Taxi Tales (7) customer services

Public holiday, business is slow, weather is hot, most passengers are away on holiday are staying at home, clearing leave while spend time with their children. On this day afternoon I end up at Jurong point, picked up an middle age female passenger going back home at clementi avenue 5.

She started talking after I start off from the taxi rank towards commonwealth avenue.

"You know, I worked 20 years in the F&B industry, have faced all kind of customers. I know how to handle all sorts". She boasted.

"How do you handle a passenger who scolds you when you do not know the destination?"

answers: "Explains there are more than 5000 roads in Singapore, sorry I cannot remember all of them because I have a low EQ". She goes on to explained, "Once you mentioned your low EQ, at the same time you are also a new taxi driver. They will let you off the hook".

Thus there are taxi driver who will forever be telling passenger they are new.

-------------------------------------

Picked up an couple in a Condo (30, north oak) at Woodlands new town going to MBFC tower 3. It was 9am, morning peak hour is ending soon. So I want to send them into CBD asap.

A major slow traffic on CTE, YCK to Balestier. Realize they are China national when they started asking me to switch lane. They will look out of the window trying to read the traffic flow, then ask me to switch to lane 1 or lane 3 whichever is faster. I refused, saying here is not China where Cars do not even respect the basic traffic rules of stopping at red light.

That get him jumping off the roof by shouting at me. Then he saw a few errant car drivers driving on the road shoulder. Then he asked to move on the road shoulder. Told him nicely they are for ambulance and fire engines to use during the jam, for emergency use only.

"I am the customer, I am going to be late. This has become an emergency for me. Now you can use the emergency lane. You are earning money, I am the paying passenger. You have to do this for me" In his words.

I kept my mouth shut. Drive as normal by repeating it is not safe to drive on the road shoulder. No point arguing.

He slammed the door very hard when getting off the Taxi.

Nothing he would have pay me could worth the trouble of a punctured tire or hitting an object on the road shoulder.

Notable Passengers

Meaning they leaves a lasting impression on my mind. Hard to forget them.

Passenger No 1.

If you think greeting "Good Morning" then getting a "what is so good about this morning, I got to work, got to feed my family" is having a bad day. Wait till you read the following.

Pick up an "ang mo" and his local girl friend from Bugis junction before 5pm. Going to the condo beside TTS medical center. On the way, the ang mo starts complaining about the service he received in Singapore with 4 letter words.

When he gets off the taxi. I was thinking to make his day better. So I send him off with a "You have a good day, sir"

He replied,"you are not going to get a tip from me by saying good day".

His girl friend pay me the fare of $7.20 exact to the cent.

I was stunted like vegetables.(watch this on youtube)

Passenger No 2.

A hot and humid Sunday afternoon. Picked up this woman along avenue 6 of Woodlands. Her destination is the columbarium at Choa Chu Kang. 

Along the way, we start up a conversation why she is visiting the columbarium on a Sunday afternoon.

Her sister passed away about a year ago. She afraid she might be lonely there, so by visiting her once a month, she wants to speak to her beside her urn. She kept on telling me how her sister has been a good daughter and they were very close as siblings.

She will meet with another mother who's daughter's urn is a few columns away. They have become good friends as they will visit on the 4th of every month.

After dropping her off, I stopped outside the columbarium and stared at rows of tomb stones. What a beautiful world God has created.

Taxi Tales 6

A Patient from hospital

Could not remember which day or when. Picked him up from SGH going back home to Seng Kang, a middle age man who looks to be lost in his thoughts, on the way, heard the piss sound of opening a can drink. He drinks it down while I smell beer.

"Are you drinking beer? It is not allow in the taxi" I asked.

"I was just told I have a terminal cancer. If I do not drink now, not sure when I can have another drink. I may be gone tomorrow." He replied.

I kept my mouth shut through out the whole journey in my thoughts. I hope it will not happen to me, but we all have to meet our maker one day. May my faith keep me strong.



Taxi Booking Apps

What do I use? In my personal experience, GRABTAXI provides me with the most job opportunity. If you are at the new towns in the morning, CBD in the evening, there will be more then enough jobs than you can handle.

note: I have HAILO and EASITAXI install too. Unless I have 3 phones with 3 data plans, I can only run one app at a time. Have tried all 3 apps on various days, GRAB is the best.

But you got to be in the right place at the right time, meaning if you took a job at the MRT train station taxi stand, you better be only a minute or two away. If you arrived 5 minutes later, you job could be cancelled and your passenger driven away by another taxi that happens to comes by. The same applies to shopping center taxi stands ( I had customer cancel my job half the time).

Chances are those passenger booked taxi at a a far corner of the town where the pick up is under a HDB block. They will still be there when you turn out 5 minutes later (we do need time to travel there, you know?)

To me, taxi booking apps levels the playing ground between those driving Comfort Delgro and we others (PRIME, PRIMER, TRANSCAB) in taxi booking opportunities. Before the apps, all I do is street jobs, hardly any booking calls from Silver Taxi booking MDT.

Anyway, it helps passenger as well because they can in one click of a button, reach out to all 4 local taxi companies rather than calling their call center one at the time. Thus higher chance of getting a taxi.

Tears up in the Taxi

Was driving the taxi on the morning 23 March 2015. On the way sending a passenger to CBD,  listening to P.M. Lee Hsien Loong 's personal address to the nation live on radio. I tears up on the lost of a great man.

Next day, while talker to a banking whom I picking up at Battery road to Sentosa Cove. We spoke about the economic problem in Greece where politicians just run popular policy to win the office. Giving out money to the voter rather than building infrastructure, factories or schools. Then we go on to what Mr Lee has done for Singapore in his office or policies. I tears up second time.

