This week has been "special"

[Deserted]

Story the first:
I'm picking up a passenger from a large apartment complex. While I wait for him to come down to the cab, a woman approaches...

her: Do you have a cigarette?
me: Sorry, I don't smoke.
her: Could I have a free ride to the store real quick?
me: No.

Yes, she literally asked for a free ride. That's a first for me. Even better, as we were leaving, she asked me to come back afterward to (again) give her a free ride! (Never mind that my passenger's destination was 12 miles away...) Sorry lady, but I'm not a charity.


Story the second:
Bit o' background: Here in Desert Hell, the Cab Co That Is Yellow has an exclusive contract with the city to provide cab service at the airport. (All cabs there are actually owned by the same company, regardless of name or color.) Any cab can drop off at the airport, but we are strictly forbidden to pick up passengers anywhere on airport property (to the tune of a $650 fine).

So, I'm dropping off a group of customers. As they are leaving, an obviously-tipsy man approaches. Fortunately, I have already locked my doors and rolled the windows up. I crack open the window nearest him and give him my standard spiel:

me: I'm sorry sir, I can't pick up anyone at the airport, but there is a cab stand right downstairs, they'd be happy to take you wherever you need to go.
drunk: But I just want to get a beer!
me: (thinking: Plenty of bars right behind you in the terminal.) I'm sorry sir, but I simply can't do it.
drunk: Well, what are you going to do about it?
me: I'm going to leave my doors locked.

Drunky McDrunkenstein then proceeds to try the handle on both doors on the passenger side anyway, before confusedly wandering away.

(For the record, had he gotten in, I would have flagged down the police standing roughly 50 feet away, and let THEM deal with him.)


Story the third: (Grab a drink, this one's long.)
Background: Big Green Cab Co has contracts with several medical organizations to transport their patients. When picking them up, I have to verify that I have the right person, and where we're going.

I'm picking up a woman from one of those providers. I call her name out in the waiting room, and an Oriental (IMPORTANT DETAIL) woman approaches. I say the name I have and she says "Yes."

I get her in the cab and read off the destination address I have, and again she tells me, "Yes." She then tells me something that I completely fail to understand. (Another IMPORTANT DETAIL!) She repeats it several times, and each time I tell her that I don't understand. Finally, she says, "Go." ...okay.

So, I take her to the drop-off, a group home. I ask her, "Here, right?" She looks confused and slowly says, "No...?" Hmm... I park the car, knock on the door, and tell an employee what's going on. He comes out to the cab, opens the door, and says...

(wait for it)

"That's not [passenger name]."

It occurred to me then that what she had been telling me earlier was possibly her name. I asked for her name, and I (eventually) got a very Oriental name out of her. Unfortunately, it was just close enough to the straight-out-of-the-Bible first name I had on the board that she had probably assumed I had called her name, but mangled it horribly.

Oh, and it turned out that she didn't really speak English. Based on what came out of her mouth, I'm guessing some form of Chinese. (Normally not a problem for this type of call.)

So, I called dispatch and told the dispatcher what had happened. After quite a bit of back-and-forth involving her, someone else at the company, and at least 2 people at the medical office, it's decided that:

A) I'm an idiot. (Because I should totally have known that the woman answering to the name I called wasn't my passenger, right? Must've forgotten to pay my "psychic abilities" bill this month.)
B) I should've checked out with the front desk at the office because she didn't speak English. (Even though she answered my two questions with "Yes." I had the impression that she at least understood me.)
C) I'm not getting paid for the trip I just finished. (Another 12-mile trip, dammit!)
D) I am getting paid for the trip to where the woman actually lives. (15-mile trip, so not too bad, but she lives less then 3 miles away from the medical office... and less than a mile away from me.)
E) Because of the complete fiasco this trip has turned into, a very specific set of (time-consuming but not difficult) requirements is laid on me, because I'm obviously an idiot. (See also point A above.)

As an added bonus, one of the people involved in sorting out this mess is one of my supervisors (in my capacity as an on-the-road trainer). After this ride was over, I had to go to his office for unrelated reasons, and I got a (fortunately light-hearted) ration of for this.



...and tomorrow's Friday. This will be... interesting.

[Mytical]

As somebody who A) Has Medical issues. B) Has nobody that can drive in a big city (I used to be able to, but my concentration and memory make it a BAD idea now) and C) Has doctors appointments in a big city .. I just want to say thank you. The people that drive me to my doctors have all been extremely nice, helpful, and patient (On days I need my cane or walker, it can be a task to get me in and out of a cab). So from those of us who need these services, again, thank you.

[Seshat]

Ditto. I know that dealing with someone who has to walk slowly, and dealing with our medical aids, can be a nuisance for someone who makes money only when actually travelling. Patience and generosity-of-spirit can make a huge difference to our day.

