After waiting 20 minutes for my taxi, I called back to see how much longer I had to wait. When I asked the dispatcher (who I will leave unnamed) how much longer I had to wait I was told that she “could not just pull a time out of her ass” and that my cab would “get there when it gets there”. When I told her she need not be snarky about it, she replied with: “Oh wait, did I hear you say to cancel your cab? I just want to make sure you want me to cancel your call, because I can do that you know.”
After being treated in such a manner, I proceeded to call the supervisor the next morning. When I called and told her of the appalling happenings of the day before, I was told by the supervisor “I don’t believe you, our (insert dispatch name) would never act like that unprovoked” and proceeded to make several excuses for any “possible rudeness that may have occurred”. I was interrupted and talked over several times.
I am appalled and severely offended that I was outright told I was lying by the supervisor, not to mention the dispatcher’s miserable behavior on the day of the call. —Upset wishing you had not called me a liar
This article appears in Jan 6-12, 2011.
There’s limited amount of taxi service in this city. So yes…you’re going to wait! Next time call ahead and try to pre-book the time you are anticipating to leave (and maybe they will be there close to it). The dispatcher is not paid the largest of salaries….and it’s not a job that resumes are coming in left right and centre for….so they picked someone who knows the city (to an extent)…has a nice phone voice…and doesn’t take shit off the drivers…or customers. You were probably one of several customers that called and were pushy and she snapped at you. Unfortunately there’s a little less supply then demand in this city. Next time choose a different cab company.
Maybe bitch at the city to fix the problem – ie issue more permits and let the market handle itself. Enough with the bitchy cab drivers who are third generation light owners who say no more licenses being issued because it will hurt their livlihood. Look at toronto, get a cab any time you want by just sticking your arm out. They treat you shittily? you get out and take another one. The ones with good service makes a good living – like any other business.
and Eff Off if you pick my spelling and or grammar apart.
Bitch at the city all you want. Problem is the commission. Not to mention the drivers only work the set times they want too….so even though there’s enough licensed taxis in the city…sometimes only 25% are on the roads if that.
I don’t think it’s very fair that you were treated so rudely OP, but since there isn’t a huge amount of competition in the taxi business, I’m not sure there’s anything you can do about it. Basically the only way you can complain to the city is if someone refuses to pick you up based on discrimination, as far as I know. I’m not sure if your tone of voice conveyed something to the dispatcher or if they were having a bad day, but in the future I would be VERY polite.
Most cell phones have the option to record the call.
Better yet, try requesting a “non-smoking” taxi……because there aren’t any.
I was thinking the same thing Sebastian. It is a law that you cannot smoke in any public passenger vehicle in this city…but everywhere you turn there’s a cab driver with a smoke hanging out their mouth.
This is 100 % the Mayor & councilors FAULT. The taxi business should be like any other, supply & demand. There are too few taxi’s at night & when the weathers bad, because of the limits placed there by city hall. Taxi drivers decide to stay off the roads, there’s no one left to pick up the slack.
Way past time to open it up to those who want to try to make money driving others where ever they want to go, all you need today is a cell phone & you’re in business. Shutting down cab companies monopolies is what’s really needed.
OB I have the celphone numbers to 3 different cab drivers in Halisux. I never call the dispatch, I call drivers directly.
One great part of that ,the driver will be able to tell you how long he thinks he’ll be…because he knows where he is & what he’s presently up to & can figure out roughly how long it’ll take.
For me it works very well.
It isn’t rocket surgery people !
… so I have a taxi bitch as well. I requested the taxi guy call us to tell us he was there. He called, I put my coat on and shoes then walked out about 30 secs – 1 min later. Apparently that was too much time to wait. He drove away, waved and said bye (loud enough for me to be certain it wa bye) … I stood there like … wtfffff
the problem is, actually, the fault of the company. If it’s a Dartmouth cab company, it has this issue…they’re all related! In discussion with a driver one day he told me all the office staff are related in one way or another, they only worry about getting fares for those that owe them money, and the good drivers don’t always get treated right. Why don’t they leave you ask? Because there’s only one cab company for Dartmouth and if you have you driver’s license for Dartmouth you’re stuck.
want to make some money? Open a cab co for Dartmouth/county. You’ll have drivers lined up wanting you to be their dispatcher!
Welcome to Halifax. We are soooooooooooo nice. And we work hard too.
My wife was treated like that at a local hairdresser (I can’t call it a salon since the bitch that owns it is such a douche I won’t give her the dignity).
We never went back. I know you don’t have that option with a taxi, you almost have to start recording all your calls like when you call a bank…
well guess what? you can not call ahead to book a taxi I’m told… just tried. idiots. so I can’t book one ahead of time nor can I expect one to arive ON TIME… Nice.
Call a limo. You can pre-arrange them and they will be on time. Bitch.
Frenchie – Realy?!!? That sucks, I’ve always pre-booked my cabs to the airport.
you know what o.p., i don’t feel for you at all. having driven hack years back for ace/village in fairview, i know what happens if you get stuck in traffic, behind a slow moving asshole, get caught in a snowstorm, and yes, even having a fucking flat or mechanical troubl. and the there are the busy tmes. when i drove, there was less than 250 cabs in all halifax, now there are about 1,000, and all require their drivers follow rules as best as they can. have a beef, get a bus, or buy a car next time, and add to the fucking congestion, that is halisucks traffic.
