Whitefish has new taxi service

Every drive is a new drive.

That’s how Kenneth Landert approaches each drive he makes as owner and operator of Kountry Taxi in Whitefish.

“Every drive is a new attempt and a new chance to make a friend,” Landert said. “From locals to folks from England — I’ve met some great people.”

Landert moved to Whitefish last summer from Greenville, S.C., where he owned and operated a taxi business for 12 years. He ended up in Whitefish by chance.

“I threw a dart at a map — I was aiming for Calgary,” he jokes.

But after settling in, Landert quickly realized Whitefish is where he wants to stay and work.

“I don’t want to be here just a year,” he said. “I want to be here the next 50 years.”

Kountry Taxi operates under the previous Flathead Area Custom Transportation Inc. authority, which was doing business as Kalispell Taxi and Airport Shuttle Service. The business is allowed to operate within a 50 mile radius of Kalispell, and a 30 mile radius of Eureka and Libby, according to the Public Service Commission.

A lot of Landert’s business comes from tourists headed to Glacier National Park, going to the airport or up Big Mountain. Yet, Landert says he makes plenty of local runs to the grocery store and often takes calls from elderly residents who need a ride. One client calls him for a ride to the bar just about every day.

“There’s not one area of this business,” Landert said. “You have to be flexible and adapt.”

“Drives to Glacier Park are just as important as pickups at Amtrak.”

Case in point, Landert recently picked up a customer at the West Glacier train depot at 3 a.m.

“I’ve done that several times,” he said.

Keeping a taxi business alive in Whitefish has proven to be challenge, with a number of businesses opening and closing over the years. Landert is well aware of the challenges ahead, but says through superior customer service, he’ll find a way.

“You always have to remember you’re in a customer service business,” he said. “How you handle your customer is a direct result in your tip.”

Each driver with Kountry Taxi goes through a weekly safety program and is trained on how to drive “defensively and offensively,” Landert said. They are also taught how to properly remove a belligerent customer from a vehicle without violence.

As a veteran of the business, Landert says it’s important to initiate conversation with a new customer. He’s always surprised at what clients he just met will tell a taxi driver.

“It’s like I’m a priest or something,” he quipped.

Kountry Taxi operates three vehicles in town. The taxi dispatcher can be reached at 250-8015. Credit cards, Canadian and U.S. dollars are accepted.