Lost Tip

A very nice ould lass who had enjoyed her cab ride went to give me a nice tip today, unfortunately as she went to hand it over she dropped three of the pound coins. They rolled down the middle of the front seats out of reach, never mind I reassured her I will get them later. I had forgotten all about them and had picked up three or four fares in the next hour or so. That is until a lady in the back seemed to be bending down and taking a long while to get out of the cab at the end of the ride. Yes, you guessed it the three coins had gone, she stole my tip, what a dirty trick eh! The tip actually came to more than she had paid for her short taxi ride, what a darn cheapskate taking food from my mouth. I could have had gravy on me chips tonight!

There And Back

It has seemed really strange picking up the one- half left of an elderly couple who have been regular fares for a good few years now. When the lady was alive up till a month or two ago it was her who did all the talking, simply because the ould chap was very deaf and it was hard to have a conversation with both being in the back seats of the taxi. The first time that I picked him up when he was alone I made sure that he rode up front with me so that we could have a proper conversation.
 It was a seven-mile trip and so after offering condolences for his loss I started to ask him about his life and times past. It wasn't easy with me having to talk really loud and repeat myself a few times but wow it sure was worth the effort. Amongst other things, he told me the story of him being posted to Japan within months of the Japenese surrender. He shivered as he told me about the horrors he saw when passing through Hiroshima on the way to his first posting. Then he broke into a smile as he told me how he was the butt of a practical joke by his sergeant within the first week of his duties of transporting military vehicles between bases.  The sergeant made him memorize a phrase in Japanise,  which remarkably he could still clearly recite, this was to be used when he was stopped by the Japenese military police.  Laughing he said it seemed to work every time, but he found out later the reason they looked at him so confused was because he was actually saying in Japenese "There and back to see how far it is."    
I have had a good talk with him on the few times that I have picked him up since but couldn't help but notice the deterioration in him lately, he really is struggling. Today he was telling me about his health problems and then he told me how his doctors had given him a list of his ailments that he had to have on display prominently at home in case he collapsed.  I was left struggling for adequate words when he went on to calmly ask me what Alzheimer's meant because that was one of the ailments on his list.

Determined Lady

My fare was an ould lass who was partially sighted and very bad on her legs. She asked to be taken to the local crematorium and then back home again. I explained that the crematorium was closed for building work and that services were being held in a local church instead. She looked horrified and was silent and crestfallen for a moment or two. But then she straightened up and said in a determined voice " I have been going up to see the memorial book with my late husbands name in it for the last twenty six years on the anniversary of his death, So I am not  going to stop now; lets go!"   
As I expected when we got there the building was covered with scaffolding and fenced off.
 But I spotted a small sign on the boarded up door of what would have been the room where the memorial book was kept.  I was as happy as she was to find that at least someone in our parks and cemeteries department had the compassion and good common sense to have the book on display at a low window at the side of the building. 
I drove her round and helped her out and stood back to let her have time reading the book. After a minute or two she called me over to tell me that her sight had gotten that bad that she couldn't see her husband's name in the book. I found the name and read the beautifully illuminated script for her and watched her face light up.  I dropped her off at home and she still had the smile of triumph on her face.    

Sweets n Cakes

Its funny how some old ladies want to feed you up sometimes, like today one old dear gave me a mint and later another a toffee. But to top this just as I was about to go for a coffee a lady gave a slice of her home made lemon sponge cake to go with it delicious. This reminds me of the local taxi legend about the old lady that used to give her driver a little bag of unsalted peanuts every time she was picked up. This went on for months until one driver said “no thank you I don’t like peanuts” she was said to have replied “no neither do I but I like the chocolate coating”---think about it.

Party Food

Some of the old folk I pick up say the strangest things, one old lass today was on her way to the dentist.
” I'll have to get my teeth fixed today” she said” us pensioners are having the Mayor for tea” (Which thinking about it afterwards doesn't seem such a bad idea at all, there must be lots of local politicians who would make a good meal for our pensioners) Then she went on to tell me that you can now get goose grease locally and that heated and mixed with a bit of camphor it would make an ideal chest rub. 
With a serious expression she said” it works you know you don't see geese with colds”.

