Top five cities for taxi drivers (and the bottom end, too)

by Tom Johansmeyer on

When you step into a cab, you never know what you’re going to find. The driver could be knowledgeable, helpful, pleasant and safe. Or, he could lead you into a fender-bender in minutes. It’s a real roll of the dice, of course, though some cities’ cabbies are certainly better than others – at least that’s what hotels.com found.

In a study of world’s taxi drivers, hotels.com found that London’s are tops. But, you get what you pay for: London‘s taxis were also the most expensive. New York came in second, with 27 percent of the vote (compared to London’s overwhelming 59 percent). New York’s drivers ticked up 10 percentage points, but this still wasn’t enough to break the tie it scored with Paris for having the rudest cabbies. Rome picked up the dubious distinction of having the worst drivers.

Tokyo (26 percent), Berlin (17 percent) and Bangkok (14 percent) round out the world’s top five.

Madrid took sixth, followed by Copenhagen, Dublin, Frankfurt and Paris. So, Denmark may be happier, but Spain has better cab drivers.

Of course, there’s always one you should look out for …


[photo by Ben Fredericson via Flickr]

Don’t get ripped off by taxi drivers – International travel tip

by Gadling Staff on

Here are three tips for avoiding getting ripped off by taxi drivers in foreign countries:

1.) Before getting in a taxi that doesn’t use a meter, make sure you agree on the fare with the driver so you won’t get a surprise at the end of the ride.

2.) To avoid misunderstandings, have the hotel staff write the addresses of your destination and the hotel in the local language so you can show it to the taxi driver. Also, carry a map with the locations circled to show the driver in case they are not in a popular area.

3.) Carry bills in small denominations and change to pay; drivers often don’t carry change for large bills… or say they don’t.

Honest people still exist – NYC Cabbie returns handbag with $21,000 in cash

by Scott Carmichael on

When Bangladeshi cabbie Mukul Asadujjaman found a handbag containing $21,000 in cash, passports and jewelry in the back of his cab, he could have shrugged and handed it in to lost and found. Some cabbies may even have decided it was their lucky day, and pocketed the cash.

Mr. Asadujjaman did the best possible thing – he drove 50 miles to the original pickup address, left his phone number, and reunited the owners with their property. He wouldn’t even accept a reward, turning it down saying that as a Muslim he could not accept it.

Of course, this should serve as a reminder to anyone with that much cash, that carrying it in a handbag in a New York cab is a really bad idea.

The money belonged to an Italian family, visiting the United States, and the loss of all their money and passports would have severely screwed up their plans. Kudos to Mr. Asadujjaman, it really is refreshing to see that honest people still exist.%Gallery-67351%

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Five ways to spot awful customer service

by Tom Johansmeyer on

When I think I might have problems with patience, my wife is always happy to confirm it for me. Since I hate to wait in line, expect employees to know what they are doing and always be having a good day (at least as far as I can see), my standards are sometimes ridiculously high – and my moods similarly foul. Unfortunately, this sometimes leads to a bit of mercy. Sometimes, in a fit of sanity, I realize that I may be overreacting. When this happens, I usually give an inept service provider a pass.

So, how can you tell? You don’t want to be unreasonable with gate agents, concierges and taxi drivers, but you also shouldn’t have to be a pushover. When is it okay to leave a shitty tip? When should you stand up for yourself when a driver doesn’t arrive at your door on time? It can be harder than you think to navigate these areas of travel ethics. So, after the jump, take a look at 10 ways to spot genuinely awful customer service. Even if you are more patient than I am, these are of a caliber that will guarantee you’re not out of your mind for being pissed.

1. You are greeted with some variation of “not my fault”
This one is in the top spot for a reason. There is nothing worse than having a driver, flight attendant or any other travel industry employee use those three words. Why? There very utterance implies that there is a problem. Would someone give you a comp’ed spa treatment and say, “Not my fault?” Of course not! Further, the phrase actually puts you on the defensive. You’re mad because you didn’t get what you expected, and the service provider is telling you that what you feel is inappropriate.

Remember: when you pay for a service or item, you are entitled to what you paid for. There’s no way around this. If there is any deviation from that standard, the company you are paying should be singularly focused on making it right – even if the person who is stuck with that burden didn’t play a direct role in creating the problem.

I know that sometimes the person who receives your anger may not deserve it. In the case of my customer service disaster with Carmel Limo over the summer, the driver probably got screwed up by a dispatch department that wasn’t paying attention to detail. But, he needed to remember that he’s in the customer service business. If he had accepted my attitude and tried to make the experience better, Carmel would still have my business … and he would have had a fantastic tip. Instead, both lost.

