About time

Happy new year! Yes I’m saying this in February and is in keeping with this very, very long overdue post.

To drum up enough will to make another post, I have decided to be brief and catch up in the events of the past few months slowly. Whether this actually ended up being brief or not is probably evident by the size of the scroll bar on the right-hand side of your screen!

The last post was back in November 2009, when my focusses were SEO, intelligent software and staff. Get to February, and all three are in full swing. Leading Route Cars now has extended hours (not quite 24 hours yet, but getting there).

Our Cab Management System has massively reduced job booking and dispatch times and automated many other activities. SMS notifications are standard which has been a hit with many customers, and as it delivers not only your journey confirmation and car registration mark to your mobile, but also includes our number, subtly encouraging repeat business.

We now have a evening controller too who is busy getting used to CMS, drivers and London routes. I must admit she has been fantastic thus far and has been a quick learner.

SEO activity has continued and though we aren’t near page 1 on the normal organic searches yet, the top page Google Adwords and Google Map listings have certainly helped.

From a family perspective, I took Cruti on her first holiday since we found out she was pregnant, and my lil boy Arav’s first holiday ever. Avoiding long haul and wanting the sun was difficult but we chose Sharm El Sheikh as our destination and the lovely hotel of the Ritz Carlton. Lovely weather, great sea view from our Club rooms made Arav’s first holiday brilliant.

The final 24 hours did provide a different experience though, when we watched the worst storm/rain/flooding the region has seen in 15-20 years!

Our room got flooded, so we shifted rooms at 2am, checked out of the hotel at 2pm, and made our way to the Airport though wades of water. Our terminal’s roof had caved overnight, and the rain had also taken down communications. No landlines and no mobile signals led to credit card machines not working nor the ATMs. Any cash you had was all you were going to have. After much disruption and a “90% certainty you won’t be flying today” from a local Thomson rep, check-in was opened but someone did forget to switch on the baggage belt so there I was lugging two suitcases, a small one and a pushchair over many flights of stairs to our gate.

Six hours later than planned (not bad considering!), we took off and arrived safely at Luton Airport where I met some fellow travellers and was almost immediately working again – I booked them a taxi home with who else but Leading Route Cars!