[932] in Depressing_Thoughts
Allston taxis
jik@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (jik@ATHENA.MIT.EDU)
Sun Dec 10 13:30:09 1989
I wanted to get to work quickly today to work on 6.170 for at least
a few hours, because I have to go home again at 5 o'clock to go to a
concert. I figured the best way to get from Allston to e40 quickly
would be a taxi, right?
11:45 AM, I call Red Cab. "11 Ashford Terrace." "No problem, it'll
be there in ten minutes."
12:00 PM, the cab still hasn't arrived. I call back. "Where's the
cab for 11 Ashford Terrace? I'm still here." (They call him on the
radio.) "He says he's already been there and you weren't there."
"I've been standing at my door watching the street for the past 15
minutes. He never showed up." "Fine, we'll send him back."
12:10 PM, the cab still hasn't arrived. I call back. "This is 11
Ashford Terrace again. NOT Ashford Street, NOT Ashford Court.
Ashford Terrace. I still don't have a cab." "Fine, we'll take care
of it."
12:15 PM, the cab finally shows up. Sort of. It drives past my
house and pulls onto the next street. I've got to get out of the
house, lock the door, and jog after the cab to get it to stop.
I get in the cab, and of course the cab driver doesn't speak much
English. "Where have you been, I've been waiting for a half hour?"
(Now, say this in your best limping cab-driver-English voice) "Well, I
went to Ashford ... uh ... uh ... uh ... Ashford Street." "Great,
well, I can't help that, I _told_ the dispatcher Ashford Terrace."
The right front window of the cab is open, I don't know why. He
asks if it's "OK", and I say fine since I don't feel like dealing,
even though I'm cold. A minute later, I find out why it's open....
He takes out a cigarette (without asking me if it's OK for him to
smoke, even though I hate cigarette smoke), lights it, and throws the
match out the window. Wonderful.
We get to e40. The fare is $6.40. I took out a $10 and told him to
make it $7 (Why a tip? I don't know, maybe I just don't have the guts
to not give a tip.).
He doesn't have change. He doesn't have $3 change. Worse, he
starts driving aroudn (with me already in the cab) and calling out the
window to people in his broken English asking them if they have
change. Finally, I tell him to drop the three dollars off at my house
when he gets change, and I get out of the cab.
Now, let's count up the problems:
1. I wanted to get to work fast, so I called a cab, but it took the
cat a half hour just to get to where I wanted to go.
2. The cab wasn't heated properly.
3. The driver smoked.
4. The driver didn't have $3 change. I probably could legally have
taken my $10 back and gotten out of the cab without paying.
5. The driver tried to explain away something that was clearly a
stupid mistake on his part.
6. The driver tried to make conversation during the trip, when I was
already angry enough at him.
You can bet that Red Cab is going to hear from me about this.
Whether or not I call the taxi commission about his failure to produce
change for a $10 bill is another question entirely....
ARGH!
