You HAVE to drive me home!!

[Slave to the Phone]

Many years back, our daily driver was a 2 door jeep wrangler. They don't have a lot of room for cargo or passengers. One day, we had loaded up our weekly grocery shopping into the back when a woman we didn't know came running up to us with a full shopping cart and asked us to take her home because she had bought too much to take on the bus.

When we refused (for many reasons including not wanting a strange woman in our jeep, no room for her stuff and her, not wanting to drive 20 miles in the other direction from our home, etc.) she cursed at us, told us that we were not good Christians or good Americans and started to cry.

Then she grabbed her shopping cart and ran over to someone else who was loading up their car.

Sorry lady. Poor planning on your part etc.

I did feel badly for her until she started screaming at us, but honestly, she knew that she was riding the bus when she got to the store. She knew how many bags she could carry. Why would she expect strangers to accommodate her lack of planning?

Dang, nevermind. I forgot where I was!

[CyberLurch]

One day, we had loaded up our weekly grocery shopping into the back when a woman we didn't know came running up to us with a full shopping cart and asked us to take her home because she had bought too much to take on the bus.
8<---------------------------------------------
Sorry lady. Poor planning on your part etc.

NOT poor planning. Habitual exploitation of the charity of others. This was a 'thing' a few years ago where I used to live. I was approached with this con several times.

The store I used to shop at actually posted a bulletin in their window after a couple of charitable souls got carjacked.

[WishfulSpirit]

I keep the business card of a local cab company in my wallet for situations like this. I don't have a car anyway, so it rarely comes up, but if it does, here's the card. The fact that it's the cab company that likes to pad the meter? I didn't know that.

[Mr Hero]

The fact that it's the cab company that likes to pad the meter? I didn't know that.

I wonder if it's the same one I'm thinking of. I rarely have to take a taxi, but the one that stands out is I was taking a cab to my hotel. Cab pulls into the parking lot. Rather than go straight to the front canopy, he circles around to the back, then swings around the front. This seemed to serve no other purpose than to pad the meter. Wonder if it's the same one.

[Sapphire Silk]

This player picked up about $10 from his stack and handed it to the broke player. He looked at the chips and put them both on the table and lost them.

"Now I really am walking home."
"Yep"

This is someone who should not gamble.

I wonder if it's the same one I'm thinking of. I rarely have to take a taxi, but the one that stands out is I was taking a cab to my hotel. Cab pulls into the parking lot. Rather than go straight to the front canopy, he circles around to the back, then swings around the front. This seemed to serve no other purpose than to pad the meter. Wonder if it's the same one.

I would be calling the manager straightaway if a cabbie pulled that one. That's pretty blatant.

[gerund]

This is someone who should not gamble.

All casinos are full of these people.

[CyberLurch]

(Quoth gerund)
"Now I really am walking home."
"Yep"

This is someone who should not gamble.

Indeed so; however, gambling addiction is very real, very destructive, and very hard to break. 'Reason' is sacrificed in pursuit of another roll of the dice. The unlucky gambler in the story certainly fits the profile. A 20-mile hike home is/was probably not enough to convince him that he has a problem. Most with this addiction have to lose absolutely everything before they admit there's a problem, or take steps to fix it.

[greek_jester]

I wonder if it's the same one I'm thinking of. I rarely have to take a taxi, but the one that stands out is I was taking a cab to my hotel. Cab pulls into the parking lot. Rather than go straight to the front canopy, he circles around to the back, then swings around the front. This seemed to serve no other purpose than to pad the meter. Wonder if it's the same one.

Back when I used to have to get taxis I had a driver who tried to do that to me. On the one occasion he tried it on with me I called the control room while I was still in the back seat as he took me via the scenic route and explained exactly what was happening. They told me to pay no more than I would normally pay (about £5) and he would have to cover the rest. Never tried it again, although I only got stuck with him one more time

[KuariKaydrith]

I take taxis on a regular basis to get to work as the first bus of the day would get me to work late. I've had a couple of drivers try to pad the fare by taking the scenic route and then argue with me when I refuse to pay more than it should have cost - I sit there as they radio into dispatch about it, and chuckle when the dispatch reminds them that I am a regular and know exactly how much it costs to get to work. Usually I never see that particular driver again, and when I get one of my usual drivers they let me know that that the driver who tried to screw me over is in the process of having his runs audited. At least three have been let go over it. I should feel bad, but I really don't - they are the ones doing the stupid things, not me.