Waxy

 You know a good tip is if that you want the low down on somewhere you are planning on dining at is to ask your cabbie.
 We are always given the verdict about the service and how good the meal was from lots of different folk. You know if restaurant owners wanted more trade they could do it easily by free or very cheap meals for taxi drivers. But then again listening to the squeals of protest from the front springs and looking at the over inflated spare tyres on the taxi ranks that may not be a good idea eh!
     One of my fares today was picking up a lady with her mother and grandmother after their meal at a local fancy eatery.
 Mother and daughter praised the meal to high heavens while granny just kept quiet. As luck would have it granny was the last to be dropped off, and so I got my chance to ask her what she really thought of the meal. “Fancy rubbish” she loudly announced why what was the problem I asked.
 “Well she said they gave me a side salad and the barmy beggars tried to put olive oil and vinegar on it”. What’s wrong with that I asked? She replied “Vinegar is for on me fish and chips and the only use for olive oil is to heat it up and put in your ears to melt the wax”. 
Don’t try this at home folks!.

Access all areas

One of this weeks fares was two ladies, one was elderly and in a wheelchair and the other was able bodied and in her early 50s. I picked them both up from a house in the Town Centre and took them home where upon asking for the fare of £4.20p I was given a £10 note and told to take £7 out of it.

What a generous tip I thought to myself and it was too. I got £7 for a £4.20p fare. I opened the boot of the car and removed the ladies wheelchair. She didnt need it for short distances as she could walk a little bit so her friend insisted on taking the wheelchair in so in effect all I had to do was put in in the boot of the car and take it out at the destination and this earned me the tip.

The elderly lady thanked me for taking her wheelchair and went on to tell me that she felt a burden to people and always paid the extra for drivers to carry her wheelchair. She said she knew she didnt have to pay the extra but felt guilty if she didn't as the drivers are so helpful.

This got me thinking that its really nice to have praise for our drivers but why should an elderly disabled person feel compelled to give a large tip just because thet are in a wheelchair?

Its not right that they should feel like this and I suppose its down to the individual driver if they accept the tip. If you do accept it then you feel as if you've got extra because she is disabled. If you don't accept the tip then you offend the person that's giving it you, so you cant really win.

I just don't think its right that elderly or disabled people that need a little help from the driver should feel they have to tip a lot more as a way of saying thank you. After all, helping our customers in and out the car with or without any luggage is all part of the job description and people like this shouldn't have to feel compelled to pay more.

We don't charge any extra for wheelchairs and never will do. Its all part of the service that we provide. We look after the customer but some customers that feel they have to give a large tip because we took their wheelchair and helped them with it.

As in her words and not mine "You took my wheelchair and lifted it in and out the car for me and I feel guilty that you have to do this and I dont want to be a burden to anyone so please take it". were her exact words.

I didnt want to take the extra money after hearing this story and tried to give her it back but she insisted and told me that if I didn't take it then she would feel guilty about asking for my help.

Tea for Two

Picked an elderly lady up on her own this Sunday just gone and she asked me to take her to a place in town that served meals as she wasn't cooking for one and she normally goes out for a meal with her friend every Sunday but her friend couldn't make it so she went on her own.

When we got to the destination she realised that she had left her money at home and couldn't pay the taxi fare but she did have her credit card with her. She was panicking about how she could pay for her meal and the taxi as she had no cash and I suggested she used her card to pay for the meal but she couldn't pay the taxi with a card as we are not yet geared up for it.

She was a regular fare and she felt awkward that she couldnt pay me at the time but I wasnt too bothered as I know I could knock on her door at a later date and collect the fare but she felt bad about it and suggested that I go and have a meal with her and she will pay for it instead of the taxi fare.

I was feeling a little hungry and thought about this and succumbed to temptation. It meant 30 minutes off work but I got a free carvery out of it and the elderly lady shared my company and it really made her day.

After we had eaten she asked me to drop her off home where she would pay me the fare for the journey home. I took her home and she went in the house to get her money and came out with a £10 note and told me to keep the change as I had been very understanding to her and she didn't have to eat on her own and she didnt want me losing out.

A good day all around, a £10 fare including a tip and a carvery. Cant go wroing with that one.

A Walking. talking History Book

One thing I love about the Furness area is its history which is so varied as it covers a massive area and those best at teaching history are those that have been around the longest and that's our dear old folk that we pick up.

They have stories of good and bad times about how life used to me and I`m always intrigued by how they got by years ago and I suppose when I get to their age then the next generations will be asking how we managed to survive. Its an evolutionary thing and we get used to what we grow up with and what we have.

Anyway, today I picked up an old lady who tells me she is 82 years old and we talked about tales of the war and living in poverty and rations. At the end of the journey she didn't want to get out the car without putting the world to rights and even though we were busy with jobs, I didn't want her to get out the car til she was ready so we sat and had a 10 minute talk.

Some of these people are widows or widowers and long for a bit of company and its really re-assuring knowing that not only have you got them home safely but you have also made their day and they've had someone to share their life's story with.