A Reminder Of What "CAB" REALLY stands for...

Ooookay... It's been an interesting week / weekend, mostly due to personal situations.... Early Monday morning dispatch informed me that a fellow wanted a non-smoking cab with a GPS to go out-of-town. Most larger companies run low-ball rates to keep people calling, which gyps the driver a bit, as anyone who's read my blog before knows.

So, naturally, this trip was quoted at a somewhat ridiculous rate, which worked out to less than $1.50 per mile, netting me, the driver less than $40 for a five-hour round-trip. I don't have GPS, but I managed to Google Map directions to the address he supplied.


Naturally, the directions were inaccurate and got us a bit hung up. The guy fusses a bit, even though we weren't far from the destination. I got him to his destination 30 minutes ahead of schedule, and the guy gives me exactly the price quoted -- NO tip.

"CAB" has been said to really stand for "Cheap Ass Bastard", and this guy lived up to it to the letter. For someone who doesn't tip, he was pretty damned picky to want a non-smoking cab with GPS...

There's One In Every Crowd....

Gotta love this one just for the irony...

First, let me start out by saying last night was rough. Steady, but rough. Seems like most of the drivers for this company went home at midnight. I guess they were going to turn into a pumpkin...

Anyway, after a string of bad luck, I was sent to a "prestigious" bed and breakfast east of town. People that stay at this place are notorious for being cheap, at least in my experience.

I arrive for the pickup at 3 am. I should have started the meter when I got there. Despite calling their front desk and being informed that the customer had been told the cab was there and waiting, it was 3:25 before we actually got moving, because A) one of these morons had an open beer, which is against state law to transport, B) another of these morons couldn't find her purse, C) once she found her purse, she couldn't find her phone. Are any of these MY fault? NO.

Even though moron #3 was in the cab around 3:15, she asked that I STILL not start the meter. Figuring they would make up for it in tip, I stupidly did not, costing myself $10.00 in wait time.

Long story short, these morons kept me waiting 25 minutes and tipped me less than a dollar. What kept me from giving it back and saying they needed it more than I did, I'll never know. I think I was just resigned to the fact that the night was going to suck.

Where am I sent once I dropped these idiots off? Right back to the same "prestigious" bed and breakfast. Turns out the couple I was picking up that time were supposed to have caught the ride with the idiots I had just dropped off.....

Once I heard that, they got a FULL report, and they were embarrassed by the way their friends had acted. I'm sure they mentioned it to their friends.

I found out that these people were here for a wedding, which was costing them nothing. And they want to fuss about paying for wait time holding up a taxi?! My new rule is: If I come to pick someone up, they get two minutes. Meter starts at that point, and I don't care how much you whine or bitch about it, because I can't count on you tipping that much.

People, when you call for a taxi, it's not the driver's fault if they arrive before you're ready. It's your fault for calling for a cab before you're ready. Every minute you hold us up is time lost from another fare, especially when you're stupid enough to keep a driver waiting nearly a half-hour. You're keeping us from making our living. Get over yourselves.

Grrrrr....

Okay, these local hotels are really starting to get on my nerves. They are telling people what THEY think a taxi should cost from the airport, and don't have the slightest clue what the hell they are talking about.

A woman came out tonight going to a hotel on the far east end of town. If memory serves, it's around 12-13 miles. Runs around $48 on my meter, so I told her I could do it for $45. She tells me she was told this should cost around $25.

No one will even leave the airport line for less than $17. Most of us won't leave for less than $20. I won't leave for less than $25. With a maximum expected haul of 3 rides per shift, what do you expect?

At any rate, I already knew at this point I would not be getting the fare. Any time someone starts this "I was told" bullshit, they are going to take the cheapest cab they can find.

I informed her that there were minimum charges from the airport, and the minimums, as well as the fares, would vary from cab to cab. She got a price from the next cab, and asked if I would do it for that. I politely said, "No, ma'am, have a nice night."

The way I see it, if she got a price from another cab, let her ride with that cab. I'll be damned if I am going to let another driver put a price on my service.

The customer thinks.....
she proved how smart she is.

The other driver thinks.....
he proved how stupid I am, and that I'm a crook.

I think....
the customer proved what a cheapskate she is.

I think.....
the other driver proved what a slave he is to someone else's whim. The company he works for sets his wage.

Wake up, people. You're not showing how smart you are. All you are showing is how cheap you are. I know that my opinion of you means nothing to you. But to give anyone and everyone this impression of you, over a few dollars? Have you no shame?

I truly do not care whether someone rides with me or not. I have come to find that what most people consider a good tip combined with the so-called going rate is actually less than what my meter runs. I barely make minimum wage now. I would rather risk missing a ride than do it for no profit.

My fare from the airport is usually only about $10.00 more than the average competitor. What's funny about all this is that I have seen people wait in the cold for 20-30 minutes for a "cheaper" taxi to arrive, just to save that $10.00. Are they really THAT stupid?

I've said it before and I'll say it again. You get what you pay for. Chances are, if a cab driver is charging more than others, there is probably a reason. Around here, you either get a cab driver who:

A) is a cab driver and nothing else
B) is a cab driver when he's not dealing or transporting drugs
C) is on welfare

More Frat Brat Stories.......

Some time ago, when I still ran a Chevrolet Lumina for a taxicab, I had a call from a female UVa student to pick up on "Beta Bridge" as it is commonly called.

This idiot did not tell me she had 9 people. I legally cannot take any more passengers than I am insured for and have seatbelts for. I am insured for up to 6, but my vehicle only had seatbelts for 5.

I have had this situation many times before, so I have implemented an overload charge of $10.00 per extra person as a deterrent. If I am going to do two cars' worth of work, I am going to be paid for two cars' worth. It is only fair.

