Aaj Ka Karam

A friendly taxi driver overcharging! Complaint or sympathise?

2009-08-26T07:59:00.000-07:00

Here's a contrasting situation that you come across every once in a while. A radio cab whose driver tells me at 5 p.m. that he could not have lunch since morning on account of back-to-back trips. The chap also keeps talking nicely to me and my son throughout the trip on the way -making us feel good about him.

THEN he tells me that his tripmeter was not working and that he's reset tripmeter A to zero (this was at star itself) and I could pay by seeing the fare chart. At the end of the trip (on a route familiar to me) he switches the tripmeter to tripmeter B which shows a reading of 32 km instead of around 23-24 expected(my wife Shalu remembered seeing a reading of around 23 half a minute before the trip end). I asked him to show me Tripmeter A which actually showed 24.2 and he said that maybe it was the correct one. Then he gave me a rate chart which showed around 25% excess fare than calculation. I being a mathomaniac that I am, told him it was not correct and before I could run through the entire chart he produced another saying that he accidently showed me the night fare chart!

Now here I was, on one hand predetermined to tip him decently while the current situation demanding to give a piece of my mind. But somehow I could not flare up and did offer him a chhotu tip. But I kept on wondering if it was his usual manner wereby he'd be cheating many a custoomers who are not as vigilant as me/Shalu and woud it be a good idea to report the same to cab company.

What say you?!?!?

Splashed a lady with ditch water! Urggghhhh..

2008-10-12T23:29:00.000-07:00

I am not the one who'll do something like this by intention, SWEAR! Here are the details:

I was overtaking a car from left and had pressed the gas pedal (sorry, diesel pedal) and just when I was coming back to my lane, there came this ditch with some water and a lady just ahead of it. No, I was not close to an accident, but some water'd have definitely spoiled her clothes. I imagined the same happening to mine (drycleaned from WardRobe -the Australian co, yesterday only) and was full of guilt for having done it.

Time and again, I see taxi drivers and some youthful folks doing it intentionally during rains and I often ponder whether it is really a bad thing to throw water at people. Back in my senior school and college days of biking, I'd find it acceptable to drench people who were already soaked in rains, yet not so sure about it. Meguess it all depends on attitude of people being affected rather than people doing it but then we are talking about a scenario where water is everywhere and escape is difficult.

In this case it was not rains but mud water and I surely was guilty. Its just that I was running late (must be obvious). Also did not stop to apologise but I did to God for the same. Not feeling good at all, but I am okay now, pls dont worry about me.

Tipped a valet! My First!!

2008-10-12T22:31:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, I read a blog on tipping -whether giving a small tip is as good as no tipping. I said its better to tip however small it is. And here was my chance. I valet parked at a resto in Gurgaon, went in and came out as the place was empty. I have been to this place and many other valet parks before but never tipped any. I suddenly realised that these guys are the ones with maximum dependancy on tips and some tenners would give them the same kick as a 20-30% hike in my TCC to me. I handed this guy a tenner and he gave me a smile which I think only I could appreciate given the background mentioned. And then came the tall, erect and statusque salute wishing me a happy evening. I'd say, return on Investment was too good in these crisis times.