Pickles is back! He’s giving away more Free Cab Rides than ever before!!

We found Pickles, the mad ‘Banana Billionaire’ in the Summer of 2010.

He’s the son of the bonkers King Lewie, who I’m sure you’ll all remember as the King of The Jungle.  In fact, Pickles is the sole heir to King Lewies Throne. That makes Pickles a very special Monkey.

There’s trouble afoot in The Jungle though, and the evil Gorilla, Clyde is after the Throne for himself.

King Lewie wants to make sure Pickles learns to be a good King, and has sent him on a pilgrimage to Canterbury with a very special mission.

Pickles has to spend 1,000,000,000 Bananas to prove his generosity. You knew Bananas were the currency of The Jungle, right?

If he fails in his quest, Pickles can’t claim his place on the throne. Poor Pickles!

Pickles had a BIG problem… he just didn’t know anybody in Canterbury to give his Bananas to! Also, people in Canterbury tend to look at you strangely when you randomly offer them a free Banana in the High Street. Short of ideas, he started disposing of Banana’s everywhere he could think of – Some were dropped in the River Stour, but they floated. Some were buried in Westgate Gardens, but they grew into Banana Trees… What to do?

When we found Pickles, he was attempting to squash a particularly ripe, juicy Banana under the wheels of a Taxi – A Shiny Red, Longleys Taxi!

Our driver simply couldn’t believe these Bananas were just being destroyed – after all, everyone knows that Longleys Taxi Drivers LOVE Bananas.

A deal was struck!

Pickles gets to live with the lovely Longleys crew, and in return he gives our drivers as many Bananas as he can. Most of the time, he’s cruising around Canterbury in one of our Bright Red Taxis, bugging our drivers and sticking his Monkey digits up our noses and stuff. He thinks he’s funny…

If you find him in a cab, he pays your cab fare with a Banana. That means you never pay for a Longleys Taxi when Pickles is in the car!

 

You can catch Pickles on Facebook HERE

You can become a fan of the mighty Longleys HERE

If you need a Taxi or Cab in Canterbury, call 01227 710777 or visit the Longleys Website

Computers Replacing People?! Never!

Just a quick thought today – I spotted one of our competitors boasting that their operation was fully computerised. The thought made me feel pretty sad – The taxi business is all about the people… The modern world seems to be obsessed with cutting out human interaction for the sake of a few pence profit.

It just seems wrong!

It’s worth remembering why businesses such as Longley’s were originally founded – Not just to make money, but to help support a community with our service and commit to creating a living for so many Canterbury residents. We’re responsible for putting food on the tables of so many people – so would we replace a person with a computer?

The answer is, of course, a resounding NO!

We do use computers in the mix, but to make things easier for our people.

Our Taxi Booking and Despatch system has made our service incredibly efficient – over 98% of our bookings are picked up early. In terms of the human element of our business, it has enabled us to recruit more lovely people to work in our offices, and to train new drivers very quickly. Ultimately that means more jobs, a better service for our customers and a brighter future for Longleys.

I feel immensely proud to be a part of it.

 

Dave George is an Owner of Longleys Private Hire Car Service, based in Canterbury, Kent. You can reach them on 01227 710777

www.longleysprivatehire.co.uk

www.facebook.com/longleys

Taxi Driver Murders- How to travel safely!

In light of the recent, horrible murders in Swindon, we wanted to take five minutes from our usual light-hearted tone to try and offer some advice on travelling safely at night – It’s important to us that you are as safe as you possibly can be!

Longleys Cabs can now text you when your Cab has arrived at your chosen pick up point!

This means you can stay safe, warm and dry until you know your car has arrived! The text contains your Drivers name, the make and colour of his car, as well as the registration number. We designed the text so you can easily forward it to a friend, letting them know you are in a Longleys Cab and safely on your way.

How much does this cost? 10 Pence! The cost of a regular text message…

We could have charged more, but the goal here is public safety and comfort, and frankly we would rather you used it lots and felt safe than thought it was a bit pricey and skipped it.

Some operators are charging up to £1.00 for a similar service, which is unwittingly added to your fare. We think that’s bloomin’ cheeky!

Thankfully, Private Hire and Hackney Carriage drivers in Canterbury are all licenced by Canterbury City Council. The process includes an enhanced Criminal Records Check, Knowledge Test and a Medical. All vehicles must also be licenced and insured for Hire & Reward.

The good news then, is that you are generally safe and insured in a Canterbury Taxi or Private Hire vehicle.

