Here at Cab Direct, we have an absolutely fantastic sales team who are available to talk our customers through our vehicle range including the popular Toyota Corolla. We can discuss pricing options, and help them choose the private hire or hackney taxi that’s right for them. We recently sat down with long-serving Sales Executive Kevin Fraser to find out more about him and his role.
Hi Kevin! Tell us a bit about yourself.
I have been with Cab Direct for 17 years – it was my first sales role! It’s a great place to work, I love the team and I even get to work alongside my daughter Melissa, who is in the admin team. In my free time, I like getting out walking with my wife and our dog Murphy. We love driving through Glencoe up to Ballachulish and deciding whether we’re going to go to Fort William or Oban. We are also big football fans in our family and Melissa and I are often at matches at the weekend.
What does a normal day look like?
It’s quite a unique vehicle sales role because we operate over the phone rather than face-to-face. You’ve got to work differently with the customers when you’re doing it on the phone and be able to talk them through all of the specs and finance details. We are a huge business and serve customers all over the UK. As we have been operating for almost 30 years we have many loyal customers with whom we have built great relationships – and we have new customers coming in all the time too.
How has the trade changed over the years?
One of the most significant developments over the years is the rising popularity of online sales. When Cab Direct launched its business model of selling taxis over the phone, it was almost unheard of. Nobody believed that customers would pay thousands of pounds over the telephone to buy a car, and all these years down the line, look where we are! How many people buy cars online without seeing them first? What Cab Direct are doing is now the norm.
What challenges are your customers currently facing?
It’s obviously been busier than it was two years ago, but the problem we’ve got just now, like everybody else, is a lack of vehicles to sell. We are still taking orders for a lot of Toyota Corolla taxis, the hybrid estates, at the moment. Luckily enough Toyota is still building them but there is a bit of a delay in getting the vehicles delivered – currently, we can sell Corollas for November delivery. This is a lot better than many other suppliers, however!
We are trying to make sure the taxi drivers are aware – especially those who might be holding out in getting in contact with us for a vehicle they might want in three months or so – it’s much better just to get your order in now and get in the queue. Usually, we get phone calls where the customers say “I need the car straight away” and up until last year, I could say “Yep, no problem”. We had stock, and we had vehicles ready for immediate delivery. We just don’t have that privilege right now.
Thanks, Kevin! If you are thinking about a new taxi, get ahead of the curve and talk to the sales team today – call the number at the top of this page or send us an online enquiry.