[AngloSaxonViking]

Re: Story the Third

I've been a cab driver, and been in that situation with a foreign national who replies "yes" to everything you say. First, it looks to me like you went out of your way to not be nasty, to the point of being too willing to help. I hope you aren't getting into trouble over that. Also, I totally recognise the difficulty of saying "no" to someone who blatantly doesn't understand a word you say - how do you get across that you aren't being racist or discriminatory in some other way? It's a minefield. Luckily for me, I was experienced in speaking English to people whose first language is not English (speak slow clear whole simple sentences; use only words from the basic 1000; use gestures A LOT). I wuld have taken the person back into rception and asked them to confirm that it was the correct person.

[Deserted]

As somebody who A) Has Medical issues. B) Has nobody that can drive in a big city (I used to be able to, but my concentration and memory make it a BAD idea now) and C) Has doctors appointments in a big city .. I just want to say thank you. The people that drive me to my doctors have all been extremely nice, helpful, and patient (On days I need my cane or walker, it can be a task to get me in and out of a cab). So from those of us who need these services, again, thank you.

Ditto. I know that dealing with someone who has to walk slowly, and dealing with our medical aids, can be a nuisance for someone who makes money only when actually travelling. Patience and generosity-of-spirit can make a huge difference to our day.

As I tell my passengers, it's what I'm here to do. Big Green Cab Co has a HUUUUUUUUGE focus on customer service. It's one of the biggest things that sets us apart from our main competitor, Cab Co That Is Yellow. (In fact, the only thing that gets stressed more than customer service is safety.)

I actually learned customer service from my mother, back in the days when she owned a series of business. (For the last several years of her life, she typically needed transportation to various doctors about 3 times per month. She was why I became a cab driver in the first place: her Medicaid provider was contracted with a competitor to Big Green Cab Co that I won't name, whose drivers not only offered HORRIBLE customer service, but often took more than an hour to arrive, and got mom to the dr late more than once. Since I don't own a car, being a cabbie let me take her to her appts instead of J. Random Cab Driver.)

There is one thing that I won't do. I will not risk injury helping a passenger out of the cab. This has only come up twice, with passengers that were... let's say extremely large. I don't care about someone's weight issues, but I'm not going to throw my back out helping someone. (ADA requires me to offer any and all reasonable assistance to people who need it, but honestly, if they'd been unable to get out of my cab unassisted, I would've called 911. Yes, they were that big.)

I've been a cab driver, and been in that situation with a foreign national who replies "yes" to everything you say. First, it looks to me like you went out of your way to not be nasty, to the point of being too willing to help. I hope you aren't getting into trouble over that.

I won't; many drivers (including the training supervisor involved, who still drives a couple days per month) have been in the same situation. (I was talking to both of my supervisors this afternoon, and that call didn't even come up.)

Also, I totally recognise the difficulty of saying "no" to someone who blatantly doesn't understand a word you say - how do you get across that you aren't being racist or discriminatory in some other way? It's a minefield. Luckily for me, I was experienced in speaking English to people whose first language is not English (speak slow clear whole simple sentences; use only words from the basic 1000; use gestures A LOT). I wuld have taken the person back into rception and asked them to confirm that it was the correct person.

Yeah, good ideas... hindsight is 20/20.

I have a paper I created using Google Translation that says "I only understand English" in a bunch of languages. I'm thinking about adding something like "I need to verify your full name and where we're going" as well.


AND your "aren't being racist" comment reminds me of a bad call I had a few months back. Received the call at midnight, picking up in a not-so-great area of town, passengers were two young black men. One of them wanted to sit up front, which I flat-out refused. (I don't let ANYBODY ride up front unless there are already 2 passengers in the back seat. Personal safety thing.) He was very insistent, and I kept saying no, to the point that I told him words to the effect of "ride in the back or get a different cab". He pulled the race card: "You're doing this because I'm black, aren't you?" No, but nice try, asshole.

(They ended up running off after a ~16-mile trip. What, me surprised? I talked to a driver who lives in the area I picked up from, and he said if I'd let the guy ride up front, I probably would've been robbed.)

[jennie]

(speak slow clear whole simple sentences; use only words from the basic 1000; use gestures A LOT). I wuld have taken the person back into rception and asked them to confirm that it was the correct person.
Speaking s a Brit, I hope you aren't advising the traditional SPEAK LOUDLY AND SLOWLY; we haven't shaken off our bad rep. for that yet

[eltf177]

Short of someone from the medical center actually delivering the patient into your hands I can't see how this is your fault. Maybe your boss needs to spring for a psychic helmet for all his employees...

