Tweet
It's been a little while since I had something actually work-related to post here... thank god.
A couple days ago, I got a call to pick up a girl (legally adult, but she doesn't deserve the label "woman") with an address listed as abcd N Maryvale Pkwy. Well, that's less than a mile from our yard... except the address didn't exist. Meh, wrong address, happens. I called the passenger, and she told me that she was at abcd W Maryland Ave.
This isn't the major suck, but note those street names. Around here, pretty much everyone pronounces the ave like you would expect ("Mair-uh-lind"), and the pkwy like "Mary-vale". The girl pronounced it "Mary-land", which is almost certainly why the call center got the street wrong. But I digress...
After FINALLY finding this person, she and a young man (both probably in their early 20's) got in, and she told me they needed the closest urgent care or hospital. Well, lo and behold, that would be Maryvale Hospital, on the previously-mentioned Maryvale Pkwy, less than 3 miles away. As we get to the closest major street to the hospital, the man said, "Hey, you have change for a hundred?"
Nope, sez I. I didn't mention this to them, but at the time, I had about $60 in the van, split up amongst 3 different hidey holes -- but even if I DID have change, I wouldn't tell them. (I might as well just say, "Hey, rob me now!") So, they had me pull into a K-That-Is-Circled that we were right in front of.
EDIT: We pulled in here so they could break the hundred.
They both got out; he headed inside and she smoked a cigarette. When they got back in, the girl noticed that the meter wasn't paused, and said, "You didn't pause the meter?!" Nope. (When they got out the meter was about $8.50; when we left the parking lot it hit $10. The meter charges 50 cents per minute if we're doing less than 5 mph.)
She spent the rest of the (fortunately short) trip bitching about me for having the temerity to not pause the meter, and blaming me for not carrying change for a $100 bill. At one point she said, "I have AHCCCS, shouldn't they pay for this?" (AHCCCS = Arizona's Medicaid system.) Nope, because you have to call AHCCCS, and they have to set the ride up. You called our main number, you pay for the trip.
We finally got to the hospital, and they pulled the "exact change" bit. ($12.45 on the meter, they paid $12.50.) The girl demanded my name and cab number and, oh yeah, a receipt. Well, my first name's on my badge, my cab number is printed on each corner of the cab and 2 places inside, and I gave them a hand-written receipt -- and since my handwriting is not that great, good luck deciphering what I wrote, bitch. (My info can be retrieved by the call center using the pick-up information if necessary, but I'll be damned if I'm going to do more than what the law requires for these people. I didn't give her my name, but that's a minor detail.)
As they got out, I pointed out that on both sides of the van, right where the rates are posted, that it also says in inch-tall letters "DRIVER ONLY CARRIES $10 IN CHANGE". (That's almost accurate; I usually carry $20 in ones.)
As soon as they were out, I called my dispatch and asked them to note what happened with the call, because I can see a complaint in my near future. The dispatcher was pretty confused. "They seriously expected you to break a hundred? And blamed you for not having change?" I could practically feel the
radiating from the dispatcher as she took notes.
A couple days ago, I got a call to pick up a girl (legally adult, but she doesn't deserve the label "woman") with an address listed as abcd N Maryvale Pkwy. Well, that's less than a mile from our yard... except the address didn't exist. Meh, wrong address, happens. I called the passenger, and she told me that she was at abcd W Maryland Ave.
This isn't the major suck, but note those street names. Around here, pretty much everyone pronounces the ave like you would expect ("Mair-uh-lind"), and the pkwy like "Mary-vale". The girl pronounced it "Mary-land", which is almost certainly why the call center got the street wrong. But I digress...
After FINALLY finding this person, she and a young man (both probably in their early 20's) got in, and she told me they needed the closest urgent care or hospital. Well, lo and behold, that would be Maryvale Hospital, on the previously-mentioned Maryvale Pkwy, less than 3 miles away. As we get to the closest major street to the hospital, the man said, "Hey, you have change for a hundred?"
Nope, sez I. I didn't mention this to them, but at the time, I had about $60 in the van, split up amongst 3 different hidey holes -- but even if I DID have change, I wouldn't tell them. (I might as well just say, "Hey, rob me now!") So, they had me pull into a K-That-Is-Circled that we were right in front of.
EDIT: We pulled in here so they could break the hundred.
They both got out; he headed inside and she smoked a cigarette. When they got back in, the girl noticed that the meter wasn't paused, and said, "You didn't pause the meter?!" Nope. (When they got out the meter was about $8.50; when we left the parking lot it hit $10. The meter charges 50 cents per minute if we're doing less than 5 mph.)
She spent the rest of the (fortunately short) trip bitching about me for having the temerity to not pause the meter, and blaming me for not carrying change for a $100 bill. At one point she said, "I have AHCCCS, shouldn't they pay for this?" (AHCCCS = Arizona's Medicaid system.) Nope, because you have to call AHCCCS, and they have to set the ride up. You called our main number, you pay for the trip.
We finally got to the hospital, and they pulled the "exact change" bit. ($12.45 on the meter, they paid $12.50.) The girl demanded my name and cab number and, oh yeah, a receipt. Well, my first name's on my badge, my cab number is printed on each corner of the cab and 2 places inside, and I gave them a hand-written receipt -- and since my handwriting is not that great, good luck deciphering what I wrote, bitch. (My info can be retrieved by the call center using the pick-up information if necessary, but I'll be damned if I'm going to do more than what the law requires for these people. I didn't give her my name, but that's a minor detail.)
As they got out, I pointed out that on both sides of the van, right where the rates are posted, that it also says in inch-tall letters "DRIVER ONLY CARRIES $10 IN CHANGE". (That's almost accurate; I usually carry $20 in ones.)
As soon as they were out, I called my dispatch and asked them to note what happened with the call, because I can see a complaint in my near future. The dispatcher was pretty confused. "They seriously expected you to break a hundred? And blamed you for not having change?" I could practically feel the
radiating from the dispatcher as she took notes.
Comment