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Bllarrgghhhh...
Traveling sucks. But I try to make the best of my random ventures around the west coast as of late. So to preface all of this:
-Not much sleep night before due to randomly getting insomnia at hotel.
-4 or so hours sitting in airport due to delayed flight.
-3 hour flight on which I couldn't really sleep
So anyway, I land and scurry off the plane as fast as I possibly can. Rush rush rush go go go bathroom rush rush rush go go go taxis! As I approach the big pile of cabs, the closest driver waves me over. I hand him my luggage, he piles it in the back, and turns back to me to ask my destination. "Cottonwood resorts," I tell him, "do you need the address?"
English is clearly not his strong point. "No... no I know where go."
So I hop in, and we pull out of the airport and start driving. Less than a minute down the road he turns the meter on and says "Oh, forgot meter, first mile free."
"No complaints here!" I reply. Whoooo.
He starts fiddling with his GPS navigator. Goes to hotels, enters "Cotonwod", and presses search. It takes him about a full minute to type this in, as he does so in between randomly changing lanes and drifting around a bit. I get a bit nervous, as he's clearly not watching the road well enough, but whatever, he's still alive, right? We'll be fine.
Naturally, no search results pop up on his gps. I contemplate informing him of his spelling errors, but I figured it might be kinda rude, as he obviously can't spell for shit. He tries again. "Cotton..." huzzah, he remembered the 2nd T. And then finishes with, I shit you not, "wud". No results again.
"Would the address help?" I ask. "nono" he replies.
A minute later he asks, "What is number?"
"Pardon?"
"Address number."
I give it to him. It ends in a 0, which is right above the "back button". I then watch him as he types the city name, hits next, (all the while paying little attention to the road, drifting occasionally into another lane, etc), types the number, and misses the '0' button and hits back. He tries again. Same result. And again. And again, I shit you not, repeats the *same* mistake a 4th time, looking increasingly confused by the minute.
BBABSHSHSHHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRNNNNNNNT. The wheels drift onto those grooves in the side of the road to wake you up if you're drifting.
"Would you like me to type it?" At this point, I'm getting kind of nervous.
"No no". On the 5th attempt, he succeeds, and we're finally navigating successfully to my destination. Phew. Eventually we arrive.
"Hokai sweetie here we are."
Sweetie? Really? Not particularly fond of being addressed as such by a strange man I don't know, but whatever, it's been a long day, and I'm just glad I arrived in one piece.
The meter shows $25.37. I hand him $6 as tip, (he clearly isn't doing too well in life), and then pass him 2 20's and ask for change.
"How much you want pay?" he says, half question half statement.
"Huh? Um, the fare...?"
"Should be about 40."
"Uh, the meter says 25"
"Yes but it should be closer to 40."
"No. The meter says 25."
"Oh you give me 46."
"No, that's", (pointing at the singles I gave him), "for you. This is to pay the fare. Can I get my change please."
"How much you want back."
"Um, 14.63?"
"No no meter should be about 40. I forget turn on early"
"You turned the meter on less than a mile from the airport. Where are you getting that extra 15?"
"Yes sweetheart, but trip this far should be 40."
Sweetheart now? Classy.
"No, I'm paying what it says on the meter."
He looks upset.
"Fine. How much change you want."
"40, minus the fare. You owe me 14.63"
He rustles around in his wallet and hands me $15. I bit back a handful of insults, took the money, and got out of the cab. The poor luggage-helper-guy was standing there watching/listening to the whole fiasco, clearly feeling too awkward to say anything.
T_T I should have like, not tipped him at all or something. It's just been a fucking long day. I think I'm going to go spoil myself with a nice dinner or something.
TL;DR I need to learn to be more forceful with strangers. T_T
 
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Canada9720 Posts
it was nice of you to tip the guy. i'm a little surprised a cabbie would act like that in north america. you might want to phone his company and tell them how he acted on your arrival. that kind of gimmicky half-attempt at extortion has happened to me a number of times when travelling, but yeah, not here.
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Why do you dislike when strangers address you as "sweetheart", honey?
Isn't it like a compliment that he finds you attractive?
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I REALLY hate when cab drivers only carry 5$ and up, such assholes. Driving is so easy too..
also seriously Shauni? Would you rather be called sweetheart, baby, cutie from someone you don't know or miss, missus, maam?
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I've been in a similar situation. The cab driver didn't know how to get from Chicago O'Hare to Northwestern University. It was a nightmare ... took way longer than normal and I got to my dorm early in the morning.
It's good you stood your ground (unlike me =/). Report these types of cab drivers if you can.
