Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Taxi drivers

Maybe I am simply getting too old but the idea of catching the skybus to and from the airport has become less and less appealing.

Nowadays, I tend to catch a taxi, especially if it's a work trip. And for the most part, I've had very few dramas. That was until my most recent taxi trip back from the airport.

It was my own stupidity really. I caught the taxi to the airport when I went to Brisbane last week and the same driver that took me to the airport also offered to pick me up and bring me home upon my return.

Big mistake.

First...a bit of context. The taxi rank outside the arrivals terminal is very convenient and passengers barely have to wait a few minutes because there is almost always a steady stream of taxis coming through. So...pre-booking a taxi is totally unnecessary.

Given that I had pre-booked my taxi, I had to walk to a different part of the airport. And, of course, my taxi driver was nowhere to be seen. He sent another colleague to collect me and I never saw the taxi. Tens of text messages and phone calls later, he offered to come and pick me up himself. I waited and waited (Nathan called me an idiot). Eventually, I gave up and walked back to the regular taxi rank. And 'yes', just as I was about to hop into a regular taxi, the original guy calls and says he has arrived. Too late. I was gone.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

You ended up in a mess because you are a nice guy. Expanding what you say, never get attached to a hairdresser or a particular business or a taxi/uber driver.

Victor said...

I've heard a number of similar stories. Having your own dial up taxi - other than a Uber, of which I know very little so far - seems an attractive idea but apparently is less so in reality.

Adaptive Radiation said...

I've learn't my lesson.