengers choose us primarily because of our customer service. The hard reality is that we live in a world where our passengers are being targeted by the competition left right and centre. Tech giants like Uber and sophisticated national brands like Addison Lee spend millions marketing to our passengers, sending them offers and engaging in loyalty schemes to take our passengers away from us.
Passengers don’t expect good customer service from an Uber because they pay peanuts for the ride. However, a TFL licensed taxi promises much more. We studied long and hard for 4 years to drive this quintessential British mode of transport, famous the world over, so we owe it to our heritage and future legacy to deliver outstanding customer service, every time. In fact many of us really take pride in surprising and delighting our passengers.
I am so proud of my amazing Sherbet drivers for what they do. It takes a certain calibre of driver to be a ‘Sherbet driver’ and the time passengers take to send in their thank yous prove it. I love some of the anecdotes I hear, like when a driver got a man who’d suffered a heart attack to hospital on time, or when another parked his taxi outside Euston to walk a visually impaired lady down the escalators and through the barriers, or when a driver rushed to get a left mobile back to the passenger before she boarded a flight. I love these stories, they have so much heart. I also love and feel proud of the small acts of kindness that go such a long way, like when some drivers always wait for passengers to go through their front door before driving off at night, or always offering help with shopping bags or luggage. We are also in a position to vitally help the disabled and elderly, given our training and door access so we should always go over and above on these jobs.
Some may argue that because we have a purpose built taxi with its 360 panoramic views, electric engine, clean interiors and trustworthy licensed drivers we don’t need to go over and above to deliver outstanding customer service. I would argue that yes, we do have a superior taxi than every other taxi on the road but our real USP is us, the drivers. Our passion and dedication to the career, the investment of time and money we made to qualify and the safety we assure our passengers is what really separates us from the rest. As one of my drivers rightly said, “people feel reassured with us. They like getting into our taxi and knowing that we know the way and we are trustworthy, safe and they don’t have to keep directing us”.
So let’s never forget this honour and always use our nous to determine what each passenger needs and give it happily and with excellence. We dedicate our life to this profession and should always go home for the night knowing we showcased what London Black Taxi drivers are world famous for. At the end of the day we are like independent shop owners so when a passenger steps into our taxi, they are essentially walking into our shop, so let’s delight them so they always choose us again and again.
Some of my drivers do such a great job in this respect I even support them with QR code cards to hand out so their passengers can contact them again and build customer loyalty. I have a lot of respect for my Sherbet drivers because even though they’re a ‘cut above’, when surveyed, 70% had the humility to say they still think they can do more to delight passengers. This is such a positive and forward-thinking attitude and shows me that we have a healthy future ahead of us and none of us are resting on our laurels.
If you’re a driver out there, grafting day in day out but knowing deep down that you’re not really putting customer service first like you used to, know that drivers out there who are going over and above are getting repeat customers. This is the holy grail isn’t it?
It’s never too late to step it up. None of it is rocket science, just the basics, but we can all get a little jaded every now and again and need a reminder to get back to what we love. As another one of my drivers said “remember why you did the Knowledge in the first place”.
My top 5 customer service needs based on what passengers email in to thank us for are:
Politeness and respect
Clean taxi
Offering help with luggage
Punctuality
Always figuring out the most efficient route from A to B (that’s what the years of training gave us the ability to do above any other drivers so never let that skill go to waste).
As I said, WE ARE THE WORLD FAMOUS BLACK TAXI.
When you add it all together, we offer peace of mind, and that is priceless. People come from all over the world to ride with us. They’ve seen us on films and heard about us from people who have travelled to London. Londoners are proud to have us as theirs and trust us with their time and money to make their day go to plan. So, let’s keep that top of mind and show London and the world what we can do.
We are the London Black Taxi Drivers
(Article by Asher Moses, Sherbet London CEO. Article first appeared in TaxiPoint Magazine March 2025 edition.)