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Your blog succeeded in getting Party in the USA stuck in my head 
I hopped off the plane at LAX with a dream and my cardigan
Welcome to the land of fame, excess, whoa am I gotta fit in?
Jumped in the cab, here I am for the first time
Look to my right, and I see the Hollywood sign
This is all so crazy, everybody seems so famous
My tummy's turnin' and I'm feelin' kinda homesick
Too much pressure and I'm nervous
That's when the taxi man turned on the radio
And the Jay-Z song was on
And the Jay-Z song was on
And the Jay-Z song was on
So I put my hands up, they're playin' my song
The butterflies fly away
I'm noddin' my head like "Yeah!"
Movin' my hips like "Yeah!"
Got my hands up, they're playin' my song
And now I'm gonna be okay
Yeah! It's a party in the USA!
Yeah! It's a party in the USA!
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Sounds terrible.. Good that you refused to pay extra. I might have just gone with it; I'm not too assertive in those kinds of situations.
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On January 24 2011 09:35 Shauni wrote:
Why do you dislike when strangers address you as "sweetheart", honey?
Isn't it like a compliment that he finds you attractive?
Har har.
Yes, in fact, it is a bit annoying from strange older men I don't know.
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On January 24 2011 09:36 Terrakin wrote:
I REALLY hate when cab drivers only carry 5$ and up, such assholes. Driving is so easy too..
also seriously Shauni? Would you rather be called sweetheart, baby, cutie from someone you don't know or miss, missus, maam?
It depends if you're a guy or a girl. For some reason it seems demeaning when it's a girl being called those names but if it's a guy (even if it's those names you listed), it's just jokes.
Sucks that you happened to get that guy as your driver. I'm sure the "sweetheart" and "honey" were a lot more annoying considering his poor attitude.
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Korea (South)11602 Posts
hey hun don't forget to come back to DC for some dinners. It should be like $11 sweetie, but that's only after 10.
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Croatia9566 Posts
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This is an important message about sexual harassment.
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haha you're too nice, I wouldn't have tipped.
Do you think him starting the meter late and fiddling around with the gps was a way to try and trick you into paying extra from the get-go or did he look totally incompetent as well lol.
Either way we're all glad you got to your destination in one piece! <3
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On January 24 2011 11:03 Masamune wrote:
haha you're too nice, I wouldn't have tipped.
Do you think him starting the meter late and fiddling around with the gps was a way to try and trick you into paying extra from the get-go or did he look totally incompetent as well lol.
Either way we're all glad you got to your destination in one piece! <3
Not quite sure. If I had to guess, I'd say he was just a bit crippled in the head.
On January 24 2011 10:07 CaucasianAsian wrote:
hey hun don't forget to come back to DC for some dinners. It should be like $11 sweetie, but that's only after 10.
Only if you buy me dinner, darlin'.
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Thats why whenever i pay for something that requires a tip, I'll just do it all at once instead of adding the tip on top ie: Something costs 12 bucks, I'll just give a 20 and say can I get 5 dollars back. Done.
Get back to DC, we need more korean bbq and Chris is a noob
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I'll be back in MD Tuesday night, so, yay. Sooooo looking forward to being home. Past month of travel has killed me. Exhausted, too many hotels/planes, I must absolutely look a fright.
And I just realized a better reply to CA's post would have been "Et tu, Chris?"
Fffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu......
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If it's a taxi rank at an airport, go to the front of the line, not with the random guy who tries to wave you over. The drivers are supposed to wait their turn, and you usually don't want the driver who is willing to piss all the other drivers off.
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Wow, taxi cab drivers are the lowest of the low in US. For a job where the only qualifications is having eyes and arms, why do they even expect tips? lol? It's not like you're giving me a blowjob while driving the cab or providing any extraordinary service for me, except getting me from point A to point B.
I mean at least in other countries the cabbies that drive you around know the area by heart and don't need GPS to show them the way. If I have to tell a cabby how to get to the destination, then he's getting 0% tip. It's that easy.
And arguing about the cost? What a dick.
I should have like, not tipped him at all or something.
Cabbies don't deserve tips.
Unless they drive you to the airport going twice the speed limit without getting pulled over.
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Hm, now I feel bad about calling you names like that in the pornography blog a week or two ago... >.>
Where have you been traveling to?
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On January 24 2011 14:11 LazyMacro wrote:
Hm, now I feel bad about calling you names like that in the pornography blog a week or two ago... >.>
Where have you been traveling to?
Anchorage first, then the "San Juan Islands" off coast of Washington state, and now Phoenix. Can't wait to be home though, eesh.
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EPT
