1. 46 BUSINESS PROFILE December 19 2013
Big O Taxis - serving the
community for forty years
BY MARTINA NEE
After 40 years in the business Big O
Taxis is as familiar with the streets of
Galway as its people, not only striving
to provide the best possible customer
service but also taking any
opportunity to give back to the
community.
With a Big O heart Galway’s oldest
taxi company can always be relied
upon not only to arrive in time but also
support local charities and get
involved in local events.
Big O Taxis, with the help of
Jonathan Corbett of Londis, Newcastle
Road, held a colouring competition in
four local national schools - Claddagh,
Mercy, Scoil Bhride, and St Nicholas.
There was a category for under six
and another for over six, with Ramona
Debella - a student at Scoil Bhríde in
Shantalla - was announced as the
overall winner on Wednesday,
December 11, claiming the prize of a
Go Tab Tablet and a €50 voucher for
Toys 4 You located next to the Travel
Lodge Inn on the Tuam Road. The
eight other finalists each got prizes of
a €50 voucher for Toys 4 You. A Santa
Day was also held on Friday December
13, in Lakeview Special Needs School
on the Dublin Road with more than 60
gifts presented to all the children. The
most recent event saw Big O Taxis
bringing children from Lakeview
Special Needs School, formerly the
Holy Family School, in Renmore, to the
Galway Cathedral to enjoy the annual
live crib.
This is not the first time an outing
for Lakeview Special Needs School has
been organised. Earlier this year Big O
Taxis brought a number of the special
needs children on a day out to Turoe
Pet Farm. According to one company
director: “We wanted to do something,
to give something back, especially
considering all the cuts happening. A
lot of schools are struggling and
there’s not enough special needs
assistants.”
Big O Taxis supports many different
charitable institutions. In the run up to
Christmas requests for support often
increases - on one day alone last week
there were six requests made by
charities. Although all requests are
carefully considered Big O does try to
concentrate on local charities as these
organisations often lack sufficient
national funding. Big O is also well
known for supporting sporting clubs
as well as holding many competitions
and promotions to help out Galway’s
large student population. Just last
month the lucky winners of the most
recent student competition were
announced with one winner receiving
a Compaq laptop and two others
receiving a 16Gb 7” Tablet.
Big O drivers goes that
extra mile for customer
service
Local, reliable, and great value Big
O Taxis has been serving the
community for 40 years and it will
continue to do so for years to come.
The business was sold to the drivers
when founder Gerry O’Grady left for
the US. Starting with just 10 vehicles
Big O now has 150 drivers and also
employs 15 office staff. In the main, Big
O Taxis supports local businesses by
buying local from printing to prizes. It
has the largest fleets of cars and
minibuses operating 24/7 365 days of
the year. The company is run on a co-
op basis meaning that each driver
owns a share and they make decisions
as a group. This also results in drivers
going that extra mile to ensure that
the company’s mission statement of
attracting and retaining customers by
“providing first class taxi services and
fostering a disciplined culture of
safety, service, and trust” is upheld at
all times.
This reputation for customer
service includes providing regular
customers with fixed fares to work so
that they pay the same every day.
There is also the €2 off fares over €10
available for customers with their
special Big O Taxis cards. Big O is the
taxi provider of choice for the vast
majority of major hotels and corporate
players in Galway because of its
professional service, the quality of the
vehicles, the efficiency of drivers, as
well as the provision of credit
accounts. Issues of safety are
addressed due to the GPS tracking in
all vehicles.
“The drivers have built up a rapport
in the community and are often
trusted by parents to bring children to
school,” said another company
director, who described how long
standing members of staff build up
such a rapport with older customers
that they really take an interest in
their wellbeing. When one elderly
customer failed to make a regular
booking a dispatcher became so
concerned that contact with the family
was made. The dispatcher, who had
only spoken to the customer over the
phone, now regularly visits that
customer in the nursing home.
Big O Taxis also has an excellent
reputation for being on time with
drivers dispatched immediately and
response times usually within five
minutes. The company has a very
efficient and reputable lost property
policy. As well as having a completely
computerised dispatch system in place
Big O is also part of the international
Click A Taxi application which can be
downloaded for free. Customers are
located through an app on their smart
phone allowing them to book a Big O
taxi for immediate pick-up or for a
specific time or day.
During this festive party season you
can rely on Big O Taxi to get you to
your destination on time and safely. To
book your taxi contact 091 585858. For
further information email
info@bigotaxis.com, log on to
www.bigotaxis.com, or download the
Click A Taxi app. You can also like and
follow Big O Taxis on Facebook to be
kept up-to-date on more news and
competitions.
Big O Taxis is open for business
all over the Christmas period.
in association with the
www.advertiser.ie