Listening to Jack Neo's tribute for Mr. Lee Kwan Yew. I tears up the third time. This time, there are no passenger in the taxi, I just parked in the Fort Canning Park car park. Mourning for him in my own quiet space and way.

Today, I went to Buona Vista to send Mr Lee Kwan Yew to his last resting place. Feeling the atmosphere of the crowd while watching the live broadcast in Ulu Pandan CC and lining up the road in the rain, I feel proud to be a Singaporean, I do not care about those people who feels their personal rights or ego is bigger than everyone, these few days, we Singaporeans stands together to mourn for our nations' father.

Singapore is still young, we are still surrounded by bigger brothers that will have no hesitation to bully us if we show any weakness. We will work hard, we will grow from strength to strength.

http://www.rememberingleekuanyew.sg/

Taxi Tales (5) dead or alive

Dead

Street Job from Ang Mo Kio to Bukit Merah View. It is a Lady in her 30s. She is going there to attend a buddist chanting funeral ceremony. 

Her nephew, aged 25, died in an freak accident at his girl friend's home. He accidentally fall in the bath room, break the glass that cuts his artery on his hand. He bled out before the ambulance arrived. They could not do anything to save him.

She blames the girl friend not able to save him by offering first aid. "She should use plastic bag to wrap up the wound so he will not died of bleeding,' she lamented.

He is the only son in the family, now the mother have to send off her only son.

Alive

From Bishan MRT Taxi stand. Picked up a middle aged man in his 30s with his 10 years old son. He is on a wheel chair. After he climbs on the taxi front passenger sit, his son goes on to dismantle the wheelchair for me to keep in the car boot.

From observation, he is paralyzed from waist down, he got to pull his legs up the taxi using his arms. I was dismay to find out he has 2 bags hanging on his waist, one bag full of shit and the other full of urine. 

On the way to his destination of Yishun street 21. we chat about his tattoo and what happened that caused his condition.  Illegal street car race in Malaysia.

Auto insurance does not cover any of his medical expense which comes up to more than 100k. He has to sell off his HDB flat and purchase a new one to cash out, pay out the bill.

"Now I am my own boss. I lend and go around to collect the debt" He said. "Debtor thought I am the runner, but they did not know I am the boss".  Who can refuse him when he rings on your door bell to collect money, I thinking to myself.

He mentioned he has a brother that helps him a lot during his difficult times.


Reflections

How long you live or died, some time it is your own action. More often it is by the higher power (GOD) that controls everything. Some people might call it fate, predestination or karma etc.

We should give thanks and enjoy simple things or great pleasure this life offers. You will not know when it will be taken from you one day.

Taxi Tales (4) the good the bad and the ugly

The good

Drop and pick customer at Block 4, SGH. Two hospital staff help him off the wheel chair to board my taxi. He reeks of urine and unwashed clothes. Along the way Bedok Reservoir road, we chat about his medical conditions.

A seaman since young, he spend all his earning on drinking and woman, without CPF and a HDB house. He stays with his friend. Had a triple by pass because of his heart condition. He joked about his is still alive while 2 of his friends died of heart attack.

At the coffee shop he wants to meet his friend, I have to help him with his personal items. His surprise payment of a plastic bag of small coins, I returned to him.


The bad

7 o clock at Duxton road. Pick up a couple. I sensed something was wrong when the woman had difficulty boarding the taxi, the man did not help but shouted at her to get on.

He is a Korean guy and she is a chinese girl. He was holding her head in a rude manner.

Girl, "I will fuck you, do not worry, I will fuck you"
Guy, "Keep quiet. You do not even remember my name or my face."
Guy,"go to the nearest hotel 81 at Neil road.

When he saw the hotel," he scream at me, " STOP, STOP HERE"
"No, can you see the LTA officer holding a camera?" "I can stop at the nearest side road."

They got off the taxi, the girl barely be able to walk, she sits on the floor in front of the hotel.

What happened to them after that I do not know. My taxi buddy said I should send them to the police station. To me, whatever happened is mutual consensus between 2 adults.

But a man taking advantage of a drunken girl, that will go under my section of bad.


The Ugly

Picked her up at Waterloo street, going to Bishan street 21.

Feels funny when she did not reply my greeting of "Good evening". Never mind, may be she did not hear it.

At the end of the journey, she wanted to pay by nets. So I setup the nets machine with the correct amount, then pass the terminal to her.

"Put it down" she pointed to the arm rest. I was in a shock, first time a customer would not accept the nets machine from my hand. She picks up the terminal and enter the pass code, we complete the transaction.

When I handed her the receipt follow by a greeting of "Good night" as per my standard practice. She stares at me as if I owe her something, did not give a reply or even a nob of acknowledgement. Then she gets off the taxi.

Her story I put under the Ugly section. In my experience, the so call FT from India does better, they called me "sir" instead of the usual "uncle" by the locals.

Taxi Tales (4)

(1)  GrabTaxi booking from Marsiling road. It is from a point block.

Picked up an Indian lady, she asked me to go around the car park (which is quite hug) then come back to the lobby again. I asked "Why?". Because my friend looked down on me, I want to show them I am taking a Taxi home.  I have no qualms, it is good for business.

(2)  God's blessing

This is the first Christmas I am not working in a company. No Christmas party, no year end dinner or Christmas present.

During Sunday Service after Christmas, we were prompted to count our blessings. Suddenly I remember the significant of one event.

Christmas eve, picked up an lady from Yishun 7 industry park back to Yishun Ave 11. We had a good chat along the way, the company has gave them so much gift to bring home, she find that it is too heavy. When we reached her destination, she passed me 1 mango, 2 apple and 3 oranges. We parted we she saying "God blessed".

Our God has a special way to blessing you.