Picky Picky Picky

I am not your average cab driver. Another successfull driver sums it up this way. He'll take anyone anywhere, he calls himself the Wal*mart of cab drivers. I tend to choose my loyalties in a symbiotic process. Much more like a boutique. He calls me the Tiffany's of cab drivers. My customer base is smaller, my gross income is also smaller, but my hours worked are much smaller and my average price of ride is much higher. It is not only about money, but as our relationship grows, so does the amount of effort I put in maintaining the relationship. I have 3 or 4 customers whose business alone pay all my fixed expenses. The rest of the business is the "profit".

People ask me when I work, my answer is "after dark" but the reality is, I work when my customers need me. For some people I am available amost 24 hours a day -- like a concierge. Some of my regulars confuse this with friendship. I am not saying I am not friendly with my customers or that I do not consider them friends. But I will say I try to keep the distinction. Some people are indeed both, and I have come up and reinforced the following distinction. If you call me for a ride, you are a customer. If I offer you a ride, you are my friend. If you call me for a ride, and tell me you need help or cannot pay, being a friend, I won't charge you. If this becomes a habit, it is like any other friend that always seems to take more than he gives.

Tonight, I let some guys go. I do not delte them from my phone, but I demote their ringtone. Different classes of customers have different priority ringtones. Some I jump at, some I barely hear unless I am absolutely focused on working. These guys got demoted down to the lowest ring-tone I have. So quiet I barely hear it if there are people in the cab. Their offense? False urgency. "... and we're in a hurry, don't get a ticket or anything, but we'll pay you extra if you get here fast". I am there well within my 10 minute estimate to be told "Can you park it, I need to get 'rick', he's inside". I park at the curb, stewing. Twinety minutes after the call, 10 after my arrival I see them exit the bar, and one gesturing back to me. They take a seat. I pull out, slow down next to them, one again gestures, and I wave and drive off.

A side benefit of my way of working is, I can spend a lot of time at my house. It is centrally located and 5-10 minutes from the bulk of my customer base. So when someone calls, I adjust my estimate depending on what I am doing. "How soon can....?" usually riles me up anyway. But one someone that prides himself on punctuality uses it, I'll jump out of respect. That's why it was so frustrating tonight. Had the urgency not been expressed, I would have been much more easy going about it. I would have parked gon in, and coaxed them out. But with the "in a hurry" I have no patience for delay.

Am I too big for my britches? Perhaps. But I do this to keep busy and keep me out in the world. I've learned to let a lot of things go, but not my respect.