Thursday, November 20, 2014

In which a Taxi for Sure driver threatens to bring 200 friends to my house and kill me. And yet I reach the airport like a boss.

Update

Taxi for Sure customer support called me and we had a chat. They said that they would take strict action against the driver. I appreciate that they called and seemed genuinely interested in the feedback, and in solving the problem.

I told them that's their call, but I'm not sure that would solve any problems. I suggested that if this was the first time that the driver had behaved like this, they should probably just tell him to take a chill pill and not do this to any other customer. 

I'm not interested in Taxi For Sure punishing the driver or not. He and I both had a bad day, and we both deserve whatever comes our way. 

I used some bad language (provoked by his incessantly rude behaviour, which nobody seems to care about). For which I apologized multiple times immediately. 

He wasn't interested in my apology and threatened to kill me in a "I know where you live and I will bring my goon friends and break your neck" way. And he threw me out of the cab. And charged me full fare.

Some of you think that I deserve death threats because I said "fuck" and that the driver was justified in his actions. 

Sure. That's your opinion. I don't agree. And I don't care about your opinion anyway. Just like you don't care about mine.

Excelsior.


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Dear Taxi For Sure,

It's been an entertaining morning. A driver from Taxi For Sure threw my colleague and me out of a cab. And, for good measure, threatened to bring hundreds of his taxi driver buddies to my home and end my miserable life. And the sun wasn't even up yet.

But I'm getting ahead of the story.

I'm writing this from Delhi.

And I got here no thanks to Taxi For Sure.

My colleague picks me up at 5.30 am in a cab, to go to the airport. We request the driver to pick up another colleague from Koramangala. He cribs and complains about this. Then picks up the phone and talks to who must be his boss. More complaining yakkety yak about said detours. He sounded like an ISRO scientist would if we had requested the Mars lander to pick up some cheese from the moon on the way to the red planet. Pretty upset.

"Sir extra 300 rupees"was the net outcome of this animated conversation.

I assured him that I had no problem with this. "Sure. No problem", I said.

The guy continues cribbing and complaining into my ear about how we have no doubt ruined his carefully laid plans for the morning by asking him to perform the painful task of driving his cab a few extra kilometres. No doubt his world domination schemes now lay in complete disarray, thanks to our callous request.

So he keeps talking.

I tell him "Boss. 300 rupees. No problem. Now shut the fuck up and drive".

He stops the car. Starts yelling. Tells us to get out of the car. Apparently the use of the word "fuck" and "shut up" are not on. 

I apologised instantly, cursing myself for screwing up my colleague's morning. He's a gentle guy and looked terribly uncomfortable with the whole situation.

I apologised multiple times, and told the guy I shouldbn't have used those words. Now can we go to the airport please?

The driver continues to abuse. And then threatens me with violence. He says he will bring a couple of hundred of his merry taxi-driving buddies to my house and take my life.

At this point, I'm thinking it's probably a bad idea to ride in a taxi with a man, upstanding paragon of decency though he may be, who has expressed a more than casual interest in throwing a party, inviting his friends, and murdering me for fun.

So I start walking away. We're not far from my house. Worst case, I can just get my car and drive to the airport.

But Taxi For Sure's foot soldier was not done, evidently. Now he's harrassing my colleague, who has been trying to calm things down - and asking for full payment. I did a quick ROI, decided that the small sum of a thousand rupees was a small price to pay for significantly reducing the probability that I would be beaten to death by enough drivers from Taxi for Sure to fill a passenger jet. So I paid. And walked away to the sounds of incoherent yelling in a curious mix of Hindi and Kannada. 

The guy was purple with rage by this time. I suppose he was a bit disappointed that he did not get to fulfil his fantasy of group-killing a senior game developer at Iblur junction. Or maybe he didn't like the fact that I paid so easily. I don't know.

A bit later, Taxi for sure sends an apology. It is most amusing. Here are the text messages from Taxi for Sure.




While Taxi For Sure's driver's obnoxious (and psychopathic) behaviour considerably dampened my mood in the morning, their apology lifted my spirits instantly.

"Apologies for not living up to your expectations. We are continuously improving and will make sure we resolve the issue" it seems.

No problem, guys. I readily accept your clearly heartfelt apology. I will forgive the fact that your driver Mr.S.Sridhar (phone number 8184082999 , Tata Indica no KA-53A-6681) threw me out of a cab at 5.30 in the morning, yelled and screamed at me and promised to murder me through the use of goondas. No problem.