Thus I'd make the medical center deliver them to you, that way any mistake is on them.

I hope the "yes" woman gave you a good tip...

[Monterey Jack]

AND your "aren't being racist" comment reminds me of a bad call I had a few months back. Received the call at midnight, picking up in a not-so-great area of town, passengers were two young black men. One of them wanted to sit up front, which I flat-out refused. (I don't let ANYBODY ride up front unless there are already 2 passengers in the back seat. Personal safety thing.) He was very insistent, and I kept saying no, to the point that I told him words to the effect of "ride in the back or get a different cab". He pulled the race card: "You're doing this because I'm black, aren't you?" No, but nice try, asshole.

You should have just said it was against regulations and you would have gotten into trouble from your supervisor if you let someone sit up front. Even it it wasn't true, how could your passengers have known?

[Deserted]

Short of someone from the medical center actually delivering the patient into your hands I can't see how this is your fault. Maybe your boss needs to spring for a psychic helmet for all his employees...

Thus I'd make the medical center deliver them to you, that way any mistake is on them.

I hope the "yes" woman gave you a good tip...

We're not supposed to accept tips on voucher (paid for by someone other than the passenger) rides. (She certainly didn't offer one.) If I accept tips, I risk getting my contract with Big Green Cab Co canceled ( = fired).

You should have just said it was against regulations and you would have gotten into trouble from your supervisor if you let someone sit up front. Even it it waqsn't true, how could your passengers have known?

I flat out told the person that I wasn't going to let him ride up front, and that's all the reason I needed. There isn't anything anywhere that says I have to let anyone ride up front (although if someone asks, or tells me it'll be easier for them for medical-type reasons, I usually will let them). It isn't racism to not want someone riding next to me. (I also have the right to refuse to transport anyone for any (legal) reason*, but I rarely do so -- after all, if I refuse to transport someone, I'm refusing to get paid for that ride, too.)

The company has my back against almost anything, especially BS like this.

* I can't refuse to transport someone because of things like skin color, but I will refuse if I feel I might be endangering myself by doing so. Pretty rare, really.

[AngloSaxonViking]

(speak slow clear whole simple sentences; use only words from the basic 1000; use gestures A LOT). ....
Speaking s a Brit, I hope you aren't advising the traditional SPEAK LOUDLY AND SLOWLY; we haven't shaken off our bad rep. for that yet

Certainly not. I lived abroad for many years, am fully fluent in that language, both written and spoken, both colloquial and business. And my job was to write technical manuals that could be used by any engineer anywhere in the world, provided only that he/she had 1000 words of basic English, plus the technical vocabulary. So I meant what I said, and no more than I said.

[jennie]

I apologise; but I really didn't know about your having written tech manuals, etc. Shall I see myself out?

[NecessaryCatharsis]

I rarely take a cab, (I don't drink very much) but when I do I always sit in the front unless I'm with people all sitting in the back. It never occurred to me that this would make the driver uncomfortable, it just seems weird to sit in the back by myself. I've also never had a driver ask me to sit in the back though. I am 5 foot nothing, not that big and seriously underestimated in strength by all who don't know me, so maybe I'm not intimidating enough to be thought of as a problem?

[Deserted]

I rarely take a cab, (I don't drink very much) but when I do I always sit in the front unless I'm with people all sitting in the back. It never occurred to me that this would make the driver uncomfortable, it just seems weird to sit in the back by myself. I've also never had a driver ask me to sit in the back though. I am 5 foot nothing, not that big and seriously underestimated in strength by all who don't know me, so maybe I'm not intimidating enough to be thought of as a problem?

I would guess it probably depend on where you live.

Nowadays, I keep the doors locked, and don't unlock them until the passenger is at the back door. I also keep a lot of stuff in the front seat to discourage people from sitting there.

Also: size doesn't matter. A single martial arts class would show you that. (Nothing quite like getting thrown across the room by someone half your size... hoo boy.)

[Monterey Jack]

I flat out told the person that I wasn't going to let him ride up front, and that's all the reason I needed. There isn't anything anywhere that says I have to let anyone ride up front (although if someone asks, or tells me it'll be easier for them for medical-type reasons, I usually will let them).

But if you told this asshole that the decision was out of your hands, that might have defused the situation somewhat. Probably not, as he and his buddy ran off and stiffed you, but if anyone else tries to pull the Race Card[tm] on you, it's a good thing to try.

[Sleepwalker]

Hey now, don't knock the (reasonably)loud'n'slow approach. It's gotten me through more conversations than I can count- yeah, it's totally useless for people who don't have any bilingual capabilities at all, but for people like me who can limp along in a couple other languages, it's doable. Helps distinguish sounds that are used in one language but not the other.