The chances of leaving lost items in your taxi are incredibly high, especially if you are in a hurry. So as a taxi business it's important to be prepared for these moments in an organized way. Well, it's important to make your customers feel that if they forget something in a car in your fleet, it will return to their hands without any problem.
This issue has been becoming increasingly relevant to the point that the councils of some cities have become involved. Due to the fact that sometimes, the lost items were valuable and their owners needed them, but they could not contact their driver. Don't wait for partners like airports or your government entity to resolve these issues. Take your own care measures to address these cases and improve your customer service.
What should your drivers do if they find an object?
Your drivers are the ones who have direct contact with your customers, so you should train them to deal with these situations. it's easier when the passenger has just gotten off, since he can go immediately to deliver it. However, most of the time, this is not the case. This is what you should instruct your drivers to do if they find passenger objects:
● After each trip it's important to check the seat, you can take advantage of the time when the vehicle is going to be disinfected.
● Immediately report to the headquarters in case of finding an object, if the customer's data is given from your app it would be easier to locate.
● Wait for indications, waiting a few minutes will not be unnecessary in case the client can be contacted and he can go back to look for his object.
Loss Processing Procedures
The classic thing in this type of procedure is to fill out a form, it can be on a physical form, on a web page or in your app. Everything will depend on the procedures that you usually carry out in your taxi business, our recommendation is to proceed digitally. Either adapt your website or contact ToolRides to make a special tab. Thus, the paperwork will be minimal and you will be able to carry it in a database organized in the cloud.
it's also an alternative to give your data to your government entity if they have this service, for quick contact. Or, to your company's partners, be they restaurants, hotels, airports, nightclubs. This is much easier having an app, since everyone involved can easily access it to find out more about it.
What should a lost and found form be?
To facilitate the task of data collection and return of lost objects, we will name the essential boxes:
● Full name
● ID number
● Phone number(s) that you have associated with the app or booking service.
● Approximate time the trip was made
● Date of loss
● Destination/journey to destination
● Description of the item left behind
What should a customer do if they cannot contact the driver?
In the event that you call or leave a message but it's not answered in the next few minutes, there are alternatives. Since it may happen that the driver is no longer on duty or that he is attending another reservation. it's best to wait a while and try again and then proceed in case it should be notified in the app or web page.
it's ideal in these cases to have a contact number or site for customers that is different from where they make reservations. Preventing those cases of loss of cell phones, where the user's account cannot be directly accessed. This is how you can access from the taxi control base and contact the driver. As soon as the loss is contacted and processed, whoever filed the claim will be discussed immediately.
How to prevent drivers from not reporting losses?
In a work group there is supposed to be some trust that all people are honest. However, it never hurts to be cautious and talk to the employees of your taxi business from training or hiring about what would happen if a robbery occurred. The subject should not be brought up in an accusatory manner, if it can be discussed with the entire group it would be more comfortable for everyone.
Everyone will have to understand that if the customer proves that they left something in the vehicle, an investigation will take place. And if there is evidence someone took the possessions, there will be consequences. Depending on the seriousness of the matter they could be suspended, demoted in case or ultimately fired. This depends on each company, but it's recommended to talk about these terms clearly and from the start.
The organization provides better care
Having your plan to resolve these situations quickly and efficiently will generate a strong bond of company-client trust. Also, as you can see, it's not that complicated to manage the return of lost items in a taxi business. The main thing is that you always remind your drivers to check the car after each trip. What are you waiting for to implement a lost and found policy in your company?