Obviously, we want you to always book Longleys – We’re lovely! Sometimes however, we just get too busy… If that happens, please remember this checklist:

1. Wait somewhere safe
2. Travel with Friends
3. Don’t get so drunk you fall asleep on the back seat.
4. Make sure you tell someone that you are going home in a cab.
5. Text someone the licence number of the car (see below)
6. If you feel uncomfortable, ask to see the drivers’ taxi badge and take a note of the number.
7. Call and SPEAK to a friend to let them know you are home safe. A text at this point just doesn’t cut it…
8. If you feel uncomfortable, ask the driver to stop somewhere well lit. If they refuse, call 999 from your mobile immediately.

 Important Info!

Private Hire vehicles have a yellow licence plate on the rear, near the number plate. This will contain the Canterbury City Council logo and the licence number of the car.

 Hackney Carriages will have a white licence plate in the same style. If you cannot pre-book your Taxi, make sure you go to a proper Taxi Rank.

 Taxi Ranks in Canterbury are at: Canterbury Lane, North Lane, St Dunstans, Bus Station, with Temporary night-time Ranks outside Chill and Club Chemistry.

Stay safe everyone, and don’t forget to ask for the text back when you call Longleys!

Links:

Longleys

Canterbury City Council

Red Cars and Red Nose Fun!

Yo Ho, Me Hearties!

Those fabulous chaps at The Lady Luck are throwing a ‘Red Nose Day Pirate Party’ to raise money for Comic Relief on Friday 18th March.

The fun and excitement begins with Fund Raising Events during the day and promises to have you shouting ‘Garrrrrr’ long into the night!

Win a Bottle of Rum on their Treasure Hunt and awesome Pirate Prizes for the best Pirate Costume and the best Piratey ‘Yarrrrrr’! Double Rum and Mixer only £3.50 till 11pm. Pirate tunes care of Alestorm and Swashbuckle!

Facebook Group HERE!

Don’t feel like dressing up? Dress DOWN!

The Jolly Sailor in Northgate is holding a PJ Party tonight from 7.30pm. They have 40 professional dancers all wearing bedwear, as well as showing Comic Relief on the big screen garden TV. Bring plenty of spare change for the collection bucket on the bar. Fill that sucker up!

Turn up in your Jim-Jams and get yourself a free funny shot!

Need a Taxi in Canterbury?

Longleys Cabs are doing their bit for Comic Relief too!

What better way to get into and out of Canterbury than in a Longleys Cab complete with a big fat Red Nose? Longleys never charge extra at night, so you can stay playing Pirates as late as you like (or until Mum calls you home for tea).

Please note, live parrots are not allowed in the cars. That’s just silly…

Useful Links

The Lady Luck

The Jolly Sailor

Longleys

Cheaper Cabs on St Patrick’s Day!

The patron Saint of Ireland is known to bring revelry and hilarity to Canterbury and what better way to get the ‘Craik’, than by witnessing the spectacle of Bender Crack Corn at the Beer Cart Arms!

Longleys are giving a 10% discount to anyone wearing mad Emerald Green Fancy Dress. Yes – that includes RIDICULOUS hats!

Support comes from Captain B*****d & the Scallywags, who do the Oirish punk thing better than anything actually from Ireland. The Lykes of Yew are also on the bill, and you need to see these guys, they’re seriously good. Rounding off the bill is Manny, playing some of your favourite tunes ever so slightly differently. Get down early to catch his wayward genius! Find the event on Facebook

Meanwhile Club Chemistry is promising the “Biggest Paddy’s Day Party Ever” as weekly event Indiecate team up with the Farmhouse regulars Skanky Skanky on Thursday 17th March. As per usual Indiecate are offering their Cheap List – If you tag their event in your Facebook status and arrive before 10.30 p.m. entry is £2 and it’s only £1 for selected drinks! Event is on Facebook

We don’t expect you to remain sober for long, so make sure you have your transport sorted – you can rely on those lovely people at Longleys Cabs to get you home safely. Remember to book in advance if possible, and travel in groups to cut down costs.

If you end up a little wobbly, we will make sure you are safe and re-book your journey a bit later for you – We’ve all been there and nobody needs a £50 bill for cleanup!

Useful Links:

Beer Cart

Longleys

Indiecate

Farmhouse

Join the Longleys Fun on Facebook HERE

Free Cabs Here!

Bring Your Bananas

Bring Your Bananas

… just kidding!

Well we couldn’t give ALL our cabs away for free because that would just be silly, however we are giving away lots of free cab rides across Canterbury, if you are lucky enough to get into a cab with our Monkey Pickles.

We are confident you will not mind the company, as Pickles will give anyone who meets him a free journey.

The friendly monkey will be in cabs from now until the end of March and will ride with a different driver each day. His itinerary means he could be anywhere in the district at any time.

David George, of Longleys, said: “Pickles the monkey is just one way we are trying to give a little something back to our loyal customers, and have a little fun along the way.”

Bring your bananas and give us a bell

Bring Your Bananas