2. You are told to be happy with what you get
When an airline “comforts” you over a delay by saying, “It could be worse,” or some form of that, you have every right to be angry. When a hotel employee tells you that you should be happy to have a room at all – even if it doesn’t meet your standards – because the hotel is booked or for any other reason, you should be alarmed about the service you’ll receive for the rest of your stay. And, when you are told to live with whatever problems you face in the service for which you have paid, you’re getting screwed.

Any deficiency should be met with a remedy. Ideally, this would entail fixing the problem (e.g., moving you to a room with hot water, to choose a particularly painful example). If that’s not possible, related measures to make your experience better in other ways (from free stuff to upgrades) should be brought to the table.

The more remote the remedy is from the problem, the bigger the incentive should be. I remember staying at a small mid-town Manhattan hotel back in 2003 (can’t remember the name – I stayed in close to 20 in a period of six months). I was only there for a night, and that morning, there was no hot water. None. And, I had to spend most of the day in meetings. Since I booked the room through Hotels.com, the manager said she couldn’t refund me. To make the situation right, all she would say is, “I’ll make it very ‘comfortable’ for you next time you stay.” Did she mean a lower rate? A free night? Two? I have no idea. After persevering 30 seconds in a cold shower before giving up, I didn’t care.

3. You’re not the only one to complain
If you complain to the service provider and hear, “Several of our guests have brought that to our attention, we’re working on it,” be patient. It may be a big problem that requires time and people to address. Yet, as time passes and the number of complainants increases, you’re dealing with a situation that’s unlikely to involve a swift resolution. The longer you wait, the greater the effort the provider should make to appease you. Also, they should do something to make you as comfortable as possible in the interim. If this isn’t happening, you’re getting shafted.

Airlines are the most egregious violators of this rule – and usually combine it with the first point, above. They will tell you that you’re not alone, do nothing to make the experience more comfortable for you and then claim it isn’t their fault. Of course, these companies will tell you that they’d love to help, but airline economics are such that they just can’t afford to. What does this mean? Well, read between the lines: it is a conscious commitment to lousy customer service.

4. You get attitude
Regardless of how big an asshole you may become, there is no reason for a hotel, airline or other travel employee to get visibly irritated or angry with you unless you go too far – which includes physical threats, excessive use of profanity or a voice loud enough to imply a physical threat. If you are in a bad mood, ask firm questions and demand straight answers, you aren’t doing anything wrong. The only appropriate demeanor on the other side of the counter should be to smile and be helpful.

Now, the travel industry folks will claim that the rest of us don’t know how hard it can be. But, I’m pretty sure that the average accountant, attorney, consultant or investment banker – along with many, many other professions – has had to cope with an upset client. The abuse that these guys receive can be incredible, and they sit down, shut up and take it … because of the fees involved, probably. I’ve been there, and most of the people I worked with in my consulting days have been there. When you have an upset (or irate) client, you have to assume that the situation is your fault – even when it isn’t. If your travel-related service provider doesn’t share this belief, you’re right to get angry.

5. Excuses, excuses
When you are given reasons for a particular turn of events but no remedy, you are certain not to be satisfied. Shit happens, as we all know, and it’s incumbent upon every human being to find a way to life with it. Yet, when a situation does go south, the provider should start to find ways to fix the situation. A problem with a reason but no resolution is an excuse. A problem with a reason and a remedy – or at least a way to minimize the pain – builds customer loyalty for a lifetime.

Puking in a Chicago taxicab may soon cost you $50

by Scott Carmichael on

Cab drivers have always had a bit of a conundrum with drunk passengers – they provide a decent chunk of their income, but they also regularly leave other chunks in the back of their cars.

Of all the tasks a cabbie has to deal with, cleaning up someone’s vomit has to be the worst possible one. It’s tough enough when you have to clean up your own mess, but having to scrape puke off the back seat of your car must be pretty miserable. The problem is so bad, that Chicago cabbies are asking the city for permission to charge $50 for anyone that loses their liquid dinner in their vehicle.

Cleaning a soiled cab takes several hours, and a professional vomit cleaning kit costs almost $100. The last thing you want is to try picking up passengers in a vehicle that stinks of puke.

The “vomit surcharge” is just one of many fare hikes the drivers want. The other fees include a $1.50 credit card surcharge, $1 for each additional passenger and a 22% per-mile fee increase. The proposals are under consideration, but there appears to be little support for it.

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