Read the job before you leave

Two minutes that save a phone call

Most calls to the office during a job are about something that was already written on it. Open the job and read it before you set off, not at the pickup. The job sheet has four tabs: Details, Stops, Instructions and Proof. If the booking has several jobs, the sheet tells you which one is yours, for example "Job 1 of 2".

Details: who, what and how many

Under Job details check Passengers, Luggage, any Child seats and booster or infant seats, the Service, the Vehicle and the Payment state. Read Special requests and Driver instructions in full. If the vehicle you have does not fit the passengers or the luggage, tell dispatch now, while there is still time to change it.

For an airport pickup, the Flight line shows the flight number and, when known, the arrival time, status and delay. The pickup time on the job is still the one the office set. If the flight is badly delayed, check with dispatch before changing your plans.

Instructions you must acknowledge

Some jobs carry Critical driver instructions. You have to read them and select Acknowledge instructions before the job can start; until then the first status step stays locked. If the office changes the instructions later, you may be asked to acknowledge again. That is the point: the office knows you have seen the current version.

Stops and the route

Stops lists every stop in order with its planned time, and lets you record Mark arrived and Mark departed at each one. Those times are how the office knows what happened on a multi-stop job, so tap them as you go. Navigate opens the address in your maps app.

Money to collect, or not

If your company arranges payment with the passenger on the day, the job shows Collection for this job with the amount and the agreed methods. Collect exactly that. When the job says payment is handled by the office, do not ask the passenger for money. If you did receive money, record the real amount and method when you complete the job, and the office reviews any difference.