What a difference a year makes. Blueback - transforming
an industry.
Blueback entered the grey world of the Private Hire
and taxi industry a year ago. It was always going to
be an interesting ride being the only private equity
backed company, not to mention having absolute dedication
to North American style customer service and the only
brand in the marketplace.
Sign up for a Blueback Corporate or Personal Account.
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Any
business or individual can take advantage of Blueback’s
service. The highlights include:
Textback notification
when your Blueback arrives, free chilled spring water, daily
newspapers and BluScreen
in-car entertainment. |
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It’s not a
taxi. It’s not a minicab. It’s a Blueback.
A Blueback
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www.blueback.com - is unique in a number of ways, the
least of which is the distinct vehicle and livery.
Recognising a gaping hole in the industry serial
entrepreneur, Scott Pielsticker along with ex-brand
consultant PJ Darling, have developed a car service that
offers prices up to 45% less than black taxis with service
features never seen in the UK. |
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With financial backing to take them to over 1,000 vehicles within 4
years and over 250 vehicles by June 2005 Blueback can accommodate
any client from the largest bank to the personal client who prefers
to enjoy the ride into work or to a night out in comfort.
Registering an account online with Blueback takes about 2 minutes –
a relatively short time given the 2 years spent researching customer
needs. A relatively small investment given the £2 million spent so
far on technology, branding, customer service and operations.
Following on from their research, Blueback began building a service
and business model that would take advantage of two key insights
into their industry. The first being that the largest existing
player controls less than 1% of the estimated £850 million pound
market (this doesn’t include the £900 million taxi market from which
they continue to steal share). The understanding here being that
markets consolidate as they mature. The only obstacle to this market
consolidating was removed 3 years ago when legislation legalised the
private hire trade. The other insight (although obvious to any
Londoner) was that service levels are at best inconsistent and at
worst dangerous to the consumer.
Enter the new service model:
1.
Branded vehicles. Easy to recognise when you’re waiting.
Safer for women at night.
2.
Textback. Alerts you when your Blueback has arrived.
Convenience and safety again.
3.
In-car fridges. Complimentary, chilled Blueback branded water
for every passenger.
4.
Daily newspapers. The FT in the back and you can take one
with you.
5.
GPS tracked. Satellite navigation. Data only despatch through
in-car data terminals.
6.
Blueback uniformed drivers. Just look for the ballcap at
arrivals, you’ll never walk by your driver again.
7.
Blueback vetted and trained drivers. As the CMO says, ‘The
brand is the service.’
8.
BluScreen. Just rolling out but it promises news, sport,
comedy and even movie trailers.
9.
Air conditioning, 2 sunroofs, space for 5 with luggage.
10.
Online
booking with email confirmation.
11.
Flexible management reporting and invoicing to suit client needs.
Founded by chief executive Scott Pielsticker, Blueback will have 100
vehicles on the road by December 2004. Phase 2, beginning in
October, will see growth expand to 250 vehicles by June 2005 making
it the second largest fully owned car service in London within 1.5
years of launching. As a barometer, the current market leader has
taken 25 years to reach 500 vehicles.
”I had an investor tell me the other day after looking at our
numbers that he believes Blueback is his “20 Banger”. He meant that
Blueback is the one out of his 10 angel investments where he’ll see
a 20 times return on his money. Given double digit growth over the
last 8 months I’d like to prove him wrong and make it a “100
Banger”, said Scott Pielsticker. “While we’re not without the
challenges of any start-up all the signs are looking positive.
Outwardly I’m taking a ‘cautiously optimistic’ view on the business.
Inwardly I look at our sales, our brand, our customer feedback and
intererstingly, the number of people from the industry gravitating
towards us, and think to myself…3,000 Bluebacks.”
Pielsticker continued, “Phase 2 of our business is a key part of the
strategy to get us to 1,000 vehicles within 4 years. We feel very
confident that the model has been proven given sales traction to
date and the fact that we should be within a few thousand pounds of
our intial PowerPoint forecast before we even had a car on the road.
What we’re working on now are the right strategic financial and
marketing partners to get us there.This is our focus over the next 2
months.”
By logging on to
www.blueback.com and registering for an account and entering
keyword ARIADNE, your business can have a free trial of the service.
At the end of the free trial, if you’re satisfied with the service,
simply continue to use the account and Blueback will invoice you for
your usage.
They can also be contacted on 08707 711 711 to gain further
information about the service such as pricing or they also publish
all of their up-to-date information on their website including
customer feedback and press and television commentary.
For further information about Blueback, please contact CEO, Scott
Pielsticker at
sp@blueback.com.
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Ariadne Capital Journal - Through the Maze Volume
4, Edition 2
