How taxi and delivery fleets can screen driver candidates by phone
Sado AI team · · 5 min read
In short
To screen driver candidates by phone, ask every caller the same six questions: licence category, years of driving, own car or not, district, shifts they can work and start date. If the answers fit your fleet’s rules, book an interview at a set day and time in the same call. If not, explain why, briefly and politely. A job ad brings many calls in its first days, and an AI voice operator can take them too, in Uzbek and Russian, at night as well.
Why screening should start on the phone
After a “drivers wanted” ad goes up, the phone rings for days. The dispatcher answers the same questions again and again: “Do you give a car?”, “How long is a shift?”, “When are payouts?”. Some calls go unanswered, and some candidates travel to the office only to learn there that they don’t fit.
A five-minute call saves time for both sides. A candidate who doesn’t fit doesn’t cross the city for nothing, and one who fits is booked for an exact time.
Questions to ask a driver candidate
Write the questions down and ask everyone in the same order, so candidates are easy to compare.
| Question | Why | Fleet rule (example) |
|---|---|---|
| What category is your licence? | Car or truck | Taxi needs B, cargo delivery needs C |
| How many years have you been driving? | Experience | For example, at least 3 years |
| Do you have your own car? Which model and year? | Fleet car or their own | For example, 2016 or newer |
| Which district do you live in? | Distance to where shifts start | For example, Chilanzar, Sergeli |
| Which shifts can you work? | Day, night or weekends | 12-hour shifts |
| When can you start? | Filling the place quickly | Within a week |
Ask only what relates to the job: no questions about ethnicity, religion or family status. Check the list of documents and the official rules for drivers with a lawyer; this post is not legal advice.
Sample call: a candidate phones about the ad
Sado: Assalomu alaykum, Tezkor Park, this is Malika.
Caller: Hi. I saw your ad, you need drivers. What are the terms?
Sado: Yes, we need delivery drivers. The car is the fleet’s, shifts are 12 hours. May I ask a couple of questions? What category is your licence?
Caller: B and C. I’ve been driving for nine years.
Sado: Great. Which district do you live in, and which shift can you work?
Caller: Sergeli. Day shifts would be better.
Sado: Fine, I’ll book you for an interview. Tomorrow at ten or Thursday at three, which suits you? Please bring your licence and passport.
Caller: Tomorrow at ten. My name is Jasur.
Talk about pay only from the fleet’s own facts. With no exact answer, say “our manager will call you back with that”: a rough figure turns into an argument later.
What to do after the call
- Put every candidate in one list: name, phone, category, experience, car, district, shifts and a verdict: “fits”, “doesn’t fit” or “manager to review”.
- Book a candidate who fits for an interview in the same call, at an exact day and time.
- Call with a reminder the day before the interview. If they can’t come, move it.
- Tell a candidate who doesn’t fit why, briefly, and thank them. Ask whether you may call if another shift opens.
- Once a week, count: calls, candidates who fit, who came to the interview, who started work. Fix the step where most people drop out.
Handing candidate calls to an AI operator
Connect Sado to the number in your ad and the AI operator takes the incoming calls: it answers at once, at night and on weekends, and handles more than ten conversations at the same time. It asks your questions, talks about the fleet’s terms only from your facts and books candidates who fit for an interview. When the answer isn’t in its facts, a task is created and a manager calls back.
Candidates who fill in a form on your website or Instagram get a call from the operator right away: that’s outbound calling. If a candidate speaks Russian, the call carries on in Russian. Every call’s recording, transcript and answers are in the portal’s Requests list, and you can download the results to Excel. For courier services: AI operator for delivery.
You pay only for talked minutes: 800 so‘m a minute, no monthly fee. Try it live or call 78 778 01 23.
Questions
Does the AI operator hire drivers itself?
No. It asks the questions, records the answers and books interviews by your rule. The fleet manager decides whom to hire.
What if a candidate wants to talk to a person?
By your rule the call is transferred to a manager’s phone, or a task is created for a callback. If asked, the operator never claims to be human.
May we keep candidates’ details?
Uzbekistan has a law on personal data. Record only what the job needs (name, phone, experience, shifts) and tell candidates why you ask. If in doubt, ask a lawyer.