Revenge Against Taxi Drivers

[limbo]

Befoe getting in a cab in BKK, I always ask if they know my destination, if not, I don't get in and get the next one.

 

Leaving the door open is a trick thatshould be only employed with cab drivers in PatPong who don't want to open the meter.

 

Had a good teacher who showed me.

[elef]

Taxi drivers have the car for a 12 hour shift. They must return it to a specific location in the city at a specific time and must have it cleaned before giving it to the other guy to drive. (Most cabs are driven in two shifts by 2 guys and they always use the same vehicle).

 

Hi,

 

I can't say that I know so many taxi drivers in BKK - just 2 over the years but both owned their cars and didn't have any employee or other person sharing the car. And of course they had their cars outside home at night - if not driving.

 

elef

[thai3]

 

 

Some rent some own the cabs. I think it's a case of ha sip ha sip here, while there are a minority of ass hole cab drivers some customers are pretty appalling. I once saw a few guys getting into a taxi at SC but would not until 'turn the fucking music off' was obeyed,british scum sad to say. Had to laugh coming home from bkk last time getting off the bus in asylum city and getting a cab home.This was in worse condition than any cab in LOS, the little shit said the meter was broken, the driver hardly spoke english and no luktung either! Los drivers are a pretty decent lot but if you get a bad one have some dignity and close the door when you get out, why be an ass hole passenger?-peter

[whosyourdaddy]

"The frigging driver made a left at Soi 1 and proceded to drive down to the river, then down Rama IV towards Boss Tower/Tesco, basically in completely the wrong direction, in spite of my protests. "

 

BTW There is an expressway entrance near the TESCO. If he took The road near Sukumvit soi 2 towards rama 4 that would be the first entrance he could get on. He could not get on the rama 4 entrance from that direction He could have taken you to victory momument or Ploenchit entrance but depending on traffic I would have done the same thing that he did. Rama 4 moves most of the time where Sukumvit, Phetburi adn Phayathai are parking lots.

 

" saw the meter was about 260 baht. I think I gave him somewhere around 200"

 

So if you see him, you probably owe him 60 bhat. I bet you he tried to rip some poor guy off just to reclaim his loses that you caused. Maybe the orginal poster got into the cab right after you.

[whosyourdaddy]

It seems that the people who drive in the city side with the driver and the non drivers are siding with the passanger. Everyone has there own view point. I am just really surprised they did not raise the prices of taxis since gas prices are 50% more expensive than 1 -2 years ago. The lucky guys are using Natural gas.

[chilli13]

Doing the slooooow Suk U-turn thingy would be the thai way, while the other is the farang & sensible way IMO.

Seems there's a split in in belief among the drivers as well

 

iuytrede said:

"What gets me is when you say you want to go to soi 11 for example, and they take you to soi 10 instead and expect you to get out, climb stairs, and cross over yourself because they don't want to make a u-turn. This always ends in them either doing it and grumbilng, or accepting 35 baht less than the meter because I will have to get a new taxi. If I wanted to walk, I would've walked. "

 

What gets me is that they almost always want to make this stupid U-turn (takes 15 minutes) and don't let me just walk (takes 1 minute).

[Zaad]

itsmedave said:

HH,

 

By now, you must be learning the lesson I've faced many times. Write anything negative about service in Thailand, and guys will come out of the woodwork to defend all things Thai. I'm surprised that nobody has pulled the "you're a guest here, so you should allow the taxi guys to do whatever they want to you" We have heard that since they make so little money we shouldn't expect good service, and that since Thai's are so dangerous we should be happy they don't stab us every time we get in the car.

 

There's nothing wrong with complaints Davie, I quite complain a lot myself.

I think what got most members going here is the way HH voiced his complaint accompanied by name-calling and door-slamming. Totally unnecessary.

 

The complaint itself is innocent and perfectly OK.

[gummigut]

In this particular instance, I'm on the Taxi Driver's side.

 

Unlike New York, they don't have to take you anywhere.

 

Though I do encounter problems with taxi's here quite a bit.

 

Last one was about 2 weeks ago. Guy bitched and moaned about taking me home and I don't live in a really bad place. He futzed with the meter.

 

I noticed after 1 minute in traffic and .9 kilometers the meter already read 39 baht. I paid the guy 40 baht and got out and left the door open. In hindisght I do regret paying the guy. Next time I will challenge him to call the cops (as long as I'm not somewhere like the Klong Toey slums with no one around, heh).

 

<<burp>>

[jxxxl]

Nervous_Dog said:

Jxxxl, I have had the same experience when I lived there for a while when I first moved here. However, after a while the sharks got to know me, so they;d offer to drive me from one side of the road to the other, for 5 baht!

 

Became a standing joke, No meter - 5 baht.

 

Still sharks and arseholes in Soi 11 though, but even the sharks smile sometimes.

 

That all said glad I wasn;t the only one to think everyone was going overboard!

 

DOG

 

Dog,

 

I guess I dont' have a memorable face cause that band of cunts would tout me ever morning when I walked out on the street. Sometimes I would see a guy separated from the pod and think he was honest. I would ask if he used the meter and he would say yes. Then after explaining where I needed to go, he would give me some crap about not wanting to use the meter. I don't know what it is about that Soi 11 area that attracts those sharks.

 

The other type of cab driver I HATE is the kind that drives like a complete arsehole (like really dangerous) and then gets upset when you tell him to slow down.

 

Come to think of it, I've had some really bad cab experiences in BKK. Singapore is worse overall and HK is better IMHO. In Tokyo, the cabbies are worthless although very polite. London is the best in my experience.

[Hugh_Hoy]

Well, Hugh 'ol boy, ya sure got an earful on this one!!! I think it's safe to say that what's been written has been digested and consumed with a healthy serving of humble pie. Hugh, upon reflection, concedes that he kinda went "over the top" in reacting to these guys. (No excuses, as they tend to be rationalizations.)

 

Despite my opinion that some responses were almost as outlandish as Hugh's reaction to the taxi drivers, I learned a bit more about the taxi biz (although I was aware of some of the tidbits offered up). However, when confronted with insolence, disrespect, rudeness, and almost-distain, Hugh is not a very tolerant guy. Hugh tends to react in like-kind. One of his short-comings, I guess. (Maybe he needs to work on that?)

 

Anyway, it has been interesting is reading all of your comments bearing on the "taxi industry" and, particularly, those of you who find it necessary to utilize their services frequently. Like you, I've found quite a number of drivers to be quite courteous, helpful, chatty, and careful (thankfully, at least 70% of the time).

 

Hugh is not unmindful of the range of backgrounds of these drivers. Nor is Hugh unaware of the long hours some put in-- and the pinch some are feeling as the price of petrol/gas has increased. That is why, in the last year, Hugh's made it a habit of leaving a 20-25% tip on most drivers...help them cope with this cost.

 

As for those who levied personal opinions about Hugh's character, so be it. I will say that Hugh spends a great deal of each evening in the entertainment districts of Bangkok on his trips. And for every hour there, Hugh has probably spent nearly as much time during the day volunteering in a foundation-sponsored program designed to help the less fortunate of Thai society in several different ways. Yes, some of the recipients may be daughters of taxi drivers.

 

So, think what you like. I know Hugh...and he ain't an asshole (though he can be provoked into acting like one).

 

Carry on !!!

 

Hugh (mak)