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Monday, January 4, 2010
June 28, 2009. Sunday: Poison in disguise
Some twenty minutes before midnight, I was cooling my heels at the taxi stand next to Cuppage Plaza. Normally business was good at this place, but today it was unusually quiet.
Finally, someone came in. It was a Chinese lady, and she told me in Mandarin to go to Balestier Road.
I had taken passengers from Orchard to Balestier many times in the past. I normally go either via Cavenagh Road/Kampong Java/Thomson Road, or by CTE/Moulmein Road, depending on which end of Balestier the destinations were closer to. Today, without thinking, I took the former route.
As I turned onto Cavenagh Road the lady said, “Why didn’t you go by CTE?”
“Oh, sorry,” I replied, looking at her in the mirror. “I didn’t ask you which way you want me to take. But there shouldn’t be much of difference. We can get there quickly by this way also.”
But she was unforgiving. “You don’t need me to tell you how to go. You are the taxi driver and you should know which way is the best way,” she said.
In a situation like this, I employed my stock answer: “Sorry for that. Later you can pay me whatever you want to pay. Okay?”
She didn’t respond.
She was in her early thirties. She spoke Mandarin with a northern accent. The fact she did not speak English when she first spoke to me suggested she probably did not know any. From the way she was dressed she didn’t look to be one of the Chinese girls working in the night entertainment industry.
Her place was near the end of Moulmein Road. This meant that I had indeed made a mistake. When we stopped at her destination, the meter fare was $7.
“I take taxi every day,” she said. “The fare is always $5.”
“$5 is fine. No problem.” I was eager to minimize her unhappiness. “You can just pay me $5.”
She gave me a $5 note, but then said, “I can pay you $7 if you give me a receipt.”
“I’ll just take $5,” I said to her, feeling grateful for her generosity. “Don’t worry about the meter. If you want a receipt, however, I can give you one regardless.” I thought maybe she needed a receipt to claim the expense.
She thought about it for a moment and said, “I want a receipt and I will pay $7.”
“Okay, if that’s what you want,” I said. I printed out the receipt and gave it to her. She handed me a $2 note. I thanked her and took the money.
She opened the door. With one leg out, she suddenly said in a venomous tone, “I will file a complaint on you!”
With that she got out and slammed the door.
I was completely stunned.
Posted by Mingjie Cai at 11:37 PM 86 comments Links to this post
June 28, 2009. Sunday: Poison in disguise
Some twenty minutes before midnight, I was cooling my heels at the taxi stand next to Cuppage Plaza. Normally business was good at this place, but today it was unusually quiet.
Finally, someone came in. It was a Chinese lady, and she told me in Mandarin to go to Balestier Road.
I had taken passengers from Orchard to Balestier many times in the past. I normally go either via Cavenagh Road/Kampong Java/Thomson Road, or by CTE/Moulmein Road, depending on which end of Balestier the destinations were closer to. Today, without thinking, I took the former route.
As I turned onto Cavenagh Road the lady said, “Why didn’t you go by CTE?”
“Oh, sorry,” I replied, looking at her in the mirror. “I didn’t ask you which way you want me to take. But there shouldn’t be much of difference. We can get there quickly by this way also.”
But she was unforgiving. “You don’t need me to tell you how to go. You are the taxi driver and you should know which way is the best way,” she said.
In a situation like this, I employed my stock answer: “Sorry for that. Later you can pay me whatever you want to pay. Okay?”
She didn’t respond.
She was in her early thirties. She spoke Mandarin with a northern accent. The fact she did not speak English when she first spoke to me suggested she probably did not know any. From the way she was dressed she didn’t look to be one of the Chinese girls working in the night entertainment industry.
Her place was near the end of Moulmein Road. This meant that I had indeed made a mistake. When we stopped at her destination, the meter fare was $7.
“I take taxi every day,” she said. “The fare is always $5.”
“$5 is fine. No problem.” I was eager to minimize her unhappiness. “You can just pay me $5.”
She gave me a $5 note, but then said, “I can pay you $7 if you give me a receipt.”
“I’ll just take $5,” I said to her, feeling grateful for her generosity. “Don’t worry about the meter. If you want a receipt, however, I can give you one regardless.” I thought maybe she needed a receipt to claim the expense.
She thought about it for a moment and said, “I want a receipt and I will pay $7.”
“Okay, if that’s what you want,” I said. I printed out the receipt and gave it to her. She handed me a $2 note. I thanked her and took the money.
She opened the door. With one leg out, she suddenly said in a venomous tone, “I will file a complaint on you!”
With that she got out and slammed the door.
I was completely stunned.
Posted by Mingjie Cai at 11:37 PM 86 comments Links to this post
