MYSTERY SHOPPER: Independent research shows high card payment compliance among Glasgow Taxis drivers

Glasgow Taxis Limited has revealed findings from independent research that the vast majority of its drivers readily accept card payments.

This result comes as part of a mystery shopper exercise initiated by the company, which is renowned for being the largest taxi firm in Scotland and operating around half of Glasgow's public hire taxi fleet.

The exercise was conducted to gain an unbiased perspective on driver practices, especially concerning issues frequently highlighted by customers. The findings have been overwhelmingly positive, indicating an "extremely high percentage" of Glasgow Taxis Limited's vehicles not only adhered to fair pricing but also demonstrated honesty and a willingness to accept card payments. The research has been so successful that the company plans to repeat it in the future to continuously monitor and improve its services.

Additionally, it was confirmed that all cabs involved were fully licence compliant, a mandatory requirement for operation. Noting the small number of drivers that were not adhering to the company's policy regarding card payments, the company highlighted that those individuals have been identified and are set to attend complaint hearings.

Dougie McPherson, Glasgow Taxis Limited chairman, said: “As a company, we have invested significantly in collating accurate feedback from our customers. This has formed part of a repeated exercise through mediums such as ‘Scotpulse’ which allows us to detect any change in attitude or expectation from the public.

“This factual feedback is often tainted with anecdotal evidence of particular events and driver practices and as a consequence of this a decision was made to achieve a more realistic view of our interactions with the public. The most frequently discussed topics were, without doubt, refusal of card payment and overcharging.

“In order to assess our performance a decision was made to engage the services of a ‘mystery shopper’. This has proved to be a worthwhile exercise with some extremely positive outcomes. The interactions with our fleet revealed that around 95% of our vehicles were compliant in terms of pricing, being fair, honest, and happy to take card payment. This aligns with the feedback from the surveyed public who consider Glasgow Taxis Limited as their preferred taxi option.”