The Cost Of Being Difficult......

I'm sure that everyone who's ever worked a service job has wished that they could charge people extra for disrespecting or aggravating them. I have one of the few jobs that I can choose to do so at my discretion.

To explain a few things about the taxi business in my locality -- It can take upwards of 3-6 hours of waiting to get a fare from the airport -- which allows us to charge a minimum fare to or from the airport. My minimum charge is $25.00, to insure that I make a profit. After expenses, I actually make around $6.00 per hour.

In the rare occurence that I am the only cab available to serve multiple passsengers and destinations, I typically take the estimated total metered fare for the trip and divvy it up among the passengers equally, so no one feels that they are paying part of someone else's ride. Some people, however, will bitch even if hung with a new rope. The reason I came up with this idea is because invariably someone bitches that they are paying for someone else's ride.

Four people, three destinations. I offered to take them all for the minimum charge per stop -- a total of $75, since the metered fare for all three stops would have been close to $70 anyway.

Of course, they want to get stupid about it. "I paid $23 to come out here......" "Why should we each pay $25 when they're paying $25 for two people?" To bastardize a popular waltz tune..... Whine, whine, whine-complain.... bitch-bitch.... bitch-bitch! People really piss me off when they do this. They want convenience without paying for it.

To which I replied simply, "There are 10 companies in the telephone book that will gladly keep you waiting 20 or 30 minutes, and you are welcome to try them if you like." People do not realize that in this town, it is a 10 mile trip to the airport from just about anywhere. Nor do they really care.

Salvation showed up in the form of a second taxi returning to the airport. Three of them walked to the second cab, leaving the $23 lady to pay a metered fare by herself. I will add that the second taxi probly offered the same deal, or followed the ordinance by charging meter to the first destination, paid by the first person, at which point the meter is reset and the second passenger pays the metered fare to the second destination. Either way, I'd be willing to bet they felt pretty stupid by the time they got to where they were going. Six of one, half-dozen of the other in some cases.

So then the $23 lady told me to go completely the long way around, turning what would have been a $30-35 ride into thirty-nine and some change. I offered a discount, as some passengers will tip the difference anyway. Nope.

On to the next moron. Woman comes out and wants to go to a local hotel, to which the base fare was about $38 or so. As I mentioned earlier, extra charges are present on my posted rates, but I rarely use them unless I feel the situation warrants it (customer attitude or high fuel prices).

She didn't say it in so many words, but her tone made it clear that she felt like I was charging too much. I have one thing to say. Buy me a tank of gas, or pay the fare.

She made such an obvious fuss over this that while waiting on the bench in front of the terminal for another fare, I decided not to get mad, but to get even. She approached another taxi that was obviously already loading a passenger, and that combined with the general disrespect of insinuating I was overcharging ensured that $25.00 per person would be charged, no matter how many people entered the cab. The extra charges posted for night service, luggage loading and county pickup or destination came to $4.00.

So not only did the lights actually work in my favor for a change and catch me at nearly every one, she springs credit card payment on me. I love how people assume their plastic can get them through every situation in life. Anyway, we had to stop at an ATM so she could get cash to split the fare with the second passenger.

So then she makes a fuss about the extras, to which I replied that I quoted her the base fare before extras, that fuel is currently approaching $3.00 per gallon, and that she was actually getting the extras for half price by splitting the fare, so what was the problem?

Who knows, maybe she'll treat her next cab driver with a little respect. I don't ask for much. I just want to make a living without being called a crook when I don't even make minimum wage.