thought provokes!...
Miami does not allow Lyft or Uber to pick customers up at the airport. After flying all day, I collected my luggage and went out to the cab line. I walked up, asked my cabbie if he had AC and told him where I was going. He said of course he had AC and didn't know where exactly I lived. I explained it in 4 VERY simple directions. You simply take the 112 to 95 North exit #, then go East to to beach.
From the minute I get in the cab, I am sweating like a piggie in heat! There is no AC and he is too busy on the phone speaking Creole to someone. Did I mention he could barely speak English? He's on the phone blabbing away, I am melting in the rear of the cab about ready to pass out because the cab smells of dirty shorts, ethnic food and what may or may not be BO. My nostrils were burning! We get on the expressway and he exits early! I said this isn't exit #bla :Oh yes it is!" My response: No it's not.. I live here, you had no idea where this was and I am telling you if you go this way it will add several minutes and $9 to my already ridiculous cab fare! He is still on the phone... I shout (and this is so un-JStar style!!!) Get off the F-ing phone! You have no AC, your cab smells like a wet tiger (Ya, that actually came out of my mouth) and you have no idea where anything is in Miami. I gave you 4 very simple exact instructions and you can't manage to read the numbers on the exit sign. Please go straight, get back on the highway make the next exit then go East. Uncomfortable silence followed. Meanwhile my mother called me to ask whats taking me so long to get home and am I safe. I said who knows, the cab driver has taken the wrong exit and wants to go through the hood! We finally get to my place, the total: $47.45. I handed him $57 and said "Honestly, you are the worst cab driver I have ever had, but I shouldn't have yelled at you. Rather than not tip you for not listening and talking on your phone, I am hoping that you will be a better driver in the future for someone else." Harsh? Absolutely! Here's the thing. If I take a Lyft to the airport, it's about $15- sometimes even $7-8 if they are offering discounts. Uber is $21-22. Both are great and the drivers have new CLEAN cars, AC, can speak English and have GPS! Amazing!!! Some of the drivers even offer water. You can see what your driver looks like, what car they are driving and the license plate. You can also see where they are so you know exactly when they will arrive. The point of this rant? Who wants to pay more than double to take a smelly, hot ride with someone who doesn't know where they are going, may or may not speak English and is just rude? You might say, Jamie... this is a one time thing... nope... sadly I have to take cabs home from the airport a minimum of 4 times and month and I have even worse stories! This was just the latest and the very first time I actually yelled at the driver. (That was wrong of me, I blame it on the Super Blood Moon!) The cab companies complain about companies like Lyft and Uber but at the end of the day they offer a much better, cheaper and more efficient service- isn't that capitalism at it's best? Healthy competition. Comments are closed.
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