But please also ask him to accept my apologies for saying "fuck"and "shut up" a couple of times. I already apologized to him multiple times, but he hasn't indicated yet that he's cool with that. 

It would also be nice if you requested him not to go ahead with his plans to take my life. Just saying. It will negatively impact my studio's quarterly roadmap.

Thanks. And have a nice day.

Anand Ramachandran.

P.S. 

How did we eventually get there, you ask ? Simple. Got an Uber.

Driver Ashok Kumar came, picked us up. Picked up my colleague. Dropped us to the airport.

I actually thanked him saying "Thank you. You saved us this morning. "

"It's my job, sir" he said, with only a hint of a smile.






25 comments:

  1. In which your friend learnt how to take uber. Always.

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  2. Crazy stuff! Taxi For Sure's PR must be scrambling to sort this out now!

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  3. Stopped reading at "I tell him "Boss. 300 rupees. No problem. Now shut the fuck up and drive".

    That was rude and uncalled for, you asked for it.

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  4. What a terrible experience. Although it seems like there is really no one clean out there. :(


    http://time.com/3594283/uber-god-view/

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  5. TAXI FOR SURE!!! My... what can I say... I guess TAXI FOR SURE hires only criminals!! My friend used TAXI FOR SURE and the driver misbehaved with me, for which I filled an FIR against that motherfucker!! He is behind the bars now!! And guess what, TAXI FOR SURE did not even bother to take responsibility of the situation. TAXI FOR SURE, YOU SUCK!!! SHUT DOWN YOUR FUCKED UP SERVICES!!! What the fuck you guys are waiting for?? Send one of your criminal driver, wait for a murder or rape to happen?? SOB!!

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  6. TAXI FOR SURE!!! My... what can I say... I guess TAXI FOR SURE hires only criminals!! My friend used TAXI FOR SURE and the driver misbehaved with me, for which I filled an FIR against that motherfucker!! He is behind the bars now!! And guess what, TAXI FOR SURE did not even bother to take responsibility of the situation. TAXI FOR SURE, YOU SUCK!!! SHUT DOWN YOUR FUCKED UP SERVICES!!! What the fuck you guys are waiting for?? Send one of your criminal driver, wait for a murder or rape to happen?? SOB!!

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  7. "Shut the fuck up and drive"?
    Dude, you can't say something like that to someone who isn't a close friend.. It may sound casual to most people, but it is terribly insulting, especially telling it to someone who's providing you a service. It's like you are brashly ordering them around, and it's extremely rude. The driver is not your slave.

    The driver lost his temper and started threatening you, which is something he should not have done. But your words are uncalled for. I will even go so far as to say that I am not surprised by the way things turned out. Learn to tone down your attitude, brother.

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  8. Honestly, after reading through your story, it sounds like this guy was having a bad day and you provoked him by being rude and telling him to "shut the fuck up and drive." Who do you think you are, rihanna? Shit like that doesn't fly and you got what you asked for. Nobody says that and most people would just smile and say "I'm sorry sir, but I do hope this extra RS300 will make up for it. I do apologize for the inconvenience" instead of saying what you said. You're an idiot, straight up dude.

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  9. good promotion for Uber !

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  10. I side with the driver on this one. Indecent people like you don't deserve any service.

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  11. Uhm, yeah you're a dick. If you say things like that to random ass people, what the actual fuckity fuck do you expect? Writing a blog post doesn't suddenly make you the 'winner' here. What an asshole.

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    1. That he may be. But don't forget the bigger asshole here - The cab driver. Cab drivers here are notorious for this kind of shit. I don't care if this blog post comes across as the author being a 'winner', as long as cab drivers learn that there are consequences for their fuckery.

      Of course not all cab dudes are assholes, In fact,I had a fun drunk conversation with one last night. But I would say most of them are.

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  12. Similar Experience with Taxi For Sure.. I had booked a cab thro call center specifically telling them that we had 2 additional pickup points. They offered me a flat fare of 2k for airport pickup. When the driver actually picked me up, he was hesitant to pick up my colleagues and I had to convince him by paying extra and repeatedly asking him to call up their office.. Taxi For Sure, Sucks For Sure!!

