The tale of the dodgy taxi driver turning a simple trip into the headache from hell is the cliché to end all clichés. Everyone seems to have a ‘friend of a friend’ who at one time or another ran into trouble with a cab or cab driver, with accounts ranging from the sublime to absolutely ridiculous. Still, in all cases it certainly doesn’t do a great deal for the reputation of the industry in general or those working tirelessly to provide exceptional customer service day in and day out.

The good news however is that according to the experts at www.123taxi.co.uk, the likelihood of falling foul of a dodgy dealer these days is rather remote to say the least. It’s getting more and more difficult for anyone that’s not 100% professional and customer-focused to get by because of such fierce competition up and down the country. Drivers and companies alike are being forced to up their game and go above and beyond the normal call of duty in order to stay in business – those doing anything less are being slowly but surely driven out of the game.

Of course, there will always be negative elements out there to be aware of and so keeping your wits about you matters. So, with this in mind, here’s a quick overview of just a few of the most crucial tips of all from the professionals on the subject of avoiding the negative elements giving the rest of the industry a bad name:

1 – Always Book in Advance

First of all, it may not always be practical or indeed possible to do so but it’s nonetheless a good idea to at least try to book in advance every time. The reason being that when you book in advance, you have plenty of time to check out the cab firm online in order to see what kind of operation they’re running. In just a minute or two you can get a good idea of what you’re looking at and make a decision accordingly. By contrast, when you’re forced to just dive into the first cab that comes along you’re pretty much rolling the dice with fate. Chances are you’ll be fine, but there’s always that tiny chance you’ll regret it.

2 – Branded, Registered Taxis

If and when you find yourself in a position where you have no choice other than to take a taxi at random, you still need to make sure you’re adequately selective when it comes to the company the cab hails from…or the distinct lack thereof. It’s becoming worryingly common these days for private car owners to pick folk up and ferry them about for a price they make up off the tops of their heads, which is not only a wee bit on the risky side from the passenger’s perspective, it’s also illegal. This is why unless it’s abundantly clear which taxi company runs the cab you’re looking at, it’s a good idea to wait for another to come along. And what’s more, if the company it comes from is one you’ve never heard of or in any way seems unusual, it’s again a good idea to wave it by and say no.

3 – Essential Q&A

There are two types of taxi drivers in business today – those that welcome questions about licensing/registration and those that take offense to such questions. In the case of the latter, these tend to be the types that either have wholly bad attitudes or are unwilling to answer such questions because they don’t in fact have any such licensing to speak of. As such, it’s always a good test to think about implementing before diving into a taxi as if they shy away from questions about licensing and whatnot, it could be a risk that’s not worth taking.

4 – Catastrophic Cars

Last but not least, there will always be those who’ll sneer and scoff at this particular tip but it’s a good idea to bear it in mind nonetheless. If a taxi pulls up in your proximity that looks, feels and smells like nothing less than a death-trap, you are under no obligation at all to get into it. There’s really no excuse these days for any cab driver on the roads to be piloting a vehicle that’s not 100% up to scratch in every way and something of a beacon of professionalism. So really, why put your money into the pockets of a driver with a clapped-out rust bucket that’s downright dangerous when you could pay the same price for something far superior in every way?