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Meet the Otto Team in Hendon
The all-new Otto Car Hendon hub in northwest London has been opened since early 2023. We’ve caught up with the team to understand what drivers should expect during their visit and how the hub has grown to better support drivers’ needs.
Massive showroom
“Hendon is our biggest hub so far. We’re happy to see that we have a larger team now — which means less waiting time,” said Mohamed, Hub Manager of the Otto Car Hendon Hub.
The 20,000 sq ft hub features a massive showroom to showcase our extensive range of PCO cars, a large parking area, and a cosy driver lounge with free tea and coffee facilities.
“Drivers are more than welcome to come and speak to our representatives, whether it’s the sales department, PHV or telematic departments. We are always here to help.”
He added, “I can confidently say it’s been a great success. Thanks to you all.”
Embracing diversity
The private hire industry has been traditionally dominated by men, and that’s understandable. But things have started to change.
Customer Relation Advisor Isabella was surprised with the amount of female drivers who actually come in the hub. “It’s something that I didn’t expect.”
“We would definitely like to have more female drivers, because it’s needed in London. Don’t be nervous or afraid. You’ll find it’s quite eye-opening and breathtaking when you’re actually in this industry.”
The daily routine of the sales team includes helping Uber drivers with their documentation and application, and providing general support to our family of PCO drivers.
“I really enjoy having fun conversations with our drivers. The main priority of my job is to exceed customer expectations, and help them throughout their whole journey.”
Expert PCO driving tips
“If you’re new to an electric car, most of the time it’s very hard for them to understand how EVs work,” said Daniel, Customer Relation Advisor.
Dan is not only an EV owner, but he’s also a PCO driver himself. With 6+ years of private hire driving experience, he’s got a lot of knowledge and experience to share with other drivers.
“I explain to them how to manage their expectations, like how and where to charge.”
One key responsibility of their job is to understand what drivers want, so they can provide all the information and help them decide what type of car they actually need.
“Our relationships with our drivers are friendly manner, also very informative. We try our best to help them succeed. That’s what we do here as a family.”
He added that safety is the most important thing as a driver. “Most of our drivers don’t realise how tired they are until something happens. From my experience, I tell them how often they need a break, and then get back again on the road.”
In addition to the sales team, the Hendon Hub also houses the PHV, Telematics, and the Driver Development departments.
We have Mohanad and Rubar who are responsible for dashcam installation for all of our private hire vehicles. It’s extremely important to have a dashcam to provide extra protection for the drivers and passengers, especially when incidents unfortunately happen. That’s why we recently introduced a new Dashcam Scheme to support non-Otto drivers too.
Nick and Kevin from the PHV team prepare the paperwork needed for PHV renewals. Last but not least, we have Berat and Rocky from the Driver Development Programme to make sure everyone is safe on the road by doing online and on-road assessments, as well as the new induction session for new drivers.
Hendon is a convenient location for many PCO drivers who live or work in the northwest London area. If you’re looking for a car for private hire driving, or you want to know if electric vehicles are for you, visit the Otto Team and have a friendly chat in our Hendon hub.
See you soon.
Address: Unit 3 Hyde Estate Rd, London NW9 6JX
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