chicago cabbies are whining
taking my daily romp around the news links, i found this article in the chi-trib. in case you dont feel like getting infuriated yourself, i'll summarize: chicago cabbies are getting stiffed for tips and consequently are working more hours each day. they are attempting to organize themselves to prevent 14 hour work days and promote better tips.
i'm all for organizing. especially if it creates a flock of cabbies that actually care for their customers. it might be just me, but 7 of the 8 last times i've been in cabs, i've: 1. feared for my life 2. almost puked from motion sickness 3. been treated rudely by the driver. my desire to tip after these experiences is greatly lacking.
there have been articles out there on why tipping is good, and why tipping is bad. the socialist part of me thinks service would be altogether better if tipping were banned completely. the capitalist part of me clings for dear life to $5 from the tip bowl after kowtowing to richie rich for 30 min. but please note that last part of the sentence: kowtowing. i may not respect mr. rich for his compensation-sports-vehicle or his derogatory comments about "those less fortunate", but i do believe in providing quality service.
mr. rich may or may not leave me a tip, but i know that i've smiled and helped him to the best of my ability. of course i grumble when i give out $10 of free samples and receive nada in return (or worse yet - no sale). but this job is satisfactory to me because i know i do a good job. does this work ethic not transfer to other cultures? is being a good cabbie really that unrewarding that you wish to provide the shittiest service possible to all humans, no matter how nice they are to you?
i know cabs are notorious for poor service, but this article really did me in. i have a hard time feeling sorry for kahlid's 14 hour day when it's probably a fair assumption that in that 14 hour day, he scared 10 clients shitless. perhaps we're the ones that should unite? i can see the picket signs now: "scared shitless = shitty fare!!", "drive fair, get fare!!"
somehow though... i dont think it'll work...
posted by dr gonzo at 9:42 AM
5 Comments:
is this racist? can we talk about racism?
12:24 PM
geez... read the article - kahlid is a commenter... duh. :o)
8:58 PM
Yeah I take cabs all the time, and mostly I don't have much of a problem. I do tip less though if I someones irratates me. like on july 3rd that was just crazyness. all in all though I've have quite successful cab trips. Sure they talk on the phone but they get me home quicker than the train and that makes me happy.
1:20 AM
Ok that comment really annoys me. No, it isn't racist. I would go on a rant at this point, but it's not my blog.
And I totally agree with you. In fact there was a recent article about tip jars and when we are obliged to pay in. Maybe cabbies should just raise their rates if they aren't making enough. It's called capitalism, deal with it.
5:23 PM
aren't you going to update this thing its been a few months you know.
11:30 PM
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