Wednesday, January 23

Clanger

I sure would not like to be in the shoes of the taxi driver in Plymouth who arrived at the crematorium with a fare, who missed the funeral by five minutes. The worst bit was that it was her husband’s funeral. Just what can you say after that colossal gaffe, an apology just wouldn’t be enough? The taxi firm has apologised and launched an investigation after her taxi turned up late. Poor Mrs Mace, 84, was collected from the nursing home where she had lived with her late husband William, also 84, five minutes after the funeral had started. When she got to Weston Mill Crematorium on Monday, the service was over. It could not be delayed as another funeral was booked immediately afterwards. The couple’s son David Mace said his mother had been left “heartbroken”. “She arrived just in time to see the coffin going through the curtains at the crematorium,” he said. The Warwick Park Nursing Home had pre-booked the taxi a week before the funeral service. It was supposed to arrive at 0830 GMT on Monday, half-an-hour ahead of the service, but arrived 35 minutes late. Absolutely no excuse for that one, be it driver or operator error, what a clanger!

5 comments:

Peggy said...

Ok, so the taxi was a few minutes late. Couldn't the crematorium wait five mintues? Why couldn't they wait for the widow?

bob mullen said...

Peggy: Our local crem is one in one out, when I have dropped off there I have watched folk coming out of the side door and folk going in the front for the next service. They tend to be on a tight schedule.

Roy, Dublin Taxi Driver said...

I shouldn't laugh.......HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

bigbikerbob said...

Naughty naughty Roy, Actually had a similar (but not nearly as serious)thing happen when I was driving, had a Coach station job booked, our other car was off the road for repairs and private hire was on route to Gatwick. so when I had a bump on route to coach job we were in deep s...t, tried every firm in the area for help, no chance as it was school time, so and I didn't say this jumped in bosses car picked up job 18 mins late, missed coach had to go 20 odd miles in a lot less mins to pick up the coach at its next stop in Exeter services, all for the same price and earache all the way !!!.

bob mullen said...

Bob: I have done similar runs myself on one occasion going fifty miles to Lancaster railway station because the office missed the booking. I hold the record for a run like this when I covered a job for a firm in the nearby town of Millom. They had made a couple miss their holiday coach and so paid me to take them on the complete journey. It went all the way up to the top of Scotland to Dornoch four hundred miles up. This wasn't until lunchtime so that by the time I got back the total shift was 24 hours and 887 miles. Not a bad un eh?