Q: Does your pedicab company close for the winter?

Believe it or not, in Denver, Colorado, land of snow and cold, pedicabs operate year-round. In fact, this is a very, very busy time for us. Denver is such a hot sports town that the snowiest weather can't cool us off for long. We just finished up with baseball with our own Colorado Rockies making their first appearance in the World Series. We continue with Bronco football, Avalanche hockey and Nuggets basketball along with several other sports teams and events in the area. Pedicabbing slows down at the beginning of the year, but with the exception of the huge holiday blizzards last winter, never completely shuts down.

What about pedicabs in your area? Will they continue to operate all year? If so, what issues does that create and how do you handle them? If not, why not?

Bicycles change lives

The tagline for World Bicycle Relief is "The Power of Bicycles" which is truly illustrated in this article posted at MSNBC about their work delivering bicycles to needy people in Zambia. In developed nations, we take so much for granted - like the bicycles most of us ride for fun or exercise.

World Bicycle Relief, the vision of F.K. Day of Chicago, is a stunningly simple idea.

It delivers tens of thousands of bicycles to the poorest people in the world. Why? Because simple transportation improves people’s lives more than you can imagine.

All of a sudden, a child can get to school, a parent can find work, and a rural medical worker can reach eight families with AIDS. Farmers can transport extra corn. A father can walk one hour a day instead of seven. Emergencies can be dealt with. Neighbors can get a message. Income increases. Nutrition improves. All because people have wheels, and they can move. Think what your life would be without your car, and you get the idea.

Read the complete article at MSNBC's Worldblog.

Find out more about World Bicycle Relief at their web site. While you're there, check out the page on the impact of bicycles. Did you know that over equal units of time, one can ride a bicycle 4 times the distance as one walking? Cool, huh?

Well, how do you sell the ride?

In the near recent past, we have noticed a problem with selling the ride. This little gem of a blog isn't teaching anything or spitting on different methods of selling the ride. It does, however, examine the not-so popular ways of getting your passengers into the cab.

1. "I'm going to sit on this comfortable vinyl seat with my feet on the seat." This is the ultimate lazy salesperson. They seem to think that if they look bored enough, some poor sap will sell their ride for them, or some disabled passenger will do anything for a ride.

I have some news: Sitting on your arse, looking bored doesn't sell the ride whether 20,000 people flow out of given stadium, or the occasional stumbling drunk asks for your assistance. The truth is, that with this job, you have to *gasp* work. You may have to talk, you may have to stand up, or you may have to actually sell the ride for another poorly trained dorko, who thinks he (or she) is a pedicab driver.

2. The "cell phone ride." Nothing angers your vets more than trying to sell a ride with the cell phone or bluetooth, ipod, or any other handset-electronics in your ear. Especially in the front of the line. You aren't techno, you aren't efficient, I think you just think that people will want to talk to you, have a conversation with you, or even give you money for your services in good faith, with you having something obviously better to do- like listen to your ipod. Please, don't fall into this category. It makes you look dumb.

3. The "ding-dong" ride. You know what I am talking about...Ding-Dong...FYI- I should enlighten you- no one rides because you ring your bell or honk your horn and not say a word. In fact, they are more annoyed with you because you are doing nothing but using a non-assertive voice to sell the ride.

Just the other day, I had some pudwacker try to tell me that by talking to potential business that I was scaring business away. Which leads me to:

4. "I know this job is easy and you owe me a ride, because I am transportation out of chaos." Folks, we encounter this kind of arrogance and idiocy because truthfully, some riders seem to think that the higher the prices, the less the number of riders, the better the business. Drivers, owners, and otherwise, please do not fall into this trap. This philosophy is dumb. Talk as much as you can, and I guess, annoy the front of the line enough to make it move.

5. The "overcharge." We all know the dicks that will charge far too much to milk the customer. Just because they will pay for it, would you like to keep good faith with passengers or use them for their money. All, I must say, you will always have the morons who overcharge. Don't overcharge, police your lines, and sell the ride. Those who are overcharging will only be jealous if you can move a line and they can't. On a recent Sunday, I made about 20 trips. The Sunday before that, 30 rides. I made money doing it. The fact is that the more rides you get, the higher your return...that is...if you aren't willing to work that hard.

6. The "carnie" ride. We are not carnies. In fact, Google "Carnie" and see what comes back. We don't want our passengers to step right up on Sunday...Sunday...Sunday. We don't ask you for your tickets or money. We are in the transportation business. We serve a valuable purpose. We move people. But don't treat the passengers like a piece of cotton candy or a hot dog. They are people and need to go somewhere. Get them there with style, skill and integrity. But you are bound to annoy them with your carnival-freakshow style. Ask them if they want a ride. If they tell you no, there must have been a reason. Eye contact and a direct address is all anyone wants.

7. "Water-Cooler Talk" If you are at the front of a line, sell the damn ride. Don't converse or flirt. It only takes one interested person ask price. If you aren't ready, then you lose the potential for that Unicorn ride. Folks, please, sell your rides. If you have to beg, borrow, or underbid, go for it. just sell the damn ride in the front of a line. Don't price gouge. Just sell it. You will return for another when the rest of the line is still standing there.

Happy selling!

beefsteak