[WishfulSpirit]

I use Uber to get to my train when I work evenings. I really like the way they work. If you have a driver who does that, rate them a 3 or below and you'll never see that driver again. I've never had a problem with uber drivers though, even though it's a short trip.

[Mr Hero]

I would be calling the manager straightaway if a cabbie pulled that one. That's pretty blatant.

I hope I don't open a can of worms here because the subject has been done to death on these forums and others, but when that happened, I only paid the fare, and not a penny more.

[Sapphire Silk]

Indeed so; however, gambling addiction is very real, very destructive, and very hard to break. 'Reason' is sacrificed in pursuit of another roll of the dice. The unlucky gambler in the story certainly fits the profile. A 20-mile hike home is/was probably not enough to convince him that he has a problem. Most with this addiction have to lose absolutely everything before they admit there's a problem, or take steps to fix it.

They should play role playing games instead then. All the juicy satisfaction of rolling the dice, and if you make a bad roll the only thing you lose is a character.

Although that can be pretty traumatic too.

[Racket_Man]

The only times I have to take a taxi is during the winter when I can not ride my bike to pick up my car at my mechanics or when I drop my car off in the middle of the night after work. I know exactly how much the fare will be as it is a straight line run of about 2 miles on a semi-main road to my house. I will always throw in a very good tip as yes taxi drivers do live for tips as do I and they have to put up with crazier things than I do a lot of times.

[Air_Stewardess]

When I was doing some recruitment of new cabin crew for my airline, of the lead assessors was explaining what kind of answers to the question "tell me about the time you gave outstanding customer service" were appropriate.

She actually used the line "giving a customer a lift home" and I had candidates saying that in interview - I hope they were making it up as I've seen that as a possible answer to the question on flight attendant discussion pages online.

So - if you had used that example on a cabin crew assessment day but say you gave the creepy, entitled old guy a lift - you would have got a big tick for that question!

[wolfie]

When I was doing some recruitment of new cabin crew for my airline, of the lead assessors was explaining what kind of answers to the question "tell me about the time you gave outstanding customer service" were appropriate.

How would this fit in? When I was working with computers, one of my co-workers was virtually blind (had a VERY expensive setup in the office to accommodate him). He needed to install our in-house electronic mail system at home, and I was assigned to make up a set of install floppies to give him. The installation process required swapping the disks several times.

I dug out my Olfa knife and cut some small notches in the edges of the labels (one notch for disk 1, two for disk 2, and three for disk 3), and told him about the notches when I gave him the disks (he ran his finger over the edges to feel the notches). His text-to-voice system at home would ask for the disk in an audible manner, and the disks were identified in a tactile manner.

As for the issue of cabbies taking the scenic route, for a while when I went to visit family I'd catch a cab to the terminal where I'd catch the airport bus (cheaper than full cab ride). One time, coming home, I called from the platform to get a cab (by habit, I dealt with the cab company that my first employer used for on-the-job rides). Dispatcher wouldn't send a cab from the taxi stand around the corner to pick me up from the sidewalk at the bus driveway. Had to haul all my stuff to the taxi stand, made a beeline for the third cab in line (first 2 were the cab company that refused to send a cab to pick me up). Driver was surprised (looked like a slow night, and he expected to wait quite a while before getting a fare), guys in front of him were pissed. Hell, it wasn't a case of HIM jumping the line, it was ME choosing which cab to hire. Once in the cab, I told him what had happened, and he wasn't surprised. For years afterward, that was the cab company I dealt with.

Another trip, and I told the cabbie I wanted to be dropped off for the airport shuttle. He apologized, the terminal had recently been renovated and he didn't know exactly where was the right spot. I told him that I knew that, and had made a scouting trip (by city bus) the week before - directed him to the driveway for the bus (he couldn't go in, but he could and did drop me off beside the driveway, where it was a VERY short walk to the platform). Of course, this meant that he now knew where to drop off other people wanting to catch the shuttle.