If this happened to me, I would be upset too OB. That is very rude and screwed up behaviour, and the fact that the supervisor didn’t give a shit says it all. I’ve only taken a cab a handful of times in halifax so far, always casino, they’ve been fast and friendly, so I always tip. Hope you have better service next time.
I’m pretty sure the calls are recorded. At least, my calls have always been recorded for two seperate cab companies in Halifax. I had to make two complaints (something I try never to do), and the supervisor was great and emailed me the recordings and apologized.
LS, don’t forget the witch on the phone. That shit is uncalled for.
I think the way OP was treated was the main complaint here, LS. I’d be a bit concerned too if I had to wait that long in my area (cabs are usually here within 5 minutes), so maybe 20 minutes is an inordinate amount of time for her to wait given past experiences. 20 minutes in other locations around HRM isn’t that long at all. It all depends on area (2 hour wait in BLIP at the Superstore one night — and no we didn’t wait, we took our grocery cart and wheeled it back to the apartment down on Caxton by the Sobeys at 10:30pm when we lived there back in the day. When we got home it had been 2 hours since we called and they said we were “still in the queue.” And yes, we made sure the cart got back to Superstore — a guy used to come by our building weekly to round the carts up and bring them back).
I’m not sure how OP came off to the dispatcher — we’re only getting one side here, but from what I can tell, they weren’t rude or complaining, per se, they were just inquiring as to how much longer the taxi would be.
So chill, Suckers. Chill.
kitty, it just reenforces what i said about major fuckups going on. you can have a guy trying to get to you, but due to unforseen reasons, gets there late. there is no need to bitch at a dispatcher for any reason. they are not the ones driving cab. they take your name, send to computer in cab, first and closet picks you up. that’s how it generally works. now if say the dispatcher had a bad time wife the mate, then they could be kinda testy. i’ve had that happen on a couple of occasions and said hey, no problem
if this was about a bus, i could fathom their angst, but we are talking taxis here. so in light of any commenters saying that the business sucks, i will say t one and all.JUST FUCKING TRY IT FOR A DAY, DRIVING A BUS TOO. bet you would be puloling your hair out and in a mental ward very fucking quick.
and let’s not forget time of day, area, and murders and robberies of late to cab drivers.TRY IT, I DARE YOU, THEN COME AND TELL US HOW YOUR DAY WAS.
Call Breakaway. P will take care of you… and he’s a nice guy to boot!
c’mon everybody!, let’s play the blame game….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9_3zpGFC38
If you’re in Dartmouth, you are calling a monopoly with no oversight, let alone competition – why else do you think they can get away with such poor service?
If you’re a loser on the go, write down this number.
Then ram the pencil right through your prick.
We don’t have to be nice to you, you motherf!@#$%^.
That’s ###-You make us sick, Or ###-you can suck my dick!
lolwut?
ivan, you are as ever the true poet bard.
Merci Lifey. You guys set the bar high. Did you find any Seuss; like I said in an earlier post all our kids books are at our sister shop a block away. When I checked on Saturday she had about 2 dozen, new and used.
O-Man – its a (very) unauthorized parody of the jingle used by a local company back in the 80’s.
Yeah I got that it was a parody of the jingle for a certain local cab company, it was just sort of random and came out of nowhere.
I’m cold and there are wolves after me….. >; )
Hi folks.
Ivan, “I’m cold and there are wolves after me” makes me think of Little Red Riding Hood (I know it’s really lyrics).
Come inside dear, sit by my fire where it’s safe and warm.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elliott-back/…
Oh, now she’s tasty. AaaaaaRoooooooooooooooooo !
she was good in this movie too
http://www.nachtkabarett.com/ihvh/img/nk_t…
I never wait more then 5-10 mins for a cab.. And always call from one of two numbers, and they always remember me. Likely because I’m polite, and I tip well.
I hate how these bithcers always make it seem like they are totally innocent, when they were probably being just a rude to create such a reaction.
Sounds to me like the dispatcher put you in your place, and the supervisor doesn’t give two shits about you over their dispatcher who has likely been working there for YEARS.
Hey, Kid, your Mom and Dad don’t count.
LOL.
I’ve had pretty good experiences with cabs in Halifax AND Dartmouth. I had one cabbie who bitched about me using debit once, but other than that they’ve been really nice. And I actually *have* had a smoke free cab a few times!
I take cabs quite a bit, once twice a week and rarely have any problems. I use a bit of common sense as well, if it’s a snow storm, I don’t get my groceries, cause the cabs will be impossible to get.
I find if I am courteous to the cabbies, it is usually reciprocated.
I can’t tell you how many cabbies, have helped to open the door to my apartment building, when I am loaded down with groceries.
Sorry for what happened with the dispatcher and supervisor.
PS I even had my wallet returned with all valuables intact.
Thanks Bob’s Taxi in Dartmouth!!!!
the folks i know who take cabs on a regular basis have several private numbers they rely on. they tip well and don’t spew