So this girl got pissed off because I charged her $20.00 extra for 4 extra people. This becomes a two part story.

Two months later, I observed a group of people on the sidewalk just off of the Downtown Mall. It is 4:30 in the morning and just about every cab in town is proceeding to the after hours club, and not even paying any attention to the Downtown Mall, because nothing is open there at that hour.

This moron darts into the street in front of the car, and I am still not sure how I didn't hit him. I told him it wasn't smart to run out in front of a moving car, and he ignored me, saying "Can you take us?" I told him if I took over 5 people I had to charge extra, to which a familiar face said, "Oh, that's that weirdo guy."

Weirdo? Okay. I locked the doors and started driving off. They started yelling and waving for me to stop. Nope. Don't think so. I went around the after-hours club and picked up a nice fare going across town.

Unfortunately, one side of the club is on a one-way street and I had to drive past these morons again. Again they waved and shouted. Again I drove on by.

Five minutes later, my phone rings. It is a customer that happens to be in the same building these jackasses are hanging around, waiting for a cab. I told him that I would call him when I was close, because I knew they would try to take his cab.

He was a little slow getting downstairs, and the same idiot that almost got clipped earlier runs up to me and asks if they can get the cab. I told him I was picking up someone who had specifically called me, and he said, "If they don't show up, can we get you?"

"No," I replied.

"Why not?" he asked.

I leaned out the window and said, "You see your little hoity-toity blonde friend there? I heard her call me a weirdo earlier, which is why I left you earlier. I will be happy to drive past you guys fifty more times tonight without picking you up."

"Why?"

"Because I don't need anyone's money bad enough to let them judge me or disrespect me, that's why. You kids need to learn that you're not better than anyone else in this town. You don't own this cab, you don't own me, you don't own this town, and you sure as hell don't own anyone else in it. Have a nice night."

My customer approached, and away we went into the night.

Some People Need Instructions To Breathe Through Their Nose......

Just got to thinking about (yet) another incident where someone thought it was okay to talk down to me because I'm "just a cab driver". Also a here's your sign story, technically...Couple years ago, I stopped for a lady in the Corner area of the local university.

She wasn't going far, just a few blocks, but it was cold and she didn't want to walk that far in the cold. Hey, no problem. I'm happy to get the fare.

A couple approached the cab and wanted to share the ride. As long as the original passenger doesn't mind, there's no problem there. However, they were going completely the opposite direction, and I told them that by the time I dropped the first passenger and started getting them on their way, they could have flagged another cab. They didn't care, they just wanted to get out of the cold (it was 34 degrees that night, so it's understandable).

However, when I dropped the first passenger, the shortest route would have been cut through town to the main road that led to where they were going. And I was even going to hold the meter until the spot where I'd picked them up at.

But they wanted to go another route. Legally, I cannot take a route other than that chosen by the customer, if they have a preference. But the stipulation to that is that the customer has to tell me their preference before the point of no return.

The guy tells me to go 6 or 7 miles out of the way. It was a faster route, but typically faster costs more. Most people don't understand that.

Anyway, they were going to a gated community (where the average house is $500k or better) and by the time we got through the gate, the meter read $48.00 or so. Now, typically, with the lower rates some cabs charge, and the shorter route, it would have been around $30.00. Even on my meter, the shorter route would then have been around $35.00 or so.

The woman just snaps, "Would you like to SPEAK about this?" out of the blue. Now, she had been giving her husband hell from the beginning of the ride, so I wasn't sure if she was snapping at me or not. So between the ass-chewing and insults and cussing she was giving me, I started to explain that most cabs in the area were running at or below cost.

The husband seemed concerned that they might be getting cheated, but he wasn't flat-out nasty to me, like she was. She just keeps right on cussing me. So I finally said, "Ma'am, there is no reason to verbally abuse me like this, and I don't have to put up with it." That was her warning.

"You're abusing us, you asshole...." She started to say something else, and I simply said, "Okay, that's it. Pay the fare and get out." I'd had enough.

She said she wanted a card because she wanted to file a complaint. To which I produced one for her and one for her husband, and stated, "Ma'am, they are going to tell you the exact same thing I told you -- that rates are not regulated."

The husband said something about not getting where they were going, and I simply said, "Sir, I understand, and I feel sorry for you, because you are paying the price for your wife's attitude. Had she been a little more rational like you, I not only might have adjusted the fare a bit, but also gotten you to your door. But I am not here to be cussed and abused, especially seeing as you asked me to go a route about six miles longer than the way I would have taken you."

I have figured out some things since then. I think a lot of drivers in this town are going the long way around to make up for the ridiculously low rate they charge. I can't prove it, but that is my thinking. I would rather charge enough to make a living, and not have to scare customers driving like a bat out of hell, or trick them into thinking they are getting a deal when I'm really taking them around the long way.

You Don't Need Sense To Go To College, Just A Lot Of Dollars

Tonight's incident made me think of a lady who did exactly the same thing a few months ago (when gas was still over $4.00 a gallon, mind you).

Since she was a soon-to-graduate law student, she wanted to make a federal case about the fare being higher, after tipping a little over $1.50! I explained to her that rates are not regulated in the area, and that I actually make money on the fare, whereas other cab drivers do not.

I then proceeded to explain to her that costs had more than tripled since the last real change in meter rates in any one company was made, that I had seen insurance double from one year to the next, and that fuel had more than tripled."Well, that's not something you can just arbitrarily pass on to the customer," she snapped.

I just looked her in the eye and said, "Well, ma'am, maybe I don't understand the nature of being in business for myself, but I always thought it was to make a profit."

I then handed her the tip back, to which she said, "No, you keep that."

To which I said, "You must need this more than I do, ma'am. You gave more than the fare and then complain about the fare. That's pretty stupid, don't you think?"She said no more, just got out.