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  13. Just Uber and don't bother with the rest. I completely get the constant clackety clack of TFS drivers on the cell about ten thpusand things and once about me the passenger! Talking about how uppity I am ... An assumption that I don't understand Kannada cause I spoke in Hindi or English. Let's just STOP at the filthy cabs, stinky guys and rudeness like you have never seen before. Thank you and kudos Travis Kalanick your attitude for perfection shines through in the taxi I take in Bangalore. Go Uber!

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  14. No wonder people like you treat others 'lowly' and think that you can get away with being rude in this country. Would you have done the same in another country? You had the balls to publicly display the guys number on your post, but you felt short of one ball to hide your own email ID.
    Sure, a sorry and apology is the biggest thing you have done. Let's say we meet one day as strangers and I slap you and say, sorry. Will that end there?

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  15. Written like a pro.. If your gaming industry is anything close to the way you write, you are a winner. Great read. As for the experience, we all have those shitty days.

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  16. Interesting to note that after you believe it may have been a bad morning for both of you, you have carefully blacked out your mobile no. but had the driver's contact on display for the world to see and also mentioned it in your blog with special red font..Speaks a world of good about you. Well done, senior developer!

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  17. You're a dick. You now know that. And I know you don't care for my comment. One of these days, if you keep asking every driver to "shut the fuck up and drive", he'll just get on with his party without his friends. So shut the fuck up and be courteous to people. Maybe your parents didn't teach you that. But then, going by this incident, you might have actually told them to shut the fuck up if they tried to teach you manners.

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  18. You got what you deserved. ....the guy is making a living as well by ferrying idiots like you around. ..

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  19. A request (for diversion) was made, the driver asked for Rs 300/- which was agreed. That constitutes a legally binding contract. Notwithstanding the use of impolitic language the driver is guilty of criminal offences, using threateniing language, intimidation as well as a civil offence of breach of contract. The author should have lodged a police complaint against the driver, obviously not immediately as he had a plane to catch, but on return to Bangalore.

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  20. U totally deserved it mate.. the man must have been driving in and out earning his living.. these guys drive a lot to ensure they earn a higher income.. they are usually exhausted and tired.. sadly educated and civilized people like you use expletives like that which is uncouth and rude.. u just got served and u will continue doing so by writing a darn blog about it trying to get some sort of relief..

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  21. two things brother. 1) Technically speaking the cab guys are supposed to go from the pickup to drop location straight without detours. The drivers pickup service calls based on this. So you were on the wrong side to begin with. Though I've seen drivers rant for much less, this guy was clearly having a bad day. 2) "shut the fuck up and drive" is not a clever response. you deserved to be thrown out of the car with an attitude like that. make sure you dont say that to the pilot after a flight delay.

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  22. Another taxi guy did the same to me..threw my luggage out.. my best guess is its because I made him wait at railway station for picking up my sister whose train was delayed.. I was paying for every single minute spent.. and this was informed before hand..

    and this was my first trip with Uber.. who never bothered to respond to my complaint..

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  23. All those complaining about the author's attitude - after all he agreed to the driver's demand and told "Sure. No problem" the first time when the driver told about the extra money. And the matter ends there.

    At least two people who commented here have used the term "service". If the driver indeed was providing a 'service', he should have stopped complaining as the passenger has acceded to the fare. Why should someone tolerate mediocre service(driver incessantly cribbing) when he/she has paid full fare expected by the 'service provider'.Why do we set such low standards for the services that we get?

    I do agree that the choice of words from the author was poor considering the situation at hand, but the driver surely has no rights threatening the passenger's life for a trivial incident such as this. Employees should be taught basics of how to respond to customers with some courtesy and decency. If the driver felt offended by the passenger's words, then he should have asked the customer to mind his words or should have immediately complained to his superior.

    Taking such things personally doesn't help the whole cause. Also, I feel the language gap has escalated the whole issue. I don't agree that the fault lies directly with Taxi For Sure, but any organization that provides service should train their employees on how to treat customers irrespective of the situation.

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  24. Taxi for sure is an ass in terms of service, me and my colleague booked a taxi to go back home at 9.30 pm evening from barton tower mg road bangalore. First the driver called one of us twice or thrice unfortunately he cudnt pick it as his phone was silent. Then he struggled to find the location, finally when he arrived he was drunk and didnt care what we were telling him to take us, hell rash at his behaviour. We didnt bother to say him gate lost from here 'fuck ur service' we took another taxi to go back.

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