Dean and I hopped into a taxi last weekend and asked the cab driver to take us to an address he clearly did not know. In fact, we did not know the location either, only the address.
The cab driver continues driving (not knowing where he’s going) and I ask anxiously, “Sir, sir! Do you know where Benton Street is?”
No response.
I turn to Dean and say, “Let’s get out of the cab, this guy has no idea where he’s going.”
But instead of doing what I say, Dean being the nice guy that he is says, “Let me look it up on my phone.”
I’m panicking because I hate wasting money and the cabbie is driving in the exact opposite direction of where we need to be heading.
I scream again to the cabbie, “Do you not know where you’re going? Do you think you can stop the fucking cab instead of running up the meter, since you don’t know where the hell you’re going?”
He looks back and glares at me as if I’m the Wicked Witch of the Tenderloin, “I can’t be expected to know every single street in the city of San Francisco.”
I roar, “This is your job. You are a cab driver, right? Don’t you have a map or a phone?!”
No initiative. Instead, he waits for Dean to give him directions and the whole time I’m writhing like a snake ready to bite. We had to make a U-turn, by the way, adding an extra $6 to the fare. Bear with me, it’s not about the money, it’s about accountability!
I know that one of my big character flaws is that I have a short fuse, but I absolutely cannot stand incompetence. It is a taxi driver’s job to know addresses and sure, I get it if he doesn’t know every single one, but at least have a map on-hand to figure it out. This is not something specialized like anesthesiology or finding the cure for cancer. This is driving a car. Something that 16-year-olds across America know how to do, and they don’t even get paid! If being a taxi driver is your bread and butter, then please have some competence in it! ARGH!!! Bullshit does not sit well with me.
That would have driven me crazy too. I don’t expect my cab drivers to know EVERY place I ask them to take me, but I do expect them to have a GPS if they aren’t as familiar with the area. Geez…
After all the screaming, it’s actually me who feels bad! And I’m not even the one who’s incompetent!
Oh man, that would have had me fuming and my blood pressure would have been through the roof. Couldn’t agree with you more that he should definitely know where he is going, that is his job!!
Janine, I think most people agree with me, but why is it that I am always the one yelling? Gosh, I need a chill pill.
I would have been fuming too. I hate wasting money. Why wouldn’t cab drivers have GPS for those times when they don’t know where they are going?!!
Exactly, you’d think they would have back up GPS devices!
You would be the contestant on Amazing Race that gets stuck with the crappy cabbies. A show that proves crappy cabbies are indeed universal.
Haha, I would be the contestant who is always having a major conniption or hissy fit. I would so lose.
I love this. It’s so true, c’mon man, take a little initiative! I betcha a small part of you wanted to boot him out of the cab and drive yourself there with the help of Dean’s phone. 🙂
More like, a big part of me wanted to kick his ass. I hate getting upset, but I can’t help it!